Tip #14 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is use a weasel clause to protect yourself.
Even if your lender does not require a pest (termite) inspection and the seller says he has never had a problem with insects you should get one done for yourself anyway.
If the house has a pest problem, and you do not discover it, it could cost you thousands in repairs and months of agony. Spend a little money now to avoid spending a lot later.
A pest inspection is …

Every house has something wrong with it. Even brand new homes. Homes are made by people out of wood and stone. Neither the people making the house, nor the wood and stone it is made out of it are perfect. Mistakes happen and less than perfect materials are used.
Sometimes this results in a problem. That is why you need to get a home inspection done before you buy any house. In fact, you should have it in your contract as a contingency that you will only buy the hose if …

Use a mortgage broker
Who do you think has a better chance of getting you a better interest rate:
A bank with one loan program?
Or a mortgage broker that works with a 100 different banks that compete everyday for your business?
It is definitely the mortgage broker who can shop your loan around to hundreds of lenders.
You probably have seen TV ads from lendingtree.com and nexttag.com where they say they will get you quotes from 4 different lenders. That is nothing. A good mortgage broker works with dozens or even hundreds of …

A mortgage pre-approval letter is given to you after you are approved for a loan. And you can be approved before you even find a home. In fact, the letter can be a useful negotiating tool. This tip will show you how to use this tool to negotiate a cheaper price on your next house.
The reason to get a pre-approval letter is to show to the seller, that you are able to close. A pre-approval is much different from a pre-qualification. Any loan officer can qualify you in 10 minutes. …

Tip #17 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is to never tell your agent the top price you will pay for a house.
In our last tip, I explained to you the importance of having your own real estate agent on your side. And if you are going to but property you should have an agent on your side, especially if it does not cost you anything.
But, your agent is human, and there is no way to tell if he/she has your best interest …

Tip #17 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is to buy the worst house in a good neighborhood rather than the best house in a so-so neighborhood.
The reason why you should do this is simple. The worst house will appreciate (go up) in value much faster than the best house because of the neighborhood. It will also be easier to sell when you need to move, and it will sell faster.
The value of the house in the so-so neighborhood will be kept …

Buying a house as-is means the seller will not fix anything. Most of the time, homes sold as-is have many things wrong with them. And because of that fact, they are cheaper than similar homes than do not need any work.
This might mean something as small as a wall needs to be rebuilt, or the house might need a new roof. But it could also mean that they house has a cracked foundation or is infested with mold.
Buying a house as-is is a great way to get a house …

I bought my first apartment 10 years ago, on my 20th birthday. I had spent the previous 5 years working and saving for college; but when I finally entered college at 19 on a full academic scholarship, I decided that instead of spending my accumulated savings, I would try my hand at investment. Here I am 10 years later. This is not a story of extreme or fast wealth building.
But it is a story of effective “forced savings” that has provided me significant insight into financial planning, real estate …

One common mistake many home buyers make is that they call the listing agent for information on a house they like.
The agent listing the house, (the person who put the sign in the yard) works for the sellers only. She does not work for you and you do not want her to work for you. She will blab everything you tell her to the sellers including how much you would pay for the house. In fact that is her job.
If you call a listing agent and tell her anything, she …

Tip #20 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is to buy a new home from a builders inventory.
An inventory home is a brand new home built by the builder but without an owner. Either the person who wanted the house built backed out of the contract or the builder built it as a way to keep his staff working, or a model, or a way to add built homes to the neighborhood.
Whatever the reason of the inventory home, it can be a bargain …