Savvy Tips for the First Time Home Buyer

While in search of your first home, you will probably have millions of things on your mind. This is perfectly normal for both first time and veteran home buyers. However, being distracted can prevent you from learning important home buying information which is what the following article is going to provide you with.

At a time like this, when mortgage rates are at an all time low, don’t let yourself get talked in to an adjustable rate mortgage. It will save you a little bit of money now, and could cost you huge in the future, if interest rates go up again.

Mortgage lenders will use a housing expense-to income ratio to calculate how much of a mortgage you will be able to afford to pay for. They calculate the property tax payments, principle and interest on the loan and insurance premiums on the home and use it to determine your potential payment to see if it is affordable.

Buying Your First Home Can Be Rewarding

Shop around different lenders to find the mortgage that is going to work best for your situation. Be sure to read all of the fine print to learn about any additional fees that the lender may charge you. You are going to get the best mortgage by taking the time to shop around.

Avoid beginning any new forms of credit when you are applying for a mortgage loan. When you apply for credit, such as credit cards, there will be an inquiry on your credit report. This can ultimately lower your credit score which could mean higher interest rate for your mortgage loan. You should wait until your closing is complete before you open any new lines of credit.

If you have been approved for a mortgage, be sure you are familiar with exactly what kind of mortgage you are getting. For example, is the rate fixed? If the rate is variable, what is it tied to? How much can it increase or decrease in a given year? These are important questions to ask when preparing to close on your real estate transaction.

Do not just scan over the mortgage, make sure that you read everything on the mortgage contract which includes the fine print. It is important that you completely understand what is expected of you from your mortgage company. Doing so will help you to make wise choices regarding your loan.

Your real estate agent has advised you to go through the process of getting pre-qualified for a home mortgage loan and you are wondering why this suggestion has been made. There are several good reasons to follow this advice. By being pre-approved for a loan, you know what price range you can afford and will not waste time looking at properties outside of your budget. Being pre-qualified also lets the seller know that not only are you serious about purchasing a home, you can afford it too.

In the beginning stages of home buying, you will want to get pre-qualified for a home mortgage loan. This is really a simple, but valuable process. To obtain this pre-approval, a mortgage lender will review your personal income, savings, and monthly out-of-pocket expenses. By reviewing these numbers, the lender can calculate how much you can finance and how much the monthly payments will be for the loan.

Down Payment Help For First Time Buyers

Make sure you have a healthy down payment saved before you buy a house. You want to have at least 20 percent of the purchase price available for the down payment, because you will have to pay extra if you don’t. Of course, if you haven’t owned a home in the past 3 years, you are considered a first time home buyer. This puts you at an advantage. There are many first time home buyer programs available, from the county, to the state, to the national level. Search your state to see what is available for you.Remember that you will also need to pay closing costs and property taxes as well.

Understand “negative cash flow”. Before you make the decision to invest in real estate, you must first understand the idea of negative cash flow. Negative cash flow is very common with investors who have little or no money to invest in their first property. What the term means is that for some length of time, you will be putting more money out than you are bringing in. While the idea of negative cash flow might seem daunting, consider this. If you are purchasing an investment property with no money down, the cash that you will need to pay out of pocket is the equivalent of the down payment that you would have normally made to the lender. It is always best to enter any investment with true knowledge of the risks and benefits. Negative cash flow is something that you must learn about prior to making the decision to purchase an investment property.

Find out how much you are qualified to borrow. Prior to searching for a home, find out exactly how much you are able to borrow. Most people know how much they can afford to pay as a monthly mortgage payment, but sometimes they don’t take into account such things as mortgage insurance, down payment, property taxes etc. All of these factor into the calculation of the mortgage amount.

When trying to find out how much you can afford to pay for a home, you will need to take your gross income, funds available for a down payment, closing costs, and cash reserves that will be required by a lender into consideration. Many lenders will use the housing expense to income ratio to calculate how much you will be able to afford to make payments on.

Cash challenged buyers can also be on the market to buy a property. The way to go is a lease-to-buy or rent-to-buy agreement. In this case the rent payment, or a part of it, goes towards the down payment of the property. Due to higher monthly rent payments, this is an option only to the serious home buyer.

Do not allocate all of your savings toward the down payment of your new home and the closing costs. With the main focus being on the purchase of you new home, you may forget about additional expenses that come up with moving. Remember that you will have moving expenses as well as additional utility costs for set up.

As stated above, it is common for both expert and first time home buyers to have millions of things going through their mind. It is important that you clear some mental space for you to gain important tips. The above article was created in order to provide you with important home buying information.

