Buying a used car can be a great joy or pain, depending on how knowledgeable and prepared you are before making your purchase. You can be clueless about how to go about it and end up over paying or even worse, buying a lemon. Or you can be on top of things and end up with just what you were looking for at a fair and reasonable price. The following checklist will point you towards the latter.

1. Do your research: First, you should have a general idea of what kind of car you want to buy. Next, you will want to look online or in a Kelly’s Blue Book to see what the car is worth. That way you will not be pressured into overpaying just because you had no idea of how much the car should have cost. You should also do an online search to see if that make and model has any reoccurring problems, such as the transmission blowing after 50,000 miles or the engine giving out. Some cars are just not built to last and those are the ones you want to avoid.

2. Get your finances in order: Will you pay for your car in cash or finance it? If you are going to finance it, will you go through the car dealership or a private lender such as a bank or credit union? These are all important questions to ask because they have a direct impact on how much money you will save. You′re best option is to pay in cash. Not only because you can negotiate a lower price, but because you won’t have to worry about making monthly payments and interest fees. If you don’t have that much money saved up, your next best option is to get your loan through a private lender. They have lower interest rates than the dealership and will give you a check to make your purchase, which can come in handy when negotiating a price.

3. Do a thorough inspection: This is the most important aspect of buying a used car that most people ignore. Just because the car looks good on the outside, doesn’t mean that everything will be fine under the hood. So, take it for a test drive to check for any funny noises, jerking or leaking fluids. Or better yet, drive it over to your mechanic and have them give it a full inspection. If everything checks out, you’re good to go!

As long as you follow this buying a used car checklist, you’re well on your way to buying the car of your dreams well within your budget. So, just remember to do your research, consider your financing options and inspect every car you’re interested in buying. You can find a used car that you like on the internet, in the newspaper or at an auction. It all depends on how much money you want to save and what kind of warranties you want.

Did you know that you can save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by buying your used car from a used car auction and that you have thousands of cars to choose from? If not, visit MyCarAuctionReview.com for info on the latest car auction lists, sites and locations.

If you are new and are just starting out in the quick turn real estate investing game there are two concepts you will inevitably come across and have questions about. These concepts are “selling financing” and “subject to”. Here is a quick review of both of these real estate investing strategies.

What is seller financing?

When you buy real estate using seller financing this simply means that the seller carries financing for some part of the purchase. It could be for all of the purchase price or for part of it, and it could be a first or second mortgage. The portion of the purchase that is not financed by the seller could be paid in cash, or it could be paid by taking over payments on the existing financing, which is called acquiring the property “subject to″ the existing financing, or subject to for short.

What is “subject to″?

Buying a property “subject to″ the existing financing simply means that you take over the payments of an existing loan on the property. This is different than assuming the loan. Assuming a loan means that you would have to go qualify for financing with the seller’s lender and guarantee the loan personally taking on recourse debt.

When taking over payments “subject to” the existing financing the loan stays in the seller’s name until it is paid off and as far as the lender is concerned the seller is responsible for the payments. Although you will have agreed with the seller to make the loan payments and you should fulfill your responsibility, the type of debt that you will be dealing with is non-recourse debt.

Profit centers

When dealing with owner finance and “subject to” deals there are three ways to profit: on the front end, monthly, and on the back end. Front end profit is the difference between the down payment you promise the seller and the down payment you collect from the buyer. Monthly profit is the difference between the payments you promise the seller and the payments you collect from the buyer. Back end profit is the difference between the purchase price you promise the seller and the purchase price you agree to with your buyer, including any discount you eventually negotiate with the seller.

Advantages of seller financing and “subject to”

There are a number of reasons why seller financing might be desirable for you as the investor as well as for your sellers and buyers:

Advantages to the investor

-No bank qualifying is involved and hence no credit bureau activity, which means that your personal credit is protected.

-You can often negotiate highly favorable down payments, rates, and terms when working with motivated sellers.

-Being able to offer no qualify financing means you often will be dealing with motivated buyers, those who can’t buy a house conventionally, as well as motivated sellers. So you get the best of both worlds.

-Closing costs are minimal any time you′re not dealing with a conventional lender; until your end buyer cashes you out you don’t even need to purchase title insurance.

Advantages to the seller

-Debt relief is the primary advantage of selling on a subject to basis, right up there with avoiding foreclosure.

-The seller’s credit will be improved as you continue making payments and eventually pay off their loan.

