Carrie Pace Realty

Why Do You Need a Realtor?

A Realtor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the business of buying a home.  In fact, a licensed real estate professional provides much more than the service of helping you find the home of your dreams.  Realtors are not just sales agents, they are expert negotiators, seasoned financial advisors, and superb navigators around the local neighborhood.  They are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and must abide by a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice enforced by the NAR.  A professional Realtor is your best resource when buying a home.

• Let CPR Be Your Guide - 

•   We can save you endless amounts of time, money and frustration.
•  We know the housing market inside and out and can help you avoid many a "wild goose chase."
• We can help you with any house even if it is listed elsewhere, or is being sold by the owner directly.
• We know the best lenders in the area; We can help you get pre-qualified for a mortgage; and discuss down payments, closing costs, and monthly payment options.
• We are an excellent source for general information about the community, specific information about schools, churches, shopping, transportation, plus tips on house inspections and pricing.
• We are experienced at presenting your offer to the homeowner and can help you through the process of negotiating the best deal.  We bring objectivity to the buying transaction, and can point out advantages and disadvantages of a particular property.
  

 And the BEST thing is that all this help normally won´t cost you a cent.  Generally, the seller pays the commission to Realtors.  However, that doesn´t affect our dedication or the spirit of teamwork that we will put into helping you find and buy the home of your dreams.  After all, our success depends on your success.

The Advantages of a

Buyer´s Agency Agreement

Your interests are professionally represented -

Enlisting the services of a professional Buyer´s Agent is similar to using an accountant to
help you with your taxes, a doctor to help you with your health care, or a mechanic to
help you with your car.  So the first advantage is pretty obvious.  If you had the time
to devote to learning all you need to know about accounting, medicine, and automotive
mechanics, you could do these services yourself.  But who has the time?  You probably
already have a full-time career to which you are committed.  This is why you allow other
professionals to help you in specific areas of expertise.

At Carrie Pace Realty, we have devoted our time to perfecting our careers in real
estate service.  Continuous education, market research, and vast experience are
combined with an excellent team of real estate professionals to find you the perfect home
quickly.  We will take care of all the hassles of every day real estate transactions for you.  We let you concentrate on your full-time job, while we do ours.  We will guide you through the
home buying process and exclusively represent your interests as we help you find a
 home, present your contract offer, negotiate, and close!

You will get a great home quickly and conveniently -

The advantage to signing a Buyer´s Agency Agreement with CPR is that you will
have a team of professionals working to find and secure the perfect home for you
exactly when you need it.  It is nearly impossible to find a home that meets your needs,
get a contract negotiated, and close the transaction without an experienced agent. 
We have vast computer networks to make sure you only tour homes that meet your
specific needs.  You won´t need to spend endless evenings and weekends driving
around looking for homes for sale or trying to search computer networks yourself. 
When you tour homes with your professional Buyer´s Agent, you will already know
that the homes meet your criteria for bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space,
square footage, neighborhood, etc.  Also, your Agent will ensure you are looking at
homes that are in your price range.

You get a personal specialist who knows your needs -

Just as your accountant, doctor, and mechanic get to know your needs through a steady
relationship, your Buyer´s Agent gets to know your real estate needs and concerns. 
This type of relationship is built by open communication at all times and by touring
homes with your Agent so he/she gets a good idea of your feedback and concerns about
each home.  If you try to jump from agent to agent, you will not receive the best real
estate services possible, and you will be violating your agreement to your agent.  There
is nothing to gain from trying to find and tour homes on your own, and you will save
a lot of time when your agent can tell you everything about any home before you see it.

What is the Buyer´s Agency Agreement -

Entering into a Buyer´s Agency Agreement has countless advantages and no disadvantages.  When you sign the agreement, you are simply agreeing to "hire" a personal representative who,
by law, must represent your best interests to the best of his/her ability.  All of this
personal service is available at absolutely NO COST TO YOU!  The Seller´s Broker is
responsible for paying your Buyer´s Agent fee.  With CPR, you get a team of professionals devoted to protecting your needs to help you make one of the most important investment decisions of your life ?- and you don´t even have to pay the fee!

How Much Home Can You Afford? 

When you are ready to begin looking at various houses to find your dream home, you need to prepare all of the necessary materials to present to the lender. Your lender will tell you exactly
what you can afford so that you do not spend time looking at "too much" home. There are 3 key factors that you will need to consider when determining how much home you can
afford:  1.) the down payment; 2.) your ability to qualify for a mortgage; and 3.) the
closing costs associated with your transaction.

Down Payment Requirements:

Most loans today require a down payment of between 3.5% and 5%, depending on the type and
terms of the loan. If you are able to come up with 20-25% down payment, you may be
eligible to take advantage of special fast-track programs and possibly eliminate mortgage
insurance.

