【正文】 a mortgage loan is closed and they receive title to the purchased property. Closing costs are like down payments: they represent money you must e up with at the time you buy the house. Closing costs are made up of such items as loan application and loan origination fees paid to the lender, mortgage points, title search and insurance fees, attorneys’ fees, appraisal fees, and other miscellaneous fees for things such as mortgage taxes, filing fees, inspections, credit reports, and so on. Chapter 5 60 Performing a Home Affordability Analysis Worksheet helps you determine your maximum price for a home purchase based on your monthly ine and down payment amount after meeting estimated closing costs. In our example, the Ursula and Ernest Schmidt family has a bined annual ine of $75,200and savings of $30,000 for a down payment and closing costs. Chapter 5 61 They estimate monthly property taxes and homeowner’s insurance at $375 and expect the mortgage lender to use a 28% monthly mortgage payment affordability ratio, to lend at an average interest rate of 6% on a 30year (360month) mortgage, and to require a 10% minimum down payment. The Schmidts39。 analysis shows they can afford to purchase a home for about $201,000. Chapter 5 62 Chapter 5 63 Chapter 5 64 LG5 THE HOME BUYING PROCESS Are you in the market for your first home? Buying a home requires time, effort, and money. You’ll want to educate yourself about available properties and prevailing prices by doing a systematic search and careful analysis. You’ll also need a basic understanding of the role of a real estate agent, the mortgage application process, the real estate sales contract, and other documents required to close a deal. Chapter 5 65 Keeping in mind the following pitfalls will improve your chances of being a happy, successful homeowner: 1. Say no to ―no money down‖ seminars. Many of these seminar ―experts‖ most likely never bought or sold a piece of real estate in their lives but are getting rich off the backs of suckers. Chapter 5 66 2. Stay away from bad agents. Interview your agent and ask hard questions. Make sure that he or she is experienced. Consider signing a buyer’s broker agreement, which gives both you and the broker responsibilities and reasonable performance expectations. 3. Don’t wipe out your savings. While it makes sense to put down記下 the largest down payment you can afford, it is important to keep your emergency reserves intact, hold money for closing costs, and set aside funds to handle possible repairs and future maintenance. You don’t want to be putting such extras on your credit card! wipe out 擦掉，擦凈；徹底摧毀，消滅 Chapter 5 67 4. Rely on professional advice. Pay attention to what your agent or mortgage broker tells you. Look up information on the Inter, read real estate books, and ask for a second opinion. Lawyers and accountants are excellent resources. 5. Avoid exotic financing. One of the biggest lessons of the recent financial crisis is that real estate prices don’t always go up. And what you don’t know about your mortgage can hurt you! Don’t sign off on your mortgage until you understand every detail. Terms like indexes, margins, caps, and negative amortization should make you nervous. Chapter 5 68 6. Pick the right neighborhood. You’ve heard that the three most important factors in valuing real estate are location, location, and location. This is no joke. Drive through a neighborhood, ask the police department about crime statistics, and talk to neighbors before you buy. 7. Stay away from the most expensive home in the neighborhood. While having the largest and most expensive home in the neighborhood might be appealing, it doesn’t bode well for resale value. If you need three bedrooms, don’t consider a fivebedroom that looks good but costs more and meets your needs less. Chapter 5 69 8. Don’t pass up the home inspection. Home inspections are not a waste of time and money. Qualified home inspectors can find problems that most of us would miss. pass up 放過(guò) (機(jī)會(huì) )，放棄 9. Don’t change the financial picture before closing. Just because your offer was accepted by the seller doesn’t mean that you need to stay in buying mode. While waiting for loan funding, there is no need to buy a new car to match that new home. Your excellent credit report does not give you free rein to buy whatever you want. Borrowing too much more at this time could adversely affect the funding of a mortgage. Chapter 5 70 10. Plunging into debt after closing. After you bee a homeowner, you’ll be offered many deals on a home equity loan. Although it may be tempting to pull out all your equity and use this newfound money to buy all sorts of new toys, you should stick to a reasonable financial plan. More sources of debt should not cause you to ignore the need to cover the contingency of losing a job or setting aside money to meet an emergency. set aside 留出，撥出 (時(shí)間等 )；把 … 置于一旁 contingency [k?n?tind??nsi] ，可能性 Chapter 5 71 LG6 FINANCING THE TRANSACTION The success of a real estate transaction often hinges on obtaining a mortgage with favorable terms. A mortgage loan is secured by the property: If the borrower defaults, the lender has the legal right to liquidate the property to recover the funds it is owed. Before you obtain such a loan, it’s helpful to understand the sources and types of mortgages and their underlying economics. hinge on 依 … 而定，以 … 為轉(zhuǎn)移 underlying [??nd??laii?] ，潛在的 Chapter 5 72 SUMMARY LG1 Implement a plan to research and select a new or used automobile. LG2 Decide whether to buy or lease a car. LG3 Identify housing alternatives, assess the rental option, a