Category Archives: Buying a Home

Remodelling vs. buying a new house

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It might seem as though there are a lot of advantages to staying put and renovating your home, especially if the real estate value of the houses in your area are rising. It’s also true that if you move less in your lifetime, the more money you’ll be able to save up. But when you start feeling like your house is becoming a little too small for your growing family, you start to wonder if it’s time to upgrade either by moving out or adding more rooms to your home.

Don’t think that moving out or remodeling are your only options, though. Consider the following alternatives before making any major financial decisions about your home.

Declutter your home and make the most out of the space you have. Once people remove all the stuff they don’t need, they often discover that they have far more space than they thought they did.

Refurbish instead of renovate. You can update your kitchen by resurfacing countertops, replacing worn floors, or refacing your cabinet. Doing this will cost a lot less than taking everything down and rebuilding your kitchen anew.

Reuse your rooms. If you want a home office and have a guest room you barely use, consider reusing the space that you do have.

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Tips on Avoiding A Bad House

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A bad house is when the seller of a house fails to inform the buyer of a structural defect before the purchase. It’s difficult to prove if the seller did know about the defect after you bought the house, but you can avoid buying a bad house in the first place.

Although all sellers are legally required to inform you about the house’s defects, remember that not all home seller disclosures are accurate. To find out if there really are any structural problems the seller failed to inform you, you can ask the neighbors because they might know more about the house than anyone else besides the previous owners.

To make sure that you really didn’t miss out on any defects, hire your own professional house inspector who can look through the house before you make any purchases. Be careful of any inspectors recommended by the real estate agent because they probably won’t direct you to an inspector who will be as thorough as you want.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask the seller about whatever special concerns you might have about the house. As a buyer, it’s your responsibility to make sure you know everything about the house before agreeing to purchase the property. Make sure that your offer is based on the recommendations of your professional house inspector.

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Buying Your First Home: Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

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There are many benefits to buying a home instead of renting one – appreciation of the property, pride of ownership, mortgage reductions, etc. You’re probably already shopping for a your own house because you’ve figured out the reasons why you want to own one. Now all you have to do is remain focused and determined to find the house that’s just right for you or your family.

Most searches for homes begin by checking out listings on Internet, looking at pictures or going through virtual tours. If you still can’t find what you want, ask your friends to recommend a good real estate agent to you, one who will listen to your needs and only show you homes that will suit those needs.

When looking at a house, bring a digital camera and take pictures of the exterior and every single room. Note down all the interesting features and elements of the house’s construction and design, and pay attention to the location and its surroundings. After leaving each house, rate it from a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest. You’ll immediately know which among the houses you’ve seen deserve a second look. Once you do look at them a second time, you’ll notice different things that you didn’t see the first time around.

Remember that all real estate agents are required to point out defects in the home and should help you, the buyer, find EXACTLY what you’re looking for.

BPI Build Your Dream Housing Loan

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Owning your dream home can now become a reality through the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Build Your Dream Housing Loan. If you are a Filipino of legal age but not older than 65 years, you can use this housing loan to acquire a lot, house and lot, condo unit, townhouse, for house construction, and for home improvements. The loan you will receive is a minumum of Php 400,000 and a maximum of 70%of the appraised value of the lot or unit as long as it doesn’t exceed Php 5M. Loan term lasts for a maximum of 25 years for house and lot or townhouse and 10 years for condo unit or vacant lot.

For more information on the loan features and interest rates, visit the BPI website.

Buying a Home: Your Down Payment

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When people buy a home, the first thing they do is look at for-sale ads in newspapers or the internet. Some contact a trusted real estate agent to find a home for them. The next thing you should do before considering a home is to examine your savings. Determining how much money you can put into your down payment affects almost all aspects of buying a home.

If your savings is barely enough for a minimum down payment, you will have fewer loan or mortgage options available to you. Lenders are usually more strict with those who can only give a small down payment, especially when you need to conform to their underwriting guidelines. Larger down payments allow you to choose between fixed rate loans, graduated payment mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages, and varieties of each type. Lenders might also make some exceptions to the rules.

Your down payment will also affect how you write your offer. You’ll be required to put your down payment information in the offer, and different loan programs have rules that affect how you write your offer based on your down payment. Some loan programs also charge higher interest rates for those who can only give a small down payment. Lenders also allow sellers to pay lower closing costs for small down payments than for large down payments.

How much you can afford for your down payment affects your loan or mortgage options. Make sure you figure out how much money you have for the purchase before making the next step.

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Buying a Home: The Medium-Rise Condominium Cluster

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serendra.jpgMy parents-in-law are in their seventies and I thought they would be content living in their country home way up in the mountains. Apparently, they also miss the city. It is no wonder they chose a Serendra, a medium rise condo cluster which boasts of a large green open spaces, landscaped lawns, huge swimming pool, tall palms to produce a resort-like ambiance. The environment is ideal for them even if the space is small since it’s just the two of them. The feeling that they live in a resort is ideal for them.

The idea that the medium-rise condominium is just for young couples is not necessarily true.

Is the medium-rise condo for you? Here is a tip sheet if a medium-rise condo is for you:

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