Factors that used to matter in getting a mortgage matter even more today and can stop you from qualifying for the all important home loan when it comes to buying a home if you can’t just pay cash for it.

The items most likely to stop your from qualifying for a mortgage – even for a VA home purchase – include: a low credit score, little or no down payment, lot’s of debt, and not enough income to cover your mortgage payment for the home you want to purchase. That’s the ugly. Now for the good: you can impact or change everyone of these factors thus paying your way to owning a home.

Let’s start with a low credit score: for most loan programs credit scores below 580 are pretty much unavailable. You will need a very compelling story to get a loan with scores less than 580. However, the more accepted minimum score cutoff is 620. Below 620 it will take using either a FHA or a VA home purchase program. Forget about using a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan to buy a home with credit scores lower than around 660. The good news however, is that there plenty of ways to increase your credit scores.

Next, little or no down payment: in the case where you have no down payment then you will either need down payment assistance or you’ll need to use a VA loan or a USDA loan. If you have little down payment you’ll need to look at down payment assistance and the FHA loan program. You may also look at the Homepath Mortgage program which for qualified borrowers allows you to purchase a home with next to nothing out of your pocket.

The third factor that can stop you from buying a home is having a lot of debt. A lot of debt will affect your credit scores (in many cases) as well as whittle into your allowable debt to income ratios. With more outbound debt payments like credit cards and auto loans the less of a home your qualify for if you are blessed with an equally hefty monthly income check. You may have to pay off some of your debt in order to qualify for the home you want.

Finally, the last factor that can keep you from buying a home is related to number three and that is not having enough income to purchase the home you want. This factor should be pretty easy to understand – less money coming in means less money you can spend on a home. When it comes to your income you have two choices – either get a newer higher paying job or lower your home price expectations.

Like we pointed out in the beginning, these factors are the most common stoppers for people for buying a home, but the good is that they are each managable by the person trying to buy a home.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying a home, especially if you are a first time home buyer. I’m not going to bore you with the typical stuff about how much monthly debt you have, what your credit report says, or a VA hybrid arm and other loan program details. I’ll leave that to all the other blog posts and articles out there in the blogosphere. What I am going to cover are some other considerations to help you completely analyze what you can afford if you plan to get a mortgage to help you buy a house.

Depending on where you live you need to take into consideration your utility bill. If you are moving from a rental situation where you didn’t pay rent you will need to look at the monthly utilities bills of your new place. You should also take a look at the age of the heating and air conditioning unit of the place you are looking to buy. One thing you don’t want to do is buy a place that needs an upgrade shortly after you move in.

Commute time is another item to consider as you decide on where to buy a house. Finding the right place in the suburbs is one thing but are you ready for the extra time you may have to spend driving to and from work and the cost of gasoline? My advice, pay attention to what your costs will do based on where you are looking to live – it could make a difference of several hundred dollars a month.

Buying a home that needs work, even the slightest project, could cause expenses way beyond what you were originally expecting. With the extra expense you could be stuck with either a crimp in your budget, or stuck with an unfinished house. Make sure if you are going to take a house that needs some improvements that you have the financial backing to finish the job.

The last, but not the “last” item to consider, in buying a home is all the extra utilities you may have to pay if you move to a home versus an apartment. Extra expenses include utilities, garbage pickup, recycle pickup, water, sewage, perhaps landscaping, and house maintenance items like windows and paint.

If you want to take into consideration these items you should talk to a local real estate agent – like us. Much of this information is readily available to real estate agents through the Multiple Listing Service – all you have to do is ask for it.

With these items in mind, you may consider buying a slightly less expensive house to give yourself room for some of these unexpected costs.

In this turbulent economy, stable employment has become a luxury. Specifically in Arizona, where the unemployment rate is amongst the highest in the nation at 9.5%, these are truly hard times – but not hopeless. Here is a quick look at 10 of Arizona’s top employers that are currently offering a wide range of employment opportunities for a wide range of people.

1. Jawa is a software and media company based in Arizona; founded in 2005. They develop cutting-edge software and interactive media solutions that enable people to stay connected at home or on the go to real-time information, interactive entertainment and personal networks via their desktop computers and mobile phones.

They are one of the top employers in Arizona and have a number of job opportunities with full benefits available including Director of Paid Search (100k), Systems Analyst, Flash Software Engineer, QA Tester, Senior Software Engineer, etc.

With an outstanding company culture and kind employee benefits, these techy job opps are some of the best around.

2. Banner Health As Arizona’s second biggest employer, Banner Health offers an ever-expanding selection of job opportunities in the healthcare industry. Founded in Phoenix in 1911, this company has deep roots in the many Arizona communities. By simply browsing the employment section of their website, one is sure to find their niche within the 200,000 person organization.