-In the case of seller financing the seller will receive a steady income stream from the property. This can be desirable to many different people for many different reasons.

Advantages to the buyer

-The main advantage to the buyer is no qualify Financing: getting to move into and perhaps gain ownership of a property without qualifying for a loan.

Tip#3 in our serious to help people save money when buying a house is to know that Financing Points and Fess Are Tax Deductible

Don’t forget this. The taxes you pay and the mortgage finance fees you pay to get a mortgage are tax deductible in the year you purchase your house. Make sure to keep all your closing statements and give them to your accountant when you file your taxes to claim the deductions. Go over your house closing statement to make sure you get all the deductions.

If you use an accountant he/she should know how to get these deductions. If you do your taxes yourself do not forget this fact.

Mortgage finance fees are the fees you pay to the mortgage company for helping you get the loan. So if your mortgage broker charges you 1% origination fee, that money can be tax deductible. If you decide to buy down the interest rate, the fee to do so can be tax deductible.

Side tip: Buying down the rate means to pay a certain amount upfront to the lender in order to get a lower interest rate. For example, if the best rate around is 6%, you can buy down the rate and get a 5% interest rate, if you pay a certain amount set by the lender. If you plan on staying in the house for decades this is a good idea.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed accountant and you should talk to your tax professional before using anything I say here. If you have a competent accountant he/she should be able to help you with as many deductions as you can get.

There are also a ton of other small fees that you pay when you purchase a house that can also be tax deductible. Your accountant should have a complete list.

All the interest you pay on your mortgage is also tax deductible. And in your first few years, most of the monthly mortgage payment will be mostly interest paid to the mortgage company. This is just the way amortization works. The longer the term of your mortgage the more interest you will pay. So if you have a 30 year loan and your payment is $1,000 a month, the interest portion of this payment for the first few months, will be about $950 and the part of the payment that goes to reduce your mortgage balance will be about $50.

Note that this example is not precise. The actual amount going to principal vs. interest is determined by your interest rate.

Many people feel that paying off the mortgage is a great goal to strive for. But for many people the home mortgage is the largest tax deduction they have. Whether you should pay yours off or not is a discussion you should have with your financial planner and your accountant.

For the purposes of this article, do not forget that many of the fees you will pay at closing to the mortgage lender are tax deductible. So when getting your paperwork together at the end of the year to do your taxes, make a copy of your settlement papers as well.

If you are going to buy a home, one of the first things to do is find out what price range you can afford. Getting pre-approved for mortgage can determine the maximum home price and the loan amount you can get, based on your credit scores, income, and down payment. A mortgage pre-approval can save time and effort in your home search, and tells others that you are ready and able to buy a home.

Here’s a List of 9 Other Mortgage Tips:

1. Need flexibility on credit issues?

In addition to a low down payment, an FHA mortgage allows lower credit scores than conventional home financing. A bankruptcy only needs to be discharged for two years, and three years on a foreclosure.

2. Need payment choices for a tight budget?

Some lenders offers flexible mortgage terms with a 30 year fixed rate that gives you a payment choice each month for interest only or a fully amortized payment, which could help when money is tight.

3. Do you want an option for lower closing costs?

If you need to reduce your closing costs, you typically have the choice of decreasing the points by increasing the rate. Mortgage rates are priced to allow you to buy the interest rate up or down.

4. How long will you keep your mortgage?

If you plan to keep your mortgage for less than five years, you may be able to save money on your payments with a 5 year fixed rate plan. Also consider financing your home with zero points.

5. What debts are counted in your debt ratio?

Monthly debt payments are added to a mortgage to calculate a back-end debt ratio, including: credit card minimum payments, car loans, student loan, personal loan, alimony, child support, tax liens.

6. Are you required to have an impound account?

An impound account is money collected with the monthly loan payment to be set aside in reserve to pay property taxes and insurance. It’s usually required on mortgages with less than 20% down payment.

7. Buying a condo with an FHA mortgage?

A condominium project must be FHA approved in order to get an FHA loan. If the project is not approved, the FHA spot loan program is designed to provide financing for an individual unit.

8. What about opening new credit accounts?

Applying for a new credit card, or financing the purchase of anything, just before or during the mortgage process can drop your credit scores, and lower credit scores can cause a higher rate or worse.

9. Are you planning a job or career change?

If you plan to make a job change, especially if the change involves commission or a different line of work, wait until after your new mortgage has funded, to avoid creating a potential problem.