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JOE GIANCARLI
(609) 658-2612
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FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS IN MERCER COUNTY
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NEW BUYER RESOURCE LINKS
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Buying your first house or condo in Mercer County will be both exciting and stressful. This information will help you ask the questions, and find the answers, for the process of buying a home in Mercer County and Hamilton Township, or the surrounding areas.
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Search the MLS for Mercer County
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Visit the NJ Homes Page for custom searches of the townships
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Request free reports on buying real estate
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Sign up for Your Dream Home Search
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Complete the Mortgage Calculator
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Sign up to be a VIP Buyer and receive priority access to new listings
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If you are handy or want to do some work, consider a foreclosure or fixer home
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Search the MLS Homes for Sale Here
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TIMELINE TO BUY A HOME
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Meet with a lender and obtain a Pre-Approval Letter, not a pre-qualification letter. A "pre-qual" only means what you can afford based on your income and bills. A pre-approval means the lender has checked your credit and your ability to pay, and approves you to look for and purchase a home up to a certain amount.
Make a list of your needs and wants for the whole family. Is the number of bathrooms more important than square footage? Do you need a one-story or want split bedrooms and more privacy? Should you live in a certain school district or by public transportation? You rarely will find everything you want in one house, so know your priorities.
• Decide if you might want new construction. This presents different choices and decisions, and you should consider this opportunity early in your process. Read my Guide to New Construction.
Armed with the knowledge of your Buying Power from the pre-approval, and using the government programs available to you, start looking at homes. Look not just online, but actually preview properties and neighborhoods. If you find one you like, you will know you can afford it and can get a loan. This makes your bargaining position with a potential seller much stronger.
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How You Can Get Started on the Road to Home Ownership in New Jersey
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| Questions |
Answers |
Explanations |
| 1. How much can you afford? |
Visit the Mortgage Calculator Page. |
Not just how much principal & interest you can pay, but the amount left over for your other bills - from groceries to child care to parental care. And, you need a reserve for repairs. |
| 2. What are the true costs of home ownership? |
Mortgage Payment + Insurance + Taxes + Repairs |
Total principal, interest, fire/theft insurance, natural disaster insurance (flood, hurricane, earthquake), property taxes, home warranty insurance, and reserves |
| 3. Do you need a down payment? |
It depends on the type of loan. |
Zero down loans are now, in 2008, very hard to obtain except through special FHA programs. If you purchase a house without a down payment, you also have no equity - so if the property depreciates in value, you owe more than it is worth in the real estate market. (This is a short sale situation.) |
| 4. Is real estate a good fit for your investment portfolio? |
Be sure and diversify your investments. |
Even though you live in it, and may raise your children in the home, and may become emotionally attached to the neighborhood, a house is still a real estate investment. The amount you borrow and put down should be considered as part of an overall financial plan to build a portfolio. |
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Now is the best time in a generation to be a 1st Time Buyer in Mercer County - there is a meeting of low interest rates, generous government programs - both federal and state, excessive inventory, and motivated selllers. If you think prices may go lower, all experts agree that will be offset by interest rates, which should begin to rise as the economy stabilizes. Contact me today to discuss this enormous opportunity to "get in at the right time" in real estate in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, and anywhere in New Jersey.
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Click below to find homes for sale in:
Allentown, Bordentown, Burlington County, Burlington Twp, Chesterfield, East Windsor, Ewing,
Florence, Hamilton, Hopewell, Lawrence, Manalapan, Mansfield, Mercer, Plainsboro, Plumsted/New Egypt,
Robbinsville, Upper Freehold, and West Windsor.
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