Western North Carolina Real Estate

Real Estate Tips

Down Payments and Pre-qualification vs. Pre-approval
Before you go out looking for a home, it's good to get an idea of what you can afford. Think about your monthly income, debts and assets, and begin to think about the money investment of buying a home.

Another important thing to remember and think about is your down payment amount. Think you can’t buy a house without a 10% or 20% down payment? Thanks to more lenient government guidelines and new mortgage products, many people can now get into a house for as little as 3% down or less. There are even some special programs for first-time buyers that help with closing costs.

Remember the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval when you are entering the home buying process. Pre-qualification is a rough estimate of how much you could afford. With a pre-approval its just that: getting your mortgage approved prior to going out and looking for a new home. This critical step launches your home purchasing experience and allows you more options when you are beginning the home buying process.

Tax Breaks
After you have purchased your home, you will probably be interested in the tax break available to you. As a homeowner, when filing your taxes you can deduct the interest portion of your monthly payment - and that can mean big savings for you. You can deduct your property taxes as well. After looking at what your monthly mortgage payment will actually be, take your tax breaks into consideration. You may find out it’s about the same as - or sometimes even less - than a rent payment!

Homeowner’s Insurance and Inspections
Since your home typically is the single biggest investment you'll ever make, protecting it with homeowner's insurance will provide financial protection against the unexpected. Aside from protecting your home and your possessions, it provides you with liability coverage as well.

Hopefully before you acquired your home you asked for a complete home inspection, however even after purchase you may want another inspection to go over the problem areas once more.

Tour the house with the inspector, who will point out potential trouble areas. Take notes as you tour. If you have not purchased the home yet, you will want to be sure to note all problems and add them as terms to your contact agreement.

Home Equity
Equity is the difference between what your home is worth and what you still owe on it. When you sell your home this equity can be used as a down payment on a new home. If you don’t sell, this same equity can be used as collateral for a home equity loan. You can use a home equity loan to finance home improvements, a child’s college tuition, or a new car.

Let our Western North Carolina Mountain real estate experts at Real Property People help you today. We are very knowledgeable about Mitchell County and Yancey County and are here to help you buy or sell a home today!

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us 800-806-6725, 828-688-3921, email us, or use our online request form.

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