Agents Heaven - Real Estate Blog » Home Buyers http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog Real Estate - Realtors - MLS Search Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:11:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 en Yahoo! Real Estate’s “How much house can I afford?” Calculator http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/10/yahoo-real-estates-how-much-house-can-i-afford-calculator/ http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/10/yahoo-real-estates-how-much-house-can-i-afford-calculator/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:19:16 +0000 admin http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/10/yahoo-real-estates-how-much-house-can-i-afford-calculator/ The other day I told you about a basic, but very cool, mortgage calculator widget, that makes for a great addition to any real estate site. Today I’d like to bring to your attention another type of calculator, that may not come in the form of a widget for us webmasters to use, but it couldn’t be more important for home buyers, specifically first time home buyers.

Check out Yahoo! Real Estate’s “How much house can I afford?” Calculator. In addition to stupidly going with adjustable rate mortgages, the current surge in foreclosures is due to people not understanding how much house they can afford.

Folks today seem incapable of adding up their monthly bills (with high-ball estimates) and then comparing it with the low-ball estimate of what they make each month, and then determining from there, what they can afford. I don’t know why people don’t understand this, but the “how much house can I afford” calculator eliminates the excuses from those who are incapable of figuring out their budget.

Update: Bank of Green is sharing this calculator, along with a list of other mortgage calculators, with their readers.

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]]> http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/10/yahoo-real-estates-how-much-house-can-i-afford-calculator/feed/ How To Make Successful Low-Ball Offers In Buyers’ Markets http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/04/how-to-make-successful-low-ball-offers-in-buyers-markets/ http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/04/how-to-make-successful-low-ball-offers-in-buyers-markets/#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:46:36 +0000 admin http://www.agentsheaven.com/blog/2007/09/04/how-to-make-successful-low-ball-offers-in-buyers-markets/ Whether or not you like the future of the real estate market, there is no debate over who currently holds the cards: the buyers.  With home prices projected to fall and more existing homes sitting on the market, buyers are justifiably beginning to wield their power.

The “lowball” offer isn’t exclusive to the buyers’ market, but it’s especially important in a buyers’ market and can lead to you saving a bundle.  MarketWatch’s Amy Hoak has written an article, detailing the “dos and dont’s” of low-balling and the potential outcomes of making these types of offers.

Amy discusses a case study, and then details the three major points of low-ball offering.  The main points follow, but you should read the entire article as she details each of these 3.

1. Learn how motivated the seller is to make a deal
2. Make your case with hard facts
3. Prepare for the possibility of rejection, or negotiation

Elizabeth Weintraub at About.com offers similar advice.

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