Every day conversations in real estate begin as something similar to one of the following:

“What’s my house worth?”, “How do I keep from losing my home?”, ‘How do I get pre-approved to buy a home?”, “How long will this short sale take?” “Can a low ball the seller?”, “I want a deal.”

When it comes down to it, it really depends on what it is you want and what are you willing to get what you want? Do you want to move quick, get a “killer” deal, move in 6 months, flip a property for a profit, buy a safe, secure home for you and your family?

Anything is possible in today’s real estate environment. Make sure you know what it is you want and you explain that to your Realtor and that your Realtor is actually looking  out for what YOU WANT! Make sure that is the emphasis of most conversations!!!

FHA (below $417,000 loan amount)

30 yr fixed 15 yr fixed 5yr fixed

4.75% 0 pts           4.25% 0pts        3.50 0pts

FHA (above $417,000 loan amount to $720,000)

30 yr fixed 15 yr fixed 5 yr fixed

4.875% 0 pts       4.25 0pts             3.750 0pts

Conventional (below $417,000 loan amount)

30 yr fixed 15 yr fixed 5 yr fixed

5.125% 0pts          4.5% 0 pts        3.875% 0pts

Conventional (above $417,000 loan amount to $720,000)

30 yr fixed 15 yr fixed 5 yr fixed

5.25 0 pts          4.75% 0pts        4.00% 0 pts

A field guide to short sales is essential in navigating the waters with the bank when you find yourself either upside down with regards to your home’s value or behind on your monthly payments.

If you find yourself in either spot, take a look at http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg335 for answers that may help you. It’s important to find someone that can help you through the entire process (between 4 – 7 months in some cases) that has a history of actually closing short sale escrows. Finding a buyer is just the beginning. Keeping the buyer for the length of time it takes the short sale lender to approve the process is an entire different and more difficult challenge that should not be left to novices.

Today’s real estate market seems to be increasingly difficult for home buyers to navigate the waters of obtaining a loan. Here are a few tips that will make it easier for you.

1. Get your credit in order. Lenders are requiring a minimum FICO score of 620 in most cases. Do what ever you can on your own or with a credit repair company to get your score as high as possible. The higher your FICO score, the lower your interest rate.

2. Steady income. Lenders must see proof of your income, now and in the past. They want to be possitive they are lendeing to someone with a good track record of earned income.

3. Steady employment. Be ready to prove that you currently have a job, you’ve had it for some time, and it’s a job that you will not be losing any time soon. The lenders are very worried about lending to someone that may lose their job and income soon.

4. Debt to income ration. The cap, in most cases, of your debt to income ration is 45%. Obviusly lenders want to see “the numbers”. They want to see that your debt does not exceed 45% of your income.

5. Down payment, reserves and closing costs. Have your money in order. You will need a down payment, minimum of 3 1/2% down. The higher your down payment, the better for the lender and the lower your monthly payment. Closing costs usually run between 2 and 3% of the purchase price. This can sometimes be covered by the seller, but not in all situations. A lot of lenders want to see 2 or 3 months of payment reserves in the bank. It shows that you will be able to sustain the payments (at least for the first few months).

6. Be prepared and patient. Be prepared with all of the above and the knowledge that their will be many hoops to jump through even if you are the perfect borrower. Between paperwork, documentation, updated bank statement and paycheck stubs and more, it can seem overwhelming at times. Become educated in the market and the system in today’s market, be patient with the process, and enjoy your new home.

There are some homeowners willing to bring money to the table to close escrow on a home they owe more on than it’s worth, so they can buy another, larger home, have a slightly higher payment and almost twice the size of a home!

For some, this makes complete sence. Low prices and low interest rates make this a good plan of attack for the right homeowner! Read this article from MSN below!

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/HomeFinancingDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=25138956&GT1=33006