The Cumalitive Effect

I have never had to make so many tough decisions in my life, plus keep so many people in the loop about what goes where and who does what.

Buying land in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia turned out to be the easy part. From there it has been one mixed array of permits, contractors, inspectors, deadline and deals.

From VDOT and surveyors to engineers and the Health Department, the list and checklist has sure kept me busy.

Now that everything is in order at least with the loan and our contract, we are excited to see the groundbreaking. Well, as long as the weather holds up and our road developers finish clearing the driveway and build it out so everyone can get up their.

With so much done for the time being, we figure it'd be a great chance to get-a-way to the ocean for a four-day family trip. Making that investment in Virginia Beach real estate those years ago has turned out to be such great fun for all of us.

Shopping for a Loan

With so much going on lately in planning to build a home, it's like a full-time job. I say planning because whether you are building your real estate in Va Beach or the Shenandoah Valley, the preparation plays such a large part of the entire process. There's the temporary power, well and septic permits, building permits, house plans, driveway construction and maintenance agreements. The list goes on and on.

Then it comes time to secure our lender. While you are shopping for your loan, keep these things in mind:

Your choice of lender and type of loan will influence not only your settlement costs, but also the monthly cost of your mortgage loan. There are many types of lenders and types of loans you can choose.

You may be familiar with banks, savings associations, mortgage companies and credit unions, many of which provide home mortgage loans. You may find a listing of some mortgage lenders in the yellow pages or a listing of rates in your local newspapers.

Mortgage Brokers: Some companies, known as "mortgage brokers" offer to find you a mortgage lender willing to make you a loan. A mortgage broker may operate as an independent business or may be operating as your "agent" or representative. Your mortgage broker may be paid by the lender, you as the borrower, or both. You may wish to ask about the fees that the mortgage broker will receive for its services.