Real Estate Talks  

After you find the home, there are several things that you need to know. 

• 30 days after closing you will need to file at the county assessor's office for homestead and mortgage exemption.  This will reduce your property taxes.  The reasons why you have to wait 30 days is to allow time for the home to be recorded in your name. 
• When you file your taxes, do not forget to file itemize your deduction so that you can file mortgage interest (you will receive a 1099-interest from your mortgage company) and real estate taxes.
• Please take your HUD-1 with you when you file your taxes, as well, because some of your settlement closing is a write off as well.

    Carbon monoxide is a gas that is toxic, odourless, colourless gas.  It is known as The Silent Killer.  Take caution that this silent killer does not become an unwanted guest in the spaces you consider safe?

    Your whole home is in need of protection from this silent killer.    Areas like: your home including bedroom areas and especially your basement, garage, cottage, ski chalet, car, recreational vehicle and workplace. The same cautions apply when staying with friends or away on holiday, so spread the word.   

    It is important to know the symptoms of this fatal invisible contaminant.  The symptoms can often often be mistaken for those of flu by family members and physicians. Even exposure to low levels of CO can cause health problems, brain damage or death. What specific actions have you taken to be sure tasteless, toxic CO cannot leak into your sleeping rooms and other spaces where you live, work, play and breath?   Invest in a carbon monoxide detector, as well as a smoke detector.

    CO poisoning symptoms include:

• 1. Headache, dizziness, blurred vision
• 2. Nausea or vomiting
• 3. Muscle weakness
• 4. Confusion and compromised judgement
• 5. Fatigue and extreme sleepiness

    Carbon monoxide is consume gas, oil, coal or wood. CO is produced in car exhaust, poorly-ventilated gas heaters, indoor fires and tobacco smoke. You're vulnerable if you are near, or you breath air that is near, a fuel-burning gas furnace, boiler, engine, water heater, open fire or oil burner.

    The solution is to attack both these failings in all the spaces you and your family use. Which of the following safety steps have you taken to protect yourself and your family?

• Carry out regular drills (perhaps when you practice fire escape routes). Then, if a CO alarm sounds, everyone knows what to do-get outside, breath fresh air as quickly as possible and then call 911. Because the gas has no smell, treat every alarm as a danger warning.

    Compliance with this CO prevention and detection list, in all the spaces you enjoy with your family and friends, will allow everyone to breath freely and safely.

Thank you for joining “Real Estate Talks” with your host Serena Brown.  I am the owner and broker of Taylor-Brown Real Estate.  Today, let’s talk about your mortgage.   Did you know that your mortgage is a closed end loan?  What is a closed end loan, you ask?  A closed end loan is a loan that has limitations because the money paid in cannot be withdrawn.  Meaning that once the money is received by the lender it is paid on the balance owed and equated into an equity position in your home.  Equity is the different between what you owe and how much the property is worth.  The lender will apply a full scheduled payment.  If you desire to pay toward your principal you must specify that the money needs to be applied to the principal.  Oh, by the way, you must be current on your mortgage to be able to pay on your principal balance.  Remember, the lender is in the business to make money so if you do not instruct the lender, where to apply the extra payment they will apply the additional money to, you guessed it, interest, because that is how lender makes money.  Interest, of course, is the rent that you are paying the lender to borrow their money to get your home.

The closed end loan is driven by an amortization schedule.  This amortization schedule does not move at the speed of light.  It moves the opposite slower than a snail.  Hence, taking 30 years to pay it down.  Before we go any further, I feel you need to understand what an amortization schedule is.  It is the blending of loan payments showing the principal and the amount of interest that you are paying each time you made your scheduled payment.  Why, you ask?  Let examine.  If your mortgage payment was $2,000.00 a month.  You will pay only $199.10 to principal and a whopping $1,800.90 to interest in your first month.  The second month, the amount to principal will increase by only one additional dollar, so for every month that follows there is only one more dollar applied to the previous months principal payment.  That’s right one dollar.  For instance, month two the principal payment is 200.10, month 3 $201.10, month 4 202.10, etc.

Another interesting thing about a closed end loan is the interest charges are from the principal balance at the end of the month.  In other words, the interest paid is for the next month not the month that the bill is due.  The interest is a pre-determine amount.  Meaning it is calculated daily but applied to the month end principal balance.  Now, this does not effect daily interest in the month the payment is receive, but effect the following month pre-determine amount.

It is should be easy to see that in order to reduce the choke hold that the lender has on us through our mortgage we must reduce our principal balance.

Stay tuned to our next broadcast to find out how.....

If you have some questions about our topic today email me at taylorbrownrealestate@yahoo.com or call 219 803 4489.

Thank you for join Serena on Real Estate Talks.