Position Marketing Group, an Adaptive Marketing Agency, announces a whole new set of features for the company’s Interactive Secured Advertising Technology (ISAT) Banners. The use of Social Media, both as a promotional channel and as a recommendation source, has evolved into a fresh new element designed for ISAT Banners. Additionally, PMG’s personalized QR Code generator has been adapted for creating millions of QR Codes for use within ISAT banners.

“Social Media and Mobile Media are two areas where our clients would like to expand their messaging,” says Scott Madlener, President of PMG. “Our dynamic content banners are prefect for creating personalized QR Codes and for integrating two-way Social Media opportunities.”

Position Marketing Group focuses on the life-event of people moving. Also known as “Consumer Movers” and “Consumers in Transition,” this life-event provides advertisers with the single strongest selling opportunity to reach consumers with relevant products and services. PMG brings together targeted media with Direct Response solutions via our Interactive Secured Advertising Technology, allowing our advertising partners to better engage their audience at a time of need.

Working with online publishers, brands and brand agencies, PMG’s seasoned interactive experts provide detailed campaign strategy, traffic support and analysis. PMG’s exclusive Real Estate Media Group consists of the top publishers for Consumer Movers, Foreclosures and First Time Home Buyers. We serve as agency of record (AOR) or Strategic Partner with leading publishers, including RealtyTrac, HomeFinder, Movoto, ZipRealty and many others. These relationships give PMG rate card savings and inventory access not available anywhere else.

Derek Bates, CEO of PMG states, “The PMG Adaptive Marketing Practice allows us the ability to create consumer ‘experiences’ instead of campaigns, with media strategies to reach individuals instead of segmented audiences. As a result, our ISAT Banners typically out perform traditional rich media by 7-10 times.”

Position Marketing Group is an adaptive marketing and interactive advertising agency targeting the home buyer audience and consumer home products marketplace. PMG partners with top real estate websites as well as hyper-local and niche ‘move’ publishers such as newspapers and realtor websites. These partnerships allow PMG the ability to offer one of a kind in addition to less costly strategies to their agency and brand clients.

GeoBlue, an innovator and innovator servicing the health care requirements of retirees and global travelers, publicized at the moment that it has released the 1st iPhone application for locating and paying for high quality healthcare services all around the world. GeoBlue Mobile is already obtainable in the iTunes Application Store for uploading onto i-phones, iPads as well as iPod touches. From the palm of his or her hands, GeoBlue insurance plan members conveniently use the downloadable app to:

* Review detailed profiles of carefully selected English-speaking physicians and dentists in 180 countries
* Contact GeoBlue’s concierge service to request an appointment with a specific doctor or within a medical specialty
* Plug into iPhone’s mapping and GPS functionality to find the shortest route to convenient care
* Present a digital identification card directly to doctors and hospitals as confirmation of their eligibility for benefits.

GeoBlue Mobile also maps and profiles notable hospitals and pharmacies and provides brand name equivalents for over 350 prescription and over-the-counter medications. To help users describe and understand symptoms, diagnoses and treatment plans, GeoBlue Mobile has built-in translation tools with audio allowing users to play hundreds of key medical terms and phrases in the world’s most widely spoken languages.

Requiring no Internet connection when taken abroad, GeoBlue Mobile is exceptionally fast and easy to use with convenient functionality to save favorites or recall recent searches. With an Internet connection, travelers can also go directly from the app to the Blue National Doctor and Hospital Finder mobile web site to find providers inside the U.S. GeoBlue Mobile was developed and is maintained by HTH Worldwide, the global leader in mobile technology for destination health services.

“Today GeoBlue sets a new industry standard for member convenience and value with the deployment of the global downloadable application,” said Angelo Masciantonio, Chief Executive Officer of GeoBlue. “No other international health plan can place access to a world of quality health care literally in its members’ hands.”

About GeoBlue

GeoBlue is the trade name for the international health insurance programs of Worldwide Insurance Services, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Setting the industry standard, GeoBlue’s mission is to provide peace of mind to long- and short-term global travelers by offering competitive insurance protection and technology-powered assistance, including an elite community of thousands of carefully selected, contracted doctors and hospitals in almost every country in the world as well as its signature destination databases, mobile tools and concierge-level services. The scope of GeoBlue’s services and technology creates a complete, reliable, convenient way to keep international travelers and expats healthy and productive.

Research unveiled just recently by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) shows that the actual amount of 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths in passenger vehicles increased slightly for the first six months of 2011, based on preliminary data supplied by all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Overall, 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths increased from 190 to 211 – an 11 percent increase. If the trend continued for the second half of 2011, it will mark the end of 8 straight years of cumulative decreases in fatalities with this particular age category.

