Archives for the 'Closing Costs' Category

BUYING A HOME IN CHICAGO JUST GOT MORE EXPENSIVE

Supposedly we are on the verge of a recession, homes are taking longer to sell, and everyone is…well…nervous.
So what does the Chicago City Counsil do? Increase the tax stamp, to the buyer, for buying a home!
What used to be $7.50 per $1,000 just increased to $10.50 per $1,000.
So a home that costs $300,000 currently carries a tax […]

7 February 2008 | First Time Homebuyers, Closing Costs, Pre-Approval, Good Faith Estimate, Chicago Stuff | 1 Comment

The Cure For The Foreclosure Epidemic: Part 3–The Room

The real emotions of buying a home begin with The Room.
The room, as I call it, is the place where you, the borrower of a loan, and the loan officer, the person who is assisting you in getting the loan, meet. By place I should almost say space, but really, it is how you meet the […]

30 June 2007 | First Time Homebuyers, Closing Costs, Good Faith Estimate, Loan Officers, Programs, Foreclosure | 2 Comments

Closing Costs: Just A Slice, Please

Though I love my cheesecake, I don’t want to stuff myself. And most homebuyers certainly don’t want to stuff themselves with closing costs.
Here’s a great post about closing costs. Dan’s pie chart shows that, in general, lenders’ costs are only a small portion of the total costs (He does not include the 10% of […]

26 April 2007 | First Time Homebuyers, Closing Costs | No Comments

More Than Sloppy

When I was a kid I loved an overfilled Sloppy Joe.  Part of the fun was licking the “stuff” off your hands. 
Sloppy pre-qualifications (not to be confused with a true, legitimate pre-approval) are another matter. This blog post has it right, and everyone should pay attention.
High loan-to-value loans, especially 100% financing, are very tough to […]

22 March 2007 | Down Payment, First Time Homebuyers, Closing Costs, Pre-Approval | No Comments