THERE'S HELP FOR BUYERS WEB SITES, LENDERS CAN OFFER INFORMATION.Buying that first house can be a daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task, but help, both financial and educational, is available. The help is readily available on the Internet, and lenders and local government agencies sponsor seminars for first-time buyers first-time buyer n → persona que compra su primera vivienda first-time buyer n → personne achetant une maison ou un appartement pour la première fois first-time buyer . The biggest challenge, though, is finding a house you can afford in this record price environment. If possible, start your search before the summer buying season, which typically features the year's highest prices. You may also have to choose a longer commute to achieve home ownership or search for a property that needs a makeover and do some of the work yourself. Here are some sites that offer first-time-buyer assistance. --www.calhfa.ca.gov This is essentially a bank operated by the state. It has 13 home-buying help programs, including down payment assistance and 30-year loans at below-market rates. Its price limits are adjusted every six months and it processes loans at the same speed as big commercial lenders, experts say. --www.realtor.com It's the official site of the National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is made up of residential and commercial realtors who are brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, and counselors, and others working in the real estate industry. and one way to price-shop a variety of markets from home. The site includes links to other home-related sites. And it has a primer for buyers and sellers. --www.car.org This is the California Association of Realtors' site. It features monthly sales and price information from major markets around the state. --www.hsh.com This is the site for the nation's biggest tracker of mortgage-market information. It posts interest-rate information for markets across the country and calculators that will help you figure out how much of a house your income will buy. --www.freddiemac.com and www.fanniemae.com These are the sites of the two major mortgage-market players; each features links to educational programs. They help buyers through their conforming loan Conforming Loan A conventional mortgage under $203,150 that conforms to the loan amounts and mortgage guidelines used by Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac. Notes: Conventional mortgages or conforming loans are classified as non-conforming or jumbo loans when the amount of the limits. The two companies buy loans from lenders and the conforming limit is the maximum-size loan they will purchase. The limit is based on the October-to-October change in the average housing price. The current limit is $417,000, which makes house hunting tougher for first-time buyers in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . For example, in January the median price for a home in Southern California, whether new or previously owned single-family house or condo, was $469,000, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. market tracker DataQuick Information Systems. And the median price in every ZIP code zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. is above the conforming limit, too. - Gregory J. Wilcox CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) New homes line the hills in the Big Sky community in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) With the prices of single-family homes continuing to remain higher than most Valley families can afford, town homes like these on Owensmouth Avenue in Chatsworth are becoming more popular for the first-time buyer. Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer Box: Here are some sites that offer first-time-buyer assistance. (see text) |
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