3. Bashas’ Supermarkets Based in Chandler, AZ, and stationed in many other Arizona metropolitan areas, Basha’s Supermarkets is the seventh biggest employer in Arizona and still growing. Founded in 1932, Bashas’ regional retail grocery company proudly offers a wide variety of positions that are both challenging and rewarding – from entry level to management.

4. Avnet Inc. Avnet Inc is a worldwide leader in the distribution of electronic components and computer products. Based in Phoenix, they are amongst the largest employers in the state of Arizona and are therefore constantly seeking qualified individuals to help them grow their arsenal in both the marketing and service arenas that make up the distribution business.

5. CIGNA Healthcare Arizona based CIGNA Healthcare is a local company that is known for its employee benefits; committed to developing talent and rewarding accomplishment within their workforce. As their operations grow they are searching for the finest and brightest – energized, hard-working and goal-oriented professionals for hire.

6. Empire Southwest LLC Based in Mesa, Empire Southwest is a prominent heavy equipment company that ranks amongst Arizona’s top employers. With many openings for experienced mechanics, they pay top dollar for top performers.

7. Scottsdale Healthcare As another cornerstone in Arizona’s healthcare community, Scottsdale Healthcare was founded in 1962 and is always seeking new team members to join their organization – they offer a variety of exciting opportunities.

8. Intel Corp. Though Intel is a worldwide corporation, based out of California, they are Arizona’s a fifth largest employer and growing rapidly. As manufacturers of semi-conductors since 1968, they already employ about 11,000 people in Arizona but they’re always looking to add more local talent. In fact, the Career and Jobs section of their website offers a wide-range of possibilities to be explored.

9. Advance Security Phoenix-based company, Advance Security, is seeking security guards to work holiday shifts! As long as you’re 18 or older, have a valid AZ DPS Security Guard Card and are willing to work without shift restrictions, Advance Security should be able to keep you employed during this holiday season.

10. Roehl Transport Based in Vail, AZ and servicing much of the West Coast, Roehl Transport is currently hiring flatbed drivers for positions in their Flatbed Western Regional Fleet. If you have a Class A Commercial Driver’s License and a minimum of 60,000 OTR flatbed miles, you are an eligible applicant – you may even qualify for their $1,500 sign-on bonus for experienced flatbed drivers.

The future is here…  You can view property listings on your Smart Phone now. QR Codes are now available too help sell your listings.  A QR codes  look like a bar code.  These codes are on real estate signs and other real estate advertising sites now. The QR code will allow your Smart phone or other device with mobile scanning ability to gather the listing details as well as photo’s of the property.  With this technology, no more paper flyer’s to mess with.

www.homesweetaz.com QR code

A QR Code is a matrix bar code (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera, and smart phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.

Another term to describe a QR Code (short for Quick Response Code) is just like a bar code but is used by an owner of a smart phone. People with iPhones, Androids, Blackberry’s and others can quickly scan the QR Code by using their built in camera and a program on the phone called a QR Reader, which is FREE.  When the code  is scanned, the user is taken to a Mobile Single Listing website with photos and features about that property and information to contact the Agent marketing the property.  All of the necessary detail and pictures are their to view.

Real Estate professionals currently have access to these codes.  In the very near future, you will start to see more of these codes in various locations to advertise both their home listings and there websites.  It’s simple to do:

To view a mobile Listing or Agent Site requires downloading a FREE QR code reader App for your Smart phone. The Free QR reader APP we tested is ScanLife. ScanLife works well on all popular Smart Phones (or you can Google “Free QR scanners for your Phone model”.  Other sites are out there, Click here to see free downloads.

Once you load the application, all you do is click on the camera icon and focus and click… Once that’s done, just wait and you will see the listing details along with all of the photos that have been saved on the listing site.

We have started this with our current listings and the seller’s are excited for this new feature to help sell their homes.  The time is now for home buyers to learn this new technology to help in the home buying process.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call.  It’s simple and it does work.  We wish you the best of luck in your home buying experience.  The future is here… I think that you will like it.

No matter whether you are using Veteran Loans, FHA loans or  conventional mortgage programs to buy your first home you can use these real estate home buying tips to guide your journey and keep you from making significant and costly mistakes.

Buying real estate takes a keen eye, a good mortgage loan officer, a great real estate agent, and following your gut. Always keep in mind, if it doesn’t feel right, either don’t do it or keep asking questions until you get the answers you need to feel comfortable about your choices.

Mesa AZ First Time Home Buying Tips

• Get pre-approved first. Get your financing questions answered first before you start looking at homes. Programs and qualifications make a huge difference on what you can buy so don’t be led down the wrong path only to be disappointed later.

