Business, economic development - the unofficial Chamber of Commerce

One of America’s billionaires was recently asked the questions, “How do you do it?
What is your number one wealth building secret?” Without even one second of hesitation he replied, “find what it is that people need the most, and give it to them.”

Remember taht statement. — Give it to them.

There are literally hundreds of different ways to acquire real estate. In future articles, I will be sharing some of the many different innovative techniques used in creative real estate financing.
In this article, were going to explore a very useful and profitable creative real estate financing technique commonly called Lease Purchase Options.
For ease of explanation, we will refer to Lease Purchase Options as Lease Purchase.

What exactly is a Lease Purchase?

A Lease Purchase is a process where a rental agreement is combined with a purchase or an option contract. Price, length of contract, escrow instructions, rent
credit and other pertinent terms are all negotiated in advance. This allows the tenant/buyer to have a defined percentage or dollar amount to be credited to a
down payment or off of the total purchase price of the property when a payment is made.

First and foremost, you must know what needs, wants, and desires the “right” property will fulfill. It is obvious that those needs, wants, and desires will be
the requirements of someone. That someone is the investor. It is the investor who establishes the value of any piece of property in the marketplace by his or
her requirements.

A real estate investor always has only two considerations. Those two things are:

1. A return on investment or Profit. (also known as ROI)

2. A return of investment or Security.

Remember that no matter what the circumstances are surrounding an investment, these two considerations are always the same: some form of profit (i.e. dollars, property exchange or other goods and services, tax savings, personal use) and security, or an assurance that the original investment will remain intact and can be recovered.

The Lease Purchase, (also known as a lease option), has everything an investor needs to make a profitable investment in real estate. Utilizing small down payments of 1% to 2%, an investor can control properties that would usually require 10% to 30% down, without ever having to see a lender or go through the loan application process.

There are three different ways a good deal can generate profits.

1. Cash upfront with option consideration

2. Cash monthly in the form of rent

3. Cash at closing or a note

Other options involve “flipping” of the optioned property to a third party or just acting as a consultant for the buyer and seller, retaining a portion of the option agreement.
Controlling properties by creating a lease purchase option is, by far, the best way to be involved in controlling homes and obtaining great cash flow, high profits and minimum risk. Lease Purchase may be the best way to create a quick cash flow for the first time homeowner or even the seasoned investor.

The key ingredients in putting together a profitable Lease Option are:

1. Finding a motivated seller

2. Determining what his Needs and Wants are and creating a
win/win situation.

3. Finding a tenant/buyer

Question: Where do I find a Motivated Seller?
Good question.

Remember a motivated sellers’ number one objective is to get rid of their property - as soon as possible. A sellers’ motivation can come from many different situations:

• Relocation - job transfers

• Financial difficulties

• Death/divorce

• Tennant problems

• Change in family size

• Building a new home

You need to determine what the sellers’ motivation is once you contact them. Often a seller is facing financial difficulties and at other times it’s just that he no longer wants to be bothered with the property because he now has other interests.
Our first priority then in talking with the individual initially is to determine Wants versus Needs. Most motivated sellers fall in the Need category. Their situation may not be negative. In the above list there are some items that are very positive for the seller. But still it remains, that this property is no longer needed for whatever reason(s).

You can find these deals:

• Looking in classified ads - “Homes for rent or lease” or “For sale by Owner” ads. You can ask if they would be interested in giving an option to buy
their property if you lease it from them.

• Distributing flyers and/or mailers stating, ” I can buy or lease your home” or “I can buy or lease your home in 24 hours! Any size, any condition, any
location. Call (your name) (000) 123-4567

• Running an ad in your local paper stating you are looking to lease a home. You can ask if they would consider an option after the owner contacts you.)

Question: Where do I find tenant buyers?

Your tenant/buyer is someone who desperately wants his or her own home, but for one reason or another, getting bank financing will not work for them at the present time. They either have credit problems, don’t have the large down payment necessary to qualify or they don’t have a high enough income. - You have the ability to give this person an opportunity to realize their dreams.

