buying a home in ma

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Closing Costs: Settlement and Escrow

Set with solid jobs, nice cars and a baby on the way, there was only one thing Liz and Wes Clayton were missing: the perfect house. They had no problem tracking down the ideal three-bedroom ranch in Fairfax, Va., negotiating a price or securing a loan — it was the closing costs that left them less than settled.

“The only real problem we had came when we went to close the deal,” says Wes. “Our closing costs were just astronomical. We really weren’t prepared for that kind of bill.”

The Claytons, like most first-time homebuyers, had no idea what goes into the settlement and closing process

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Homeownership Can Translate Into Tax Savings

NEW YORK — Mortgage interest is just the beginning.

Owning a home can provide some significant advantages when it’s time to file your federal tax return. From green energy credits to deductions for damage from natural disasters, there are a number of items homeowners may be able to claim that could reduce a tax bill.

Most homeowners know that they can deduct the interest paid on up to $1 million in mortgage debt for their primary home. The interest paid on up to $100,000 of a home equity loan for the same home may also be itemized.

In most cases, it’s possible to deduct all of your mortgage interest, so long as you itemize your deductions. That opens up opportunities for other savings.

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Boost Your Odds of Landing a Mortgage

For some would-be buyers and refinancers, today’s mortgage rates are the ultimate tease. While ads tout the lowest rates in history (recently under 4% for a 30-year fixed), qualifying for a mortgage that cheap can be an exercise in frustration or futility.

Less-than-perfect credit will hurt, of course, but you may also find yourself struggling if your situation is deemed at all unusual — which could mean anything from owning a business to buying a condo instead of a single-family home. Read on for the best ways to get a deal.

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First-Time Homebuyer’s Guide

Mike Valdez fits the profile of a savvy first-time homebuyer perfectly. A 34-year-old financial analyst from New Rochelle, N.Y., he and his family had grown sick of living the renter’s life. So two years ago he decided to test the market and find a townhouse for his growing family. But despite his financial aptitude, he quickly ran into a setback.

“We found a place we liked and ran the numbers,” he says, but the young couple soon discovered that they had underestimated the burden of their college debt. They were forced to back out.

Mike’s lesson goes to the heart of what every first-time homebuyer needs to know — buying a home means so much more than paying a mortgage.

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Closing Costs: No Surprises

Many homebuyers mistakenly arrive at closing unprepared for a laundry list of closing costs: major and minor fees that are a routine part of any home purchase. This can be because the lender increased fees on lender-controlled aspects of a transaction, or because a buyer chose a third party (appraiser, inspector, attorney, title company) that might charge higher prices than those estimated by the lender.

Fortunately, new rules and regulations provide more clarity on the closing costs that borrowers can expect to pay. As a rule of thumb, homebuyers can expect to pay closing costs equivalent to …

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As Home Prices Fall Further, Is it Time to Buy?

Nobody wants to catch a falling knife. It is as simple as that. If potential buyers see continued home price erosion, they will stay parked on the sidelines. But as with everything else in this unique and historic housing market, perhaps the usual logic doesn’t apply.

Housing is one of the great investments right now. I tell people all the time when they come up to me, they say, “What should I do, Mr. Trump?” I say go buy a house,” said Donald Trump recently in an appearance on CNBC.

“It wouldn’t be an obvious mistake to buy a house now,” hedged famed economist Robert Shiller, barely a few hours later.

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Housing Affordability Soars to Record High

Low mortgage rates and falling home values have brought housing within reach to more families than ever before, according to the latest National Association of REALTORS® housing affordability index.

Housing affordability in January reached its highest level since NAR began tracking it in 1970. The index — which tracks median home price, median family income, and the average mortgage rate — reached 206.1 in January.

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