Like our credit report? Why do we have to pay to know something about ourselves?!?!?!?! It's soooo ridiculous! We should have every right and easy access to something like that. I hate this world!!!!!
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I totally agree. If it's your own information, there shouldn't be a price to see it! And why are there THREE credit bureaus? It's all a money game, and a way to screw people... What a world.
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~~You can obtain a free credit report once a year through www.annualcreditreport.com They only charge you if you want to see your credit score (I agree, this should be free). If you haven't received yours then go through this website, it gives you a chance to make sure there is no wrong info on your report.~~
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Credit report are compiled by agencies. They don't put all the information together for free.

I'm looking for legitimate websites to look at foreclosed houses listings. With the economy going the way it is, there are plenty, but I can't find a site that doesn't look like a scam.
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skip sites; call the banks directly!

if you are really ready to buy and
are qualified by a lender [skip the world
of flipping], then call a RE broker's
office and see a BUYER'S agent!
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Any real estate web site has them - the problem is most will not accept an offer without proof of funds. The banks owning these houses will not finance them. You need cash to get one.

And can the real-estate agent buy one of the found homes for himself/herself?
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Maybe the process you are talking about is prospecting.
I set up some sort of systematic way of finding properties that the owners want to sell and talk those owners into listing them with me for sale- that would be what I call prospecting.

Yes the Real Estate agent or Broker can buy one of these homes themselves. I would imagine a trial court would decide that an agent can not buy a house for themselves and still pretend they are somehow representing the best interest of the owner- but with the proper disclosure the owner could still sell the house to the agent.

I had a listing where the elderly resident could not remember that her home was for sale and wondered how come people would show up. I met with the lady and her grown children and I agreed to buy the house at a slightly lower price and help the lady move on.
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When they look for a home for you they are a buyers agent. If they are selling a home for you, they are your listing agent. There's no real name for either process.

Yes, but laws vary from state to state. They can represent themselves in most cases,but have to disclose that they are a Realtor.

Are you supposed to get the interest from the security deposit also?? and if so, how much would I get back today on a $600 security deposit where the interest was 2% and I moved in 8 years ago?
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It might be a local thing, but here, most deposit money is held in escrow so there is no interest. For the answer to your specific question, check your lease.

I've never gotten back any interest in any city or state where I've lived. Usually, you're lucky to get anything back at all.
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It depends on state law. No bank account is paying 2%. The landlord gives you what the bank provides minus an administration fee, where 1% is customary.
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In our city only in apt complexes over 6 units is any interest due.

2% might be high, the laws state that a money market account minus administration fees is required.
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It depends on state law.

If interest was 2 percent then your $600 would have earned about $12 per year. (Plus a little more, of course, due to compounding).
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Nope, you don't earn any interest on your security deposit.
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all depends on which state your in....most landlords that own over 6 apartments has to pay the going interest rate..if not you get back what you paid...

We found a house listed for $119,000. When our realtor showed us the house there wasnt even a for sale sign up because the contract had ran out with the sellers realtor. They are not living in the house, it has been for sale 8-9 months.

We contacted the seller and they agreed to a short sale, since the house will be going into foreclosure anyway. We offered $70,000. Seller owes $110,000. Bank of America has the note. My dilemma is, if we try for the short sale, did we offer enough for the lender to consider taking, or should we let it go into foreclosure and try to buy it at auction?
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You have an agent -- put them to good use! Seriously, he/she's better equipped than anybody here to tell you how much the house is worth, what you ought to offer, how likely the bank is to accept your offer, what comps are selling for.

That said, IF the house is in decent shape (structurally sound, and all systems are in place), 70K's probably too low. It's upwards of 40% less than what the seller's asking, and 36% less than what the bank is owed. Buyers can get real deals in this market, but there's a fine line between a deal and a botched attempt at highway robbery. And if you're eligible for the first time home buyer tax credit, it's probably a botched attempted at highway robbery carried out with a rubber chicken and a spork instead of a gun.

