February 27, 2008 by Mandie Spudich.

It is easier than you might think….

The key is to Act Quickly rather than Reacting Hastily

If you are in a situation where you believe that foreclosure is imminent you need to carefully weigh your options.

First, contact the bank and find out if refinancing your home is an option.

If it is not, then it is time to make your next move.  By placing your home on the market as early as possible you will give yourself the opportunity to avoid having a foreclosure on your home and possibly even making a little money in the process depending on how much you owe and what your home is worth in the current market conditions.

If your debt on the home is greater than the sale price, many banks will grant you what they call a “short sale” .  This is when the bank agrees to take what you will make from the sale of your home, even tough it is less than what you actually owe, and let you walk away free and clear owing nothing further.  They do this to avoid the legal fees and time that would be incurred in the foreclosure process.

  Now you will not be able to walk away with any money form this option, but if you were to not accept the sale then they would have foreclosed on the home anyway and you would not only not make a profit, but you would have a major black mark on your credit report.

So if it is time to make a choice, call your local mortgage representative and then,

if necessary,

a qualified real estate professional (perferablly a Realtor)

and do everything you can to keep your good name and credit clean! 

For more detailed information visit

 www.mandiespudich.com 

or call 724 205 1654

Posted in Real Estate Basics | Print | No Comments »

February 22, 2008 by Mandie Spudich.

We are happy to say that after a giving it a lot of time and consideration, we have decided to join forces with

Coldwell Banker

Please note the following changes to our contact information:

Office: (724) 864 2121

Fax: (724) 864 2020

Email: mandiespudich@verizon.net

Posted in Real Estate Basics | Print | No Comments »

February 19, 2008 by Mandie Spudich.

 Does it make sense to invest in improvements to your present home…or to start fresh with a new home that already meets your needs?

Let me help you decide!

1. How far from “ideal” is your present home from the one you would like?
    a.) a little
    b.) somewhat
    c.) huge difference

2. What is the property value trend in your neighborhood?
    a.) on the rise
    b.) maintaining
    c.) declining in value

3. How are property conditions in your neighborhood?
    a.) better than ever
    b.) about the same
    c.) getting worse

4. How long will you get useful life out of any potential remodeling or expansion?
    a.) 10 years or more
    b.) between 5 and 10 years
    c.) fewer than 4 years

5. Compared to other homes in the neighborhood, is yours….
    a.) smaller than others
    b.) similar to others
    c.) larger than others

Scoring:

For all (a) answers add 7 points

For all (b) answers add 5 points

For all (c) answers add 3 points

29-35 points:  Remodeling sounds like a pretty good idea for you!

20-28 points: You could remodel or resell depending on how you feel about your future.

Under 20 points:  Moving is a better bet for you than remodeling, both financially and emotionally.  It’s time to call a qualified Realtor!

For more detailed information visit

 www.toddfry.mandiespudich.com 

or call 724 205 1654

Posted in Real Estate Basics | Print | No Comments »

February 5, 2008 by Mandie Spudich.

When shopping around for a mortgage, there are many things to consider.  According to home loan specialist, Jaison Wojdyla from West Penn Financial, the 3 most important things to look at when shopping around for a loan are the closing costs, interest rates, and location of the lender.

• Closing costs:

Make sure that you ask each lender you speak with for an estimated closing cost sheet, or Good Faith Estimate.  This will show you all of the cost that are going to come your way when purchasing your home.  Have them go through it with you step by step so that you are comfortable with all of the numbers before leaving the table.  Be wary of a lender that has significantly lower closing costs than average, often (but not always) this means that something has been omitted from the cost sheet that you will have to pay later.  This is when pre-closing surprises come up, but if you do your research ahead of time and get quotes from more than one lender you can compare the costs and see that one sheet shows the transfer tax and the other doesn’t….thus you are able to make an educated decision.

• Interest rate:

Loan Products can vary from lender to lender, but for the most part you should be able to compare apples to apples, in other words, if one lender is giving rates for a Conventional loan and the other is giving rates for FHA you can not expect them to match up.  The best thing to do is ask for multiple cost sheets from each lender– one each for Conventional, FHA, and VA (if you qualify) and in terms of 15 and 30 year(that is up to 6 different GFE’s).  Now you have everything you need to compare lender to lender without the confusion of differing terms.

For instance, you will see that if you opt for a 15 year loan instead of the traditional 30 year, you can get an interest rate of nearly 1.5% less!  That can save you thousands over the life of your loan, not to mention after 15 years you own it free and clear!

• Location of the Lender: 

And lastly make sure you lender is local.  Do not use out of area or out of state lending companies or — even worse Online lenders.  These types of lends are notorious for such things as giving inaccurate cost estimates, raising interest rates at the last minuet, and even not funding your loan at all at closing!  Using a trusted local lender can keep that from happening.  Ask for referrals from friends, family, and your Realtor — This is the best way to make sure your purchase will go smoothly.

 

Posted in Real Estate Basics | Print | No Comments »