Speaking of those dumb mortgages, it really is the mortgage companies who have put us in this crappy market. They came up with a quick way to make a buck and screw people down the road.

They figured a way an average hourly employee could afford to buy a $300k+ house (but only for a couple years). The $$ in their eyes were just too great to not think long term and how they are actually going to affect someone’s life for the next several years after their loan turns into something they can’t afford and a foreclosure hits their credit.

Then there were the home builders - they went along with it. They saw a chance to raise the price of their homes by as much as 50% in just a couple years because all of a sudden the housing market was flooding with buyers who could afford these option loans. Proof –> there is no way in just 2 years the cost to build a home went up 50%.

This means only one thing - greed. Greed by home builders and lenders. It might sound bad, but the mortgage company crisis going on these days are a direct result of greed and they are getting what they asked for.

As for credit - keep about 4 or 5 lines of credit open (credit cards included) and read my article on Budgeting.

Thanks for the comment

I’ve heard not to close your credit card accounts once you pay them down as that actually hurts your credit, what is your opinion on that?

With the suggestions you mentioned above should help most buyers realize “negotiations” are definitely an option.

ps………….Would I take that Ferrari as a down payment???………. ANY DAY!!!
Theresa

I’m good at being long-winded. I’m always keeping that under control.

Some people have anger issues, I have long-winded issues

Thanks for the comment.

You knew this ex-Realtor would be back to catch part 2. What do you mean? “Realtors are not trained investors”? (laughs) No, they are not (unless they are an investor first, Realtor second-there are quite a few of those).

These are all superb ideas, and the down payment (and closing costs) are something most home buyers have problems with.

One thing that I saw was when parents or a close relative would loan money to the buyers for a part of the down payment. If I remember right, any money that was loaned by others, had to be treated as a “gift”.

Aren’t there also situations where the buyer agrees to pay more for the house (on paper), and then the seller agrees to pay the closing costs (and maybe the down payment?) out of the excess “proceeds”?

I’ve also heard of new carpet and/or new paint “allowances”. Does that “credit” get used as part of the closing costs or…, how is that handled? Or…….is that going to be covered in your next lesson?
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