http://homehelperservices.net en-us http://homehelperservices.net N/A vfetty@dbs-inc.org Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:57:36 CDT 20 http://homehelperservices.net/articles/67/1/First-Time-Home-Buyers%3F-A-Step-by-Step-Guide Buying your first home can be a daunting prospect. This guide will help you through the process and explain each step to buying your first home. Missy Moore Tue, 03 Jan 2006 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/66/1/Give-Yourself-A-Credit-Card-Check-Up Have you ever been to the doctor and they tell you that if you would have kept up on your regular check-up, you might not have gotten sick. That is kind of how it is with credit cards. Taking care of your credit cards by reading your monthly statement, lowering your interest rate, and paying more than the minimum balance are ways to reduce costs while paying a mortgage or saving to purchase a new home. If you don’t keep track of your credit history, then you could be in a world of trouble. You will need to give yourself a credit card check-up. Missy Moore Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/65/1/Small-Fixes-That-Add-TOP-Dollar First and foremost, put your home in the best condition possible, especially if you are in a market with few buyers and lots of homes for sale. That means taking care of any major repairs that could deter a buyer (such as replacing any broken windows or replacing a leaky roof) if you can afford it. Next, work on your home's curb appeal. Make sure your landscape is pristine. Mow the grass, clean up any debris and weed the garden beds. Plant a few annual flowers near the entrance or in pots to be placed by the door. Missy Moore Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/64/1/Find-Out-How-Much-Your-Home-Is-Really-Worth Your home's market value is an important factor in a long list of financial decisions, including selling the home, refinancing your mortgage, borrowing against your equity, estimating your annual property tax bill, buying homeowner's insurance, calculating the expected return on remodeling costs and so on. The trick is figuring out how much your home is worth and remembering that how much you paid for it months or years ago isn't relevant to its current market value. It's not a bad idea to gather information from several sources and compare the findings, rather than relying on just one approach to home valuation. Missy Moore Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/63/1/Saving-You-Money%3A-Reducing-Your-Insurance-Costs As we gradually step into the next half of the decade, it seems that insurance costs have gone through the roof. Whether it is health, life, auto or home insurance, all insurances have sky-rocketed. As Americans, all we can do is purchase now before the numbers get any higher. The real question is how do we reduce the cost of insurance. Missy Moore Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/62/1/Saving-You-Money%3A-Reducing-Your-Communication-Costs There are many ways to save money while you are either saving up to purchase a home or while you are actually making mortgage payments. Whether you own or rent a home, you still have to set up communication services before moving in. The main types of communication services that you may need are local and long-distance telephone and internet service. You may already have a wireless telephone service before moving to your new home, but that is a cost that can be reduced as well. Missy Moore Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/60/1/Reverse-Mortgage-A-Popular-Loan-For-Senior-Citizens Are 62 years of age or older, own a home, and need some extra cash? Depending on additional requirements, you may be eligible for a reverse mortgage. No loan payments are required while the reverse mortgage is outstanding. The loan is repaid when you cease to occupy the home as your principal residence, when you sell the home or when you die. Missy Moore Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/59/1/Do-You-Need-A-Real-Estate-Appraisal%3F Yes! Ordering an appraisal is an important step in the home buying process, because the appraiser's report offers a close estimate of a property's true market value - the likely sales price it would bring in an open and competitive real estate market. Your lender will require an appraisal when you ask to use a home or other real estate as security for a loan, because it wants to make sure that the property will sell for at least the amount of money it is lending. Missy Moore Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/58/1/Will-You-Survive-A-Real-Estate-Closing%3F Have you ever taken a two hour final exam that seemed never ending? Buying a house is like taking the course in school, which is a lot of hard work. The closing on the house is like finishing the course with the final exam. What can you expect when you get there other than writer's cramp? Missy Moore Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST http://homehelperservices.net/articles/57/1/Repossessions-%26-Foreclosures If you foresee not being able to make your mortgage payments, then you will need to contact an attorney or your mortgage lender. Repossessions and foreclosures can look very ugly in your credit history and will follow you for a very long time. It is very important to not ignore letters or phone calls from your lender. The earlier you contact your lender with your situation, the less charges that will be assessed in the foreclosure process. Missy Moore Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:00:00 CST