When it’s time to buy a home, the most obvious professional you’ll likely think to hire is a real estate agent.

That’s a good call because buying real estate is usually an endeavor that’s filled with intricacies that the average person may not know how to navigate. Real estate agents are trained and experienced in real estate contracts and transactions, so having one in your corner can increase your chances of a successful outcome.

But as important as agents are, they’re not necessarily the only professionals that you will need to carry out a real estate deal. When buying a home, there are a few other experts that you might need before getting the keys to your new place.

1. Home Inspector

Every buyer should include a contingency in their real estate agreement that allows them the opportunity to bring in a home inspector to check out the home in great detail. Perhaps there are issues with the home that you may not have noticed during your visits that a home inspector may be more qualified to catch.

If an issue is identified, you’ll have some recourse, whether it’s to renegotiate a lower price, ask for credit to cover the cost of repairs, or even walk away from the deal altogether. But without a home inspector, you may be inadvertently agreeing to buy a home that comes with a ton of issues that will cost you a lot more money in the long run.

2. Mortgage Broker

Even before you hire a real estate agent, you might want to consider hiring a mortgage broker first to help you determine how much house you can afford. Mortgage brokers will shop around for a home loan on your behalf to find a lender who’s willing to offer you the best loan product at the lowest interest rate.

Mortgage brokers can also help you get pre-approved for a mortgage so that you can get the mortgage process going and make you a more competitive buyer, especially if you’re in a highly competitive market. While you can always go directly to your bank and take whatever they offer you, working with a mortgage broker affords you with the opportunity to shop around with various lenders for the best loan product.

3. Movers

If you’re moving from a home that you’ve lived in for a while, odds are you’ve got a ton of stuff to haul from your current home to your new abode. And if that stuff includes furniture, you’re going to need a big truck and a few extra hands to get all your belongings from A to B.

A reputable moving company will have the truck, staff, and experience needed to quickly and efficiently move all your things into your new home. And they usually come with insurance too, so if something is damaged along the way, you could be covered financially.

4. Locksmith

Buyers who purchase resale homes are often advised to change the locks shortly after taking possession. While the keys may have been handed over to you by the sellers, you just never know if they still have an extra set. Not only that but who knows who else might have a copy of the keys. As such, your best bet is to have the locks changed to make sure you’re the only one with access to your home.

5. Contractor

If you happen to purchase a home that needs a little updating, a contractor will be able to help you bring your home up to par. Whether you’re looking to redo the flooring, reface the kitchen cabinets, or completely gut the bathroom, having some professional help in these realms will help you create the home you’ve always dreamed of.

While certain small projects can be done on your own, larger jobs should be left to the professionals.

The Bottom Line

A lot goes into finding, buying, and obtaining title to a property. And although a real estate agent is certainly the hub of such a transaction, there are several other professionals that may be required to make it all happen. Luckily, your agent will likely have a network of professionals that they deal with on a regular basis, so the only person you may have to seek out on your own is an agent. All the referrals will then follow.

The actual mortgage payments that you’re responsible for making when you purchase a home are only part of the overall cost of buying real estate. In addition to all the closing costs, there is also Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) to have to pay.

If you’re able to contribute at least 20% of the purchase price in the form of a down payment when you first buy a home, then you can avoid paying PMI payments. But any less than a 20% down payment will mean that PMI payments will be tacked on to your mortgage.

But is there ever a time when you can get rid of PMI? If you’ve managed to make payments on time every month and brought your loan balance down to less than 80% of the purchase price of your home, do still need to pay PMI premiums?

What is Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?

Before we answer the above question, it’s helpful to understand exactly what PMI is.

Basically, PMI is a type of mortgage insurance that protects the lender if you ever default on your loan payments. Even though you are the one making the premium payments, your lender is the one that’s offered protection, not you.

Higher loan balances put lenders at a higher risk. More specifically, if your loan balance is more than 80% of the purchase price of the home, your lender will have a lot of money to recoup if you ever fail to make your payments. The smaller your loan balance is relative to what the property is worth, the less risk posed to the lender.

In any case, a loan balance of more than 80% of the purchase price of the home (which means you put down less than 20% as a down payment) means PMI premiums will be charged.

So the question still remains: can you get rid of PMI at some point? If so, how?

Can You Cancel PMI Payments?

