Home Buying Tips

The costs to close on a Spring Texas house are significant easily totaling several thousand dollars.  Due to the magnitude of the closing costs, it is easy to understand why buyers are looking at every way possible to save money. One way you can save money is by using the sellers existing survey.  How much can you save?  Around $300 to […]

If you purchased a home after November 6th, 2009 or are planning on purchasing a home this year and taking advantage of first time home buyers tax credit, there are a couple of changes you need to know.  New Form  – form 5405 is the form you need to claim the first time home buyers tax credit.  But if you […]

Loan officers, escrow officers, and Realtors® have all been scrambling over the last 60 days to either implement or simply to understand the revamped GFE and HUD-1 settlement statement that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010. The purpose of the new GFE (Good Faith Estimate ) is to help make shopping for a home mortgage […]

This week the FHA  announced changes for FHA home loans. The good news is the changes were not as drastic nor potentially devastating to the housing industry as what they could have been. In a nutshell, the changes which will become effective sometime this summer are: 1.  Maximum seller contribution to buyers closing costs reduced […]

Over the years, the secret behind how your credit score is calculated and how different “what ifs?” affect it have been guarded better than the Bush’s baked beans recipe .   That is until recently as FICO has shared how different “what if?”  scenarios can affect your credit scores .  Did you max out your Macy’s card over Christmas?  Expect a […]

That’s right again!  Last summer, the cost of watering my Spring Texas yard increased and I wrote a post about it titled “Are the days of cheap water gone?”.  The answer to the question was Yes.  The portion of my water bill identified as Regional Water Authority had increased from $0.99  to $1.50 per 1,000 gallons.  An increase […]

If you are looking to buy a house in Spring Texas this year, there is a good chance you are familiar with the first time home buyers tax credit.  But did you know the expanded and extended homebuyers tax credit bill that was passed in November 2009 contained a tax credit for what is being […]