Finding and purchasing a home sometimes can be difficult, particularly for an individual who encounters assorted challenges throughout the property buying journey. Lucky for you, there are several shortcuts that a homebuyer can use to streamline the property buying process. These shortcuts include:

1. Narrow Your Home Search

If you know you want to buy a home, you should consider where you want to reside and what features you want in your ideal residence. That way, you can avoid the danger of committing time and resources to analyze houses that fail to meet your expectations.

Oftentimes, it helps to craft a list of preferred cities and towns. This list will help you hone your home search to specific areas and ensure you can accelerate the homebuying journey.

Think about what you want to find in your dream house and create a list of home must-haves and wants too. With this list in hand, you can further accelerate your search for your ideal home.

2. Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

Some homebuyers apply for a mortgage after they find their dream residence, but doing so may prove to be problematic. Because if a buyer submits an offer to purchase a home without a mortgage at his or her disposal, this individual likely will need to move quickly to get home financing. Or, if a buyer provides a homebuying proposal but cannot secure a mortgage, this individual risks missing out on the opportunity to acquire his or her dream house.

To get pre-approved for a mortgage, you can meet with banks and credit unions and explore a wide range of mortgage options. Then, once you select a mortgage, you can kick off your home search and know exactly how much you can spend to purchase your ideal residence.

3. Hire a Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent is a homebuying expert who will guide you along the property buying journey. He or she can help you identify potential homebuying hurdles and overcome these issues before they escalate. Best of all, a real estate agent will do everything possible to ensure you can acquire a great home at a budget-friendly price.

In addition, a real estate agent will work with you throughout the property buying journey. He or she first will learn about your homebuying goals and help you craft an effective property buying strategy. Next, a real estate agent will help you put your homebuying plan into action and ensure you can discover a house that matches your expectations. And once you discover your ideal home, a real estate agent will help you put together a competitive offer to purchase this residence.

As you prepare to kick off the homebuying journey, you should try to plan ahead as much as possible. By taking advantage of the aforementioned shortcuts, you can prepare for the homebuying journey and speed up the process of finding and purchasing your dream residence.

The decision to buy a house is probably the best decision you would ever make. Deciding is the easy part; coming up with the capital to finance the dream is the hard part. Getting a home of your own has its perks, but it can be a daunting process to acquire.

Usually, prospective homeowners seek mortgage loans when they need to get a house they can afford. The traditional mortgage has its terms and conditions for granting out loans. You must satisfy the terms and conditions before such loans become available. 

So, what happens if you do not qualify for a mortgage payment? Does this mean your ‘American Dream’ of owning a home would not see the light of day? There are other channels prospective homeowners can seek loans from aside the traditional mortgage. They include:

Lease-to-own

Lease-to-own is an agreement between the seller and the buyer. The seller rents the house to the buyer temporarily if the buyer can come up with enough money as a down payment. The rent installment paid, out of which a certain amount goes into an escrow account as money to use in securing the home. The contract is usually between a year after which the buyer pays for the balance of the property or packs out and leave. 

Borrow from Your Retirement Account

Borrowing from your retirement account is like borrowing from yourself, but this should only be short term. You will pay a penalty fee of 10% if you are not up to the age of 60 years for taking out money from your retirement account - and you would pay taxes on the amount borrowed. If you lose your job during the process, you must pay back the money borrowed within 60 days. 

Borrow from Your Insurance Policy

What’s the harm in borrowing from your insurance policy especially if your insurance policy allows you to take a loan against your principal? You don’t have to return the money, but you would get less than the amount you or your heir were supposed to get paid when the policy matures. You can apply for the loan through your insurer directly and bear in mind that the rates vary. 

Save Enough for A Down Payment

This method seems like the most convenient, but it requires you to exercise patience. Most lenders now do not need 20% as a down payment anymore but if you can’t come up with enough money as a down payment–save enough until you qualify for a traditional mortgage.

Get A Co-Signer

Getting a friend or a relative to co-sign with you is a great way to increase your chances of qualifying and to secure a loan, especially when they have a higher credit score than you.