• Run an ad such as this: “Rent to Own. If you can rent you can own! Stop paying off your landlords’ mortgage! You can rent to own your own home
even with poor credit! Call (your name) (000) 123-4567

• Send mailers to occupants in neighboring apartment complexes asking if they’re tired of renting and if they would like to own their own homes.

Some benefits of a lease option for the Investor are:

1. You now control another persons’ asset. You’re in a position to make money on a property you don’t even own.

2. Provides a positive cash flow opportunity.

3. You have no closing costs.

4. A Lease/Option agreement is a unilateral contract - the seller must perform. You are not bound in any way. If the property should depreciate in value or some other catastrophic event occur, you can simply walk away.

5. You don’t have tax or insurance costs.

6. You are buying the property tomorrow at today’s prices.

7. Little or no money needed up front.

8. Very little management needed. Tenant/buyers take much pride in the property and therefore tend to keep it up and even improve upon it. That’s because they have an interest in owning it - not just renting it.

About the Author
Rodney Brooks is President and CEO of Brooks Enterprises.
Brooks Enterprises is headquartered in Bridgeton, New Jersey.
Rodney can be reached by email at: brooksglobal@yahoo.com
For more information on the Brooks Global Financial Network, visit our blog at: http://brooksglobal.blogspot.com

All loan officers will tell you that theire company’s the best and provide you with a list of reasons to back up their claim. But if you run into the same loan officer years later, chances are good that he not only but works for a different kind of lender, he’ll tell you the new lender he works for is much better - and offer another list of reasons why.

In the past, most people went to portfolio lenders because they excelled at closing deals. Over time, however, mortgage bankers and brokers have become more important, and agents have gone along with the changing trend. Usually a realtor will direct you to a loan officer who has a demonstrated track record of service and reliability, but sometimes a realtor will recommend a loan officer who works for a lender with whom the realtor is affiliated.

Sometimes it’s more important to choose a good loan officer than a loan company. A loan officer has two very important functions - they serves as your advocate in getting the loan approved, handling all the negotiations for you. Their second function is to deliver quality loans, so you need an agent who’s dependable and ethical.

As for lending institutions, each type of lender has its own strengths and weaknesses. Quality varies within each branch office depending on the loan officer, the support staff and other factors.

Different types of Mortgage Lenders

• Mortgage Bankers

A mortgage banker is a lender with enough assets to originate individual loans, as well as to create pools of loans that they sell to loan investors. Any company that does this, no matter how small or large the company, is considered a mortgage banker. Some service the loans they provide, but not all of them do.

• Mortgage Brokers

Mortgage brokers are companies that originate loans for the purpose of re-selling them to other lending institutions. The broker establishes relationships with various companies. Many mortgage brokers that also act as correspondents, which is how they can be mortgage bankers as well as mortgage brokers. Mortgage brokers also deal with lending institutions that have wholesale loan departments.

• Wholesale Lenders

Portfolio lenders and mortgage bankers act as wholesale lenders, serving mortgage brokers for loan origination. In fact, some wholesale lenders don’t even have their own retail branches, relying mainly on mortgage brokers for their loans.

• Portfolio Lenders

A portfolio lender is an institution that lends its own money and originates loans for itself. They’re lending for their own portfolio of loans and aren’t concerned about re-selling them right away. Portfolio lenders are usually large banks or savings and loans.

• Direct Lenders

Direct lenders fund their own loans and can be small or large lenders. Large banks and savings and loans, as well as smaller institutions, have “warehouse” lines of credit from which to draw money for funding the loans they give. Direct lenders are generally (but not always) portfolio lenders or mortgage bankers.

Banks and savings and loan have deposits with which to fund loans, but usually use warehouse lines of credit instead. Smaller institutions also have warehouse lines of credit for the purpose of funding loans. Direct lenders are usually, but not always, mortgage bankers or portfolio lenders.

• Correspondents

“Correspondent” refers to a company that handles home loans in its own name; then they sell those loans individually to a larger lender, or “sponsor.” The sponsor serves as the mortgage banker, reselling the loan.