If I were you, and this was a house I *really* wanted, I'd forget about trying to pick it up at auction, and get information about what comparable properties had sold for in the last two months, then depending on the information, maybe submit a higher bid.

In a place heavily hit by the mortgage meltdown and foreclosures crisis (NV, CA, FL), or plagued by urban decay you'd have better luck lowballing the bank or snapping it up on the courthouse steps, but SC's made it through relatively unscathed. If it goes to auction and the highest bid is insufficient, the bank will take it back, and re-list it in hopes of obtaining something close to what they're owed, or fair market value.

ETA: Deleted my last edit due to the fact that it needs work. You need to look at comps. They probably accounted for the fact that it needs work in the listing price (I thought $120K was nuts, even with the different cost of living).

Regardless of the shape, the bank's probably going to want something close to what it's owed. If your agent suggested 70K, you might be good, but I'd probably shoot for no less than 85 or 90.
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It has nothing to do with what the seller is asking for. The bank will send their appraiser and you can get away with 20-30% below what the appraiser reports back to the bank. As it is, it looks like the property is priced way to low. Get with a real estate agent for help. read my blog as well. Report Abuse

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Unfortunately on a short sale, you're at the banks mercy. You can sit on it for 1 week or 6 months. That amount is generally too low, especially since the feds just released the 4.4 billion in MHDC money to help in foreclosure status. I would of maybe offered $95,000. Your realtor should have told you not to offer to low. I tell my clients, if you want the house, you need to act like it.
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I am a CA Broker specializing in helping people buy and sell short sales. Generally speaking, you can get away with 20-30% below the lowest comp for that price range. Using zillow.com to get the comps of that area (very crude method), it looks like it is already listed way too low as the smaller homes on smaller lots are selling in the mid to high 100's. See if you can use 201 Berry Road as a comp.

Use a real estate agent that is very experienced in short sales as they get paid by the lender anyway to help you with this purchase.

I also wrote a blog on how to purchase short sales:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1079781/...

I have around ￡23K saved up and earn a salary of ￡15K. There is a good chance I will be forced to leave my parents house soon and was wondering what I should do. I'm still single so will probably be moving out on my own. I'm not looking to rent as it would be money wasted. I have come from a very humble background so will live anywhere. Thanks
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A salary of ￡15k means you can probably get a mortgage for ￡45k at the moment ... and you have ￡23k saved but you need to set some aside for legal costs, furniture, etc, so realistically a deposit of ￡20k.

So you're looking at ￡65k in total. Well, it very much depends on where you live. That amount may buy you a small terraced property if you were in Wales or rural parts of Scotland, which are the cheapest areas of the UK. I don't believe that there is anywhere in England that you'd get a property for that value.

You could look into shared ownership properties through Housing Associations, where you buy a share of the property and then pay rent on the remaining half. However, the problem is that most HAs, when determining eligibility, only look at your income and not at your savings (since the scheme was initially designed for people who were unable to save a deposit). I know in London, you would have very little chance of getting even a one-bed flat on an income of under ￡22k. Obviously the requirement would be lower in other parts of the country, but I'm still not sure that ￡15k would enable you to qualify anywhere.

The problem you face is, you have a good deposit saved up but you only earn a low income. If you're young and therefore in an entry-level job meaning that it's likely that your income will increase in the near future, you are best to rent for now until you can get yourself an income of at least more than ￡20k, at which time you could look at purchasing something.
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Your salary is probably too low to secure a mortgage in most areas of the UK. There are bargains to be had in the north of the country and you could try looking on www.rightmove.co.uk and pricing houses up.

Another alternative would be invest your savings and secure yourself a good return. My company invests in property in the US and resells it after completing repairs. Perhaps this is an option for you but it will depend on how quickly you want to move.
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You can move to my area-- homes in Detroit are going for as little as $1000 US..

that said they typically need a lot of work . and work is hard to come by here.. s
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Talk to your local housing association to see if you qualify for a shared ownership flat. Explain your full circumstances and why you are being forced to leave your parents house - if it is because of a marriage breakdown for instance this can help. As always what you will be able to get for your money will depend on where you live. Outside London you will get more for you money and outside the London commuter belt more again with the northand Wales being cheapest.

