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Exclusive Twins' Buyer Services We love working with buyers! 
Check out the ABR Homebuyer's tool kit!                   
Be sure to do you due dilligence before purchasing!First time buyers!Are you a first-time buyer overwhelmed with where to start? Here are some helpful tips to get you started!
So, #1 step in the whole process of figuring out if buying is right for you is to start chatting with some lenders. If you have a bank account you can check with your bank and see if they offer home loans. You could also ask friends and family who they like and we could offer our fave lenders for you to talk to no obligation and no cost (and we get nothing out of referring them except to know you'll be well taken care of and get competitive loan programs). Let lenders know you are shopping around and don't want them to pull your credit (too many inquires can potentially have a negative impact on your credit) :) Just have the first lender you talk to tell you your 3 credit scores. Most lenders will use your middle score. We suggest talking to at least 2-3 lenders, or more, to find the best deal. Questions to ask the lender about the loan programs: 1) Discuss with lender what costs the seller can pay and if the seller can pay all recurring (prepaid taxes, insurance, and interest) AND non-recurring closing costs. We can always talk to the lenders you talk to and ask them these questions. 2) Ask if there is any negative amortization on any of the loans? (unlikely in current loan market) 3)Are any of the loans interest only? And, if so, how long? (again unlikely in current loan market) 4)Talk to lender to get cost estimate, what costs can be paid by seller, what buyer must pay? 5)Does lender table fund (table funding is when the lender sends the wire to fund the loan at the same time as the documents), fund on fax (title must fax back signed documents for review then they will wire to fund loan), or does the lender need the documents back to review (24 to 48 hours) before they will wire to fund the loan? ---again we can ask the lender this stuff:) 6)Is there a prepayment penalty or balloon on the loan (s)? 7)Are taxes and insurance impounded (impounded means they are included in your payment and each month out of your total payment monies for both insurance and taxes will be set aside by your lender and they will pay both when they become due)? If so, how much do they need to collect in escrow?---again, we can ask this and it will show on your "good faith estimates". 8)How long does the lender need to close? ---typical closing period is 30-45 days. 9) What is the max contribution the seller can pay? If the seller can pay only up to 6%, and seller agrees to pay 6%, it is important to know if there is a problem if the buyer gets a repair credit amount, since that would put the seller contribution over 6%. So, at that point, we'd have to take that credit amount off of the sales price of re-work the deal somehow so the seller wasn't paying over 6% on behalf of the buyer.-----again, we can talk to the lenders and ask all of these questions:) 10)Does lender know AZ loan docs through our AAR contracts have to be at title within 3 full business days in advance of the close date to avoid breach? Make sure out-of-state lenders understand this: for a Friday closing, loan docs need to be to title and signed by buyer on Monday to be in compliance with the contract. Find out how long the lender needs in underwriting, in doc prep, and for funding====these are all important to discuss so we pick a close date that will help you not be put into breach because of lazy lenders, not understanding of our AZ contract -----We can ask all this, too:) With bank owned properties, we will need loan docs to be there sometimes as much as 7-10 days in advance of closing so that the title company can prepare the HUD-1 settlement statement and send it to the seller for their review!
What's your criteria in a new home to purchase, like beds, baths, square footage, etc? We can start sending you listings and send you new listings as soon as they become available so you can get a feel for the market:) What's most important to you in a home? Would you like a condo/townhouse, single-family home, multi-family, etc? Note: Most townhouses and condos have a homeowner's association fee (hoa fee) that could be several hundred dollars (on average) a month on top of your loan payment. Usually condos/townhouse hoa fees include blanket insurance (you'll most likely want "condo coverage" insurance on top of the blanket insurance policy offered by the hoa to protect your unit's interior and your personal belongings), sometimes utilities such as water,etc. But, townhouses are usually more affordable and easier to maintain for many. Below is more info on condos:) With condos and townhomes in this market it is also important to make sure that you if you are doing FHA financing that the community is an FHA approved community before you write an offer, get it accepted and spend money on inspections and an appraisal!
Here is a little run down on buying with some links on purchasing:) Helpful first-time buyer information Most of it can be found on our website:) Real estate terms glossary! Here is more info on the process! Here's a mortgage glossary! Tax benefits of home ownership! HERE'S A GREAT RESOURCE!!!! Here is some info for help is researching a particular home~ this is a living document with information that sometimes changes. We'll go in-depth on all this info, but your might find some of it interesting right now! 100 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT PURCHASING A HOME! There is so much to know, learn and consider when considering a purchase, and it can be a bit overwhelming. But we're here to be your advisors, and lead you in the right direction. First step in the whole home buying process is to figure out financing. So, if you do need financing, the first step is to start talking with lenders. You will need to know what is most important to you, lowest payment or lowest rate? We can find a seller to pay all of your closing costs and make it so with you paying you down payment on your financing that your only true out-of-pocket expense would be for: your home inspection (approx $300-$400) and your earnest money. In our AZ market it is customary (not set anywhere by law) to see 1% of the purchase price in earnest money, AKA "good faith" money, deposited with a title/escrow company (neutral 3rd party who handles all the monies and contracts). For any lender you speak with, you always want to ask for a "good faith estimate", also referred to as the 'GFE'. It will show your total costs associated with the loan, your total monthly payment, terms of the loan, etc. This document allows you to compare lenders apples to apples. Any time you talk to a lender, they may want to pull your credit. In addition to your score they are going to want to know the amount of debt you have monthly (called your debt to income ratio-most lenders want 45% debt or less for their best programs), the amount of income you make monthly, how much money you want to put down, if any, how many credit tradelines you have (typically need 3-ie: cell phone, car, visa card, etc.), how much money you would like to borrow OR what you would like you payment to be. Then they can discuss different loan programs with you. Your monthly payment will be comprised of the interest on the loan, any principal paid on the loan (if any~if interest only, there will be no principal paid in the payment unless you make extra payments towards principal), property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and Home Owner's Association fee (if there is one-this is outside of your payment). When you get close to purchasing and have your financing all in line we could start looking!!!! Right now we can set you up in our software to email you new properties as soon as they hit the market-so just let us know more about the home you want. We would just need your email addy to set up the search:) There is way too much that goes into a home purchase than what is written above, but the financing is a great place to start! Let us know if you want any help!
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