Buying or Selling a Home/First time buyer

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Expert: - 6/18/2011


Question
Hello,

I need your advice regarding buying a home. but first let me tell you about my self briefly which will help you to advice me accordingly.

I just came to USA in sept 2009. I am going to college and also started my own small business or computer and cell phone repair.
I am the only person working in my family and my parents are living with me.

right now i am renting an 2br apartment for 1095/month

but for the last 2-3 weeks i am wondering that if i am paying rent why not having my own home. what do you thing.

if you can please tell me what are my options and what are the pros and cons of having your own home rather than renting it.


I also have question about international real estate investment. i know people from Middle east, who want to invest here in US specially in the Silicon Valley.

Thank you for your time in advance.

Regards,
Mansoor Safi

Answer
Dear Mansoor;
I agree that it is a good idea to buy a home (especially with interest rates being at an all-time low and home prices being lower as well.  However; it is not necessarily a question of whether it is a good time to buy. It is more about whether you can qualify for a loan.  You need to make enough money for a lender to qualify you and have to have good credit as well.  Your house payment should equal about 1/4 of your monthly earnings.  Depending upon how much money you have in savings for a down payment and how much you can pay monthly will determine what you can afford.  I suggest that you go to a lender and discuss this; get yourself pre-qualified or pre-approved for loan and then contact a real estate agent to assist you in finding a home.

As for investments; ask your Realtor to suggest a good commercial broker to assist you with commercial investments (unless they are interested in single family homes as rentals.)  For apartments or office buildings a commercial broker is more likely to access all of the information and listings.  Again; it is a great time to buy and invest.

Best wishes;
Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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