Desert Premier Realty Group

Search The Arizona MLS On Your Mobile

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Search The Arizona MLS On Your Mobile

Watch the video below to learn how to search the Arizona MLS with your mobile phone or tablet.

At www.SearchMyAZHome.com you will find the latest and most up to date information on homes for sale in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Tempe and all other cities in the Phoenix Metro area.

If you’re just starting your home search, you can find great home buying information here.

Get Help From The Experts

Would you like an expert to set up your home search for you?  Click here and let us know what you’re looking for in a home. We’ll get your search set up and sent to you right away!

Start Your Home Search Now

Search the MLS

Are you a first time home buyer? Have you bought and sold many times in the past? 

If so, you probably know that many of the major real estate search engine websites that let you search the MLS hold on to old sales data. – That means that you could spend countless hours looking at homes “for sale” that have already been sold!

Your solution? Get your information straight from the MLS.  That’s what we offer you here: www.SearchMyAZHome.com.

With our home search app, you receive a live link to search the MLS at your hearts content, 24/7.

What Can You Do With Our MLS Search App?

  • Find the latest homes for sale
  • Get instant updates when new homes come on the market
  • Find homes for sale based on your location
  • Save your home searches to come back to later
  • Receive all property photos
  • Save your favorite home listings
  • Hide the homes you don’t want to see
  • Rate your favorite home listings
  • Request more information on each individual home
  • And more!

Start your search here: www.SearchMyAZHome.com

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What Is Title Insurance? Why Do I Need It?

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Title Insurance - What is it?What is title insurance?

Why do I need it?

If you have been doing any amount of research online about purchasing a home, you’ve probably already run into the term “title insurance.”

In almost every real estate transaction, title insurance will be needed and they are considered part of your closing costs.

What is title insurance?

Title insurance assures you, the home buyer that you are acquiring marketable title to your home when you purchase.  Meaning, title insurance protects you from loss and guarantees that your home is free and clear from any “cloud” on title (a.k.a.  potential claim of ownership from someone else).

Title insurance is issued to both you, the home buyer and your lender.  It protects you and your home from (defective) claims from the beginning of time, until you purchase the home.

This means that there are no loans, liens, encumbrances, back taxes, easements or covenants, conditions or restrictions (CC&R’s) on the home that are not disclosed to you prior to your purchase.

What else does title insurance protect you against?

  • False impersonation of the true owner of the property
  • Forged deeds
  • Undisclosed or missing heirs
  • Unrecorded legal documents
  • Deeds given by someone of unsound mind
  • Deeds by minors
  • Deeds by someone that represent they are single, but are actually married
  • Unpaid liens (taxes, etc…)
  • Fraud
  • Any lawsuits against your legal ownership of your home

If the company that issues your title insurance is unable to clear up the title problems, they will pay for your losses.

It is therefore, in the title company’s best interest to make sure that the title to your home is free and clear, or they will pay for it.

How does the title company insure that your title is free and clear?

The title company will eliminate risk to a free and clear title by searching the public records for any claim to the title.  They will also search their own database of title information, including public records, court decisions, laws, to ensure correct ownership.

When the title search is completed, your title company will issue a “Title Commitment” and it will detail the current status of the title.

Your Title Commitment will contain very important information about your title, including:

  • Current ownership of the property
  • Where the owner holds title
  • Matters of public record that affect the property or ownership of the property, such as easements, encumbrances, etc…
  • A legal description of the property
  • A plat map

Click here to see a sample copy of a commitment for title insurance.

Title insurance is for your protection.

The cost of the title insurance policy is a small price to pay for your piece of mind and protection and it insures that you do, indeed, own your own home.

What Will I Need For A Down Payment When I Buy A Home?

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Down Payment

 

Are you looking to buy a home and wondering what you will need for a down payment?

What is a down payment?

A down payment is the money that you, the home buyer will contribute, from your own funds, towards the purchase of your future home.

If you intend to finance your home, also known as obtaining a mortgage, your lender considers this down payment as your “skin in the game,” or the gauge of your seriousness and willingness to repay your loan.

If you don’t repay your mortgage, you lose your home and all of the money that you put into it, including your down payment.

The more money you put down on the home, the more acceptable of a risk you are to your mortgage lender. With that line of thinking, usually comes lower monthly payments.

Down payment amounts can vary and it really depends on the type of loan that you are getting.  There are several different loans that are available to the average home buyer, including Conventional, FHA, USDA and VA.

Conventional Loans

Typical down payment amount: 5%-20% of the purchase price.

Example of down payment needed: if the purchase price of your home is $200,000 and your down payment is 20%, then the amount that you will need is $40,000.  $200,000 x 20% = $40,000.

Conventional loans are typically loans that are available to home buyers with good (or better) credit and have the potential of carrying a lower interest rate and no mortgage insurance.

FHA Loans

Typical down payment amount: 3.5% of the purchase price.

Example of down payment needed: if the purchase price of your home is $200,000 and your down payment is 3.5%, then the amount that you will need is $7,000.  $200,000 x 3.5% = $7,000.

FHA loans are very popular with first time home buyers, as credit standards are a bit more relaxed than conventional loans.  Along with lower credit standards, the down payment amount can be as little as .5% of the purchase price.  FHA loans do tend to have higher interest rates than conventional loans and also carry mortgage insurance.

