if you are a first time home buyer shopping for a home in Raleigh say between $100,000 and $149,999 and in April found that your low ball offers weren’t being accepted, it’s because it ISN’T A BUYERS MARKET IN RALEIGH in that price range.

Up to $7,500* for down payment and/or closing cost assistance

Why You Should Start Planning To Purchase A Home If you’ve ever thought about buying a home, but decided that it was too big a financial gamble, think again. It’s possible you haven’t considered the risk of not buying a …

Five Great Reasons to Buy a Home today Read more »

Today’s historic low real estate prices in Raleigh North Carolina and the surrounding areas along with similarly low rates have made homeownership the best tool or hedge against inflation the average person can use to protect themselves from the imminent rising prices. If you have been waiting for the bottom, this loan officer is going on the record as saying THIS IS IT! Of course we will have no way of knowing that to be true until we look back six months from now and see that I was right, but by then it will be too late and you will have missed the best opportunity to have bought real estate in easily 30 or more years!

Remember, housing will likely be in a much better position in the second half of the year and at that time rates could be a bit higher. Now’s the time to take advantage of the combination of low rates and affordable housing.

This increase could cost your buyers more money each month for their total monthly mortgage payment. What can your buyers do? If they are close to contract, advise them to buy now before the new mortgage insurance premium takes effect. They must have an active loan application for the subject property prior to April 18, 2011.

Even if you use traditional credit very little, now you can build a good history by having your rent payments reported to the credit bureau.

three little known down payment grants for home buyers in Raleigh North Carolina

Even if a friend or relative has recommended a contractor that he or she has used before, you should establish some minimum credentials. Get the full company name and address, and make sure that the firm has a current state license and adequate insurance coverage. (Typically, this means at least a million dollars in liability and worker’s compensation coverage.) Get license and policy numbers, then verify that they are current. Determine whether any formal complaints or legal actions have occurred in the past or are pending.