First Time Homebuyer 101: Everything You Need To Know

Are You Ready To Buy Your First Home?

Are you ready to purchase your first property? Do you want to start building equity? Whether you’re a beginner investor or first time home-buyer, follow along to determine if you are ready to make an offer today:

Why should intention matter in real estate? It's a material transaction, right? Bucks for bricks. And yet, what you're looking for in those bricks, what they mean to you, makes all the difference.

Ask yourself these 10 questions to discover whether or not you are ready to invest in you first home:

What is your current credit score?
What is the extent of your current debt?
Why do you want to become a homeowner?
How long do you plan to live in your new home?
How secure is your current income?
How do you plan to pay for home repairs and upkeep?
Have you visited your local mortgage banker? 
Do you have enough money to make a down payment?
What do you understand least about home ownership?
How do you feel about being a real home owner?

If you answered mostly Yes: Congratulations! It looks like you're ready to become a homeowner
Next steps: Create a list of must-haves for your new home. Find a realtor.  And Good luck!

If you answered mostly No: You're almost there. You need to become more financially prepared.
Next steps: Create a detailed savings plan. Set up a meeting with your bank to get a second opinion.

If you are still unsure. Strive to build proper finances and educate yourself on home ownership.
Next steps: Boost your credit score. Stabilize your budget. And commit to the basics.

When you're trying to take out a mortgage or obtain mortgage insurance, lenders consider what you've got and what you owe. They take into consideration your paystubs, your bank accounts, your holdings, everything. When it comes to deciding whether or not you're a good risk, though, they look not at your wealth but at your income, and they weigh that total against what you owe — including any student loans.

So even if you're making a lot, and even if you've saved a lot, and even if you've been diligently paying off your student loans every month, it might not matter. Your debt-to-income ratio — or all of your monthly payments on your debts divided by your gross monthly income — has to come in below 43 percent.

People will try to question every stage of your house-buying experience. Most of them aren't necessary. If you're willing to make a spreadsheet, do some research and attend a lot of open houses yourself, you don't have to assemble a whole team of experts just to make a purchase.

With a little preparation, and the willingness to learn from the mistakes of others, you probably can too.

Wells Fargo beat on its earnings, but missed ever so slightly on revenue for the first quarter of 2017

 

The bank reported earnings of $1.oo per share, higher than the $0.97 that analysts were expecting.
Additionally, the bank said it generated revenue of $22.0 billion, just below analysts' projections of $22.3 billion.
CFO John Shewsberry said in a press release accompanying earnings that the results were driven primarily by improved loan quality and a lower tax bill.
"Expenses were elevated compared with last quarter, driven by typically-higher first quarter personnel-related expenses," Shewsberry said. "Credit results improved, with lower net charge-offs and nonaccrual loans, and we benefited from lower income tax expense."
The bank said that consumer loans declined by $5.7 billion compared to the same quarter last year and commercial and industrial loans - essentially loans made to businesses - were down by $1.6 billion compared to the previous quarter, but were up $16.8 billion against the same quarter last year.
The bank also said there was a decline in outstanding credit for the month. This was partly due to seasonal effects, but also tightening credit standards in some areas.
"Period-end loan balances were $958.4 billion at March 31, 2017, down $9.2 billion from December 31, 2016, driven by a decline in credit card balances due to seasonality, a slowdown in new credit card account openings, and a continued decline in junior lien mortgage loans," said the bank's release. "In addition, there was an expected decline in auto loans from the fourth quarter as continued proactive steps to tighten underwriting standards resulted in lower origination volume."
The report follows a wild week for Wells Fargo.
On Tuesday, the board of directors released its investigation into the bank's fake accounts scandal. In September, it was revealed that Wells had settled with regulators after its employees in the retail banking segment had opened up as many as 2 million accounts for customers without their knowledge between 2011 and 2015. The scandal led to multiple congressional hearings and the resignation of former CEO John Stumpf.
The board determined that both Stumpf and former Community Banking head Carrie Tolstedt were responsible for not cracking down on the practice earlier, and the board said the scope of the practices most likely extended beyond 2011.
For his role in the fake accounts issue, the board clawed back another $28 million in compensation for Stumpf (in addition to the $41 million it had clawed back previously). Tolstedt was also retroactively fired and had $47.3 million clawed back.
Since the settlement with regulators was announced, the bank has seen a steep decline in new account openings. The bank said that new account openings declined by 35% in March from the same month last year, but were up 7% from February. Additionally, bank branch interactions were down from the year before.
New Wells CEO Tim Sloan tried to move forward from the scandal in the earnings press release, touting the release of the investigation as "valuable" to the bank.
"Wells Fargo continued to make meaningful progress in the first quarter in rebuilding trust with customers and other important stakeholders, while producing solid financial results," Sloan said. "We have taken significant actions throughout the company to date and we are committed to building a better bank as we move Wells Fargo forward."
Additionally, on Thursday, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced it was selling a total of 9 million shares of Wells Fargo to duck under regulatory hurdles from the Federal Reserve.
Any entity owning more than 10% of a large bank - as Berkshire did with Wells - is subject to additional regulation from the Fed. Berkshire decided that the extra scrutiny did not allow them to be the type of shareholders they wanted, so Buffett's firm announced it would reduce its holding in Wells to just below the 10% threshold.