Yes, you can eliminate private mortgage insurance at some point throughout the life of your loan. In order to qualify for its cancellation, you need to have a minimum of 20% equity in the property. Whether you managed to build equity through regular monthly mortgage payments, appreciation in value of your home, or both, having at least 20% equity in your home may qualify you for the elimination of PMI.

How Do You Cancel PMI?

There are a handful of ways to cancel your PMI:

Notify your lender.

Once your home equity has reached the 20% mark, you may be able to cancel your PMI. But just because you’ve reached this threshold doesn’t mean it’s automatic. You will have to get in touch with your lender once you’ve paid down your mortgage balance to 80% of the property’s appraised value when you first bought it.

In this case, your best bet would be to contact your lender and submit a written request to cancel your PMI a couple of months before you’re on par to hit the 80% mark. That way they’ll be in-the-know about where you’re at in your mortgage and what your intentions are. Otherwise, simply wait until you’ve reached 80% and send in your written request then.

Just keep in mind that in order for your lender to agree to cancel your PMI at this point, you’ll have to prove the value of your home by having it appraised (at your cost). You’ll also have to prove that there are no liens on the home and that you’ve managed to make all of your mortgage payments on time.

It should be noted that if you took out an FHA loan, you will not be able to cancel the PMI that comes with these types of mortgages. The only way to eliminate this insurance policy is by refinancing into a mortgage that’s not backed by the FHA.

Wait to hit the 78% equity mark.

While you’d have to notify your lender and request to cancel your PMI in writing if you pay your loan balance down to 80% of the value of the home when you purchased it, the cancellation should be automatic once your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio dips down to 78%.

At that point, your PMI should disappear on its own, as lenders are required to eliminate it when the LTV reaches 78% as per the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998. 

Take on a home renovation project.

Certain renovation projects can add a lot of value to your home. By increasing your home’s value, you can effectively sway your LTV in your direction. If the project you complete adds enough value to your home that it brings your equity down past the 78% point, you can get rid of your PMI.

The trick is to pick the right type of project that will bring in a high ROI. Some projects cost a lot more to do than what the added value would actually be. Make sure you speak with your real estate agent to find out which types of projects to consider taking on.

The Bottom Line

It’s definitely not fun to have to pay yet another fee on top of all the other costs associated with buying and owning a home. But if you can’t come up with a 20% down payment, private mortgage insurance is inevitable. That said, you don’t necessarily have to be stuck with PMI your whole life. If you can manage to get your LTV to under 80% or 78%, then PMI can be a thing of the past.

Choosing the right property is an important part of the equation when it comes to investing in real estate. But if you’re going to fill the property with sub-par tenants, your investment income can potentially suffer. Not only that, but you’ll be stuck with nothing but headaches from problem renters.

Before you allow anyone to take the keys to any one of your units and sign a lease, it’s imperative that you thoroughly screen each applicant. While you might be anxious to fill your vacancies and start collecting rent, you’d be better off with an extra month or two of no rent in order to give yourself time to find the perfect tenant who will pay you on time, take care of the place, and not be a nuisance to neighbors.

As part of the screening process, consider the following tips to weed out the bad seeds and choose the applicant who will make the best fit as a tenant.

1. Insist on Proof of Identity

Considering the rise of identity theft these days, it makes sense to be prudent enough to verify an applicant’s identity. Ask for photo identification and try and get driver’s license numbers. Don’t just take their word from it over the phone that they are who they say they are. Keep copies of such information for your files.

2. Perform a Background Check

When you list your rental unit for lease, mention that a background check may be performed. Anyone who may be uncomfortable with this because of a shady past may just skip the application process altogether and move on. For the remainder who do decide to go ahead with the application, a background check can prove to be very helpful.

You want to know if the prospective tenant has any history of skipping out on rent, been evicted, or has been convicted of any crime. Anything that creeps up as a red flag when a background check is conducted should probably mean that you should skip over that applicant and keep looking.

3. Perform a Credit Check

While you’re at it, have a credit check conducted on potential tenants to make sure they are financially capable and responsible enough to make rent payments on time every month. The last thing you want is to constantly hound your tenant for rent every time payday rolls around.

A credit check will tell you what a potential tenant’s credit history is, but you’ll need to get their permission in writing in order to be legally permitted to conduct a check like this. Just make sure you pull the credit report yourself rather than depending on the tenant to provide you with an accurate report themselves.

4. Get References

It’s helpful to get contact information from a prospective tenant’s previous landlords and employers. These people can give you some pertinent information on the people you’re screening and can tell you if they’ve had any problems with them in the past. Odds are if they’ve caused issues with previous landlords, they’ll probably cause some problems for you too.

