There are some simple steps that homebuyers often miss when looking for their new home. Taking the time to consider these steps can save you thousands of dollars, but more importantly, can smooth the process of buying a new home, saving time and money, as well as alleviating stressful situations in advance.1. Begin by being up front and honest with your REALTOR® and lender about your credit history. Your credit, whether good or bad, affects everything from your down payment to your interest rates. Your REALTOR® or a professional mortgage consultant can often advise you as to how you can get credit problems cleared up or completely eliminated from your credit report before you apply for financing or make an offer on a new home.2. Getting pre-qualified for a loan by a professional lender ... 09/16/2007

Anyone who has ever had a bank account, mortgage, credit card, car loan, or account with a retail store will invariably have a credit rating. Most information in your credit rating comes from companies you have credit with, as well as from certain public records such as tax liens, bankruptcies, judgments and lawsuits. It is important to know and understand your credit rating, how the information is compiled, and how it affects your ability to acquire a loan for your new home.Credit reports are usually divided into five sections:1. Your credit history.2. Who has reviewed your credit history.3. Information you have provided for the credit company.4. Specific identification information about you.5. Explanatory notes and comments.Different states have different requirements and it is import... 09/16/2007

Bank owned property located directly on Eagle Trace Golf Course. All buyers must be pre-qulaified by CHL-prior to commitment acceptance. Fax all offers to listing agent. Seller to hold escrow upon acceptance. Seller to provide title policy thru designatedtitle agent-No sellers disclosure-Sold"as-is". OFFERED AT $599,000FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT STEVEN BASTIAN W/ COLDWELL BANKERMOBILE 561-542-1359OFFICE 954-753-2200EMAIL - STEVEN.BASTIAN@FLORIDAMOVES.COM  09/15/2007

 AN ACRE OF TRANQUIL PRIVACY WITH OVERSIZED DIVING POOL ..NEW JENNAIRE GRILL ON  PATIO PERFECT FOR ENTERTAINING..EXTRA LARGE FAMILY ROOM WITH STONE FIREPLACE AND WET BAR.NEW DOORS ON 3 CAR GARAGE WITH SEPARATE DRIVEWAY HAS  EXTRA HIGH DOOR FOR A TRUCK OR VAN AND PULL DOWN STAIRS TO FLOORED ATTIC..INVITING LEAD GLASS FRONT DOORS  NEW ROOF IN '01.NEW CARPETING, NEW STOVE, MICROWAVE OVEN AND DISHWASHER, NEWER HOT WATER HEATER, 2 A/CS ..NEWLY DIAMOND BRITED POOL IN'  '97, NEW GUTTERS & LANDSCAPING - FAMILY GEMOFFERED @ $774,900 - MORE PICTURES AVAILABLE AT YOUR REQUEST. CALL STEVEN BASTIAN W/ COLDWELL BANKER FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL PROPERTYMOBILE 561-542-1359       OFFICE 954-753-2200OR EMAIL ME DIRECTLY @ STEVEN.BASTIAN@FLORIDAMOVES.COM  09/15/2007

You've been wondering if you should venture out into becoming a First Time Homeowner - is now the time?  The answer is absolutely!  When you go to purchase something do you like to pay full price or do you like to get things on sale? I bet you answered "on sale" and the housing market is offering some very attractively priced homes for First Time Homeowners that are "on sale". Go ahead and get started on the road to homeownership as now is the time!   Read about my "10 Steps to Prepare for Homeownerhip".  Call me at 954-464-1100 as it would be my pleasure to help you in this exciting time in your life!  Visit my website at www.ImagineYourHouse.com.  Looking forward to seeing you in your new Coral Springs home or another town in Broward County.  Imagine the memories.Please visit my blog ... 09/14/2007

10 Steps to Prepare for Homeownership in Coral Springs and surrounding Broward County Decide how much home you can afford.  Generally, by being qualified with a lender they can advise you of how much you can afford.Develop a wish list of what you'd like your home to have.  Then prioritize the features on your list.Select three or four neighborhoods you'd like to live in.  Consider items such as schools, recreational facilities, area expansion plans, and safety.Determine if you have enough saved to cover your down payment and closing costs.  Closing costs, including taxes, attorneys fees, and transfer fees average between 2 percent and 7 percent of the home price.  Get your credit in order.  Do not make any major purchases prior to purchasing your new home, such as a new car.  Obtain a c... 09/14/2007