The new report – the first state-by-state look at teen fatalities in 2011 – was completed by Dr. Allan Williams, a researcher who formerly served as chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Dr. Williams surveyed GHSA members, who reported fatality numbers for every state and D.C. The report comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a statistical projection suggesting that total motor vehicle deaths for the first six months of 2011 declined 0.9 percent.

Deaths of 16-year-old drivers increased from 80 to 93 (16 percent) while the number for 17-year-olds went from 110 to 118 (7 percent), a cumulative increase of 11 percent. Twenty-three states reported increases, 19 had decreases, and eight states and the District of Columbia reported no change. While the changes in state-by-state fatality numbers generally are small, states such as Florida, Texas and North Carolina reported significant increases.

Dr. Williams attributes much of the increase to the fact that the benefit of state Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws may be leveling off, as most of these laws have been in place for some time. Additionally, Dr. Williams speculates that improving economic conditions are contributing to an increase in teen driving, thus increasing their exposure to risk of traffic collisions. Dr. Williams notes, “While it is not a surprise that these numbers are stabilizing or slightly increasing, states should not accept these deaths as something that cannot be prevented. More work can and should be done to save teen lives.”

Troy E. Costales, Chairman of GHSA, said, “While it is good news that overall deaths appear to have declined during the first six months of 2011, we are concerned that the trend with teens is going in the opposite direction,” He continued, “As the report notes, a widespread strengthening of laws is still possible and finding effective tools outside of GDL is an important goal. These include improving driver education and involving parents in proactively establishing safe driving habits for their teens.”

Chairman Costales expressed, “As the parent of a young driver and a soon-to-be-driver, I know firsthand the pressures parents face in allowing their teens behind the wheel. As parents, we must set and enforce strict rules for our new drivers, making sure risks are minimized. This includes limiting other teens in the car, limiting nighttime driving and absolutely prohibiting any type of cell phone or electronic device use while driving.”

Barbara Harsha, Executive Director of GHSA, said states could use federal support to save more teen lives. “As part of the upcoming highway reauthorization bill, Congress should provide financial incentives to states that have strengthened or will strengthen teen driving laws. Additionally, Congress should provide adequate funding so that NHTSA can research and support demonstration projects to determine the most effective ways to increase teen seat belt use and compliance with GDL laws. Congress also should fund NHTSA and the states to carry out distracted driving campaigns aimed at teen drivers,” Harsha added, “Research also needs to be done to determine the impact of changing school start times so that teens are less likely to be driving fatigued.”

The full report, including state-by-state data, is available online at www.ghsa.org.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy, enhance program management and promote best practices. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans.

Windsor Advantage, LLC, a leading lender service provider to banks participating in Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs, has achieved real success in 2011, by not only increasing profitability but also by creating or preserving more than 2,000 jobs and by assisting its bank clients in providing SBA loans to nearly 100 small businesses across the country.

Shawn Andrews, Managing Director of Windsor stated, “The SBA enables banks to offer borrowers the loans they need to increase productivity, hire employees and benefit their local communities. This partnership with the SBA will ultimately provide the foundation for the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovation in the US. We at Windsor are proud to be part of the solution by allowing our bank clients to participate profitability in this great program.”

In 2011, Windsor Advantage achieved its best year to date, generating over 84 million dollars in successfully completed transactions. This achievement is built on 150 years of collective experience working with SBA small business lending programs and a commitment to industry compliance as evidenced by Windsor’s recent SOC 1 Type 2 certification. From offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Charlotte, Kansas City and the corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, the Windsor Advantage team is poised to become the nation’s preeminent SBA lender service provider.

To meet the demands of its growing business, Windsor Advantage made a significant investment in human capital, hiring five new professional staff members last year. Windsor’s internal success in 2011 also resulted in meaningful growth for the United States economy. In partnership with its bank clients, Windsor helped to create or preserve over two thousand US jobs. Windsor has also played a pivotal role in the growth of the nearly 100 US small businesses represented in the loans closed and serviced by the company on behalf of its bank clients.

The responsible and real growth of Windsor Advantage in 2011 is a significant achievement that is made more significant by the company’s success in job creation and preservation and in facilitating the flow of invaluable financial support to small businesses across the country. This is what makes Windsor Advantage a progressive industry leader.

Windsor Advantage provides a comprehensive outsourced SBA department solution to banks across the country. Services include application packaging, loans closing and compliance, secondary market sales, loan servicing and regulatory exam support. Windsor also provides continuing training and technical assistance to banks at no cost. With more than 150 years of collective SBA lending experience, cutting edge systems and rigid controls, Windsor Advantage is uniquely qualified to support its clients to develop and execute a thoughtful and profitable SBA 7(a) loan program.