With ￡ 23k you could buy a 30 % share in a property with a full market value of ￡ 76,600. Or on ￡ 15k a year you could top that up with a mortgage of ￡ 45,000 (3 x salary) and buy a property with a full market value of ￡ 121,600 or anything in between - you will probably feel more comforatable with a smaller mortgage.

With a shared ownership property you buy a share from 30 % upwards in the property with a lease, typically 99 years with a provision to extend, and in effect become an owner occupier with a high level of security of tenure because the owner of the balance is a housing association which is a charitable body set up to promote low cost home ownership and are likely to be more understanding of arrears than a building society. The lease gives you security of tenure for its full term.

As an owner occupier you can make alterations and improvements within reason with the approval of the housing association - something you cannot do with a rental property.

Also as an owner occupier you bear full responsibility for maintenance and repair but it is under your direct control and if you choose not to do it within reason it is unlikely anyone will complain. You can also do it yourself or get it done cheaply (think of all those Polish builders). Ultimatly obviously there will be maintenance clauses in the lease which are enforceable. You will also have to pay a service charge for maintenance of common parts, buildings insurance etc but this is likely to be considerably lower than for a privately owned flat.

Since you own the 30 % you can also sell it in future and therefore benefit from the long term trend of house prices to increase. This may seem like a sick joke at the moment but over the longer term house prices in the UK, and particularly London, have increased strongly probably doubling in the last 15 years. This is due to the pressure of a rising population with a high level of immigration into the UK from Eastern Europe and elsewhere and a rising trend in divorce etc hitting up against a virtually fixed supply of housing.

The key point on cost is that the rental you pay on the 30 % you do not buy is at a heavily subsidised level of around 2.75 % compared to likely mortgage costs of at least 6 % once interest rates recover to more normal levels. The rental does increase as you say at a rate linked to the retail price index. Generally there is a discounted rent for the first 2 years which is at only around 1 % or less.

The other advantage is flexibility - you should be able to afford a property with a higher market value now by buying a shared ownership property at 30 % and then buy the rest in future when you can afford it. But you can just stick at 30 % and have a cheaper property in the long run until your death or 99 tears whichever comes first! Seriously though there will be provisions in the lease to extend its term which it would make sense to do once it gets down to around 70 to 80 years.

I have been leasing a home for nearly five years. The owners have just provided me with a written 30-40 day notice of having to vacate the property because they have decided to sell. Initially entering into the lease agreement, the lease term was for one year. After the lease term expired, I wasn't provided with a new lease agreement until after I had been in the property an additional year, and then receiving another ONE year term lease agreement the following. Although I have asked for a renewed ONE year term lease agreement several times, I had never received another since, but I have still been leasing the property until this day. Trying to work out some arrangements to ful-fill the rest of my lease term, I had been told that once a lease expires, I am automatically placed into a month to month status as long as I'm paying rent. So unbeknowing to me, I have been in a month to month rental for the last almost three years. So if there was never any verbal acknowledgment of the month to month leasing status, and no documentation to dictate such, am I obligated to adhere to the guidelines from the last provided lease, or does this all of sudden month to month rental null and voids any previous rental agreements??
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That is all standard. When a lease expires it automatically goes to a month to month agreement with all the same terms and conditions of the original lease. No acknowledgment of this is required. They can legally give you 30 days notice for no reason. There is not really anything you can do to fight this.

Not fair, but legal.
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Month to month simple renews your lease on a month to month basis.You are under the same terms as the original lease.
You cannot stop the owners from selling the property.You are making a problem where none actually exsist.
They gave you ample notice to move out.
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Month-to-month doesnt void any of the agreements in your lease other than the term. Since you are on a month-to-month, all he has to give you is 30 day notice to move, and vise versa.

