Archive for Realtor® Speak 101
Realtor® Speak 101: VA Loans
A short video about the misconception that VA loans are issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA loans are actually issued by a lender and the VA merely guarantees the loan for the lender. This allows veterans to take advantage of no-down payment requirements and quite [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: Designations and Certifications
Alphabet soup
This article is re-posted with permission from the Goomzee Mobile Marketing Blog and written by good friend, Austin Smith. Certifications and designations and all of their abbreviations can be pretty confused, even for a Realtor® – hopefully this will help you guide through the alphabet soup and understand a bit more about your [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: Arbitration and Mediation
San Antonio, we have a problem.
No one likes to talk about legal action when it comes to real estate. Let’s face it, no Realtor® wants to be involved in lawsuits or complaints against them and no consumer wants to have their home tied up in litigation or any serious legal problems. The fact [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: Loan Underwriting
What’s Taking So Long? Underwriting.
If you’ve ever bought a house, you’re probably familiar with hearing “your loan’s in underwriting” and then playing the waiting game until it “comes out of underwriting.” It’s one of the steps in the process of getting a loan and often one of the most frustrating. But what [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: Appreciation and Depreciation – Home Equity Part II
Your home equity and fluctuations in the market.
As you may remember from yesterday, we were discussing home equity and how it works. Today we will take on appreciation and depreciation and its effects on home equity. Let’s start with some definitions, shall we? Appreciation is defined by Merriam-Webster Online as “increase in [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: Home Equity
What is home equity?
In covering some recent topics, such as yesterday’s post about the new proposals for changes to FHA loan guidelines, I’ve been talking a lot with people about home equity and thought I’d take a few moments to explain and show how equity works in relationship to your home.
The chart to the left [...]
New series about Texas real estate contracts at ActiveRain.
Want to learn more about real estate contracts?
I’ve been writing a series over at ActiveRain to explain some of the finer points of real estate contracts in San Antonio, Texas. Based off of my series right here, Realtor® Speak 101, the idea of Realtor® Speak 102 is to bring more insight and education on [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: 7 Steps To Buying A Home
What goes into buying a home?
This post could be a mile long (and probably will be) as there are so many details that go into the steps to buying a home. I wanted to write this as a basic look, so there will be many more details in the process, but I thought a [...]
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit As A Down Payment?
What’s the answer? I’m so confused.
Update: The amendment allowing for the extension and expansion did eventually pass and was signed into law by the President. You can read up on the new rules and changes in “First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit – The New Extension And Expansion.” The tax credit can [...]
Realtor® Speak 101: Home Inspections
Inspect your home, protect your purchase.
Home inspections are a no-brainer. Yet, time and time again, I hear about buyers who try to save a few dollars and wind up with a mess that could have been prevented. A home inspection is not meant to be a guarantee, but it will give you a [...]
