Tips and Tricks

First Time Homebuyer Extension

First time homebuyer extension video with Jim Bigelow & John Bucanan. Goverment programs for real estate, insurance and anythinig else.

[video link]

For more info contact
Jim Bigelow Group 918-640-4657 Jim@jimbigelow.com

John Buchanan – 918-693-8820

Fandango Video 5

Fandango Video 4

Fandango Video 3

Fandango Bike Tour Video 2

Great job on the first annual 2 day bike tour

Tips To Avoid Mishaps on a Mortgage Application

Tip 1: Try not to move cash around.

During the loan application process, your First Home Mortgage loan experts will have to verify all the income and assets listed as part of your application. Moving these assets around can create a paper trail nightmare. The best advice is to leave everything where it is and discuss any changes you wish to make with First Home Mortgage Loan Officer.

Tip 2: Document large deposits.

Your First Home Mortgage Loan Officer will have to verify all sources of funds for the transaction. We’ll be looking at any large deposits into your asset accounts (checking, savings, money market, etc.). You should be prepared to document all sources — perhaps a copy of a paycheck, bonus check, money from the sale of an asset, etc.

Tip 3: Selling something?

If you’re selling a large asset, such as a car, antique, baseball card collection to come up with the cash for closing, please document the sale. Keep everything, including the check the buyer gives you, car title or a bill of sale. Sometimes you’ll even need to get a certified appraisal of the item. Talk to your First Home Mortgage Loan Officer if you have questions.

Tip 4: Document gifts appropriately

Large cash gifts from relatives are very common when purchasing a home. If you are anticipating receiving a cash gift from a relative toward the purchase of your home, please notify your First Home Mortgage Loan Officer. Also refer to the Gift Letter form found in the First Home Mortgage document library.

Tip 5: Save everything!

Become a paper hound. Keep all of your bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns, along with any W-2s, 1099s or K-1s and any other financial papers from the past two years in a handy place. If you sold a home in the past two years, have your (HUD-1) Settlement Sheet handy. Try to create a file where you can consolidate all of your financial paperwork for easy access. When in doubt, just pop it in the folder. You never know when you may have to produce an item that you did not expect.

Tip 6: Avoid new lines of credit

It is a good idea to avoid any new sources of credit as it will materially change your credit report. Additionally, if you’re planning to pay off major credit debt before closing, hold off until you’ve spoken to your First Home Mortgage Loan Officer. We may be able to pay off those debts at closing without affecting the application process.

Tip 7: Review your credit report

The best way to get a jump start on your mortgage application process is to know what your creditors are saying about you. Request a free credit review with your First Home Mortgage loan officer.

Tip 8: Tell us about a new job

Making a career move? Make sure your First Home Mortgage Loan Officer knows about it as soon as possible so that we can ensure all appropriate changes are made to the loan application.

What Should be Covered Under My Liability Insurance?

John and I discuss the importance of having liability insurance. It is important to protect your valuables as well as be able to protect yourself if for some reason there was an accident on your property. Check out the video to learn some tips about what should be included when you are setting up your liability insurance. If you have any questions email me at jim@jimbigelow.com or John at john.buchanan@countryfinancial.com.

Does it Still Make Sense to Buy versus Rent?

Nearly a full third of households are still renting. If you’re one of them, you could be paying a hefty price.
Before talking about purchasing a house, it’s important to note two things. First—and this is extremely important—the housing market is actually localized. So the outlook in your hometown may be different than another city across the state or on the other side of the country. Second, home prices are tied to employment. For example, if someone feels like their job is in jeopardy, it might be enough to stop them from making a move. So, if your local job market is feeling a pinch, the home prices in your area may be down as well.

But with all those factors under consideration, it still makes sense to buy instead of rent. In fact, renting may be costing you a bundle.

Let’s look at an example…

If you are paying rent at $1,500 per month and your landlord increases your payment by a modest 5% each year, you would wind up paying just about $100,000 over a 5-year period! Worse yet, after forking over $100,000, you still would have nothing to show for it.

And speaking of having nothing to show for it, how about any improvements you might make to a rental property? It’s not uncommon for renters to freshen up the paint, install new light fixtures or plant some nice flowers outside. But guess what… all your efforts, labor and the benefit of that improvement belong to the landlord, not to you.

