New Videos for Hawaii Kai Home Buyers Released by HUD

To help consumers navigate the home buying process, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) have announced three how-to videos to help prospective homeowners find a home they can afford, shop for a mortgage they can sustain, and what to expect when they go to closing.  With this background, prospective home buyers will feel more comfortable contacting a realtor and selecting homes to preview.

David H. Stevens, HUD’s assistant secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner said, “The process for buying a home can appear complicated and overwhelming for many consumers. These videos will help answer the fundamental questions most people have—from shopping for their home to signing on the dotted line.”

He added, “These videos go a long way in identifying key aspects of the homebuying process that a consumer should be aware of. Our goal is to help make the process more transparent through educating consumers who in turn can make informed choices about their home purchase.”

HUD’s videos are easily accessible from both HUD’s website as well as from HUD’s YouTube channel. They include:

1.  Shopping for your Home – The home-buying process obviously starts with finding a place you’ll want to call home. This short video will instruct viewers on assessing how much of a home you can afford, working with a real estate agent and what happens once you find the home you want to buy. Housing counselors can assist home buyers and home owners on issues such as home buying, fair housing, credit issues, and foreclosure prevention.

2.  Shopping for your Loan – Once you’ve found the home of your dreams, the next step is to shop for a mortgage loan. This video will help consumers use the good faith estimate (GFE), which is a form that spells out the terms of a loan offer, to shop for the best loan for them. Consumers will learn how to use the GFE to determine how long an interest rate is available for a particular loan and how to identify key loan terms and costs of a particular loan offer. HUD suggests consumers shop and compare GFEs from multiple mortgage brokers and/or lenders in order to get the best loan for their situation.

3.  Closing the Deal – Finally, this video walks consumers through the actual closing process including how to make sure the loan they were offered closely matches what they encounter at the settlement table. In particular, HUD will walk the viewer through the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and demonstrate ways consumers can compare their actual costs with those reflected on their good faith estimate.

I can answer your questions about buying in any community on Oahu, but do specialize in Hawaii Kai real estate.  Call or email me to talk about how you get qualified and start the process to buy a home in Hawaii.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.barbarashawaii.com/
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
http://barbaraabe.gmragent.com/
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