If you are active military, the first time home buyer tax credit contains additional provisions and extended deadlines just for you. If you were out of the United States for 90+ days anytime in 2009 your tax credit deadline is NOT April 30, 2010 but May 1 2011 instead. Also, you do NOT have to [...]

I am frequently asked these days “what kind of home can I get?” Many first time home buyers are still assuming the only thing they can afford is a condo. (As a side note, the FHA rules regarding loans and condos will change on December 7, but more about that in a later post.) Yes [...]

Know how your credit score is determined. I think pretty much everyone knows that the better your credit score, the easier it is to get a mortgage and the better the interest rate you’ll get. What not everyone knows is how that credit score is actually determined. For instance, I once had a woman call [...]

Don’t be afraid to negotiate! It never ceases to amaze me why people seem so reluctant to engage in a little back and forth dickering. This is actually where a real estate agent can come in handy when you are looking to buy a house – your agent can easily investigate (and save you a [...]

Check out any neighborhood that you’re considering very carefully. Visit the neighborhood at various times of the day to see what foot and car traffic is like. Check out neighborhood schools and visit the nearest police station to inquire about crime rates. Search the local newspaper websites for important issues as well as the city [...]

For today’s first time home buyer tip I am directing you to the HUD website where they answer 100 questions about buying a new home. I wish they had a PDF version for you to download but alas they don’t, but I still think it’s a great resource because it answers questions about how the [...]

Be very, very, very, very, very careful about deciding you want to try and buy a short sale home. What is a short sale you ask? Click here, and read my recent post on “Should I buy a short sale?” I love helping first time home buyers so if you have any questions or would [...]

Try to decide what you want vs. what you need in a house. This helps your real estate agent narrow down the search and focus on specific neighborhoods and whatnot. For instance, maybe you want 3 bedrooms but really only need 2 – your agent can search for 3 bedrooms in your price range, but [...]

Homes aren’t free! I know, I say this a lot and people always look at me strangely. Actually they look at me strangely a lot, but that’s beside the point here. I say this because I’ve had more than one contract fall through on a home that I was selling because the first time buyers [...]

This post is a follow up to my other posts on the first time home buyer tax credit in order to clarify some details: The credit is actually for up to 10% of the home’s price. In the north metro Denver area however you could barely buy a mobile home (that’s been purged and considered [...]