Markets Insiders: 10 things you need to know today

Real-time market data. Get the latest on stocks, commodities, currencies, funds, rates, ETFs, and more from almost 100 global exchanges here.

Decorate Your Home With the Scents of the Season!

 

'Tis the season to cozy up to a gloriously-scented candle— Whether you prefer the smell of fresh pine, wafting mulling spices, or the essence of a roaring fire, there's a gorgeously fragranced flame here for every winter mood. Make the holidays extra scent-sational with any Holiday collection. Notes of pomegranate, mandarin, pine, cloves and cinnamon with a hint of vanilla and amber evocative of holidays spent fondly with family and friends.

One Sure Way Californians are Making Money in Real Estate

Are
you new to real estate investing? Learning how to invest in real estate
doesn't need to be complicated, difficult, or expensive. Learn how to get started investing in real
estate from beginning to end - with no hype, false promises, or pitches.



There are many different places you can stick your money other than
under your pillow, including stocks, bonds, savings, mutual funds, CD,
currencies, commodities, and of course, real estate. There are positive
and negative aspects of each investment option, but since we're here to
learn about real estate, we'll focus on that and that alone.

One of the most commonly stated reasons that people give for
investing in real estate is that they are seeking out financial freedom,
but there are others as well -- of course, each person will have their
own personal reasons why. They are typically seeking one or several of
the following: Learn more!

Deciding a 30- vs. 15-Year Mortgage

The right answer will depend on your circumstances, but some factors play a role in deciding which way to go. Today's record-low mortgage rates are giving
consumers the choice of two great options -- 30-year mortgages that
charge just over 4% interest or 15-year loans with rates nearly down to
3%.

The first thing to look at is the difference in monthly payments
between a 15-year mortgage and a 30-year loan of the same size. You want to look at what that 15-year payment will be and decide
if you can handle it. If you can't, that will decide it. Fifteen-year mortgages do charge lower interest rates than 30-year loans -- but carry higher monthly payments because you have to pay all principal back in half the time. 

For example, borrowing $300,000 for 15 years at 3.25%
average rate means you'll have a $2,108 monthly mortgage payment
(excluding the effect of any origination fees). That's nearly 50% higher than the $1,441 you'd pay if you take out the
same-sized loan for 30 years at 4.05% average rate (again,
ignoring origination fees).

 

You can check out your potential monthly payments by plugging in specifics from your own situation into the CHASE mortgage calculator. 

Many buyers would be well served if they opted for a 15-year
fixed-rate mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage. A lower interest rate
and shorter term mean that you will pay considerably less for your
loan. And There’s not a single person who’s
paid off their house that has ever felt bad about it. Right? of course. The message is a
higher monthly payment, and it is sensible to weigh the value of a less
costly mortgage against other savings priorities like college,
retirement and a rainy day fund.

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How The Property Brothers Built Up A Real-Estate Empire

Think you know everything there is to know about the Property Brothers? Read on to find out if you're as much of an expert on Drew and Jonathan Scott as you thought.

The brothers bought their first house when they were only 17 years
old! In college, they didn’t waste any time before flipping a house for a
$50,000 profit.

They own Scott Brothers Entertainment with their older brother, JD.
When he’s not impressing home buyers with his amazing finds, Drew’s
passionate about directing and producing.

Because of their Scottish heritage, Drew and Jonathan were
competitive bagpipers as children. Jonathan claims to have taken home
all the medals.

We knew they were a hilarious duo on the Property Brothers,
but did you know that Drew and Jonathan Scott have their own sketch
comedy group? If you’re lucky, you might even see them doing stand-up.

They grew up on a ranch in Vancouver, Canada, and started riding horses by the time they were 3 years old.

Drew is in a relationship with Linda Phan, who is Scott Brothers
Entertainment's Creative Director. They recently attended a friend's
wedding...so are they next?

Jonathan fans, you're in luck! The rugged, flannel-shirt-outfitted
half of the Property Brothers duo is currently single. But, he is the
proud papa to two pint-sized dogs, Gracie and Stewie.