Unfortunetly, it is his house, and he can ask you to leave if he wants.
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Unfortunately you do not have a signed lease, so you are considered month-to-month and your LL has every right to give you 30 days notice.

That really stinks, but it is the law.
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Most leases state that they renew their terms on a monthly basis after they expire, so long as a new lease is not signed.

Even if they don't explicitly say that, a lot of states will consider it there, unless the landlord has implicitly allowed changes to the terms; for example, the lease does not renew itself, and it says "NO CATS". A day after it expires, you get a cat. The landlord knows this, and does nothing to enforce it for several months. At that point, the landlord would have to re-establish the NO CATS clause by posting a 30 day notice on your door saying that cats are now explicitly not allowed.

Overall, I'd say you should abide by the terms in the old lease while you look for a new place. No sense in upsetting a landlord right before they are supposed to return your deposit.

Where in this forum can I make a question related to Real Estate and Taxes. Thanks for your advice.
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You found, you're @ it.
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I am a realtor, what can I help you with?

If a relative "gifts" you an amount of money say to use for down payment and they sign the gift letter to submit to the loan company do you still have to wait 2 months in order to be able to make an offer? Or if the gift letters are submitted can you start making offers right away?
I know the banks like to check 2 months back on bank statements, pay stubs etc... So if the money sits in your account it is considered "seasoned" and then it doesn't matter. I'm just wondering how long it would take to begin making offers. Hope this question makes sense.
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Most lenders would be looking for 3 months seasoning of funds from gifts to the borrower. Therefore they would want bank statements or send a Verification of Funds to their bank.

In order to get your pre-approval letter you would need to have your income verified, the gift letter verified, w-2 forms for a couple of years and other things your mortgage broker would ask in order to issue you your pre-approval letter.

Once these funds have been verified then your mortgage broker or bank would issue you a pre-approval letter. After the issuance of your pre-approval letter you would then be able to select a real estate agent, find a property to purchase and make an offer on the property you find.

I hope this has been of some use to you,good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

We are moving into our new townhome next weekend. They said they want 600 deposit plus 600 for first months rent. They called and told us our credit was approved and to give them 900. We already paid deposit but the rent is 600 not 900 why do they want an additional 300?
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ask them for reason...
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I have NO freaking idea. You might get better results by asking your landlord.
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Do you have any pets?

Maybe they forgot what they agreed on with you.


Call them and make sure.
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Ask them, no one here can answer that for you

one of my friend is looking for apartment to rent in franklin sqaure.long island.ny.area.what's the best way to find it?Do they have apartment complex and also have rental office where we can call them or go personally?I have heard they don't have anything like that but have to go through real estate agent.Is it true?Thank you.
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There are very few complexes in Franklin Square and you do NOT have to go through an agent.

Try these sites:

www.newsday.com

www.pennysaver.com

www.craigslist.com
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I just looked at http://apartments.cazoodle.com and I found 64 rentals in Franklin Square. Check out the link below for a more detailed list to go and look at.

How is it that there are homeowners that are not paying their mortgage because they are struggling and don't get evicted????? I know someone that hasn't paid ther mortgage in 6 months nor did they pay their end of the year taxes last year!!! How is this possible that they remain in their house?
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Each and every bank has their own foreclosure time frame. Because a person has not made a payment in 3-4 months some lenders especially those that are guaranteed by the government such as FHA and VA loans might take several months before they even start the foreclosure procedure.

It has been know that some lenders have started foreclosure procedures 6-8 months after the last monthly mortgage payment was made.

It has nothing to do with the current mortgage crisis, as most lenders hire a foreclosure service to do the foreclosures as the loans are in different states and each states laws vary concerning foreclosures, therefore the lender would hire a local foreclosure firm to do the foreclosure on their behalf.

Most individuals that are behind in their mortgage payment normally do not make the insurance or county tax payment. This is not a surprise.

