Ann Mealey Realtor

How to Get a Mortgage: A Step-by-Step Guide for Home Buyers If you want to buy a house but don't have oodles of cash lying around, you'll need to learn how to get a mortgage. Here are the steps.

How to sell a house:
4 New Rules That Can Make or Break a Sale

Rule No. 1: Price it right from the outset
While conventional wisdom might suggest listing your house a bit above market value so you can make a mint (or get haggled down by buyers to something reasonable), don't do it. The reason: In today's fast-paced environment, this also puts you at risk of your home sitting on the market, which can make it more difficult to sell.

"If your house is still for sale after a month, buyers are going to assume something’s wrong with it,” says Seth Lejeune, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway in Collegeville, PA.

Moreover, “today’s buyers are savvy,” Yee adds. “They know if a house is overpriced.”

So list it right at market price, which your agent will help you determine. If anything, listing it a bit below market price could also work in your favor by sparking a bidding war which could drive the price up higher than you'd ever hoped.

Rule No. 2: Amp up your marketing
While professional photographs are a must, many sellers are going a step further these days. For example, you might consider doing a video tour, which entails hiring a videographer to walk through your home, camera in tow. The footage is then edited, background music is added, and the video is posted online.

“It gives buyers the sense that they’re walking through the house without even stepping foot inside,” says Lejeune. It may even enable you to sell your home "sight unseen"—which is actually how one in five buyers does it these days!

Social media is another smart component to leverage. Spread the word that your home is for sale by posting your listing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Create a post saying: “We’re excited to put our house on the market. Please get in touch if you’d like to schedule a showing. Pass along!” Be sure to include a link to the listing so that buyers can see more. And, of course, make sure your real estate agent is spreading the word on social media as well.

Rule No. 3: Splurge on staging
“Presentation is everything,” says Sanderfoot. And these days, that means hiring a professional home stager, someone who arranges your furnishings in a way that entices buyers to bite. The payoff can be substantial. On average, staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more than nonstaged ones. Staging is particularly important if you've moved out, because bare rooms can look empty and sad.

Unfortunately, staging costs can add up. Most home stagers charge $300 to $600 for an initial design consultation, and $500 to $600 per month per room. If you can't afford to stage the entire house, at least make sure the living room and kitchen are professionally furnished, because they’re the most important rooms to home buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2015 Profile of Home Staging survey.

Need an even cheaper option? Try pop-up staging ("fake" cardboard furniture that looks real) or virtual staging (digitally altered listing photos). But use these only as last resorts—real is better.

Rule No. 4: Devise a plan for how to handle multiple offers
With how tight inventory is today, there’s a good chance you’ll receive multiple offers. Trust us, this is a good problem to have! Still, if you're blindsided, it can be stressful. To ease that pressure, create a plan for how you’d respond if you receive multiple bids.

For starters, there’s no hard and fast rule on how you should act.

“The decision depends on what’s important to you,” says Yee. For example, some sellers are just looking to accept the best offer they receive and move out fast. Others, however, might be interested in learning how to spark a bidding war to drive up their home's price.

That said, “sometimes the highest offer is not always the best offer,” says Sanderfoot, adding that you need to consider each offer's full terms, including contingencies, closing window, and the buyer's financing.

By determining exactly what's important to you in advance, you’ll be able to make an easier decision if you get a deluge of offers (hey, in today's market, it can happen).

Also looking to buy a house? The rules have changed there, too. Study up with our article "How to Buy a House: 5 Rules That Can Make Or Break Your Offer."

Daniel Bortz is a Realtor in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who has written for Money magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, CNNMoney, and more.

9 grants and programs to help you buy your first home
RACHEL HARTMAN NOVEMBER 28, 2017

Money issues often stand in the way of homeownership. A survey by rental service Apartment List found that 80 percent of millennial renters want to buy a home, but most say they can’t afford to.

What you may not realize is that many first-time homebuyer programs and grants offer financial help, and you may be eligible for various types of assistance.

Here are nine first-time homebuyer programs and grants designed to help you land a great mortgage and get a place of your own.

1. FHA loan
In an FHA loan, the Federal Housing Administration insures the mortgage. The FHA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The FHA’s backing offers lenders a layer of protection, meaning that your lender won’t experience a loss if you default on the mortgage.

FHA loans typically come with competitive interest rates, smaller down payments and lower closing costs than conventional loans.

If you have a credit score of 580 or higher, you could be eligible for a mortgage with a down payment as low as 3.5 percent of the purchase price. If your credit score is lower than 580, you still might qualify for an FHA mortgage, but the down payment would be at least 10 percent of the purchase amount.

2. USDA loan
While not well known, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a homebuyer assistance program.

While the program focuses on homes in certain rural areas, you don’t need to buy or run a farm to be eligible.

The USDA guarantees the home loan. There may be no down payment required, and the loan payments are fixed.

Applicants with a credit score of 640 or higher typically get streamlined processing. With a credit score below 640, you still can qualify for a USDA loan, but the lender will ask for extra documentation about your payment history.

Keep in mind that there are income limitations, which can vary by region.

3. VA loan
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) helps active-duty military members, veterans and surviving spouses buy homes.

The VA guarantees part of the loan, making it possible for lenders to offer some special features. VA loans come with competitive interest rates and require no down payment. You aren’t required to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI), and a minimum credit score isn’t needed for eligibility.

If it becomes difficult to make payments on the mortgage, the VA can negotiate with the lender on your behalf.

4. Good Neighbor Next Door
The Good Neighbor Next Door program, sponsored by HUD, provides housing aid for law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers.

Through this program, you can receive a discount of 50 percent on a home’s listed price in regions known as “revitalization areas.”

Using the program’s website, you can search for properties available in your state. You must commit to living in the home for at least 36 months.

5. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored entities. They work with local lenders to offer mortgage options that benefit low- and moderate-income families.

With the backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, lenders can offer competitive interest rates and accept down payments as low as 3 percent of the purchase price.

Fannie Mae also provides homeownership education for first-time homebuyers through its “HomePath Ready Buyer” program.

6. Energy-efficient mortgage (EEM)
An energy-efficient, or “green,” mortgage is designed to help you add improvements to your home to make it more environmentally friendly. The federal government supports EEM loans by insuring them through the FHA or VA programs.

The key advantage of this mortgage is that it lets you create an energy-efficient home without having to make a larger down payment. The extra cost is rolled into your primary loan.

Some improvements you can make include installing double-paned windows, new insulation or a modern heating-and-cooling system.

7. FHA Section 203(k)
If you’ve run the numbers to see how much house you can afford and have determined a fixer-upper is best for your budget, the Section 203(k) rehabilitation program may be a good fit.

This type of loan, backed by the FHA, takes into consideration the value of the residence after improvements have been made. It then lets you borrow the funds you’ll need to carry out the project and includes them in your main mortgage.

The down payment for a 203(k) loan can be as low as 3 percent.

8. Native American Direct Loan
Since 1992, the Native American Veteran Direct Loan program has helped Native American veterans and their spouses buy homes on federal trust lands. The VA serves as the lender.

If you’re eligible, you won’t be required to make a down payment or pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI).

This first-time homebuyer loan also offers low closing costs and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

9. Local grants and programs
In addition to the various programs provided by the federal government, many states and cities offer help to first-time homebuyers.

Before buying a home, check your state’s or community’s website for information on housing grants and programs available in your area.