It is often thought that bigger is better when it comes to down payments. In many cases, this
may be true, but the arithmetic will differ from case to case. A bigger down payment means
smaller monthly payments and lower interest expense for as long as you remain with a mortgage. This can be an important factor for many people. But if you can put your available funds to work for you so
that they can earn more than the interest rate on your loan, you could be dollars ahead with a
smaller down payment. Also, a smaller down payment may allow you to keep your extra
cash liquid and available for an emergency.

Closing Costs:

Don´t forget to think ahead carefully. In addition to the down payment on your dream home, you will be required to pay fees for loan processing and other closing costs. These fees must be paid in full
in cash at the time of the final settlement, unless you are able to include these in your
financing. Typically, total closing costs will range between 2-5% of your mortgage loan.
A more detailed schedule is included herein in the section detailing your closing.

Qualifying for the Mortgage:

Most lenders require that your monthly payment not exceed 25-28% of your gross monthly
income. Your mortgage payment to the lender usually includes four items...the "PITI."
These items are discussed in detail on the page entitled, "Predicting Your Monthly Payment
(The PITI)." Remember, when you buy a home all interest may be tax deductible, so you could
qualify for a major tax advantage that will effectively increase your take-home pay. Your total
monthly PITI and all debts (from installments to revolving charge accounts) should not exceed 33-38% of your gross monthly income. This is a general rule of thumb, but other key factors
specifically determine your ability for a home loan. These factors are:

INCOME:  History of employment, stability of income, potential for future earning, education, vocational training and background, and any secondary income such as bonuses,
commissions, child support, etc.

CREDIT REPORT: History of debt repayment, total outstanding debt, and total
available credit.  If you have concerns about your credit report, consider contacting one
of the major credit bureaus for a copy of your file:  TRW (1-800-422-4879), Trans Union
(1-602-933-1200), and CSC Credit (1-800-759-5979).  When you apply for a
mortgage, the loan officer will obtain your credit report and will discuss it with you.

ASSETS:  Cash on hand, other liquid assets such as savings, checking, CDs, stocks, etc.

PROPERTY:  The home you are buying must be appraised to determine that it has
adequate value and is marketable to ensure it will secure the loan.

Predicting Your Monthly Payment (The PITI)

Your monthly payment (PITI) is the sum of four items ? the principal on the loan (P), the interest on the loan (I), property taxes (T), and homeowner´s insurance (I).  To predict your monthly payment for a 30-year fixed rate loan, use the following table to determine the principal and interest part of the payment.  Simply divide the loan amount by 1,000 and then multiply that figure by the appropriate interest rate factor from the table below.  To that sum, add 1/12^th of the amount of your yearly taxes and 1/12^th the amount of your yearly insurance.

For example:  If your mortgage loan amount is $150,000 and the interest rate is 7%, your monthly "PI" would be:

Then add your monthly insurance premium (approximately $25-$75) and your property tax to your principal and interest and this is your monthly payment.

PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENT TABLE
If your interest is:			Your PI Factor is:
Hazard Insurance covering your home for its contract value is required by your mortgage lender.  You are at liberty to choose any insurance company and agent you wish.  Ask your insurance agent to quote you a policy for insurance coverage. 6.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			6.00%
6.50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			6.32%
7.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			6.65%
7,50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			6,99%
8.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			7.34%
8.50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			7.69%
9.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			8.05%
9.50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			8.41%
10.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			8.78%
10.50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			9.15%
11.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			9.52%
11.50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			9.90%
12.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			10.29%
12.50%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			10.67%
13.00%	3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;3;			11.06%

All property owners must pay general real estate taxes.  These taxes are also called "ad valorem" taxes because the amount of the taxes varies, according to the value of your property.  General real estate taxes are levied for the operations of various governmental agencies and municipalities.  Other taxing bodies may include school districts, drainage, water, sanitary, and recreation districts.

Each agency or municipality determines how much money is needed for the budget.  They receive these funds through "mills" levied against properties in their counties.  The state limits how much the mill levy can increase each year without voter approval.  Each mill is equal to one-thousandth of one dollar ($.001) of assessed value or $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

The actual tax is calculated by multiplying the assessed value by the current mill levy.  General taxes are a lien against your home as of January 1^st, the year of the tax, even though they are not due until the following year.

Properties are valued or assessed by the county assessor.  The land and buildings are usually assessed separately.  The assessed value is approximately 12-15% of the true value (percentage value is determined by state law).  If an owner feels the assessed value of their property is incorrect, they can present their objection through the local taxing authority on an annual basis.