• Bank and Savings & Loans

Both savings and loans and banks usually operate as mortgage bankers and/or portfolio lenders.

• Credit Unions

Credit unions are generally correspondents, although if a credit union were large enough, it could be a portfolio lender and/or mortgage banker, too.

Stu Pearson has an interest in Business and Finance related topics. To access more information on mortgage houston or on houston mortgage loan, please click on the links.

If you play your cards right, you can make a killing with Interest Only Mortgage. Know the facts before you invest on this type of mortgage. Actually, Interest Only Mortgage is a little bit of a misnomer. This mortgage is not another type of mortgage. It is more an option on your mortgage. That means any borrower can get this option on their mortgage.

Forecasting the Interest Rates

It is hard to predict how the interest rate decreases or increases in the future. Interest Rates depend on many factors. Look for trends. If you think the interest rate will decrease, you may want to hold off Interest Only Mortgage to purchase a home.

Value of Property

Interest Only Mortgage can be profitable when you sold the property at a higher price. Property Development, Special Events, and Excellent Location increases value of property over time. Watch out for property development on the area such as shopping mall, more buildings, and theme parks. Look for special events such as winter Olympics, summer Olympics, or so. Also, the downtown area is bound to increase in value. It is not advisable to invest on property when the value is going down. In case, the value of property goes down. Be patient. Wait for the value to go up.

Zero Equity

Bear in mind that the principal stays the same in Interest Only Mortgage. Your income depends on how much you sell the property, and what you did with the savings. Instead, you can invest the savings on improvement of your property and mutual funds of your choice.

Nothing last forever

Your mortgage lender will ask you to repay the principal over time. Be aware how long you can stay on interest only mortgage. So, you can make arrangements when you sell the property.

Dennis Estrada is a webmaster of mortgage calculators
which calculate the monthly payment, bi-weekly payment, affordability, refinance, annual percentage rate, discount points, and more.

Everything!

Most everyone is familiar with open houses held by real estate agents. If you live in a fairly urbanized area, canvassing your neighborhood on any weekend and chances are you’ll find at least one open house somewhere in your neighborhood.

What is the purpose of the open house? And did you ever wonder why some real estate agents always try to get your name and contact information when you attend their open house? Take this little quiz and see if you understand the purpose of the open house.

A real estate agent hold an open house to:
a) Have a party in the neighborhood.
b) Give out candies and cookies just to be friendly.
c) To socialize and “get to know” the neighbors.
d) To collect names and contact information of all visitors so he can follow up later on to sell them homes.

If you answered (d), you are absolutely correct. Most people who come to an open house do not buy on their first visit. Nevertheless, a good agent will collect all names and contact information of his visitors during an open house. The agent usually has some incentive for the exchange of these names and contact info. He might give away a homebuyer’s magazine, a magnetic calendar, or offering a free market analysis of a visitor’s home.

Why would the agent want to collect their names and phone numbers? Because he/she can follow up with these visitors down the road and try to sell them later on. He might have to keep in touch with his visitors over a period of time, but the end result is worth it. Statistically, some will end up buying or selling from the agent. The key to receiving big commission checks month after month is building a pipeline of prospects (database) by collecting all names and phone numbers of all the visitors who come to the open house.

In the virtual estate world there is no difference. Most people who come to your site the first time will not buy. A small number of people will buy on their first visit, but this is an exception, not the rule. Research shows that it takes an average of seven contacts before someone will buy a product or service. During this time it is all about building trust. It is true – people do business with those they trust. The first key to building trust is simply asking for your prospect’s name and email address.

So what’s the best way to get surfers to give you their email addresses? Simple – set up an autoresponder account. An autoresponder captures a visitor’s name and email address and is usually managed by a third party server (you can also surf the net to find some autoresponder scripts that you can install and manage it yourself directly on to your site, but this is not recommended.)

Wanna make it enticing for your visitors to submit their email addresses? Give away something valuable such as a free report, ebook, or even a mini ecourse that is relevant to the product or service you’re trying to sell.