What is your hardship?  You must be able to demonstrate a hardship. So what exactly does that mean? You need to let your lender know why you simply can not pay your mortgage. For example:You or your spouse has lost a jobYou or a family member has had a medical illnessYour interest rate has adjusted and you cannot afford your new paymentYou have gone through a divorceAnd other reasons that would demonstrate such hardshipSimply making a bad investment would not qualify as a hardship.Also, you can not have assets that you could use to make your mortgage payments; no stocks, bonds, excess money in the bank, other properties with a lot of equity, etc. You basically need to be insolvent.If this is you and you're located in Broward county or the surrounding counties of Palm Beach and Dade, I w... 09/11/2007

Are you like many home owners who are paying for high homeowners insurance premiums. A while back i posted about Don Meyler Inspections. They are a inspection company that works for insurance purposes. Basically they inspect your home for about $150 dollars, this usually takes about 20-30 minutes. They fill out a form that you will send to your insurance company. You basically can save about $154 dollars a month on your insurance.It seems that My Safe Florida Home also provides this inspection for free. They have annouced that they will be holding My Safe Florida fair in several counties. They will be Pensacola, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, and all exhibits and workshops are free to the public.Take advantage of this oppertunity to learn more of what My Safe Florida Home can do for you. Fa... 09/10/2007

I recently cam back from being on vacation for about 2 weeks. It was well worth the time off. My children had a blast at the theme parks. Here is a little clip of pictures from disney. If any of you ever get the chance to go. I would definetly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Let me know what you think of this slide show. I got the idea from Colleen. BTW thanks Colleen. 09/09/2007

Broward County's Animal Care and Regulation Division will be holding a low cost license and rabies vaccination clinic on Saturday September 29, Westside Park, 445 S.W. 2 St., Deerfield Beach from 9:30 the 4 pm. The cost is $15 dollars cash only, which will include rabies and tags. Must show proof of residents of Broward County. Dogs must be on leashes and cats in carrier.Great oppurtunity to meet other animal lover's and your pet will love you for taking them out. How wrong could that be.     Jeannette Neerpatwww.Neerpat.com Jeannette@Neerpat.com 09/02/2007

Broward County celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month starting September 15 through October 15. The month-long celebration coincides with the anniversaries of five Latin American countries. Hispanic Heritage will be celebrated throughout Broward County Libaries. This will include:Art and artifact exhibitsMovie ViewingSalsa lessonsSpanish Poetry writing and RecitalsMusical PresentationsFor a list of detail activities and programs visit www.Broward.org/libary Hispanic Heritage month the annivesary of five Latin American countries independence- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Jeannette Neerpatwww.Neerpat.com Jeannette@Neerpat.com 09/02/2007

Do you have any hazardous waste that needs to be dropped off. That would included:PaintBatteriesPesticidesHouse hold chemicalsPropane TanksFire ExtinguishersBroward county residents are encouraged to drop off any hazardous waste and electronics on September 16, 6011 Nob Hill Road, Tamarac, Fl 33321(Public Works Department). You will need to show proof that you are a Broward County Resident. Take a advantage of this event. Jeannette Neerpathttp://www.neerpat.com/ Jeannette@Neerpat.com 09/02/2007

Now what? This doesn't sound like a good position to be in but you're not alone as many homeowners are in the same boat. If you're upside down on your home; owe more than it's worth, you're facing a very unfavorable situation to say the least. Fearing foreclosure you're searching for answers. Don't fret, you have choices and please don't simply walk away from your home. Call a short sale consultant who can give you some direction. Actively working in the the short sale market as a Short Sale Realtor, I would feel great knowing that I could help you out of this very stressful situation. If you qualify, we could get started right away.  I'll provide a free consultation to tell you all about a short sale if you've already determined that a loan modification isn't going to be the answer.  V... 09/01/2007

With an unbelievable amount of foreclosures mounting, homeowners need to know what an option might be to avoid the heavy hit of a foreclosure.  Yet, many homeowners have no idea of a very feasible one being - a short sale. What exactly is a short sale? It starts by a homeowner selling their home to an approved buyer. A short sale is when the lender will accept less than what is owed on the mortgage as payment in full on the loan. The real benefit of selling your home as a short sale is that your credit is impacted dramatically less than what a foreclosure would do to your credit. A foreclosure can haunt you for 7-10 years. Whereas, a short sale avoids foreclosure and will enable you within a year or two to get back into a homeownership role with having cleaned up your credit. Wow, imagi... 08/23/2007