5. Don’t Incriminate Yourself

There are certain things you can do and ask when screening for tenants, but there are others that you can’t. It’s important that you protect yourself against any potential litigation as a result of discrimination by following the regulations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). This act was established to make sure that tenants are not denied tenancy because of their race, sex, age, religion, or any other type of similar reason.

6. Ask Lots of Questions

As long as you adhere to the FHA as mentioned above, there are plenty of questions that you can and should ask in order to make sure you choose the right rental candidate. Some questions that you may want to ask include:

• How soon are you looking to move into a new place?
• Do you have any pets?
• Do you smoke?
• Who will be living with you?
• Do you have lots of parties or gatherings?
• Will you be conducting any commercial activity in the unit?
• What is your budget?

The answers that you get will give you a pretty good idea of what type of tenant the applicant will be and whether or not they may be truthful about what they’re telling you.

The Bottom Line

You’ll have to deal with tenants for at least 12 months since most leases are at least that long. As such, you’ll definitely want to make sure that you pick the right person. A great tenant can be so easy that you will barely need to be in touch with them other than to collect rent.

But a bad tenant can be a real nightmare and can cause you nothing but hassles. While thorough screening won’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll land the best tenant, you can definitely increase your chances of finding a great renter and avoid ones that would probably turn out to be duds.

Are you looking to get a lower interest rate for your mortgage? Do you want to look for a way to pay off your mortgage faster? Are you considering using the equity in your home to pay for a major expense?

Then a mortgage refinance may be something that could be useful for you.

Refinancing involves taking out a new mortgage to replace the existing one. You’ll have to go through an approval process before a refinance goes through, and the process can either close faster or slower compared to when applying for your first mortgage.

Sometimes refinancing can take a while to complete. The question is, how long? And what exactly goes into a mortgage refinance?

How Long Does a Mortgage Refinance Take?

While there are a number of factors that can influence the length of time that it takes for a mortgage refinance to go through, they typically take about 30 to 45 days to complete, on average. That said, it can take a lot longer than this to complete a refinance if there are any obstacles that are met along the way.

So, what goes into a mortgage refinance? And why do such processes take so long?

Steps to a Mortgage Refinance

Refinancing takes a while because of all the in-depth steps that are required, including the following:

Finding a lender. Many homeowners just work with the lender that they already have their first mortgage with. But you’re not necessarily tied down to this lender. If you so choose, you can work with another lender to get a mortgage refinance. If you do decide to go with another lender, the process may take a couple of days longer because you’ll have to submit all paperwork that your current lender might already have.

Filling out and submitting an application. Just like you had to fill out an application for your initial mortgage, you’ll have to fill out one for a refinance as well. These applications are rather lengthy, as you already know. But your lender will be able to help you move along the application process rather quickly by guiding you on the documents that will need to be submitted along with the application.

The documents that you will likely have to submit can include the following:

• Paystubs
• Two years worth of W2’s
• Bank statements
• Tax returns from the last two years
• Asset and liability statement if self-employed
• Profit and loss statement if self-employed

Waiting for your loan estimate. No more than three days after submitting your application, your lender will be required to provide you with your loan estimate and disclosures. The estimate will detail the monthly payment information and the amount you’ll be responsible for paying in closing costs. After this, the loan will be processed after your lender carefully reviews all of your documents.

Waiting for the property to be appraised. Your lender will want to verify what your home is worth before approving the refinance.

Underwriting and closing will take place. Probably the longest step in the refinancing process is the underwriting phase. This is the part where all of your documents will be checked for complete accuracy and takes about a week or so to complete. If there’s an issue, however, this phase can take a lot longer. Generally speaking, underwriting a refinance takes longer than a first mortgage.

If everything checks out, then closing will take place, which should only take a few hours.

Can You Speed Up the Process?

The refinance process already takes a long time, but is there anything you can do to speed it up?

Maybe. The first thing you’ll want to do is work with a competent loan officer, as this can be a major reason why the process can take forever. Further, you can make sure that you fill out your application completely with no errors and ensure that you submit all pertinent paperwork on time.

The Bottom Line

Refinancing is definitely not something that will happen tomorrow. It definitely takes time, but it will be worth the wait if you’re able to refinance at a lower interest rate or if you need to get your hands on some equity to cover a costly expense.