With convenient down payment options still available for qualified buyers, affordable home prices and low interest rates, the very same money could have been used towards home ownership.

Even using a standard 30-year fixed program, a mortgage of $300,000 could be obtained with a total monthly mortgage payment—including property taxes and insurance—of around $2,200. Assuming a 25% tax bracket, this would be equivalent to the average amount spent on rent during the same period after your tax benefit.

And the benefits of home ownership are quite considerable. Because the mortgage is being paid down each month, equity is being built. After 5-years, the $300,000 mortgage could be reduced to $279,000, adding $21,000 to your net worth!

Visit www.irs.gov and use the IRS withholding calculator. This very handy tool can quickly show you the impact that a change in withholding will do to your net paycheck. Remember to balance this with the expected refund and it is always a good idea to check with your tax advisor.

Roof Inspection

This week we discuss roof inspection in regards to insurance. John recommends that you might want to check the roof of a house that you are considering buying for two layers of shingles. He suggests reasons for why the double of layer of shingles could be a problem. If you have any questions with regards to housing or insurance email me at Jim@jimbigelow.com or John at john.buchanan@countryfinancial.com.

87 Sunset Sand Springs, Ok. Interior

2.864 Acres M/L in the Anderson Elementary School District of Sand Springs. Spacious Split level with formal living, dining and grand Kitchen with wood floors and center island, Master suite on the main level with family room and 2 bedroooms in the walk out basement. 1 bedroom is actually a storm shelter/safe room. 2 car garage that is the size of a 3 car garage plus a seperate work shop garage area. Minutes to both Skiatook and Keystone lakes.

87 Sunset Sand Spaings, OK. Interior

87 Sunset Sand Springs, Oklahoma “Exterior”

2.864 Acres M/L in the Anderson Elementary School District of Sand Springs. Spacious Split level with formal living, dining and grand Kitchen with wood floors and center island, Master suite on the main level with family room and 2 bedroooms in the walk out basement. 1 bedroom is actually a storm shelter/safe room. 2 car garage that is the size of a 3 car garage plus a seperate work shop garage area. Minutes to both Skiatook and Keystone lakes.

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5 Ways to Master Social Networking

 

Get the most benefit from these tools by following these basic rules:

 Be authentic. Your profile is the first thing people will see when they visit your page. Be truthful about who you are and what you do. Details are a good thing. Calling yourself a “real estate expert” isn’t as informative as “20 years specializing in urban condos.” Providing nuggets about your life outside of work (everyone loves to see photos) adds a human element to who you are, and that builds relationships.

 Be an observer. Spend time researching Facebook groups, fan pages, and events related to your niche. How do they communicate with their members? How does the administrator facilitate meetings? How active are the discussion boards and wall posts? After joining Twitter, follow key people related to your interest. Observe the types of information they provide and how they engage with their followers.

 Be a giver, not a taker. Share information with your network—without expecting something in return. Post a link to a great article or video, and provide insightful comments on links that other people post. Take time to build a relationship with people in your network. The more resources you provide, the more trust you build and the more potential clients you create.

 Be a sleuth. Sign up at TweetBeep.com to get e-mail alerts when keywords related to you or your business appear in a Twitter message, or “tweet.”

 Be organized. Use Facebook lists to group your contacts—coworkers, high school friends, neighbors, past clients, and so on. You can create lists by clicking on the “Friends” link on the top of your profile page, and then clicking on “Make a New List” on the left side of the screen. This makes communications easier as you grow a large network of friends. Create similar groupings with your Twitter contacts; check out the application called TweetDeck (click on “Apps” at the bottom of the Twitter home page) and TwitterGroups.

 Source: Blagica Bottigliero is a social media specialist in the consumer brands group of public relations firm Edelman. She is the founder of GalsGuide.com and an Emmy winner for her work with NBC5 Chicago Street Team.

Jim Bigelow    Bigelow Group  Realtors  918-640-4657

www.jimbigelow.com                jim@jimbigelow.com

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Life Insurance to cover Mortgage

Life Insurance to cover Mortgage

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