Wow, so much is going in with the American dream of homeownership.  Are we going back to the days of saving to afford a home? Yes, it looks like we are going to have to save to afford a home.  Perhaps we should have never left that era of saving. Were you taught to save for the things you desired or simple put it on credit? We'd better teach our children to save. Had we not left the saving era, we as a nation would probably be in a much better position today, Foreclosures are at all time highs, lenders are going under and taking a lot of employees with them - will the employees now be faced with the thought of foreclosure? It really seems to be a vicious cycle. Loans are becoming much more difficult to obtain and rates are increasing on all types of credit. Gosh, we need some help.  Hop... 08/23/2007

So you're in a pretty bad situation now, you simply don't have the money to keep up with your mortgage payments. Your interest rate has adjusted, you're unemployment has depleted your savings or perhaps your medical illness has you laid up unable to earn a living and now what? Where do you turn? Who can help you? You're beginning to get notices in the mail about court appearances. Court appearance...you don't even have any attorney! What are your choices. You don't think you want to go through a foreclosure but what else is there?  Let me consult you on some choices:      Short Sale - you can sell your home through a REALTOR who will negotiate with your lender to approve the sale of your home to a qualified buyer whereas the lender will accept less than what is owed on your mortgage if ... 08/21/2007

Coral Springs is an absolute wonderful town to live in which is why so many people flock to our town every year in hopes of becoming a Coral Springs Florida homeowner. Unfortunately, many of our residents are facing foreclosure due to being behind on their mortgage payments. It was never supposed to have gone this way, they only wanted to be a part of the American dream in owning a home however, for one of several reasons why homeowners face foreclosure, they're now behind on their mortgage payments and simply do not know what to do.  If you're in this position, I want you to know that you do have some options if you don't delay and take the first step in solving your problem. As a Realtor here in Coral Springs Florida representing such neighborhoods as Maplewood, Cypress Run, North Spr... 08/18/2007

As many as you know 2 years ago when Wilma came through most of South Florida was without power. Gas stations had the gas we needed but had no power to supply the gas. Grocery stores as well lost alot of produce and meat because they had no back-up generators. So it became mandated to have generators at gas stations and grocery stores. Do you know which gas stations and grocery stores have them? Well here is a list for you cities.Publix Generator Equipped Stores in Broward CountyCoconut Creek- Shoppes of Coconut Creek- 4849 Coconut Creek PkwyCoral Springs- Publix at Sawgrass- 5950 Coral Ridge Drive, Riverside Square- 8160 Wiles Road, Palm Springs Plaza- 10301 Royal Palm Blvd, Ramblewood Square- 1305 University Drive, Lakeview Center- 1400 Coral Ridge Drive, Brookside Square- 10701 Wiles... 08/17/2007

With pre-foreclosures on the rise in the nation and here in South Florida you're probably wondering what are your options to avoid foreclosure.  First and foremost, DO NOT IGNORE YOUR SITUATION as you do have some options.  You need to stay in touch with your lender no matter how hard it may seem. Depending on your situation your lender may be able to work out a plan with you to get you back on track.  If that avenue fails, you might be a candidate for a short sale. As a Realtor who is consulting in Short Sales, I'd be able to help you with a short sale where I would work directly with your lender to find a buyer of your home and negotiate with your lender to get them to accept that buyer's offer as payment on your loan. I offer Free Consultations so don't delay and call now as you'll b... 08/16/2007

There are a great number of homes for sale here in Coral Springs Florida, so what can you, as a seller, do to help get your home sold to make it have an edge? Believe it or not, there are some things you can do to move it along.  Consider these:It starts at the curb - make sure your home yells for buyers to want to come in; clean front door, manicured and mulched yard, a touch of floral color...add a pot of flowers if needed, clean driveway and walkway, trashed picked up and hidden and clean exterior walls...freshly painted if in the budgetInside, pack away all your clutter - your home must be clutter free, beds must be made every day, counter and table tops should be spotless.Arrange your furniture for optimum space and welcoming space. It all needs to flow.Cleanliness is critical when... 08/13/2007