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HUD and Realtors unveil how-to videos for home buyers

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

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 unveiled three how-to videos to help prospective homeowners find a home they can afford, shop for a mortgage they can sustain, and learn what to expect when they go to closing.

HUD produced the three consumer education videos in coordination with the national Realtor group and released them at the Realtors' annual convention in New Orleans. Each video focuses on a critical part of the home buying process, including Shopping for your Home, Shopping for your Loan, and Closing the Deal.

HUD's videos are easily accessible from both HUD and NAR's websites, as well as from HUD's YouTube channel. They include:

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.

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.

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.

"These videos provide critical information for consumers. Buying a home is the one of the most important decisions an individual or family can make, yet a California Association of Realtors survey of home buyers reveals 10 percent of all home buyers do not know the terms of their loan. This is a grave concern," said Jeff Bell, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. "I would urge consumers to view these videos because they focus on very important portions of the home buying process."

To view HUD's new home buyer education videos, visit HUD's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/HUDchannel.


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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