Like a good real estate agent does to his list of potential clients, you can follow up and start building trust with your visitors. A mini ecourse is an excellent way to do this. You can set up your autoresponder to systematically send to your list periodically (i.e., one lesson every 3 days). Eventually, some will buy. If your free offer is compelling enough, it is not hard to get a 10% subscription conversion from your visitors. Let’s say there are 100 visitors who come to your site every day, 10 will sign up in exchange for the freebies. At this rate in one year you will have a total of 3600 email addresses in your database. You can then market to your list any way you want. You can send an eblast to all, or your preferred customers only with a special offer of a new product (a sequel?). You can also do any backend marketing that relates to the initial product. You can also do affiliate marketing by other internet marketers.

To look at the potential kind of money you can make, let’s say that you send out an e-blast to your list announcing a new product and the product is worth $97, but because of the special promotion, it’ll be $57 for a limited time. Assuming that 4% will convert into buyers, 144 will buy (3600 x .04 = 144). This will net you $8208 (144 x 57 = 8208), not a bad salary for just “broadcasting” to your list. Of course, this is not the end. You can make money again and again by offering other products, not necessary your own.

To recap, making money in the virtual world isn’t rocket science. A good internet marketer’s first and foremost important task is similar to that of a good real estate agent – capturing his or her visitors’ names and contact info. When all else fails, remember rule number one: ALWAYS have a tool to capture email addresses. In fact this is so important I’m gonna have to make it a mantra for you. Please repeat after me:

• I SHALL ALWAYS CAPTURE ALL MY VISITORS’ EMAIL ADDRESSES.
• I SHALL ALWAYS CAPTURE ALL MY PROSPECTS’ EMAIL ADDRESSES.
• I SHALL ALWAYS CAPTURE ALL MY PROSPECTS’ EMAIL ADDRESSES.

Got it! Good.

Create a wonderful day,

Alex Nguyen

Author’s bio:
Alex is a real estate agent who has a voracious appetite for online business and marketing. When he’s not helping his clients buy or sell homes or looking for ways to help others succeed online, he enjoys a relaxing day at the beach, or a hike in the mountain. Find out more about how you too can finally succeed online… for FREE, go to www.makemoneyvirtually.com.

Many seniors want to enjoy their golden years, but are unable to find a way to increase their monthly income or decrease enough of their monthly expenditures in order to retire at an age that will afford them the opportunity to do so. One way to circumvent this problem is through obtaining a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage enables homeowners older than sixty two years of age to convert the equity in their homes into tax-free income while they continue to reside at their property. Instead of making monthly payments as with a traditional mortgage, seniors who hold a reverse mortgage are compensated now for the current value of their property.

But how do you decide if a reverse mortgage is right for you?
Reverse mortgages are an excellent option for many, but take careful planning and consideration. Since the pay out terms can be structured in a variety of ways, including various pay out term periods, lines of credit or both, it is essential to look at the amount you are able to get for your home in the context of your long term financial needs. Of course, there are no restrictions on the use of funds, meaning you can do anything you like with the proceeds of a reverse mortgage, including renovating your home.

Reverse mortgages won’t affect regular Social Security or Medicare benefits but can affect Medicaid eligibility in some instances. Counseling is a mandatory for those who wish to apply for a reverse mortgage, and a government sponsored lending agency counselor can answer all your questions related to benefit reductions that may apply.

Reverse mortgages can be a very effective method of supplementing your post retirement income, provided you are aware of how proper pay out structuring can positively affect your long term financial picture. The best way to decide whether a reverse mortgage is right for you is simply to view all the information available in order to make an informed decision. For those who have paid the majority or their entire home, their post retirement lifestyle need not be hampered by a lack of cash flow.

To find out more about Reverse Mortgages or to apply visit www.libertyreversemortgageadvisors.com/

Purchasing a home can be a complicated and confusing process, especially for first-time buyers. Throughout the process, first-time home buyers will encounter a variety of unfamiliar real state terms. There are several key terms associates with purchasing real estate that are helpful to learn.

