How to Pay Your Loan off Early, and Save you Thousands

Not a lot of people in this economy have an extra hundred plus dollars to
spend a month. However, if you can spare a hundred dollars or more a month
and add to the principle payment of your home loan you will notice a huge
savings in attempt to pay off your loan sooner than the original 30 years
owed. I have added a photo below to show you how much the additional money
paid can make a difference. The savings are eye opening. Quite frankly after
seeing the numbers and savings I jumped on the band wagon of paying down my
mortgage sooner just by paying an additional $200 a month. The below
information is based off a continual payment of the additional funds
monthly. The more you pay down the principle monthly, the quicker you pay
off the mortgage and the less interest you pay- saving you more money in the
end. Paying additional money monthly is not a requirement but if you plan to
stay in your home for the life of the loan it is definitely something to
consider. Stats show the average home owner lives in their home for 7-10 year, 
sells and then purchases another home, so it might not be for
everyone. Even if you sell your home before the 30 year loan is up, it's

that much more you potentially get back. (You would get this money back if

the house ends up selling for more than you owe on the home loan) The
amounts below could be different depending on your loan amount, interest

rate, and additional monthly payment made.

 

Below is an example of a payment schedule to show you the breakdown of a

monthly house payment and the difference in principle and interest. By

adding more principle monthly you reduce the interest paid slightly.

The most shocking number on this chart is the $111,247.28 paid in interest

over 30 years.  After 30 years you have paid way more than you purchased 
the home for- this is another reason to pay your loan off sooner by adding 
additional payments monthly or add a large sum of money yearly to a single 
payment. There is no way to avoid paying interest on a loan unless you pay 
cash. Below is a link for you to put in your loan specifics and find your savings TODAY!

 

http://www.timevalue.com/products/tcalc-financial-calculators/accelerated-mo
rtgage-calculator.aspx

HOA Horror Stories- Are You Willing to Risk it?

      HOA stands for Home Owners Association, which acts as a governing body for neighborhoods by putting restrictions/covenants in place for home owners and occupants. HOA's require fees or dues from home owners. There can be many positive aspects of home owners associations such as up kept neighborhoods, parks, private pools, trash pickup, floral gardening in common areas, exterior maintenance (usually condos, there are some detached single family neighborhoods as well), snow removal, neighborhood gatherings or celebrations/block parties, tennis/basketball courts, lake maintenance, access to club houses, and many more. However there can be a lot of reasons to run from HOA's. Reminder, not all HOA developments are this bad or have these same restrictions. If you find yourself looking in a neighborhood that is governed by HOA's make sure you read and understand their regulations and covenants to make sure this is a place you can live without testing the waters with your neighbors and potentially get fined. Some of the common HOA's limit the exterior paint colors you can choose from, disallow owners from parking any vehicles in the driveway, restrictions on the number and size of pets allowed, requires maintaining a clutter free yard, restrictions on the use of holiday lights, some disallow owners to sublease without the HOA voting to approve, strictly timed garbage can removal, restriction on the number of stories or square footage allowed on new builds (the neighborhood doesn't want under built or overbuilt homes that might affect the value of their already constructed homes), disallow the storage of: boats, trailers, RV's, large equipment/commercial vehicles, requires grass to be under height restrictions, and many more. When you or your neighbors do not comply with the covenants or regulations you have a chance of getting a fine by the board. When fines are not paid, the association can place a lien on your property as you signed the rules prior to moving in to comply with the regulations already in place. Also if you don't pay your monthly dues the association has a right to place a lien on your home as well.