A bankruptcy would also prevent a lender from foreclosing on a house.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"
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BEST I CAN FIGURE OUT.....HOMEOWNERS MAKE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS AND THEN FALL FLAT ON THAT PROMISE, TRY TO SCRAMBLE AND RE FINANCE THEIR HOME.... THAT TAKES
TIME.........

BANKS ARE NOT SO QUICK TO GET THE PEOPLE EVICTED, THE MEDIA PICKS UP ON IT QUICKLY. THE BANKS BEST ANSWER TO THE MEDIA IS THAT WE GAVE THEM EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IT OUT....

FORECLOSURE ALSO TAKES TIME TO RESOLVE THE PAPERWORK....THEY HAVE TO LEGALLY SERVE NOTICES AND PUT A JUDGMENT THROUGH COURT.

DONT WORRY, EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY !!!!
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I'm sure it's due to the many other foreclosures going on that has created a backlog. It will eventually catch up.
Why does this bother you? Do you feel cheated? They are the ones losing their house. That is the real pain.
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There are so many that it takes close to 2 years before the banks complete the foreclosure process.

Now, banks are encouraged to help people retain their home which will slow the already slow process considerably.
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Banks have so many foreclosures to deal with, many people are probably slipping through the cracks...for now. I have to believe that one day it's all going to catch up to those who don't play by the rules...
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The new bill doesnt allow eviction so easily. They will have to go through pretty extensive court proceedings to save the home but if they arent paying sooner or later the home will be taken from them.
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Because it takes time to foreclose, sell the house, and then go through the legal eviction process.
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The banks and counties are way backed up so it's taking longer to get people out .
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Luck and red tape.
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trust me there pain is worse then yours...

We are both 18 and 19. We want to build credit and we have a little bit of money but I'm afraid if we do that it will backfire and our credit will go down the drain and we won't have a house.
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No, your mothers estate needs to go through probate first. The odds are she had insurance which will pay off the house.
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In the old days, the mortgage companies tried to force you to switch the loan to your names or to pay off the loan. If you were rejected for the transfer, your only option was to sell immediately.
The laws in most states have been changed to protect you. The bank must accept your payments. So it is usually best to leave the loan untouched. Just make sure you pay on time.
If the interest rate is above 6%, go ahead and call the lender and say that you would like to refinance the house. You can have a loan in your names for apx 5%.
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No. First of all the will needs to be probated. If no will someone will need to petition to become administrator. As far as the house goes, the executor or administrator needs to see if the loan is assumable or if you need to refinance the home into your names. Also, that person needs to assess the financial stability of the estate. The home may have to be sold. There are many factors.
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if there is a mortgage which means the house is not paid for, you would have to buy the house from the estate, if it is paid for it would/should have been left to you in your moms will, sorry for your loss, I would seek the advice of an attorney

I'm speaking with my Attorney for help with my Mortgage/Loan Company. Im looking for a modification loan on my house. My Attorney requested a Authorization Letter from me so he could contact the mortgage company and about my modification request. In the letter he needs the account numbers of my loan and the address where he could send the letter. I got the address, all I need now is how to write this letter in the correct form.
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This is correct, your lender is legally not able to give any information to anyone to include your attorney without your authorization.

There is not particular form that you need to place this information on, simply write your social security number, loan number, address and other information about your mortgage on a letter that you authorize your attorney and his associates to obtain information about your mortgage account. You should also include the address and telephone number of the mortgage company. Then all the individuals that are on the mortgage need to sign this document.

You my do the same thing that your attorney is doing, all the lender want you to do is complete several documents and return them. This you can do without cost. Your lender will assist with the completion of the form.

Your attorney is gonna charge you even if the lender denies your modification, they are charging for their time and the completion of the paperwork they are doing on your behalf. Not the fact that they can guarantee the desired results.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"
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There are companies out there that will help you get different terms on your loan so you can avoid foreclosure. One such company is www.jofe.AmericanBusinessDirec... Report Abuse

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Honestly, you should avoid your attorney. I have seen it many times where friends got a lawyer involved and it had the opposite wanted effect. It didn't stop foreclosure, instead it sped up the process because the lender assumed the person had enough money for a lawyer, so why not to pay for their home.

