Your Refund Could be the Difference

One of the silver linings to filing your income tax return is finding out that you are going to receive a refund. If you happen to be one of these fortunate taxpayers, your next decision is what to do with it. With the average tax refund around $3,000, it could be the difference that makes a home a reality sooner rather than later.46795263-250.jpg

Many would-be buyers think it takes 10% or more down payment to purchase a home, but actually, it can be much less. There are VA and USDA mortgages that have no down payment for qualified buyers. FHA has a 3.5% down payment program and FNMA has 3% down payment mortgages for qualified creditors.

Closing costs for originating new mortgages can easily range from two to three percent of the purchase price but most lenders will allow the seller to pay part or all of them based on the agreement in the sales contract.

While the average tax refund might not cover the down payment on the median price home, it certainly helps. Your refund could make it as simple as 1-2-3 to get into a home.

  1. Get the hard, cold facts for the homes and mortgages in your area and price range.
  2. Get pre-approved with a trusted mortgage professional.
  3. Start looking at homes.

Call me at (808) 864-2504 or jennifer@jenniferbusto.com to get started.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Price of Paradise

Image
Median Sales prices for the month of July 2016 continue to rise for single family homes and condominiums on Oahu.  However, we are beginning to see a slowing down in our market, with less sales compared to July of 2015.  For several years now, we have seen an average of a fairly stable 4-5% appreciation in value but this increase is showing signs of flattening.
Keep reading

Digital Showings

Image
Ask any real estate professional if they have sold a house without the buyer having physically seen it and they’ll most likely tell you they have. While it may have been an unconventional sale, it is more prevalent today than it was twenty or even ten years ago. The digital world of the Internet has changed the process of buying a home. It is evolving as people have become more comfortable with the reliability of the information available. Getting in a car and driving around all day looking at homes that may or may not fit your needs or wants is not productive for buyers or the agents. The quality and the quantity of pictures has dramatically improved in the last twenty years. Buyers and agents alike can view a property online and get a fairly accurate idea of the condition and layout of home and whether it warrants a physical visit. Videos can “walk” you through the house to be able to assess if the floorplan will work for you. The 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers r
Keep reading

Can You See the Savings?

Image
If you’ve considered changing your light bulbs to energy-saving LED bulbs but decided not to make the investment because the prices were too high, you might want to investigate again.  The prices have come down considerably. An initial investment now will generate immediate returns through energy costs and because they last longer, you won’t need to replace them for years. The life of LED bulbs is projected to be from 35,000 to 50,000 hours compared to an incandescent bulb at 750 to 2,000 hours.  For normal home use, a LED bulb could last more than 20 years. 80-90% of the energy used by fluorescent and incandescent bulbs is wasted by the heat generated.  In contrast, cool LED bulbs converts 80% of the electrical energy to light energy. • The color of LED lights is bright white, more like daylight, instead of the warm yellow of incandescent or the greenish tint of fluorescent bulbs. • LEDs light up instantly instead of building to their intensity like some of the fluorescent b
Keep reading