How Much Can You Afford to Pay For a House?

Many wannabe house purchasers wonder whether or not they can afford the price quoted on the house they would like to buy. Or if they have not started their house shopping, they may be wondering what price range they should be exploring.



If you intend to buy with all cash, you can pretty much answer the affordability question on your own. But if you will need a mortgage, as most home buyers do, the decision is no longer yours alone. A lender is also involved, and behind the lender are multiple government agencies that set rules that the lenders are obliged to follow. These rules define the minimum documentable income and cash borrowers must have, and the maximum debt payments they are allowed to have. In addition, when the purchaser's down payment is less than 20% of the price, mortgage insurance is required at premiums set by private insurers or by FHA.



http://flip.it/_I79L

 

Need A Better Home? Try Using These Tips To Get It!

Home improvement is an activity of knowledge and skill. It's an activity with the goal of improving upon your home so that it looks the way you want it to. Easier than it sounds though, correct? Don’t let that put you off! Read the tips in this article, to see what you need to begin improving today.



Use these two steps to make your ceiling look higher. You can put a lengthy floor lamp in the room or install striped wall paper. This will give something for the eye to marvel at. This makes the ceiling seem really high.



http://flip.it/DdJGa

 

Oscar Winning Home Staging Tips

Why Home Staging Sells
Real estate agents and sellers know how important it is to show a home that is presented in its finest form.  Statistics show that staged homes sell faster and for more money. Interestingly, it is estimated that only 10 percent of prospective buyers can visualize a home looking any different than the way it looks when they walk in the door. They need help and you can help them!
Staged homes give the perception that a home is well-maintained and stylish. Working with the flow of a home, eliminating personal effects and clutter, and arranging furniture can make all the difference a home needs be best presented.

http://flip.it/ZZ59R

Bad bargain? Manufactured homeowners feel the financial strain

Twenty million Americans live in mobile, or manufactured, homes that offer affordable housing, particularly in rural parts of the country. Typically older and poorer than traditional homeowners, manufactured homeowners often face serious, unique financial difficulties that make it a bad bargain for some low-income Americans. NewsHour's Stephen Fee reports.



http://flip.it/_Nmxs

How to Choose the Perfect Color — The Feng Shui Way

Choosing a room color is never an easy decision. Do the hues make you happy? Do they work with the size of the room? Do they flatter you? So, yes, you might balk at Feng Shui as yet another consideration in the paint aisle.



But when you follow this guide, you'll end up with colors that fit just right — they'll help your house work exactly as it should, and make you feel right at home. We tapped Laura Benko, holistic Feng Shui expert and author of The Holistic Home: Feng Shui Your Mind, Body, Spirit, Space, and New York-based interior designer Elena Frampton, who's been a Feng Shui hobbyist since she was a teen, for their most thoughtful advice on the subject. Consider this the color primer you've been waiting for — even if you don't think you're the Feng Shui "type."


http://flip.it/PkbBU

DON'T BUY: Here are 15 US housing markets where it makes more sense to rent

Buying a home can be a good investment, but in some areas the cost discrepancy between renting a place and buying a place can be massive.



RealtyTrac, a real-estate research firm, compiled data from 504 counties in large housing markets across the US. They found that in these markets the cost to rent, as a percentage of median wages, was lower than a monthly home payment about 42% of the time.



http://flip.it/UKuU0