For example, many buyers confuse the terms broker and salesperson. A broker is a properly licensed individual, or corporation, who serves as a special agent in the purchase and sale of real estate, a salesperson is an individual employed or associated by written agreement by the broker as an independent contractor. The salesperson facilitates the purchase or sale of real estate.

Once you decide to purchase, a salesperson will prepare a sales contract to present to the seller along with your earnest money deposit. The sales contract is the document through which the seller agrees to give possession and title of property to the buyer upon full payment of the purchase price and performance of agreed-upon conditions. The earnest money is a buyer’s partial payment, as a show of good faith, to make the contract binding. Often, the earnest money is held in an escrow account. Escrow is the process by which money is held by a disinterested party until the terms of the escrow instructions are fulfilled.

After the buyer and seller have signed the contract, the buyer must obtain a mortgage note by presenting the contract to a mortgage lender. The note is the buyer’s promise to pay the purchase price of the real estate in addition to a stated interest rate over a specified period of time. A mortgage lender places a lien on the property, or mortgage, and this secures the mortgage note.

The buyer pays interest money to the lender exchange for the use of money borrowed. Interest is usually referred to as APR or annual percentage rate. Interest is paid on the principle, the capital sum the buyer owes. Interest payments may be disguised in the form of points. Points are an up-front cost which may be paid by either the buyer or seller or both in conventional loans.

In general, there are two types of conventional loans that a buyer can obtain. A fixed rate loan has the same rate of interest for the life of the loan, usually 14 to 30 years. An adjustable rate loan or adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) provides a discounted initial rate, which changes after a set period of time. The rate can’t exceed the interest rate cap or ceiling allowed on such loans for any one adjustment period. Some ARMs have a lifetime cap on interest. The buyer makes the loan and interest payments to the lender through amortization, the systematic payment and retirement of debt over a set period of time.

Once the contract has been signed and a mortgage note obtained, the buyer and seller must legally close the real estate transaction. The closing is a meeting where the buyer, seller and their attorneys review, sign and exchange the final documents. At the closing, the buyer receives the appraisal report, an estimate of the property’s value with the appraiser’s signature, certification and sporting documents. The buyer also receives the title and the deed. The title shows evidence of the buyer’s ownership of the property while the deed legally transfers the title from the seller to the buyer. The final document the buyer receives at closing is a title insurance policy, insurance against the loss of the title if it’s found to be imperfect.

Buyers should plan on a least four to twelve weeks for a typical real estate transaction. The process is difficult and at times, intimidating. A general understanding of real estate terminology and chronology of the transaction, however, will help any real estate novice to confidently buy his or her first home.

About The Author

W. Troy Swezey is the author of “UNDERSTANDING REAL ESTATE TERMINOLOGY.” As a Realtor at Century 21 Paul & Associates, he has helped many individuals with their real estate needs. Visit his web site to download his free e-book, “REAL ESTATE SECRETS EXPOSED.” http://www.TroyIsMyRealtor.com or mail to: TroyC21@usa.net

Deciding to sell your home can be exhilarating, confusing, stressful and depressing all at about the same time. Selling it on your own you can double that anxiety unless you have a plan. Help ease some of those reactions by doing your homework before you make that life altering decision to move.

I have spent over 26 years in the real estate industry and for a great deal of that time I helped people sell their own homes commission free even though I was a realtor. Of course I was hoping they would fail and inevitably list their home with me on MLS. That’s the first thing to expect, agents will be calling with phantom buyers. Give yourself time to find them yourself.

Funny thing about real estate, it’s the most expensive investment many people will ever make in a lifetime and everyone thinks they’re an expert in the field because they own a home. This over confidence has humbled many potential for sale by owners.

Most people these days would like to at least try and save the high real estate fees associated with selling through a realtor. In fact nearly 25% of home sellers try to sell privately at least for a couple weeks. Only 5% eventually sell their own homes; a surprisingly pathetic number really.

It shouldn’t be this difficult and it really isn’t. Not today with the power of online marketing. Gaining exposure for your home has never been easier or less expensive. Why pay a realtor to market your home when you can do exactly what they do from your home PC. Of course realtors do more than market your home. They presumably pre-qualify prospects, show the listing to prospects, and advertise on the MLS to other agents and brokers. Not to mention putting the offer to purchase together and negotiating the outcome. WOW, that’s a lot of work and yet you can do ALL of this yourself and save thousands of dollars in the process.

