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Navigating Online Home and Mortgage Forums
By Jonathan Haeber
jonathan.haeber@californiamortgagerate.com
Weekly Mortgage Columnist
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In my quest to fully understand the housing market, I was ready to toss in the towel. It would have been easier to understand the meaning of life, I thought. I would have given up altogether, had it not been for a beacon of light: online home mortgage forums.
Every day, I would obsessively check the price indexes and MLS listings, I'd finish up with my dessert: Craigslist.com's housing forum. This vast tome of knowledge was an invaluable reference tool. Thread after thread, I found the latest knowledge on everything, from mortgage brokers to homeowner's associations.
Within a few weeks, I could give anyone, anywhere, a detailed analysis of the home market of the Bay Area-- all because of the housing forum. Ultimately, it led me to a real estate broker, who eventually led me to the home of my dreams.
A Word of Advice: Beware of Trolls
My gleaming review of online home and mortgage forums comes with a warning. You must always beware of "trolls." In housing forum lingo, trolls are discussion members who give advice based on their own interest (for example, a mortgage broker may pose as a legitimate home mortgage purchaser just to promote his/her own loans).
Another type of troll is simply there because he's bored; this is the troll who has a bad hair day, and is taking it out on everyone in the forum by posting apocalyptic doomsday predictions that the housing bubble will explode with worldwide repercussions. Take no note of this troll, unless he backs up his assertions with solid evidence.
Homes & Mortgage Forums are for You
As you navigate the forums, take an active part in it yourself. The best way to have your questions about housing or home mortgages answered is by starting your own "thread" (in forums, a thread is a set of related messages, which begins with a root question or topic of discussion).
I wish you luck in your quest to understand the home buying process. Within a few weeks, I guarantee that you'll be better informed.
About the Author
Jonathan Haeber recently closed escrow on his first home. He currently resides in San Francisco, CA. and works as a full-time copywriter for Discovery Channel Store.
Sources
Craiglist Housing Forum
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