Many potential home buyers have downloaded my free eBook “10 Mistakes Home Buyers Make” and have told me how it saved them money on their home purchase. Here is the list of 10 mistakes you should avoid. Download the eBook, its free (you need Adobe Reader) and it could save you  money also. I look forward to your feedback. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

1. Not Doing Your Homework

2. Previewing Houses Before Pre-Approval

3. Accepting Verbal Estimates

4. Skipping the Pre-Approval Process

5. Writing A Contract Before All Decision Makers Have Seen The House

6. Purchasing A Home Without Representation

7. Waiving Your Home Inspection

8. Using The Wrong Home Inspector

9. Only Getting A Quote From One Homeowners Insurance Company

10. Forgoing Owner’s Title Insurance

In my 15 years of being a real estate professional I’ve notice that some buyers want to purchase a home in neighborhoods that are out of their financial comfort zone or buying power. Now is a good time to take advantage of the lower interest rates. This is one way to  increase your buying power!

I assist many first-time home buyers with the purchase of their first home and I can say that 100 percent of my clients were happy with their purchase. I contact my clients after they settle in their new homes to see how they are doing and even in this economy all of them were happy with their purchase. No house is perfect and sometimes things happen unexpectedly, but I have not had a client who said “I wish I had not purchased this house.” This tells me that homeownership is a good thing  and still the American dream for many people. Buying a home is not as easy as during the real estate boom and can be challenging as the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke reported last week at the international monetary conference in Atlanta, Georgia. He stated that, “despite historically affordable home values, many buyers are unable to access financing due to tightened lending standards.” This is true so you need to prepare for homeownership. If you are thinking about purchasing a home next year you need to get started now. In my next blog post I will show you how to prepare so getting financing from your lender is not so difficult.

Get preapproved before you go house shopping. On Friday my wife and I were showing a foreclosure property to one of my clients, as we were leaving the house a couple approached us about the property. My client told the couple that he was not interested in the property and he gave them his listing sheet (detailed information about the property). They wanted to take a look at the property and I told them I had one more property to show my client and I could meet them back at the house if they did not have an agent. When I returned to the property one of the first questions I asked ” have you been preapproved?” They said no. After showing them the property I told them I could assist them with getting preapproved and they should do that first before continuing to look at houses. In the spring market getting preapproved before you start looking at houses is essential because you have more active buyers in the market during the spring. You could potentially lose out on a house you like because some one else took the time to  get preapproved before touring houses and you didn’t.

If you need help in getting  preapproved I can provide a list of good lenders contact me at 410-977-7176.

FHA regulations typically prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days, but in February of last year, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, noting that in today’s foreclosure-ravaged marketplace, the agency’s research has shown that acquiring, rehabilitating, and reselling distressed properties often takes less than 90 days.

Owner-occupied units that are intended as the primary residence of the home buyer are eligible for FHP funding. Eligible units include the following owner-occupied 1-to-4 family properties;

1. Townhouses

2. Condominiums

3. Foreclosed properties

4. Cooperatives

5. Manufactured and mobile housing (manufactured and mobile homes, transportable in one or more sections, which are built on a permanent frame and designed to be used as a dwelling when connected to the required utilities.

6. New construction (new construction requests are eligible when the home is within 30 days or less of the closing date for the loan.

Any first-time home buyer interested in using this program must use a participating (member) lending institution. Contact me to get a list of those members. Also if a first-time home buyer owner-occupy the property for 5 years the grant funds are forgivable. To receive additional information about the program and the guidelines contact me.

Don’t miss this presentation it will be fun, educational, and entertaining. I hope to see you there! Na’Klectic Natural Hair Gallery and Spa 36 East 25th Street Baltimore, Md. 21218  410-889-0287. Each attendee will receive a free copy of my report “How to Buy a Home in the New Economy and Save Thousands of Dollars.”