Video Tips

Practical Home Buying Tips for Real Estate Investors

According to the the National Association of Realtors®, “distressed homes” represented nearly 2 of every fifth home sold in January 2010.  Clearly, real estate investors are taking advantage of good deals on cheap property even here locally in Northwest Indiana.  But there’s risk involved.

This NBC Today Show interview first ran in March 2009, featuring real estate expert Barbara Corcoran. Despite its age, the message remains relevant. Today may be a terrific time to buy a bank-owned home — just make sure you do your research first.  There’s plenty of ways for investors to get burned.

Some of the tips in the video include:

• Buy in your own backyard
• Start small, then build to a bigger portfolio
• Watch receipts — rent rolls don’t matter if tenants aren’t paying rent

Corcoran also gives pointers on how to evaluate a prospective tenant.

Foreclosures should represent a large number of 2010’s total home sales in Northwest Indiana and will offer interesting opportunities to bona fide real estate investors. be you jump in, make sure to watch the video. The rents you save may be your own. 

Remember, the stats and the data are from 12 months ago, but the advice stays meaningful.

Contact James K Barath in Northwest Indiana to Qualify for Your FREE FHA Home Loan Approval Today!

7 Ways to Improve Your Credit & Your Home Loan Rate

As mortgage lenders tighten approval standards nationwide and in Northwest Indiana, the importance of a good credit score is rising.  Credit scores not only make the difference between a mortgage approval and mortgage turn-down, but they also play a large role in determining your actual mortgage note rate.

In the 3-minute piece, the NBC Today Show talks about 7 ways that homebuyers ruin their credit — often by accident.  Some of the highlighted mistakes include:

• Closing open credit cards
• Making appliance buys on credit prior to closing
• Asking creditors to lower credit limits prior to closing

In general, a 740 FICO will insulate a borrower from the higher costs and/or rates associated with low credit scores.  Below 740, though, every 20 points adds to the damage.  Watch the video and apply what you can to your own situation.  The more you know, the more you can save.

Contact Benchmark Mortgage in Northwest Indiana to Qualify for Your FREE FHA Home Loan Approval Today!

Top 10 Cities for Bargain Homes

As the housing market improves across the country, certain cities are emerging as relative bargains.  Some areas, like Miami, were hit hard by the recession, and other areas are buoyed by good school systems and strong labor markets.

In this 5-minute video from The Today Show, 10 cities are highlighted for their bargain home prices based on size, value, local job growth and home value appreciation.  And they’re not “small towns”, either.

Among the featured cities:

• Miami, Florida
• Akron, Ohio
• Tuscon, Arizona
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Trenton, New Jersey

Although this video clip is about finding gems on a national scale, did you know that home bargains also exist locally in Northwest Indiana. You just need to know what to look for.

With mortgage rates low and tax credits available, it’s not likely that bargains will last.

Need more expert advice? Ask the team of Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists at Benchmark Mortgage.

Save Money and the Environment – Lower Your Utility Bills

The average family spends $2,200 per year in electric bills and the average home is responsible for twice the amount of greenhouse gases than the average automobile.

Whether you want to save money or save the environment, this 5-minute piece from the NBC Today Show is for you. In it, you’ll learn that just by being aware of your energy consumption, you can reduce it by up to 15%. 

The piece centers on a device called a Power Monitor which retails from $30 to $100, depending on the model. It measures the actual cost of using an appliance, or using a light, or charging a laptop, or any other household energy use.

Among the cost findings:

• A plugged-in phone charger no phone attached costs $0.10 per hour
• Cooking with a microwave costs $0.88 per hour
• Big screen TVs cost $0.06 per hour to operate

Obviously, turning off lights when rooms aren’t in use saves money, too.

By making small changes – most of which aren’t inconvenient – the average family can drop its energy bill by hundreds of dollars each year. 

Need more expert advice? Ask the team of Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists at Benchmark Mortgage.

How To Find Good Deals As Buyers Market Comes To An End

Should Joint Homeowners Have Separate Bank Accounts?

When you own a home with a spouse or partner, the issue of what’s mine, what’s yours, and what’s ours can be a divisive one.

Each household has its own money management methodology and, according to financial talk-show host Suze Orman, most leave significant room for improvement.

In this 4-minute piece aired on NBC’s The Today Show, Orman talks about co-managing finances with topics including:

• How to determine how much money goes into a “personal” spending account versus a “family” spending account
• The importance of both parties taking an active role in bill-paying
• How to manage the money when one partner doesn’t earn an income

Being aware of money is the first step towards protecting it.

Need more expert advice? Ask the team of Certified Mortgage Planning Specialists at Benchmark Mortgage.

The Sellers’ Deadly Sins: How To Keep Your Home From Selling At Maximum Dollar

It’s a sensational headline – “The Sellers’ Deadly Sins” – but the message is clear.  Home sellers make mistakes that not only cost themselves thousands, but sometimes cost the sale, too.

NBC’s The Today Show lays it out cleanly in this 5-minute video:

1. How to respond to an “insulting offer”
2. How to handle the first purchase offer you receive
3. What do when you can’t leave your home for its Open House
4. What room in the home should be kept the neatest

But, be aware.  At the video’s end, there’s a piece of advice that may sound extremely self-serving coming from a real estate professional.  Don’t let it turn you off.  The video’s overall message is spot-on and the advice is real-world tested.

Selling a home is a process. Make sure to do it properly.

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