• See multiple homes. Even if you find the perfect home, or what you think is the perfect home first make sure you visit at least 5 or more homes. Keep the faith that the right home will be there for you when you have looked at enough homes. Forcing something has a way of coming around later to bite you. Other homes may have features that you haven’t thought of so seeing some other options may make all the difference in getting you into the right home for you.

• Work with the right agent – yes we prefer you work with us. You may need to interview a few agents to find the right one. Even if you were referred to an agent by your mom, make sure you check out a few agents. You aren’t looking for a new friend, you are looking for someone who connects with you and that you get along with. Buying a home is a journey and you want to make sure your agent is a good fit and is someone you want to make the trip with.

• Get an inspection. Don’t skimp on getting a home inspection and even paying for an extra appraisal if you need to. You may even want to pay for a specialty inspection for something like the roof or the heating and air conditioning units. Making sure the home that you want to purchase is in tip top shape, or that there are no surprises is imperative for getting you set up in the best possible situation moving forward. The last thing you want to do is to have the heating unit go out 6 months after you bought the place when you could have prevented it.

• Imagine the property vacant. Remember that the homes that you are looking at have probably been staged or at least in the best presentation condition possible. You want to imagine your furniture – your stuff – in the home. Does it work, or are you prepared to get new stuff to match the house when you move in?

• Ask questions. This is very important. Do you have questions about the condition of the home, the crime rates in the neighborhood, how many homes around are rented versus owner occupied? Make sure you ask about the appliances – do they stay or will you have to buy a new stove the day you move in? The more questions you ask the less surprises you’ll experience later.

Get it in writing. Keep this motto in mind: “if it isn’t written down then it doesn’t exist.”

So you have decided to throw your hat into the ring and become a first time home buyer here in Arizona. If this is you, we’d like to offer a few things you should do to get the ball rolling.

First of all, speak to a loan officer to see what kind of mortgage program you can qualify for. If you are a Vet, you may want to consider looking into low va rates at a national lender (or by speaking to a local mortgage connection that we can connect you with). Our recommendation is that you speak to at least three loan officers so you can get enough information to compare rates and programs. If you are not a Vet – FHA homes loans are great for first time buyers as well as USDA loans if you want to live in the rural areas that surround the Phoenix metro area.

Next, as you find yourself with a direction for your financing and you locate a home to meet your needs – you may want to consider having a title search done on any property that you want to make a purchase offer on. You can never tell for sure what kinds of liens are on the homes in the Phoenix area – especially with all of the credit and debt problems we have had over the past few years. Knowing what is on title may make a difference in the offer that we make.

Make sure you ask questions – not only of us but of your financing person and of the listing agent. The wrong time to ask a new question is when it is time to sign on the dotted line. You could be in for a real disappointment if you don’t check under all the “rocks”. Things like utility providers, zoning restrictions, right of ways, HOA requirements, historical utility bills are all open for discussion and can make be a deal maker or breaker.

Finally, if you are considering a home, you may even want to have a home inspection done ahead of time before you put in an offer and tie up your money or have to include extra contingency clauses. By knowing up front that the home inspection says you can write a much stronger offer. You may even ask to see if the seller had their own inspection conducted – it might be possible to compare the two reports to look for any inconsistencies.

Home inspections are a great idea in today’s housing market – so many homes have been suffered that you just never know what kind of home you are getting yourself into without having some professionals inspect it on your behalf. Believe us – a few due diligence dollars spent up front may make a world of difference in terms of time and money for you.

Okay, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it is enough for this post. Stay tuned for more home buying updates in the future.

One of the best things I think parents can do is to teach their kids about saving money. I was never any good about it when I was growing up. In fact I don’t remember having too many talks with my parents about the importance of saving money. One simple way for our kids to get started with saving money – especially the ones that are in high school and have jobs – is starting a Roth IRA.

Starting a Roth IRA may seem like a grownup thing to do, but in fact the tax laws are set up such that as long as you have an income you can start an IRA. There are several important reasons to get going on a Roth IRA – some more obvious than others. Below we’ll briefly summarize some of the reasons.

The first one is rather obvious – the future. With starting a Roth IRA in high school or as an early adult a kid can set aside a small bundle of cash for the future that will have a long time to compound and grow.

Second, having an account to put money into can teach and train kids about discipline in paying into a savings plan is as important as paying bills.

Third, having a Roth IRA with money in it can prove beneficial as a source of tax free and penalty money in certain instances like buying a home as a first time home buyer. There are a quite a few situations where having a IRA versus a 401K where you get better benefits in accessing your money.

Homebuying in the future will most certainly require some type of down payment. Having a nest egg of essentially tax free money to draw from for a down payment may make all the difference in world for buying your first home.

One recommendation about starting an IRA is to speak to a financial planner for guidance to make sure it is what you want.

