Events Calendar
Most Read Stories
Cavs sign Gibson to 5-year deal
Killing of Twinsburg officer is described
Officers mourn Miktarian as brother
'We lost a brother. We're hurting'
Concert fees are simply bait, switch
Mourners line procession route for slain officer
Scouts go back to old cookie bakers
Blogs:
Akron Law Café:
Privity in Peril
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Morning Notebook
Balanced Ledger:
… more baseball
Patrick McManamon:
An online conversation …
Browns Bulletin:
Bell and Rucker being unsigned not unusual
Cleveland Browns:
Browns training camp schedule
Cleveland Indians:
Cliff Lee overcomes his own demons this All Star start.
Akron Aeros:
LaPorta’s true character revealed in collision at plate
Akron Zips:
Northwest’s Klatt commits to Michigan State
Varsity Letters:
Wadsworth’s Cline signs at Mount Union
Kent State Sports:
Jarvis on Maxwell watch list
Ohio Politics:
Obama Focused On Women In Ohio
All Da King's Men:
Wanted: One President, No Experience Required
Blog of Mass Destruction:
6 Degrees of Executive Privilege Separation
Akrocentric:
Charles Taormina discusses "Acceptance of Individual Authors," self-publishing resources
Akron Gamer:
Midnight Madness
BokBluster:
Go With the Flow
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Are there caves to explore on Lake Erie's islands?
Olympic Dreams - Running:
Back to Phase One
Sound Check:
John Mayer at Blossom
Tia's Trends:
The Montague's and Their Chocolate Factory!
Buying a Home
Photos: Bus tour of foreclosed homes
How much house can you afford?
Utilities. Repairs. Maintenance. Know what you can spend without breaking the family budget
Can you afford to buy a house? Maybe. Can you afford to own a house? That's another matter.
Refinance of loan depends on rate
Now may be time to buy better home
Today on the front page of the Beacon Journal, Home reporter Mary Beth Breckenridge and I start a two-part series on how to buy your first home. It was designed as a primer for people who might find in a period of high housing inventory and low mortgage rates, that it's the right time to buy a home.
Agent has expertise new buyer may need
Interview to find one who's a good fit; be clear on the commission
When you're looking for that dream home, there are a lot of ways you can do it — scouring the ads and browsing online photos, attending open houses and driving around neighborhoods.
Finding a lender you can trust first step in getting mortgage
Bank or credit union where you already do business is a good place to start. Preapproval letter will show sellers you're serious and creditworthy
So you've figured out that you can afford to buy a house. Now what? Should you find your realty agent first or your mortgage lender?
FICO SCORE MATTERS
What is a FICO score? The name FICO comes from Fair Isaac Corp., the company that developed the system of credit scoring. Your FICO score, also called your credit score, is determined by a mathematical formula that gives varying degrees of weight to different aspects of your credit history. The score helps lenders tell how much risk they'd take by lending you money.
FOR SALE BY OWNER
What happens if you are working with a real-estate agent and you want to see a house that is ''For Sale by Owner''? While there are some agents who won't show clients homes that are not represented by another agent, most agents will go to the home seller, explain there is a party interested in seeing the home and ask whether the seller would honor the buyer agent's 3 to 3.5 percent commission.
CREDIT REPORT
You can get free copies of your credit report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228. By law, you're entitled to a free report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and Trans-union. The report won't include your credit score, but you can pay to receive it. If you're married, you'll want to get reports for both spouses.
DO YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY?
Whether to use an attorney when buying a home depends on whom you ask. Attorneys will write only a contract and won't conduct the market analysis of an area or offer you the professional services of a real-estate agent, said Carla Herbert, president of Harvest Home Realty.
NO SHOPPING SPREES
Once you've been approved for a home loan, don't go on shopping sprees for other things, said Fred Vaughn, deputy director of East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp., which educates home buyers through its Center for Homeownership.
LOAN TIPS
Here are suggestions to protect yourself from predatory lenders:
RED FLAGS
Here are some possible red flags to watch for in the good faith estimate: Prepayment penalties (a fee if you want to pay off your loan early or refinance later).
Balloon payments (low payments in the beginning that later skyrocket).
Offers of credit life (which will pay off your house if you die) — there are other financial instruments, such as standard life insurance, that can help protect you in the event one of the owners dies; those are not rolled into the cost of the loan.
GLOSSARY FOR HOME BUYERS
Types of lenders: Traditional bank. Savings bank.
