Thirty-two percent of American households are renters, according to the National Multi Housing Council. Generally, more people younger than 30 occupy rentals, while the percentage of people who own their home increases with age, NMHC statistics indicate. People decide to buy a home for many reasons, but the recent real estate market downturn caused many Americans to rethink their assumptions about renting and owning.

Even with many real estate experts predicting the market will continue to improve, it pays to carefully evaluate how home ownership does – or doesn’t – figure into your long-term financial goals. If you’ve been renting and wondering if it’s time to apply for a mortgage and buy your own home, consider these points:

1. Renting isn’t always the cheaper option, and comparing your monthly rent payment directly to a mortgage payment won’t give you a clear picture of the financial impact of either option. Online calculators, like Guaranteed Rate’s rent vs. buy online calculator, can give you a better understanding of the comparison. With mortgage rates consistently low and rental markets competitive across the country, real estate experts agree that in most major metropolitan areas it will still be cheaper in the long run to buy than continue to rent.

2. While the days of zero-money-down mortgages are essentially over, it’s a misconception that you need a huge amount of money to buy a house. Yes, you’ll almost certainly need a down payment, but different lenders will require different percentages. Research your mortgage options before you begin house hunting so you’ll know how much you’ll need to save in order to secure a mortgage – and the home of your dreams.

3. Although the mortgage application process is detailed, it doesn’t have to be drawn out and tedious. Many lenders now allow you to initiate the process online, and Guaranteed Rate has recently overhauled its website to allow borrowers to apply for a loan, track the approval process and receive their home loans all online. The eighth-largest retail mortgage company in the U.S. allows customers to choose and customize their loans, submit an application and receive an official approval letter all at http://www.guaranteedrate.com. Automating the application process compresses the traditional time frame from days – sometimes, even weeks – into minutes. As part of the process, applicants also receive the credit reports from all three major credit bureaus.

4. Buying a home affords you the opportunity to really grow your roots, but the flipside is that in order to get the most out of your investment, you need to stay put for a while. If you anticipate being in your current job and living in your current town for at least five years, the long-term investment of buying a house will make more sense for you. If you anticipate a job change or a move within a few years, you may want to hold off on buying a house. The good news is, doing so gives you more time to save toward a down payment so you’ll look even more appealing to lenders when you are ready to buy.

While only you can decide if homeownership is right for you and your family – and if now is the right time to buy – keep in mind a few statistics from Trulia.com: 42 percent of renters say they regret not having bought a home, and 31 percent say they want to buy a home in the next two years.

Are you looking to buy or build a new home, or renovate your current home? Do you want a home that uses less energy; is more comfortable and healthier to live in; is environmentally friendly and saves on energy costs?

Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency offers choices for you to buy or build a better home, or to help you renovate your current home.

 

• The EnerGuide Rating System (ERS): This well-established brand for the energy rating and labeling of homes enables builders to choose the most beneficial and cost-effective upgrades for energy efficiency for your new home during the planning phase. It plays an important role in the construction of energy efficient new homes by providing homeowners with an evaluation report and official label that shows the EnerGuide rating of the home.

 

• Energy Star for New Homes: Buying a qualified house means lower energy demand and better performance. Your new home is built to technical standards that incorporate energy efficient guidelines and specifications. An Energy Star qualified home has additional energy saving features that make it an average of 20% more energy efficient than a typical home in your region.

 

• R-2000 Standard: R-2000 certified homes are some of the most energy efficient houses on the market. As a best in class energy efficiency label for 30 years, the standard has not only helped to pave the way for increases in energy efficiency in typical construction practices, but has also established the benchmark for energy efficient new home building in Canada.

Your R-2000 certified home ensures state of the art building techniques, exceptional comfort, increased energy savings and health benefits. And with the energy performance target of this year’s R-2000 Standard increasing by an impressive 50% compared to the 2005 Standard, R-2000 once again positions itself as a leading-edge national voluntary standard for energy efficiency.

 

Both the R-2000 and Energy Star for New Homes initiatives are supported by the ERS.