This age old adage comes up most any time someone talks about buying or selling there home.  No matter what state one lives,  the location of your home is paramount to the resale of your existing home.  One thing that one must always remember in purchasing a home, you make your money when you purchase the home, not when you sell it.  Always remember, Location, Location, Location in any home purchase.

First and foremost, as a home buyer, your only opportunity to have a choice in location is at the time of purchase. As obvious as this fact is, it is forgotten or ignored by the average home buyer way too often. Buying any property be it either real or commercial.  If the property is  not well located for its purpose, it is a mistake that usually manifests itself at the time of sale.  You need to educate yourself prior to any home purchase.

• Remember, at the time of sale, location cannot be affected by the seller except as a function of price. As an example, a certain style and model of a house will sell for 5% to 10% more in the interior of a subdivision that the same style and model located at the edge of the same subdivision backing to a 4 lane highway. So why do consumers buy the house backing to the highway?

• As in many purchases, emotions play a large role, especially a house that will become a home. Builders will generally maximize the financial benefit of developing a division of land by building as many homes as possible on that land, building on the lots backing to that highway. This is done for reasons of profit, and is not inherently good or bad. There is no good reason why a consumer should buy a house that is located next to our proverbial highway, but many consumers do just that. They do so often because of poor or no advice. It is very important to have the services of an experienced professional real estate agent to provide guidance when purchasing any home, but most especially a new builder home.  All of the builder incentives in the world will not make up for that poor location when it comes time to sell.

• The home market has price fluctuations just as any market. The poorly located home purchased at the height of a market can become a nightmare when trying to sell at the bottom of the market or anytime.
• A consumer should always perform an independent investigation of any undeveloped land in close proximity to their “dream” house. Do not rely on anyone’s statements regarding future land use. Due diligence performed by the buyer with school districts and other governmental entities will provide great peace of mind as the decision to purchase is considered.  It is your responsibility to complete the research on what or where one purchases this home.  You are the one at risk and will do the best job in this research.  Don’t count on family or friends in this decision.  Do it yourself for best results with the aid and support of you professional real estate agent.  Always consider what is provided by your local government.  Such as services, water sources, transportation corridors, shopping locations, schools and houses of worship when buying.   Check out any zoning changes for the area as a new shopping center or highway could go up after purchasing this dream home.  Although these items may not be important to you when you purchase,  they will almost always be important to the future buyer of your home.

Remember, the only time that a home buyer has influence on the location issue is at time of purchase.  Due your due diligence before you purchase the most expensive purchase of your life.  Contact your real estate professional for help in making these decisions.

As we start working with you to buy a home in Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa, or Chandler we recommend that you get familiar with the different types of mortgage programs that are available. We work with highly skilled loan officers from locally based Arizona mortgage companies.

Mortgage financing requires competent and skilled loan officers – we know and work with some of the best. Just let us know that you want to talk to a loan officer and we’ll get you several names.

If you do not have enough money to buy a house in Arizona then you will need a mortgage. The legal document that your mortgage lender records on your home’s deed is called a mortgage. The mortgage, including the mortgage note, are the most important documents you get from your mortgage lender when you buy your home as they spell out the terms that you agree to follow while you have your mortgage.

Below are the key components of a mortgage in Arizona:

• the amount of money the lender is loaning to you,
• your interest rate,
• is your mortgage fixed or adjustable,
• how long will you be paying on your mortgage,
• when is your mortgage payment due,
• the mortgage bank’s alternatives if you stop making your mortgage payment, and
• what are your options if you fall behind on your mortgage payments.

The key to having a good relationship with your mortgage company is to touch base with your mortgage lender if you are going to be late with your monthly payment and follow what your mortgage documents stipulate.

Below you can find a list of home loan programs for buying a house:

• Fixed rate mortgage – The fixed rate home loan is the most prevalent home loan because the rate of interest is fixed for the term of the loan. Fixed rate mortgages can range from 10-40 years. Because the interest rate remains fixed for the whole term of the mortgage the fixed rate mortgage is the most conservative mortgage of all the home loan programs.

• Interest only home loans – The interest only mortgage offers a fixed rate of interest for the life of the mortgage with a period of time where you only have to pay the interest payment every month. If you want the most conservative mortgage program then the interest only home loan is probably not for you. Of all the interest only mortgages, the 10 year interest only mortgage is the most popular.

• Adjustable rate mortgage – ARM – Due to the nature of the ARM, you may want to consider this home mortgage program if you only plan to live in your home a few years. The most common adjustable rate mortgage mortgage is the 5 year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). All ARMs have a fixed rate period and an adjustable rate period. The ARM is the most risky mortgage program because at the end of the fixed interest rate period you could be faced with a mortgage you cannot afford if you cannot get rid of the mortgage and the interest rates go up a lot.