Your Home as an Investment

You may be one of the millions of people in this country who owns their own home. While most of us think of our home primarily as our shelter, the place where we and perhaps our family live, it is much more than that. Whether you already own your own home, are thinking of buying your first home or are thinking of moving from one home to another, we will walk you through each factor you need to consider in order to make your home not only a place to live, but also a real estate investment:

• Making the Decision to Buy Your Own Home: How to decide if you are ready to become a homeowner.
• The Down Payment: Figuring out how much you can or should put down on the home you're buying, and where to get the money.
• How Much Home Can You Afford: Determining what you can afford to borrow and spend to purchase your home.
• Pre-Approval for a Mortgage: Why it's important that you get pre-approved for a mortgage and how to go about doing so.
• Where To Get a Mortgage: The traditional and not-so traditional choices available when it's time to get your mortgage.
• Conventional Mortgages: An examination of the traditional fixed rate mortgages that most people use to finance the purchase of their home.
• Adjustable Rate Mortgages: A discussion of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) and when they are preferable to fixed rate mortgage choices.
• Two-Step Mortgages: An explanation of mortgages that have two interest rates over the term of the loan.
• Graduated Payment Mortgages: A discussion of mortgages that have changing monthly payments.
• Balloon Mortgages: An explanation of mortgages where the entire mortgage balance comes due after a specified period of time.
• Veterans Administration Mortgages: Mortgages are guaranteed by the VA so that military veterans can finance the purchase of a home.
• Federal Housing Administration Mortgages: You may be qualified for government guaranteed mortgages if you're buying a home.
• Seller Financing: Use seller financing as a way to get the money to purchase your home.
• Renting with the Option to Buy: How to get the most out of your rent dollars if you're not quite ready to become a homeowner.
• What Do You Need from a Home? What to take into account when deciding the type of home that's right for you.
• What Makes A Home an Investment? How your home can be a place to live as well as an investment.
• How to Find A Home: How to go about finding a home you want to purchase.
• Making An Offer: The procedure to follow when you're ready to make an offer on a home.
• Financing: Getting the funds you need to buy your home.
• Closing the Deal: An explanation of the closing process, including the people, documents and costs involved.
• Home Equity Loans: Use the equity in your home to borrow money.
• Refinancing: An explanation of when and why.
• Reverse Mortgages: This arrangement allows you to draw funds out of the equity in your home.
• Selling Your Home: These issues will arise when you sell a home.
• Tax Benefits of Home Ownership: There are tax advantages you can enjoy as a homeowner.
• Home Ownership and Asset Protection: How you can protect your home from creditors, judgments and bankruptcy.