I'm tired of renting and not making any real investments. I would like to buy an apartment and maybe rent out one day to tenants so i could finally be on the other side of the equation. My question is how would I go about buying an apartment. Who would I go to (realtor, real estate office, etc)? I know some nice apartments complexs in my area, so would I have to go to the main office and talk with them? Where do I start? How much do I need to put down ($5000 enough?). Is it cheaper to buy than to rent? I would recommend buying for yourself right now and down the rode several years later rent it out. Having your own place is better than renting and throwing away money and having nothing to show for it. You will need a 10 15% downpayment especially after all that's been going on in the news with mortgages.
check this site very good: realtors.com. you can find alot of condos there. check news papers and you can contact a realtor to walk you and show you places. Renting is currently the best value in housing. Consider a market where a condo that sells for $200,000 might only bring in $1000 in rent; in this case the renter is getting a good value. If the Condo sells for $200000 and rents for $2500, then the it makes sense to buy.
Condo prices are falling nationwide and in some markets, like Florida and Las Vegas, prices are crashing. The bottom of the market may not be in until 2010.
Financing Condo's is another issue hurting values and it appears to be getting worse. Buyers will need larger down payments, and the lenders are going to insist that the units in a complex be mostly owner occupied. As an FYI鈥?per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) http://www.ftc.gov/freereports , there is only one source for you to get a free credit report from all three credit repositories, 鈥渁nnualcreditreport.com鈥? https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/i...
Do not give anyone else your personal info without seeing them in person.
Make sure to price out your loan with your LOCAL banks and mortgage brokers only.
A lot people giving advice on here are also looking to give you a loan (it鈥檚 not advice, its advertising), if they are not local to you and you can鈥檛 get to them within 1 hour don鈥檛 fall for it. They say they are licensed in all 50 states, what does that mean? Which state do you have to look in first if something goes wrong? KEEP IT LOCAL; DON'T GET RIPPED-OFF BY SOMEONE IN WHO KNOWS WHERE WHICH YOU WOULD HAVE NO DIRECT ACCESS TO.
Remember Buddha's advice:
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." You are the only "expert" you can trust: All brokers, and every other loan officer guru giving advice here with a .com or contact me at the end is "selling" you something (it鈥檚 not advice, its advertising). Don't buy "it."
When shopping for a mortgage, here are a few things to do to maximize your savings and time:
1. When asking for a Good Faith Estimate(GFE), tell each mortgage originator (lender) what interest rate to use so you can compare apples to apples (rate affects closing costs). This is probably a different thought process for you because you always shop interest rates on a mortgage right? Remember all mortgage originators have identical wholesale interest rates. If you shop the same interest rate among mortgage originators, it levels the playing field and discloses what they want to charge you for their time to originate and close your mortgage. It is similar to shopping for a car. Why does the exact same new car vary in cost from one dealership to the next? Some dealers want to make more profit than others.
2. Secure Good Faith Estimates from various mortgage originators within a 4 hour time frame (rate and pricing can change daily and even multiple times in one day).
3. Do not compare the prepaids, reserves, escrow, title charges, and government recording sections of the estimates; third part fees are not controlled by the mortgage originator.
4. Ask each mortgage originator to base the interest rate on a 30 day lock unless you need longer.
5. If the loan allows you to waive escrow (paying taxes & insurance yourself), let the mortgage originators know because this will affect closing costs.
6. If refinancing, let the mortgage originators know if you are pulling cash out. A cash-out refinance usually increases closing costs.
Your Biggest Challenge
The mortgage industry today has never been more unethical. The industry has produced several record-breaking years in a row regarding total origination and as a result, greed is driving the industry. Your biggest challenge is receiving a Good Faith Estimate that is provided to you in "Good Faith"! We spend more time showing consumers how mortgage originators are lying to them in regards to an estimate given! That鈥檚 right, lying! 鈥淏ait and switch鈥?has become a prominent sales tool in the mortgage industry. Bait you in with a bogus estimate then switch things after you are hooked. This is so discouraging; banks and so called direct lenders have become some of the worst at this practice. Education is your biggest weapon against this practice. Take the time to fully understand closing costs and rates before proceeding.
You should know exactly how much the mortgage originator is getting paid by all sources (no matter where it comes from, it's ultimately coming out of your pocket). Protect yourself by asking for and receiving prior to application and origination a written guarantee stating the TOTAL amount of compensation (YSP, rebates, commissions, kickbacks) that will be received and kept by the mortgage originator. This will help assure that your best interest is kept in mind.
Originating a mortgage is a service, not a product; compensation should not be based on the loan amount or interest rate.
All ethical, honest, upfront, transparent mortgage originators will be more than willing to provide you with a written total compensation guarantee in addition to the (GFE) Good Faith Estimate (focus on the word 鈥淓stimate鈥?because that is exactly what it is, an estimate of charges) prior to originating your loan. |
