Before beginning the process of buying a new home, a 15% down payment needs to be saved. This down payment required on the home could be less, but any home buyer would be happy to have money left in savings after getting that key than running around trying to liquidate assets to keep the home of their dreams.

The closing costs on the home will average about 5% of the price of the home. This is another bit of money that should be saved before the search even begins. If the potential home owner finds the home they wish to buy, they should be ready to buy right then and not after months of saving when that dream home could already be sold.

How much can you afford? This is question that will vary from person to person, but traditionally, the mortgage payment should not be any more than 25% of your total income per month. That is take home income, not gross income because the gross amount is never the same as the amount that available for use on payday. For instance, if a potential buyer brings home $6000 a month, the mortgage should be no more than $1500 a month.

This number may seem conservative, but the true cost of ownership involves more than just the mortgage payment. There are utilities, upkeep and property taxes in addition to home insurance that will need to be paid each month just on the home.

A self run credit report is also a huge item to look over before applying for any mortgage. If you walk into the office blindly, you could lower your credit score without obtaining a mortgage. When the lending company runs your credit report, that could lower your score and if it is too low to meet their lending guidelines, it will be for nothing. When you run your own report, the score is not affected and will not lower.

Julia Vakulenko is a licensed broker associate with Tampa4U.com Realty. She has one of the hardest working Tampa Real Estate team in Florida specializing in Tampa Condos.

Many original mortgages are entered into for a 30 year term. This means the homeowner will make the payments on the home for 30 years. This equals 360 payments. If the principle on the loan is $1,250 per month and the interest is $250, the homeowner will repay $540,000. Now, what happens when 15 years of interest is taken off the repayment of that loan?

At $1,250, the purchase price of the home was $450,000. The interest paid on the home was $90,000. If the loan term is reduced by 15 years to a 15 year mortgage, the homeowner will still repay the $450,000 but the interest repaid will lower to $45,000. That is a 50% reduction in interest.

The trouble with refinancing to a 15 year mortgage is the cost of the new loan payment. The $1,500 a month paid before will rise to $2,750 per month, but these payments will be made only for 180 payments versus the 360 payments on the previous loan.

These figures are rough, at best. In most cases, the interest on a home loan is far greater than $90,000 per $450,000. Many homeowners choose not to take the 15 year option due to the higher payments. No one wants to pay MORE for the same house, right? In the short term it does look like the home is costing the homeowner more money, but they are essentially paying more per month on the same balance.

When is the Right Time to Refinance to 15?

The perfect time for some households to refinance from a 30 year mortgage to a 15 year mortgage is after a big house bill is paid off. This bill could be a car payment or a credit card balance. This will often free up hundreds of dollars a month which could go straight toward owning the home outright. Once the homeowner collects the deed on the home, they will have buying power like never before and the ability to sell, remortgage or save as they see fit.

Julia Vakulenko is a licensed broker associate with Tampa4U.com Realty. She has one of the hardest working Tampa Real Estate team in Florida specializing in WEstchase Real Estate.

The first issue to consider is that a qualified, experienced agent is going to have access to tools and networks that others simply do not. There are many listing tools that are only available to agency usage, which means that there are many homes that a prospective client may never see if they do not use someone with access to them. Qualified agents are also extremely familiar with different types of purchases and different types of financing, which can open up many possibilities. Government programs in particular change from year to year and can make different options better at different times. Only experienced agents will be aware of these shifts and what it means to the client.

When either buying or selling property, a client needs to know that the person on the other end of the deal probably has an experienced agent with them. This means that an unrepresented client is operating at a disadvantage, because they are dealing against a professional. This is never advisable because the professional knows exactly what they can ask for and how to tilt the transaction in their own client’s favor. Having a qualified and experienced agent on both ends balances out the transaction and makes it fair to both parties.

A good agent will also be able to find potential pitfalls in properties. Because agents work largely based on word of mouth, a good agent doesn’t just want to get a client into a home, they also want them to stay satisfied in that home for a very long time. This means that an agent will point out certain things that a client might miss, such as a high traffic area that will disperse dust into the home, or a nearby development that will later cut the home’s value. These items are all things that someone new to the industry will not notice, but an experienced agent will.

Finally, an experienced agent will follow all policies and rules. Someone new to the industry or an unrepresented client may skip things such as an appraisal or a home inspection, only to later find that the home they purchased or sold is worth far different from what they imagined. Failing to do a home inspection simply because the home looks perfect on the outside can lead to expensive internal repairs later. These are things an experienced agent will always recommend a client to complete.

A qualified, experienced real estate agent is always in a client’s best interest. The real estate market is exceedingly complex and there are many different factors that can affect a sale. An experienced agent can also help a client gauge the market and tell them when the best time to make a purchase or sale is. An agent is always on the client’s side and is always seeking the best possible deal for the client.

This article is written by Blake Hall. He recommend Doug Heldman, a real estate expert. If you’re looking real estate in East York, Leslieville or any of Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods, visit http://www.dougheldman.com/east-york-residential