You’ve got a lot of tasks to tend to when it comes to maintaining your home, and lawn maintenance is one of them.

But did you know that certain things you might be doing could actually be harming your lawn? If your grass is looking like it could use a little TLC, it might actually be because of something you’ve done.

Before you go out and tend to your lawn, make sure not to commit the following blunders.

1. Cutting the Grass Too Short

There’s a reason why homeowners cut their grass short: so they don’t have to mow the lawn as often. But while you might think you’re saving time, you’re actually doing your lawn a disservice.

Cutting the grass blades too short can increase the chances of lawn disease and bald spots. Blades that are too short are not able to take in the crucial energy from the sun and other sources as a result.

And if you cut off the blade entirely, the grass stem will be exposed. When cutting the grass, don’t hack off any more than a third of the length of the blade.

2. Using Dull Blades on the Lawn Mower

Instead of getting a nice clean cut, the blades of grass will basically just be ripped off when using a lawn mower with dull blades. This is a problem because the ends will end up being frayed, which can make your grass vulnerable to disease, pathogens, and dryness.

Your best bet is to make sure your lawn mower has sharp blades to avoid any of these potential issues.

3. Cutting the Grass When it’s Wet

Don’t cut the grass soon after a rainfall. Mowing the lawn when the grass is still wet can damage the blades. Not only that, but you’ll increase the odds of weeds and diseases spreading as a result of grass clippings clumping from all the moisture.

Further, cutting the grass while it’s wet is also a bit dangerous because your chances of slipping on it are much higher. Make sure the grass is dry before you cut it.

4. Not Plucking Your Weeds

If you allow weeds to grow, the chances of them spreading around are pretty high. At that point, your lawn will be inundated with weeds and your weed removal job will be even more tedious and time-consuming.

Every weed that grows can produce dozens of seeds, which can easily spread. Keep on top of the weeds to avoid any unnecessary additional work you’ll have to do in the future.

5. Watering at the Wrong Time of the Day

It’s important for your lawn to get some moisture, and the most obvious way to do that is to water your lawn on a regular basis (adhering to any water conservation regulations in your local area, of course). But when you water your grass matters.

For example, watering in the middle of the day is a bad idea. That’s because the moisture will be easily evaporated by the heat and sun. If you water at night, your lawn will be vulnerable to fungus.

Instead, your lawn should be watered in the early morning hours. That way the lawn will be better able to absorb the moisture and retain it without losing it to the elements and being susceptible to potentially harmful fungus.

6. Watering Too Frequently

Watering your lawn is important for obvious reasons, but sometimes you can water too often. In addition to wasting water – which is a huge no-no in particularly dry parts of California – you run the risk of getting in the way of deepening the root system, which can make your lawn more vulnerable to disease. Instead, water less frequently but more in-depth with each session.

7. Not Watering Enough

On the flip side to the above-mentioned issue, not watering enough also has its consequences, which really don’t need much explanation. If your lawn is not given enough moisture, it will dry out easily and the root system will be too shallow to absorb nutrients from the soil very well.

8. Not Tending to Your Soil

The blades of grass are obviously important to tend to, but the soil should also be cared for. If your soil isn’t healthy, odds are your grass won’t be either. Soil without enough organic matter can’t help the roots absorb adequate amounts of moisture or nutrients.

Ideally, your soil should be able to hold moisture well but also drain adequately when you water the lawn. Consider having your soil tested to make sure it’s healthy enough to sustain an equally healthy lawn.

9. Not Fertilizing Properly

Fertilizing is a great way to keep your lawn healthy. But if you don’t get it right, you can actually damage your lawn. If that happens, you’ll have to either reseed the lawn or completely redo it, depending on the extent of the damage.

Applying fertilizer can actually burn the grass blades, leaving you with grass that looks more like hay than anything else. Be sure to understand the right strength fertilizer that should be used, as well as the appropriate application to avoid causing damage.

10. Killing Off All Insects

There’s no doubt that certain types of insects can wreak havoc on your lawn. But there are plenty of other insects that can actually help to keep it healthy.

Certain spiders and ladybugs, for instance, can help get rid of sap-sucking insects, and bees pollinate the plants. Before you start arbitrarily spraying an insecticide on your lawn,  consider using specialized solutions that are designed to target specific critters.

The Bottom Line

Your lawn plays a key role in your home’s external appearance and curb appeal. Knowing how to properly care for it can keep your home looking in tip-top shape and can even help maintain your home’s value.