There is a good book you should consider getting called There's No Place Like Your Home, which shows you how to slow down and even stop foreclosure yourself.

The website for it is www.release-me.org and the book is cheap. I got it and it helped me avoid a lot of mistakes I would have otherwise made. I'm close to being back on my feet now and I hope you get there soon.

Hope this helps.
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If he didn't specify a format that just write as simple and non-confusing as possible. Simple words simple sentences. If it isn't good enough your attorney will let you know.
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So give it to him.
It's just your permission for him to discuss your loan with lender.
No correct form.
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Just write how you give him authorization to contact the bank regarding the loan mod for loan # at this address & sign it.

No, a real estate agent has a license to sell under a broker. A realtor does as well, but in addition they belong to NAR, the National Association of Realtors. The word is actually trademarked and can not be used by a non-member.
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Dog Ma (and others) hit the nail on the head.

People use the terms interchangeably but they aren't really the same thing.

A real estate agent is any one with an agent's license to work for a broker in the real estate business.

A Realtor is a member of the real estate association. It's a trademarked name, not that it's made any difference in vernacular usage.

Realtor's have to meet certain guidelines of behavior and continuing education that an agent may not.

All Realtors are either agents or brokers, but not all agents are Realtors.
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Although I'm not in the business, I'd say the "agent" word is a more definitive status of not being a "broker", who commands having multiple agents working for them. The realtor word is likely used for either but be sure to understand that a broker is likely more experienced having others working for them.
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Not in Canada. A real estate agent is someone who sells real estate. All they need is a license. A realtor is a real estate agent who belongs to a professional association and has earned (through additional training) the realtor designation and must adhere to a code of ethics.
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A Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors and is entitled to use the term. Almost all US real estate agents are Realtors, but I would not recommend using one that is not.
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by definition, a real estate agent sells realty, while a realtor sells AND buys realty. the testing & licensing requirements are not the same.
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generally yes, although a realtor could also be a real estate broker
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Yes.
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Yup.
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yes

I am looking in upstate NY now can he recomend me to a realtor of any company & get some sort of a small fee if I buy a home with this person he's putting me on to?
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Pablo -
Your Realtor should have access to other Realtors in New York, and can receive a referral fee from one of them if he formally sends you to the NY agent and gets a referral agreement signed. For my clients, I always called and chatted with a few potential Realtors before actually making the referral to one, since I wanted to be sure my client would be well taken care of.
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Possibly. He may be licensed in both states. I live in MO, and many agent in St. Louis are also licensed in IL across the river, and in KCMO they're licensed in the state of KS also. If not, he probably has contacts in NY. Just ask him.
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I am a firm believer in using a local realtor that walks the local sidewalks. He or She will know the neighborhoods and history of homes.

This is a little complicated, so bear with me.

I am trying to purchase a home. After receiving a pre-qualified letter from a bank, I applied for a mortgage. I was recently turned down for the loan (too low income), but was told by my loan officer at the bank that I may be approved for a different, FHA loan.

I received a phone call from her today with what I thought was news telling me that I was approved for the loan. She mentioned the word "commitment letter" and said I'd have to sign more paperwork, because it was an FHA loan. She said congratulations, I said I was relieved.

But a few hours later, my loan processor at the bank left me a message telling me that the appraiser needed to change some paperwork because it is an FHA loan, and "then it will be sent back to underwriting for review."

Did I get the loan or not? After receiving that message, I immediately thought that maybe I somehow misunderstood my loan lady, and she was really telling me that I was re pre-approved for the FHA loan.

I didn't think I had to be pre-approved again; I already was in the first place! Now I'm really confused, and have no idea what to think. It's Memorial Day weekend, so both of them have already left until Tuesday.