You need professional counsel on the legalities of your sale from your lawyer. You also need to have your home looking top notch and staged so it appeals to the masses. You can find information online for excellent ideas on improving your homes appearance and you will net more profit from the sale as a result. Again after speaking to your lawyer and mortgage lender for legal and mortgage details, everything else can virtually be found on the Internet to make your sale easy.

Let’s talk about marketing your home and attracting buyers. These days you definitely need to have an online presence since most people start their search here. Depending on the value of your home and assuming you’ve set your price you’ll need to decide on who would be your target market. If you’re selling an average size, affordable family home than your prospect pool should be larger. This means local traffic from local advertising.

If you aren’t prepared to spend some money to sell privately you should go to a realtor straight away. You’ll need a professional sign made, advertising in the newspaper, some cosmetic home improvements (don’t go overboard) and you’ll need that online exposure that is so important.

There are plenty of websites out there that advertise homes privately but you want to make sure you are targeting local viewers to your online listing. Make sure that the website you list your home on has a local web portal for your area. This means buyers are more likely to find you’re listing in the search engines when someone enters Yourtown+homes+for+sale their search results will be targeted to your local market making it easier for them to find your listing. It’s even better if the website publisher takes the time to optimize your listing for the search engines.

The good real estate websites are the ones that make it easy for you to present your home to quality buyers, supply you with information to assist your sale and offer you the ability to maintain your listing yourself. What an advantage you’ll have if you can keep your listing looking new with fresh photo uploads and the ability to add or delete certain bits of information like price changes and open houses.

Plan carefully and when you think you are ready to move forward with your sale take another hard look at your plan of attack. There’s always something else to consider. By preparing yourself and your home for the sale you’ll be surprised how easy it really is to sell it yourself.

©Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved
Re-print rights approved

Richard Embro-Pantalony has been in the real estate industry for over 26 years. He is the President of http://www.realestatemate.com and http://www.homeheap.com both websites feature For Sale By Owner listings.
He is the author of “How To Sell Your Home Like A Pro”

You may have been looking at the real estate market for some indication as to whether you should buy or sell a home. What should you be looking for?

Recent reports are pretty gloomy. Sales are dropping, rates are rising and the market is slowing down. What does that mean to you?

If you are a seller, it could be that you will have a harder time selling your home. If you are a buyer, you could have more to choose from, but a higher interest rate on your mortgage. If you are in the industry, you could be looking at a potential loss of income due to fewer sales.

If you are smart, you’ll forget the market and look at the area you are looking to purchase or sell in.

Many parts of the U.S. are cooling off. Others are still experiencing booming sales. The market is a never-ending up and down. Your area could be a seller’s market or a buyer’s market.

If you are looking to sell, you can be sure that things aren’t the same as they were when you bought your house. Real estate values have gone up, hopefully. Your neighbors could also have their homes on sale, which means that you aren’t a rare find in housing.

Or you could be in an area where your house will be the most desirable property in town. You never know.

That’s how real estate is. The conditions that make a market good for one party can change overnight. All it takes is a few more houses on the market or less sellers to change a market.

Watch for what is going on in your neighborhood, or the area you want to buy in. Are new families moving in? Are homes selling quickly? Are there only a couple of homes for sale? Are improvements being made? Do you see many people looking at the homes for sale?

If so, then you could have a good chance at selling your home.

No matter what the market is like, there will be a buyer for a home. It just depends on time and price. If you are in a depressed market, you can find that by making your home attractive, you have better chances of selling it. In a hot market, you house sells itself.

If you are looking to buy, you should look at your own finances before you look at the market. Determine how much you can afford to spend on a home. Look at what your budget allows, not to what you can stretch into. In a hot market, you won’t have much bargaining room on the prime homes. In a slow market, you may find that you have increased negotiating power.

