Back to Basic's

Maui Real Estate For Sale


Back To Basic Home Buying Skills
Lenders tightening their purse strings are sending a signal to potential home buyers to do the same.
There's really little choice.
Just as lenders make certain mortgage applicants are gainfully employed, are sure they can actually afford to pay the mortgage during it's full term, and carefully document that buyers have the cash to cover additional costs that come with home ownership, potential home buyers need to get their financial house in order as well.
If people were more responsible for their own financial behavior, that would have taken the power away from the people who put them in risky loans. The reason for all the creative financing was because people didn't want to do the work.
This involves hard financial work and sacrifices many households have long avoided.
As a carrot, keep in mind, the benefits of owning your own home, likely to be your most valuable asset, far outweigh any passing pain you may endure to achieve that goal.
Here's how to prepare for what's become a more difficult home buying ordeal.
Set A Tight Budget.
You need to know all sources of every penny and you need to know where every penny goes. You can't know where you can cut costs until you know in detail what those costs are.
Offering a budget template, the Better Business Bureau says, "A budget will provide you with a roadmap to financial security. If you drive carefully, perform the right repairs and maintenance along the way, and steadily steer toward your long-term goal, you'll wind up where you want to be."
Save. Pinch Pennies. Save Some More.
Saving is a prerequisite to homeownership.
If your budget reveals you are spending money on eating out when you can eat healthier for less at home; if it shows you gulp way too many cups of Joe at the local cafe when you can invest in a commuter mug and brew your own at home; if it shows movie rentals by mail cost less than screening every major motion picture live, you've already found hundreds of dollars to save.
Stop traveling, stop partying and stop unhealthy habits that could leave you too weak to take on that second job. Bulk up your habit of spending only for what you need, not what you want.
If you don't have a savings account worth three to six months of your net income, you are already a financial disaster waiting to happen should there be an emergency.
In addition to money for the down payment, lenders today will expect you to have some cash left over for insurance, taxes, maintenance and other costs that come with homeownership.
Certainly, it could take years to build the kind of down payment pot that will get you the lowest possible rate in an expensive housing market, but think about the time it will take you to recover from a loan you can't afford should that loan lead to foreclosure and a financial meltdown.
You really can't afford not to save. You really can't afford not to find more ways to save.
Read Your Credit Report.
Don't just get it. Read it. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally-approved website you should visit if you want a truly free credit report. Other websites will give you your report for "free" but typically only after you sign up for other cost-based services. You are trying to save money, not come up with more things to buy.
Your credit report is a report card on your credit use, the good, the bad, the ugly and, too often, the incorrect. Which is why you want to see it, If there are errors follow the instructions to correct them.
Also visit MyFico.com to learn how to improve your report and your credit score -- a numerical rendition of your creditworthiness.
Get Some Help With Direction.
Can't figure what your credit report is trying to say? Not sure how to calculate what you'll need to save? Don't know how to set up a budget?
It's okay to ask for help. It's smart to ask for help. You don't know everything about buying a home. If you are a first-timer you likely know very little.
Learn how to find answers.
Whether it's your REALTOR, financial planner, financial counselor, or mortgage broker, they are all here to help you.
Get help in setting goals, sifting through mortgage programs, understanding the title and escrow process, finding a home and keeping a home -- all well before you are actually in the market for a home.
Again -- well before you actually begin to shop for a home.
Learn about market and economic conditions that could impact your decision. Learn about home prices, mortgage rates, home buying costs and other issues surrounding what's likely to be your most complicated purchase ever.


Written by Broderick Perkins
________________________________________
Maui Real Estate Property Information -- Information will be provided for Maui real estate market for buyer's and seller's.
________________________________________
- Back -



Steven Nickens
E-mail: nickens@maui.net
Web: http://www.nickensmaui.com
808-280-2208
Coldwell Banker Island Properties
808-575-9913
The Shops At Wailea
3750 Wailea Alanui, Suite B-35,
Wailea, Maui, Hi 96753
Active Hawaii real estate license

Equal Housing Opportunity