USDA Loans

Typical down payment amount: Zero down

USDA loans are zero down payment loans that are slated for rural housing in select areas.  This is a great opportunity for first time home buyers, with less than perfect credit that wish to live in rural areas.

VA Loans

Typical down payment amount: Zero Down

VA loans are for our US Veterans.  This is an excellent zero down program that can be used typically in any area.

Knowing how much your down payment will need to be is critical to your planning process when buying a home.  We hope this article has shed some light on your questions.

Do you have more questions? Feel free to comment in the box below!

Find The Home That Is Right For You – 1 Quick Tip

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find the right home 4
How do you find the home that is right for you?

Just beginning your home search?

Or… Have you been researching the real estate market or looking at homes online for a while now?

 

There are many different things to consider about your future home as you start on the path to ownership.  Things like:

  • The number of bedrooms
  • The number of bathrooms
  • The size of your home
  • The best location

And the list goes on…

While all of these items of consideration are extremely important to your buying decisions, there is one other item that is of utmost importance.  This item will be a large factor that will help to shape the entire course of your journey.

The purchase price of your home.

What can you afford?

Depending on where you are in the buying process right now, the actual purchase price of your future home may or may not be your biggest consideration.

We think it should be.  Just for right now.

In our many years of experience, we have come to learn that many buyers spend countless hours searching for and researching homes online, before they even know their price range.

The pendulum swings both ways when it comes to searching for and qualifying for a home.  Many times buyers qualify for much more than what they think they can.  Other times buyers are setting their sites on homes that are just out of their reach.

We want you to be the smarter home buyer.

We want you to work more efficiently with your time throughout your home buying journey, because buying a home shouldn’t take any more of your precious time than necessary.

Figuring out your purchasing price range early on in the home buying process will help keep you focused in on your target and keep you from looking at homes that don’t fit within your needs.

Are you less than a year away from purchasing a home?

It really depends on what stage you are in the home buying process as to how you should go about figuring out your price range.

If you are less than a year away from purchasing a home, then now is the time to consult a mortgage lender.

It’s critical to speak with a mortgage professional.  They have the expertise to help you understand where you stand in regards to your credit and finances.  They can give you the road map you need to have your financial affairs in order, so that when it’s time to make an offer on your dream home, you are ready!

Are you more than a year away from purchasing a home?  Just work the numbers.

If you are over a year from purchasing a home, you’re probably fine with using a good mortgage calculator to see where you fit in.

If you are currently renting, are comfortable with the monthly rent payment and it is within your means, then you can just work the numbers backward to see what your potential purchase price would be.  Once you’ve done that, you can feel pretty good that the homes you are researching and looking for are right for you!

Check out this quick video on how to use a mortgage calculator to figure out your home buying price range.


 

 

What Can I Expect If I Put An Offer In On A Short Sale?

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Basically, here in Arizona, if you put an offer in on a short sale, you can expect a minimum of a 3 month wait for a response from the seller’s lender.  The response might be yes, no or some sort of counter offer.  During the wait period there’s not usually a lot of information that get’s passed from the seller’s lender to the listing agent (or to the buyer’s agent).  Much is done internally at the bank and a lot of information is not disclosed.
Here are some things that we can typically count on:  When an offer is submitted to the seller’s lender, it’s submitted along with a “short sale package.”  The package consists mostly of the seller’s financials, including taxes, bank statements, income expense sheet,  etc…  The main point of the short sale package is to reverse qualify for their mortgage.  In other words, they’re trying to prove that they can no longer afford their mortgage.  After the short sale package is submitted, there is an appraisal done on the home (many times referred to as a BPO).  Once they’ve received the appraisal and short sale package, the lender will then start processing the paperwork to make sure the entire package is complete and that the offer is in line with the actual short sale market value.  Typically after that, it’s sent through one or more quality control negotiators to make sure that everything truly is in order.  Then, typically after that the entire file will be assigned to a negotiator who will then review the file and obtain/update any missing or outdated documentation and fit the file within the guidelines of the investor that holds the Note on the property.  The investor is the actual lender that makes the decision on whether or not a short sale will be permitted.  Once everything is in order, the entire package is submitted to the investor for final approval.  If the investor approves the short sale, the bank will issue an approval letter and buyer and seller can move towards close.
That’s the process here in Arizona, in a nutshell!  Many things can happen between buyer’s offer and closing, and every short sale is different.  The above is just the basic framework.

I Would Like To Negotiate My Closing Costs

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Can I Negotiate Closing Costs?

 

Absolutely. Everything is negotiable!

With the Arizona Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract, it’s not typical that buyers and sellers will itemize what closing costs they would like their counterpart to pay. It’s usually just asked for a lump sum amount or a percentage of the purchase price. There’s even a section in the purchase contract addressing what closing costs will be paid by the seller on behalf of the buyer.

Also here in Arizona in the current market conditions, it’s more common for buyers to ask for closing costs to be paid for them. There aren’t many sellers asking for their closing costs to be paid right now, although things can change and sometimes very quickly.

What can you expect to pay in closing costs?? There are an infinite number of loan programs out there, with different requirements, fees and costs, so talk to your lender (contact us if you need a referral to a great lender!) about what your estimated costs would be.

 

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1950 E DUST DEVIL Drive, San Tan Valley, AZ 85143

$335,000 3 beds  2 baths  1,267 sqft 1950 E DUST DEVIL Drive
San Tan Valley, AZ 85143Listing office: ProSmart Realty

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