No matter what interest rates are, there will be a point in which you can not afford to buy a home. Yes, they are up now, but not so much that buying a home right now is unreasonable. They are still very low when compared to rates from a decade or more ago. They are expected to go up, so don’t think that they will necessarily come back down soon.

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a home, there are many factors to consider. The overall market is interesting, but really won’t impact your home as much as the neighborhood and area market.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

The majority of mortgage lenders are honest lenders that want to help people as they can. There are however, a number of lenders that take advantage of people. These dirty mortgage lenders take advantage of you by overcharging for finance charges, giving you unreasonable terms in your loan contract, and ultimately trying to take your home by foreclosing. Here is what you need to know to spot a dirty mortgage lender.

Predatory mortgage lenders charge borrowers higher fees, give unfavorable terms, and structure loan contracts to make it difficult to keep up on the payments. This results in homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure; the dirty lender makes money by selling off your home. These lenders prey on homeowners that do not know better; it is important to know your rights and to research mortgage lenders before choosing a loan.

Good Mortgage Lenders

A good mortgage lender offers competitive interest rates based on your financial situation. If you have poor credit the lender will discuss your credit with you and explain how your credit affects your loan. Good mortgage lenders charge reasonable fees, have reasonable terms in their contracts, and do not avoid answering your questions.

Predatory Mortgage Lenders

Bad mortgage lenders charge high application fees, higher closing costs, excessive fees for late payments, and have large prepayment penalties in their loan contracts. Mortgage lenders that require you to purchase services or insurance you do not need as a condition of qualifying for financing are engaging in predatory lending practices. If a mortgage lender tries to get you to borrow more than your home is worth or wants you to sign blank or incomplete documents, this is also the sign of a bad lender.

How to Find a Good Lender

The best way to protect yourself from being taken advantage of is to comparison shop from a variety of mortgage lenders and brokers. Comparison shopping will give you a good idea what fair interest rates, terms, and lender fees are. When you compare loan offers you will easily be able to spot the dirty mortgage lenders. To learn more about finding the right mortgage loan for your home and how to avoid common homeowner mistakes, register for a free mortgage guidebook.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below. Louie Latour specializes in showing homeowners how to avoid common mortgage mistakes and predatory lenders. For a free copy of “Mortgage Refinancing: What You Need to Know,” which teaches strategies to find the best mortgage and save thousands of dollars in the process, visit Refiadvisor.com. Claim your free guidebook today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com no doc refinancing

Alabama is undeniably a stereotypical southern state, but the state and real estate market hold undeniable surprises.

Alabama

Alabama is distinctly southern and darn proud of it. If you have a taste for college football, country music and NASCAR, Alabama is a paradise defined. To the surprise of many, Alabama also has a more modern flavor with Huntsville being the home of a major chunk of the U.S. Space Program. For golfers, the collection of golf courses winding through the state, known as the Robert Trent Jones golf trail, make Alabama one of the top golfing destinations in the continental United States. Personally, I prefer the annual iron bowl college football war between the Auburn and Alabama universities, but to each their own…

Huntsville

Home to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville is undoubtedly the pyrotechnic capital of the south. With a distinct southern charm, the city is laid out well with parks, botanical gardens, lake areas and a close proximately to numerous outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking and hunting. While many cities make a haberdash of mixing in the new with the old, Huntsville gets it just right.

Mobile

Pronounced “Moe beel”, Mobile is a busy port city with a little known history. If you’ve ever thought of going to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you’re better off going to Mobile. Yep, the city was the first to celebrate Mardi Gras in the United States and maintains the tradition to this day. In fact, Mobile looks striking like New Orleans, having been established by the French. It is a beautiful southern city, with spring being the best time as a bevy of flowing plants awaken from their winter slumber. The colors and fragrances are simply amazing.

Alabama Real Estate

Alabama real estate prices are very reasonable when compared to the rest of the country. Throughout the state, an average home will run you $200,000 or less. The appreciation rate is a little low, but still a respectable 7.5 percent for 2005.

Raynor James is with the site FSBO America - homes for sale by owner. Visit our home buying page to see homes and read relocation articles.