What do you think?? Thanks so much!
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I have switched many clients from Conventional to FHA. There are additional forms with an FHA loan so I think that is what your LO is talking about. Also, an FHA appraisal is a little bit different from a Conventional one. An FHA case number was ordered, & the appraisal was re-done on a different form. Sounds like the appraiser is FHA approved so you are in luck. And yes, it would have to go back to an UW to be underwritten again because the program has been changed. It could be your LO ran it through DU as an FHA loan & got an Approve/Eligible so that is what she was telling you. It sounds like you are good to go.

An LO you can't talk to over the weekend? That doesn't apply to me. I am available for my clients. If I am out of town someone covers for me. I would never let my clients hang like you are.
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First pre qualifying and pre approved are not the same... pre qualifying isn't worth the paper its wrote on. You can NOT be approved for a loan until it comes back from the underwriter, the underwriter has the final say in whether or not you are approved...plain and simple. But I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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Willow you have the loan, but FHA has standards for the house. They are verifying that the house itself passes FHA guidelines.

In a very short version of the standards: If you can't just move right on in the house will not pass.
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You don't have it done, but I would say 95% of loans go through when you get the commitment letter.
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Based on your discussion of events, understand that pre-approved only qualifies you for a loan amount, no different than buying a car instead of a house. The FHA loan is a special program from the government therefore additional paperwork was necessary. The appraiser is the person that qualifies the value of the home itself. If the appraised meets the loan, then you go to the next step. The "underwriter" is generally the final person that approves everything to show that it is all in order. If he/she approves, then you are home free. Overall, you are likely approved. Good luck.
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You probably have conditional approval, meaning that if all the information they have about your employment, income, etc is verifiable, you're approved.

Underwriting guidelines for conventional loans are different than for FHA or VA or reverse mortgages...so the underwriter has to see it again, but if all the conditions are met, you'll be approved.

In the past, loan decisions were made by a committee. Lenders would have loan committee meetins once a week or at some other interval, and review all the applications that were taken since the last meeting. They discussed the various characteristics of each application and made a group decision. It frequently took a few weeks for this to happen. They didn't make the decisions until the employment, income and assets were already verified.

Today, most loans are decisioned by desktop underwriting. A program reviews the data entered, and makes a decision based on the guidelines it's been given. Usually someone other than an underwriter reviews this decision, makes sure there's nothing unaccounted for by the desktop underwriting, and writes out the conditions. Frequently something is found that wasn't addressed by desktop. One thing that comes to mind is desktop can't tell if you have owned rental property long enough to qualify for that income to be considered. Your rental property might not have a mortgage on it, so there's not enough data. There are other things too, but I just can't think of any right now. Anyway, if it's conditionally approved, the not-underwriter-reviewer will generate a conditional approval notice, telling you what you have to provide (pay stubs, bank statements, etc) to make it an actual approval.

Does that help at all, or is it just too many words?

So my husband and I have been pre-approved for a $150,000 for a home. We would have about $35,000 cash to put forth towards any expense. We have been trying to find some property with a house already on it and have had no luck. What would we need to do in order to buy some land, and have a house built on it? Including the water, electricty and drainage to be added on? Would that be to expensive for us? We would like between 10-15 acres, with a house around 1500 sq ft.
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Be very, very careful about buying land with the intention of building a house on it.

Utilities can be very pricey to bring in. If you don't have municipal water and sewer it can be a disaster. Wells can be very, very expensive to drill, depending upon how far down they have to go. Septic systems require percolation tests (called percs). If the land hasn't had one done, DO NOT BUY IT.

Lot grading, access roads/driveways, etc., could easily eat up the rest of your budget with NO STRUCTURE AT ALL. You could easily spend the rest of the $150,000 getting the lot to be build ready.

All of these issues are resolved for houses that already exist. All of these issues are resolved in lots in residential neighborhoods which is why those lots tend to cost a lot more.

