First home buyers are those people who are buying their own homes or doing a second act of home buying. The first home buying process must never be rushed. A lot of research has to be carried out. The search for the property and loaning alternatives usually begins long before the actual purchase occurs. It requires a lot of concentration and soul searching to ensure that the choice taken will never be regretted at all.

Internet technology has come with so many benefits to man in that the potential home buyers can search for home listings online and a homer buyer is able to view all the features of the property that they want to buy on from virtual tours. All this they can just do from the confines of their homes.

This has been instrumental in giving prospective home buyers the necessary information such as the type of home and neighborhood before getting to the real estate agent’s office.

However buying is not an easy task and there are various steps that need to be taken in order to achieve the desired results. One most important thing to consider before buying a home is to be able to look at your income and budget. An affordable house will depend on the interest rates on loans, monthly expenses, credit rating and total income.

The home industry is a complicated one that needs complete understanding of the rights of both the seller and the buyer as well as the legal requirements of such a transaction. The requirements of fair housing for all as well as equal opportunities for all should be properly implemented. Other rights to be observed are borrower’s rights, predatory lending and real estate settlement procedures Act.

Also, it is necessary for a home buyer to shop around for a good home deal and this will help them in choosing the best lender who offers best deals and packages that suits their requirements. Shopping for packages is normally done in a way that the buyer compares the cost and interest rates from different lenders and choosing on the best deal.

A home buyer should be able to seek loan programs that offer low down payments. These are the best for first time home buyers. The next step would be to hunt for a home of your choice. This is largely determined by the kind of neighborhood you want and the house choice.

After doing home shopping, the buyer goes to the real estate agent and makes an offer. This involves negotiating and making sale agreements. Inspection of the house is done to ascertain its condition either by the owner or by a hired professional home inspector.

Where applicable, the home buyer should have a homeowner’s insurance cover. This might be required by the lender. The final step is to sign the necessary settlement papers to close the deal. Home buyers are advised to read the papers carefully before signing.

Fixed Rate Home Loans: Do you like to be peaceful by knowing when your loan repayment is? It’s very easy and simple by Fixed Rate Home Loan. With this loan you will be aware that your repayment will be the same for a fixed period of time. This is an excellent solution to prepare an accurate budget each month with the help of a fixed rate loan.

The duration period is around one to five years as the repayments are fixed along with the period of fixed rate time. By the end of the fixed time, you will have an option of changing to the standard variable rate or a mixture of split loans.

When is it a good idea to fix the interest rate on a home loan?

Since the economic conditions are not under control, still the best economists can not be in a position to foresee the complete certainty like when the interest rates will increase or decrease. This is the reason most of the borrowers choose to fix the loan for a period of less than 3 years.

It is always good to do some investigation on the current financial trends and news before you step on to take a fixed rate home loan so that you will get a thought to know how much the interest rate is. It’s a thumb rule that you will like to fix the interest rate when it is low or near the bottom of the interest rate cycle.

Consider the following pros and cons before you decide on a fixed rate home loan:

The Advantages are Equal repayments each month, You can plan your finances due to stable – fixed repayments and you can stick to your budget even in uncertain economic times, the interest rates don’t change for every month repayment.

The Cons of a Fixed Rate Home Loan are if interest rates fall you may pay more for your loan than borrowers on variable rates, Most lending institutions cap the amount of extra repayments you can have each year, You may be penalised if you pay off your home loan before the fixed rate expiry date, Fixed loans generally have limited features e.g. no redraw facility.

Split Rate Home Loans: Want added security of a fixed rate home loan but also the flexibility of a variable rate home loan? With a Split Rate Home Loan you can have exactly that.

Are you interested to know what are the attractive features of a Split Rate Home Loan? The existing borrowers have the capacity to modify the home loan and add as many features you want. This split Rate home loan is divided into many combinations e.g 50/50 split or 80% variable and 20% fixed provided it meets lenders policy.

Consider the following pros and cons before you decide on a split rate home loan:

The Pros of a Split Rate Home Loan are Fixing portion of your loan can protect you against future interest rate rises, Leaving part of your loan at a variable interest rate allows you to benefit with a lower rate if interest rate falls, Have a fully featured home loan by combining multiple splits together.

The Disadvantages are Different portions of the loan will have different costs like fixed rate loans will have a big break up cost, To the fixed portion of the loan limited amount of extra repayments gets applied, and due to the fixed component there is no flexibility to change from one lender to another.

Home Equity Loan : Known by a number of names, a Revolving Line of Credit, a Line of Credit Home Loan, and a Home Equity Loan, this type of loan has become popular due to its flexibility and features.

With a greater credit limit a credit card will be issued. A home equity loan is a credit facility is available with first finance or mortgage on a residential property. I gives permission to withdraw money to a certain limit the equity you have in your home) at any time.

A Home Equity Loan allocates you a lot of flexible features with your finances.

You can use the line of credit to carry out renovations, invest in shares, purchase another investment property or pay the bills.

Know about the pros and cons prior you make a decision on a Home Equity Loan:

Advantages of a Home Equity Loan

* A home equity line of credit offers a much lower rate of interest than credit cards * Interest paid on your home equity line of credit is tax deductible, a benefit not available with credit cards * Flexible payment options – Some lenders offer interest only equity lines of credit which gives you the option to pay only the interest for a pre-determined amount of time or pay interest plus as much or as little principal as you want * Accessibility – Money is easily accessed by cheque or ATM card linked to this loan * Repayments can be made in full or on a monthly basis * Extra repayments are allowed at any time * Cheque book facilities are available if needed

Cons of a Home Equity Loan

The interest rate of a home equity line of credit alters with the prime rate. There is also a border that is added to the interest rate, which is set and is determined at the time of application Higher interest rates are attracted than your standard variable rate loans

Low Doc Home Loan: Are you scratching your head wondering whether you can attain finance or not if you are self employed and you don’t have your fiscal conditions in place.

A Low Doc Home Loan is a very plain and simple fast loan offered to all the self employed borrowers. Since they are not in a position to provide full financial statements and also they cannot present income evidence.

Most of the lenders are providing the growing trend of low doc home loan products on the market with many lenders giving standard and premium ‘low-doc loans’, with an option of variable or fixed interest rates.

DirectMoney HomeLoans assists you to get a loan with the best rate and good features by providing access with hundreds of lenders and the leading home loans on the market for sure.

Based on the lender, some people require you to pay for Lender Mortgage Insurance (LMI) if the loan reaches 80% loan to value ratio(LVR). A higher interest rate is charged by some lenders for these products to self employed customers as their risk related is high. The interest rate is reduced to you by the lenders if the customers show their tax assessments.

The following are the advantages and disadvantages of Low doc home loan:

Advantages

Financial proofs are not necessary Instead of tax returns simple financial statement is required Irregular income and non-traditional sources are measured

Low Doc Home Loans Cons

Higher interest rates and fees are to be paid Appropriate to higher repayments your cash flows might suffer