How to Find Homes
In Maine as with every other state there is a centralized database that real estate agents input new listing into. It is called the MREIS IDX or the Maine Real Estate Information System better known by most as the MLS (Multiple Listing Service.) This system contains "listed" property for sale in 4 basic categories:
- Residential - single family homes and condos
- Multi-Units - primarily 2-4 unit buildings
- Land
- Commercial - Larger multi-units, retail and office property
This database then populates (with a time delay) property seach functions on company and agent real estate websites including the best nationwide site to search Realtor.com . When not using Realtor.com scroll down to the bottom of the screen and look for this logo meaning that the sites data feed is coming directly from MREIS.
As the internet continues to transform the industry of real estate new arenas for finding property exist. The MREIS and corresponding search functions are still leaps and bounds ahead of competing technology and thus maintain the most comprehensive database of current listings on the market, but one should not overlook the For Sale by Owner websites including:
To date the real estate industry maintains the upper hand with the MLS, called a monopoly by many but as new Internet start ups appear daily and with of userfriendly mapping technolgies the landscape is quickly changing.
If you go to Google and type "real estate" a prompt comes up that enables you to search by city or zipcode for both listed and for sale by owner property. If you have not been to www.zillow.com, I recommend you take it for a spin as well although the data for Maine is still quite spotty.
Stay alert, keep your eyes open, get a good agent and do your own reasearch is my advice.
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How Much Can You Borrow
The short answer: As much as you would like!!
The longer version: As competitive as the real estate industry is, one finds an equally competitive lending market. Traditonally one went to a bank, told the banker how much they made, how much savings they had and that they wanted to buy a home. The banker then would take a look at a few documents, run a few numbers and then tell the would be borrower how much they could lend and att what rate.
Today this traditional and simple loan process is very much alive, yet nowadays there are simply more options, more programs, more lenders and more ways to obtain financing.
There are 3 primary loan types:
- Full Documentation - FULLY DOCUMENTED disclosure of last 2 years income, assets and liabilities, (tax returns and W2's.) Borrowable amt primarily detemined by your debt/income ratios.
- Stated Income - UN-DOCUMENT disclosure of income, assets and liabilities. Borrowable amt. determined by a combination of debt/income ratios and credit score.
- No Doc - No disclosure of anything. Borrowable amt determined entirely by credit score and person applying for the loan
As one can see, even somebody with no job, no assets and no credit can still find a lender out there who is willing to provide a loan to you but as the risk to the lender increases, so does ones interest rate! Why do lenders even bother loaning to risky applicants? Because even the riskiest loans are secured by the property and thus what is seemingly an asset to the borrow is really a liability to the borrow and an asset to the lender so if you default, the lender gets to keep the home!
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Maine Closing Costs Explained
What are closing costs? Basically every expense associated with the purchase of the home except for the purchase price of the home. Ranging in cost from 2-4% of the purchase price, they include everything from points on a loan chaged by the lender or mortgage broker, to tax and insurance escrows, prepaid interest on the loan and the actual closing costs including title insurance, lender fees, application fees, Maine state transfer tax, courier fees and misc other expenses. It is always best to get a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) from lenders when shopping around that is basically a rough draft of the HUD statement, the master document on signs at the closing that line itemizes every monetary amt involved in the transaction.
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