Buying a home requires rigorous planning, and it is capital intensive. Weigh all your options before finally deciding. 

Want to add your house to the real estate market? Work with an expert real estate agent, and you can streamline the home selling process.

A real estate agent can make a world of difference for any home seller, at any time. This housing market professional will teach you the ins and outs of selling a home and ensure you can get the best price for your residence. Plus, he or she will be ready to respond to your home selling questions and provide consistent support as the home selling journey progresses.

Ultimately, it is important to understand what it takes to work with a real estate agent. This will allow you to maintain a positive approach throughout the home selling process. It might help you improve your chances of a quick sale too.

What does it take to work with a real estate agent? Here are three rules that every home seller should consider.

1. Hire a Real Estate Agent That Makes You Feel Comfortable

Selling a home can be stressful, particularly for a first-time property seller. Fortunately, working with the right real estate agent ensures you can receive world-class home selling guidance.

As a home seller, you should employ a real estate agent that makes you feel comfortable. This housing market professional will be able to alleviate your home selling concerns and guarantee you are fully supported at each stage of the home selling journey.

2. Keep the Lines of Communication Open at All Times

What good is a real estate agent if he or she won't keep you up to date about home showings, offers on your residence and homebuyer feedback?

For a home seller, it is paramount to collaborate with a real estate agent who can provide immediate assistance. This housing market professional should be ready to communicate with you via phone, email and text and provide regular updates throughout the home selling cycle.

Your real estate agent also should be unafraid to be honest with you. That way, you can receive unbiased suggestions and recommendations from your real estate agent that can help you make informed home selling decisions.

3. Understand That Problems May Arise During Home Selling Process

Although a real estate agent will do everything possible to promote your house to the right groups of property buyers, it is vital to remember that the real estate market offers no guarantees. In addition, problems sometimes may arise that may slow down the home selling journey.

Your real estate agent should be able to describe challenges that you may encounter before you add your residence to the housing market. This will enable you to plan ahead and allocate the necessary time and resources to reduce the risk of such problems.

Hiring a real estate agent to help you sell your house may seem difficult at first. But with the aforementioned tips, you can find an expert real estate professional who will make it easy for you to sell your residence.

If you enjoy eating a lot of chicken in your diet because it is easy on your budget, then it pays to have many ways to cook it. Chicken is an affordable meat that many people use in their daily meal planning. The problem with chicken is that creating new ways to prepare it could be difficult. Here are four ways to use the chicken thigh with the leg attached to make a tasty meal:

Roast Chicken

Roasted must be the easiest way to cook chicken. Just wash, pat dry, rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can cook with the lid on or off. Many people will cook and take the cover off three-quarters of the way to ensure that the skin gets brown and crisp. Add your one of favorite vegetables, and you have a meal prepared with little hassle.

BBQ Chicken

If you are new to using a BBQ grill, take the skin off the chicken before you start cooking. Removing skin will significantly reduce the chances of a fire starting and burning your meat. Add any style of sauce near the end of cooking. Having 3-4 different sauces will allow you to change the flavor of the meat by using a different sauce. It goes excellently well with steamed rice, veggies and as a side to most dishes.

Breaded Chicken

Breading is a quite fantastic way to cook your chicken. You can purchase different flavors at your local grocery store, or you can mix your own spices and add them to your coating. The best part of making your unique spice blend is that you can control how much sodium you use. Two popular coatings you can use are corn flakes and crackers. If you want to prepare a truly special meal, Japanese Panko bread crumbs will add a nice touch to your chicken.

The Slow Cooker

Another easy way to cook chicken is to add chicken pieces and bones to a slow cooker along with some water. Set it on low, add a couple of bay leaves, some salt, and then leave it to cook all day. An hour before cooking, take the chicken out of the slow cooker and let it cool. While the chicken is cooling, you can add noodles or rice. Pick all the meat off the bones and put it back into the slow cooker and you will have an amazing chicken noodle or rice soup.

Try out these super ways of cooking chicken and expand your cooking horizons today.