Archive for the ‘Atlanta’ Category

Buying your first home can be intimidating. With so many factors playing into the process, it can be daunting to know how to approach it. Buying your first home should be exciting, and it can be if you know how to break it down.

When considering the purchase of your first home, it’s important to plan thoughtfully for the best location, size of your home, monthly mortgage budget, and your future plans. If you can begin to lay out each of these individually, closing on your home will become much more realistic and foreseeable. To help you in the home buying journey, we’ve prepared what we believe are the 5 most important questions to answer before making the leap into home ownership.

What kind of home best suits your needs?

When it comes to houses, there is no such thing as “one size fits all”. Considering the size and needs of your family is very important. How many bedrooms are in the house? When do you need to move in? Are there schools nearby? Make sure to make a checklist of your needs, and look at homes that meet those needs.

What features are important for your ideal home to include?

While your needs come first, it is important to also understand your wants before you begin house hunting. If you lay out features and amenities that are important and affordable for you ahead of time, then it will be easier to navigate the homebuying process without getting roped into homes that you can’t afford with benefits you don’t need.

How much mortgage do you qualify for?

You can save yourself a lot of headache if you find out how much a lender is willing to loan you before you begin shopping for houses. If you find your perfect home at $300K, but you only get approved for a $200K loan, you are wasting your time and energy, only to leave yourself frustrated and likely unsatisfied with the homes available within your budget..

How much house can you afford?

Just because you get approved for a loan doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford to purchase a home at that value. It is important to determine a monthly budget that is affordable, and then do the research to factor in all your monthly costs. What is the rate of your mortgage? How high are property taxes? Are there homeowner’s association fees? These are just a few examples, and do not include the various other insurance costs, increased monthly utility bills, and taxes associated with homeownership.

What mortgage works best for you?

Financing your home is very important and should not be overlooked. The ticket price on a home is ultimately not what you will end up paying for it, as mortgage interests rates have a heavy influence on the final cost of a home. It is important to shop around and see what the best financing options are for you to have the lowest monthly and final costs. Interested in additional mortgage information for your location? Speak with one of our affiliates today to learn more.

It is important to understand the reality of the market and the home buying process. The more realistic and prepared you are, the easier you will find the home buying process to be. Take these steps and you’ll find that getting handed over your first set of keys isn’t as intimidating as it once looked!

Do you think Paran Homes community Lakes at Franklin Goldmine ranks among Atlanta’s Best New Homes? Check out the video here and let us know what you think of our Cumming, Georgia community! Now Selling New Phase with special agent incentives. Reach out to Greg today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31_BXT5kMsM

Nine Credit Score Myths… Do More Than Good.

When purchasing a home with Paran Homes, we all know how important our credit rating is when obtaining a mortgage. Your credit score has a direct impact on interest rate, payment, and in some cases whether you can qualify for a mortgage. There are many myths about how to maintain credit and some of these myths can cause more harm than good. Below are nine credit score myths that can impact to your credit score as oppose to helping your credit score.

1. Closing out old, active accounts will help your score:
Your credit score is partially based on our length of credit history and your utilization rate. By closing old accounts, you can make your credit history appear shorter and as a result actually decrease your score. It can also reduce the total amount of available credit, which can also affect your score.

2. Opening (but not using accounts) will help your score:
Your credit score is affected by how well you manage the credit you do have over a period of time, not by how many credit cards you have with available balances.

3. You should avoid using your credit cards at all:
If you’re not using your credit, you’re not building credit history. Use your credit cards from time to time and promptly pay off the balance.

4. Dispute letters can clean up your bad credit:
Dispute letters may force the removal of negative items temporarily, but once the lender can prove the records accuracy, it will reappear on your credit.

5. Paying off old debts and judgments will help your score:
Don’t expect a “negative” to disappear by paying it off. Negative records remain on your credit for 7 to 10 years, regardless of any remedies you made.

6. Credit inquiries hurt your score:
Inquires alone do not make a big enough change in your credit score to make a difference when it comes to lenders.

7. Using a credit counseling service lowers your score:
Credit counseling services no longer figure into the FICO scoring system. So although your report might indicate you are receiving credit counseling, using those services won’t lower your score.

8. There’s a set formula for obtaining great credit:
Credit is a very individual thing. Credit scores look at everything and take it all into account.

9. You can get a perfect score:
Getting a perfect score of 850 is nearly impossible. Your credit score is a reflection of your credit risk and regardless of your credit history. There is always a risk.

As one of Paran Homes trusted lenders, we thank Kevin Haynes of FBC Mortage for the article on how we can all improve our score when preparing for your new home. For more information or if you have questions, email khaynes@fbchomeloans.com.

Paran Homes community Oakleigh Pointe is nestled in the quiet and quaint outskirts of Paulding County our newest community will be priced from the Low $200s.

Offering Ranch, Two-Story, & Master-On-Main Floorplans, Oakleigh Pointe appeals to all. Empty nesters to young families will enjoy day trips to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, picnics on Lake Acworth, and an abundance of shopping and entertainment at the Avenue at West Cobb.

Check out the video here and let us know what you think of our beautiful Dallas, Georgia community!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gRw0UrolA8

Or visit Karen at Oakleigh Pointe this weekend and take a tour of our two available homes that can close before the holiday’s.

Regardless of why you’ve decided to move, one of the most important factors to consider before choosing your new home has nothing to do with the number of bathrooms or even the size of the master bedroom. Your number one priority can be summed up in a single word: location. Even the most objectively-perfect home in the world ultimately won’t give you what you need if it’s located in an area you don’t want to live to begin with.

Location Considerations

To help narrow down the perfect location for your next home, ask yourself the following questions:

• What kind of climate am I the most comfortable living in?
• Would I be happier with a large amount of land, or would a small front yard do just fine?
• What are my priorities regarding school districts?
• How close do I need to be to major attractions and other points of interest?

• How important is transportation? Am I going to be utilizing public transportation, or will I be getting around with my car?
• What are my needs today versus what I expect my needs to be ten years from now?

If you can decide what you’re looking for as far as location goes BEFORE you dive into your property search, it’ll immediately narrow down your options and make the process of actually finding that ideal home easier than ever.

To better illustrate these points, let’s consider an area as diverse as Atlanta. Oakleigh Pointe, a community that offers resort-style amenities like an Olympic sized swimming pool, water slides, tennis courts and more. In this case, the property IS the location. Sweetwater Landing, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to live in a quaint and quiet town that is still just a short commute away from downtown Atlanta proper. Hamilton Pointe is another option in the area, which blends a modern sensibility with the quiet suburban life you might enjoy. Jubilee, Madison Park at Newnan Lakes and The Lakes at Franklin Goldmine also offer similar environments.

The takeaway from this is that each community offers a bit of a different experience based on location, so only by really deciding what you want ahead of time will you be in the best possible position to find what you need.

If you’d like to find out more information about choosing the perfect location for your next home, take a tour in one of our beautifully, decorated models, or if you’d like to get other answers to your important real estate and financial questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.