      There are some extreme situations that have fired up home owners I would like to share a few, to show you how out of hand things can get. A veteran in Georgia was selected by the Homes for Our Troops program to receive a new home. The subdivision they selected to build the home in had a strict HOA and would not allow the build of a single level home in their two story neighborhood. The neighbor’s fought saying it would bring down their home values. Per the wife, her husband was wheel chair bound and they would not need or use a second level. Due to the strict regulations they decided to build elsewhere. Another HOA fight took place in Ohio with regards to a flag pole being installed in a home owner’s front lawn. Per the HOA regulations they restricted flag poles outside of common areas. The homeowner fought the HOA and in the end the HOA allowed the owner to keep the flag pole. In Kentucky, a family built a therapy play house for their son in their back yard. The HOA asked them to remove the play house. Per the mother it helped her son walk and helped in his growth. The HOA temporarily allowed the play house, while the state decided in a court battle. The state of Kentucky is now trying to ban HOA's from disallowing things when necessary for therapy. On a lighter note, a California home owner lost his home due to the planting too many roses. Sounds crazy but he ignored the fines issued by the HOA and they placed a lien on his house. They went to court and due to the $70,000 in legal fees he lost his home to the bank. A couple in Texas was selling their home when they found out there was a substantial lien on their home due to the placement of pink flamingos in their front lawn. They paid the fee and are now suing the HOA.

 

Getting What You Want and Accommodate Your Pets

For most pet owners their animals are another member of the family therefore many home buyers who have pets buy a house based on their pets needs. To those of you who are not pet owners your probably rolling your eyes and thinking, they are just animals. To the dedicated pet owner there are alot of things to think about: should we go with hardwood floors for easy maintance or carpet for easy vaccumming of pet fur, does it have a fenced in yard to be able to let out the dog or a yard at all, is the house backing to a busy street where dogs will bark at pedestrians or get out in the street, is there a space for their kennel or pet beds, does the pet have enough room to roam around without feeling cooped up, are there walking trails near by, how many fights of stairs do you have to walk to get to grass(condos), does your yard have shade so you can leave the dog out all day, etc. You want your pet to be happy and your life easier. You might find when searching for the perfect home to settle down, it might not be easy to find a home with a fenced in yard in your price range or the house you love doesnt have hardwood floors, etc. There are always small battles you have to weigh the good with the bad. You might be able to "make it work." Ex. You might be able to use a stake in the back yard and hook up the dog/s if you dont have a fence temporarly. My husband and I have two dogs which are part of the family. I dont know what I would do without some of the ammenidies we have, which we were searching for specifically for our pets when purchasing a home. These things make it easy to accommidate our lifestyle and keep the pups happy. However you should not make your pets the top priority when purchasing a home maybe next to top, you might end up paying more when you could possibly change those misfortunes once you move in if your primarily focus is on your pets. Or you might get lucky and the home you find has it all. Just a little food for thought!

Foreclosur​es- Learn to Walk Before You Run

Over the last year or so there has been a huge increase in foreclosure homes up for sale. It seems like everyone wants to jump into flipping homes, thanks to HGTV and many other networks. The network makes it look so easy: Purchase the home and take a hammer to all the walls and kitchen by destroying everything in your path. Then, go to your local home store and start purchasing replacement items and doing it yourself, put it on the market and make a huge PROFIT. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of things you can do in a home even if you are not an experienced handy man or licensed contractor. However some items should be left for the professionals. One thing they don’t always mention is the little cost here and there that adds up to a LOT of money. I know firsthand.

My husband and I purchased a foreclosure home over three years ago and got a steal. We wanted to flip the house and move to the next. Little did I know, I wouldn’t want to sell. We picked out everything we could ever want in a home, making it amazingly perfect. After consideration there was no reason to move. We would not be able find this nice of a home in such a good area for the same price, plus it has almost everything we would ever need. To this day we are still working on our home.... it's a never ending project. We are still throwing money at it. Even though we got a deal to begin with, we would probably break even with the current neighborhood values if we sold our home.

Foreclosures have been a big hit and will continue to be, everyone wants a good deal. I hear buyers all the time saying they want to buy a foreclosure. When I think about my experience I like to tell people: you may get a good deal now, but the amount you will have to spend to get it where it needs to be, you may just breakeven or lose money. The reason the foreclosures are cheap is because they usually need work- hints the discount in price from other homes in the neighborhood. There are some REALLY good deals out there and buyers/investors can flip homes and make money, you just have to know what you are doing and be smart about the changes you make. Don’t add personal preferences, the home should be neutral and appeal to almost everyone for a quick sale. If you get into flipping homes I recommend staging the home, people like to imagine their furniture and get ideas of where their stuff would fit. Staging will help agents market the property and help with the overall appeal of photos.