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.

Tags: mortgages, mortgage calculator, home buyer, how much house can I afford, first time home buyer, real estate calculator, budget calculator, real estate budget

This is awesome! I was checking out WidgetBox.com to see what they had for real estate widgets to might jazz up the ol’ blog, and I happened upon this sweet mortgage calculator widget:

For anyone running a real estate blog, forum, or just a local real estate site this mortgage calculator widget is a must have. The widget is clean and professional looking, and even offers the option for annual taxes due. We’ve all seen the widely available free bland and ugly mortgage calculators, but this mortgage calculator widget blows them all out of the water. Pick yours up and custom is to fit your real estate site today, it’s free!

*UPDATE* - Portland-Real-Estate-Agent Blog has discovered another mortgage calculator widget, so you’ve got your pick. If you choose to use one on your site, I’d be happy to hear your comments on the pros and cons of each, and what mad you decide to go with the one you did.

Tags: mortgage widget, mortgage calculator, real estate, real estate widget, mortgage payment calculator, mortgage payment, calculator widget, mortgage calculator widget, property taxes

You may or may not be one of those people who jumped in with their feet (and empty wallet) first, but if you are concerned about home foreclosure (however you got to this point), David Faulker offers some priceless advice on ways to avoid foreclosing on your property. Yes, though it’s not easy, it is possible to avoid the benefits to your credit and the rest of your life going forward are immeasurable.

4 Ways To Avoid Foreclosure by David FaulknerAny one of us can hit the financial wall at any time, and without warning. But even if the loss of a job or unforeseen medical bills or other emergency have exhausted your financial resources, those to whom you owe money, including your mortgage holder, still expect to receive their scheduled payments.

If you have failed to pay your monthly mortgage payment for long enough, your bank or lender may have presented you with a notice of foreclosure. But if you know you are going to have difficulty meeting your mortgage payments, there are some steps you can take to try and avoid foreclosure.

Special Forbearance

If you know your financial shortfall is only short-term, speak to your lender about having your monthly mortgage payments lowered until you are back on your feet. If you can provide sufficient evidence that in a reasonable amount of time you will be able to resume your regular schedule of payment, your lender may allow you to a void foreclosure by catching up on the amount you have missed. This process is called Special Forbearance.

Use Your Equity To Refinance

If you’ve lived in your home and made enough mortgage payments to have built up a sizable amount of equity, which is the amount of money for which your home has been appraised minus the balance you have remaining on your mortgage, you may be able to refinance your mortgage. You can get the cash equivalent of your home equity, use it to avoid foreclosure by paying off your existing mortgage, and perhaps even negotiate lower interest rates and lower monthly payments on your new loan.

Look For A Loan

If you haven’t lived in your home long enough to build any appreciable equity, and your credit rating has not been lowered because of missed home payments, you may be able to avoid foreclosure by borrowing the money to pay off your default. You can look for a conventional lender, or perhaps get help from family or friends. But if you are going to get help from a conventional lender to avoid foreclosure, you should do it at the first sign that you will have difficulty meeting your mortgage payments, so that your credit record remains intact.

Sell Your Home Yourself

If all else fails, you avoid foreclosure by beating your mortgage holder to the punch by selling your home before it goes into full foreclosure. While you will have to give up you home, and may not realize any cash from the sale, you will have managed to avoid foreclosure, saved your credit rating, and can look for a mortgage on a new home with a price within your budget. As long as you make your payments on your new home as scheduled, you need never fear the stigma of foreclosure and you should have a solid financial future.

You can also find more info on auction foreclosure and real estate investors. Foreclosureshomeguide.com is a comprehensive resource to get help about property Foreclosures.

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Tags: home foreclosure, the sky is falling, foreclosed, real estate foreclosure, foreclosure, mortgages, foreclosed homes, mortgage foreclosure, foreclosure crisis, foreclosing, mortgage crisis

Number one on their list isn’t much of a shocker:

Given those numbers, it’s no surprise that Los Angeles tops our list of the nation’s least affordable real estate markets. We determined our ranking by combining the NAHB/Wells-Fargo index with our rating of home price to earnings, which measures how many years of gross income it would take to buy a home at the median sales price. The lower the number, the more affordable a house is for the median home buyer.

The others aren’t exactly a surprise either:

Rounding out the top ten least affordable markets are San Diego, Calif.; New York, Miami, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Seattle, Wash.; Boston and Orlando.

Read the rest for an explanation of how Forbes developed this list…

Tags: hot real estate market, expensive homes, real estate, affordable real estate, real estate market, affordable homes, affordable real estate market, hot real estate, expensive real estate, unaffordable real estate

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