I'm not saying not do to it, I'm just saying to make sure that you know about all of the hidden costs before you buy the land and then can't afford to build on it. Or worse yet, find out it's unbuildable and worthless.

good luck!

PS - I didn't even mention zoning! You have to be sure that the land is zoned residential and that you are even allowed to build a house there!
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you need to see a general contractor in your area for this. Sorry but land values vary widely across this great land.
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My guess is that would be a little over your budget.
If the property does not have the infrastructure for water and sewer, then you would have to invest about $20,000 to $35,000 to have a well and septic system put in. You may even have to pay to have the electricity brought to your property.
By the time you purchased the land, and went through design and permitting process, you will not have much of the $150,000 left to build the structure. I will also say that building is a huge amount of work, unless you hire a contractor to do it all - and then the price goes up considerably.
As the previous person stated, different areas of the country can vary a great deal regards to cost of construction and land.
I would keep looking for that location you mentioned. You may have to go down to 4 or 5 acres - however, nothing is permanent. You can still work toward the vision you have for a home.
Good luck.
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Right now, for the most part, it will cost more to build than it will appraise for. I am not trying to discourage you just warning you. Just because you get somebody to build a home for a certain amount doesn't mean it will appraise for that.

My advice is get an all in one loan, construction and the follow on loan. This way they will hopefully use the same appraisal for the follow on loan as they used when they approved the plans for the initial construction. If you get the loan and latter the follow on loan and the market gets worse you may be up side down with a new appraisal. You never know, by the time you finished house prices may of gone up and you may have more equity than you could imagine. The bank doing the construction loan will require you to have a pre-approval for another bank that will take the loan over but that is just approving you. That bank may want it own appraisal upon completion of construction. If the value has gone down you could be in trouble.

Keep as much cash on hand as possible. You can use it for unexpected expenses or thing you can handle yourself.

One thing people often forget to consider is the price of getting utilities and landscaping. That can quickly get into the 10 of thousands esp if you don't have utilities close.

I googled private loan lenders and I can't find anywhere where they list people you can contact. Does anyone know email addresses or where you can find them? I don't want any of the scammers out there to contact me. I want real people who will work with you. So please, if anyone has any good leads to go by, please contact me. Thank you. If any scammers from the UK contact we, I will report you. I just want honest people.
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All you will get here that respond ARE scammers. They will take a fee to see if they can find you a lender. Guess what they can't but you DO NOT get your money back. This is not something you should be looking for on the internet to many chances to get scammed.
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When you run out of other options to get funding for your education, it may be time to get a private loan. These loans, also called alternative loans, come with a number of features and are somewhat flexible. Here is what you need to know about how to choose a private loan for your education needs.

http://www.worldbestloans.com/student-lo...

Just how much you can borrow is in accordance with your credit rating. A private loan gives you the option to borrow just what you need. Assuming you have some funding from a lower interest source, you will only want to borrow what the other lending agencies did not give you for your educational needs.
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Try micro loan banks, or peer to peer lenders.
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Try The Helvetica Group. They are a hard money lender my company works with. Not sure if they lend in the UK.
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see
http://solution.0fees.net/credit.html


answers.yahoo.com

By law banks must post all foreclosures at the County Recorders Office. Many of them are online. If not, walk in the door and there will be a computer at the front desk with the entire list.

Banks must advertise the properties for 4 consecutive weeks before they hold the auction. Check all the local papers to find the one they use . It will show the date, the property, the amount of the loan, and the location of the sale.

Wells Fargo posts all their repo's at www.PASREO.com (i don't work for them). it is free

Amtrust has theirs at www.AMTRUST.com ( i don't work for them). Free

www.COUNTRYWIDE.com ( i don't work for them) has all their repo's and they have the most in the USA. Free.

Later you will learn which attorney or "foreclosure service" handles the most sales in your county. Then you can just go to their office and get everything you need.
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Contact a local Realtor. Banks don't sell their foreclosures, called REO's, directly, they list them with Realtor


realtor.sailor