Le Fleur de Lis Realty, LLC

Homeowners who want to sell but don’t have a lot of cash to spruce up their properties might consider these tips from Bankrate.com for upgrading a property without spending a fortune. Polish up the kitchen. Add new cabinet door handles, replace lighting and update the faucet set. Unless the cabinets are mica, give them a fresh coat of ...

Anyone shopping for a new mortgage these days should shop around, says Cameron Findlay, chief economist for LendingTree. Although mortgage rates look astoundingly low, the spread between what the bank receives and what it pays investors has actually increased, giving banks more room to negotiate. Applicants with good credit scores should ...

Average interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to an all-time low of 4.69 percent this week, down from 4.75 percent a week ago, reports Freddie Mac. Although rates have held below 5 percent since early May, Michael Fratantoni of the Mortgage Bankers Association notes that demand for purchase loans has fallen in six of the past seven weeks and ...

The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline to Sept. 30, giving an estimated 180,000 buyers who met the contract deadline of April 30 extra time to close the transaction. The extension was added to a bill to pay for jobless benefits. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates that one-third of ...

Missing the tax credit deadline might have seemed like a big mistake to some home buyers, but waiting could have been the smartest thing to do. Interest rates have fallen so dramatically since April 30th that the typical purchaser of a $350,000 home, financed with a $280,000 mortgage, would have saved a bundle by waiting until May. At ...

Appraisals provide an objective opinion of value, but it’s not an exact science so appraisals may differ. For buying and selling purposes, appraisals are usually based on market value — what the property could probably be sold for. Other types of value include insurance value, replacement value, and assessed value for property tax ...

If you're thinking of selling your home, and you expect that the total amount you owe on your mortgage will be greater than the selling price of your home, you may be facing a short sale. A short sale is one where the net proceeds from the sale won't cover your total mortgage obligation and closing costs, and you don't have other ...

1. Review the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report on the property you’re interested in buying. CLUE reports detail the property’s claims history for the most recent five years, which insurers may use to deny coverage. Make the sale contingent on a home inspection to ensure that problems identified in the CLUE report ...

By: Donna Fuscaldo Published: January 15, 2010 With foreclosure rescue scams widespread as more homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments, be smart if you seek help. A record high 2.8 mllion properties were hit with foreclosure notices in 2009, putting even more Americans at risk of facing foreclosure rescue scams. Homeowners who fall behind ...

Mortgage Brokers & Home Loan Lenders You have a number of choices in approaching your quest for a mortgage. You can choose mortgage lenders right from your neighborhood, or you can employ someone who'll do all the comparison shopping for you and get you the best loans possible.Working with Mortgage Brokers, Bankers, LendersYou may feel ...