 

• When Renovating Think EnerGuide: Did you know that you can also get an EnerGuide Evaluation of your existing home to help you make the best decisions to increase your home’s energy efficiency and save money? Having a certified energy advisor undertake an EnerGuide evaluation provides you with a current rating, an assessment of your home’s energy efficiency potential, and a prioritized list of recommended upgrades. It may also qualify you to participate in local incentive programs. And after your retrofits, it’s quick to get a new EnerGuide label attesting to your home’s improved energy performance. EnerGuide Evaluations: the first step in smart home renovation.

If you regularly watch the evening news, you likely have seen stories about social activism and massive protests in support of issues like the environment. Not only are they trying to communicate directly with the public, they are also asking some corporations to change. These are noble causes that sometimes involve a level of personal risk. Another way of exacting change is by working with companies from the inside. In other words: investing in them.

 

According to Rosalie Vendette, senior advisor in socially responsible investment (SRI) with Desjardins Group, SRI is an emerging field that is still defining itself. “It’s really about engagement, not activism,” says Vendette. “An engaged investor seeks to persuade management to adopt more responsible environmental, social and governance practices. A common way to sway management is to draw attention to these concerns through direct dialogue. While consumers have the power to decide whether or not to buy a product, investors wield their power in a much more strategic manner. For example, companies that fail to address the environmental impact of their operations can do serious damage to both their public image and their pocketbook. Conversely, companies that reduce their environmental footprint see their stock rise in more ways than one.”

 

Interestingly, there remains a perception that SRIs yield lower returns because performance may be sacrificed in favour of principles. “In the medium to long term, SRI criteria have little impact on fund performance,” says Denis Dion, product manager with Desjardins Investment Fund Development Department. “A study of American funds published in the Journal of Investing found that over an 18 year-period, an index of 400 U.S. companies that met SRI criteria performed comparably to the S&P 500, which indexes 500 major U.S. corporations.”

 

“The point is that SRI is a paradigm shift and we’re eagerly working to spread the news,” says Vendette. “We know that this new approach will continue to transform how we have traditionally invested in companies. And ultimately, we hope that this will contribute to more sustainable corporate practices.”

 

To find out more about Socially Responsible Investing, speak to your financial advisor.

The biggest challenge facing most real estate investors is making acceptable offers, especially when buying properties is the basic foundation of real estate investing.

Unless you buy properties, you cannot make any money.

Here is how to make offers that get accepted.

The offer you make depends on the type of property you are buying.

1) Buying from motivated sellers

If you buy houses from motivated sellers, it is necessary to have the following pieces of information:

a) Market Value

Do your due diligence to find out conservatively how much the house would be worth in perfect condition. You must have this information before you can make any offer.

b) Mortgage balance

You must get this information before you can make an offer. A seller who is not willing to disclose this information is not motivated enough. Move on to a motivated seller.

The mortgage balance must allow you to buy the house and still leave you with a profit. It must allow you to make a profit and own it free and clear.

c) Repairs needed

It is possible to estimate repair costs with the information provided by the seller.

You must know how much you need to fix up the house before you can make an offer. Of course, I like to see the house and do my own repair estimates.

d) Asking price

If the owner is asking for too much money given the above 3 pieces of information, the deal might never happen.

A good asking price must take into account the market value, mortgage balance and repairs. You can then make an offer based on the asking price. Make an offer if the mortgage balance allows you to make a profit.

Even though it is necessary to consider the seller’s needs, no offer can be too low. If they are facing foreclosure, then they probably need some money to move, or their asking price might be just enough to get away from the property.

If the mortgage balance is too high compared to the value of the house, it does not make sense to make an offer. Move on to the next deal.

There is no bad offer, except the one you have not made. Always make the offers that make sense to you. You’ll be surprised how many get accepted.

2) Buying foreclosed properties

The asking price and repairs are the only important considerations to make in this case. Banks selling these properties are willing to negotiate.

Most REOs are listed below market value. Depending on your exit strategy, if the numbers are close to making sense, by all means make an offer.

Lastly, remember to make your offer lower than the asking price.

by: Simon Macharia 

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_6984.shtml