Whether you are a residential Buyer or Seller or whether you are purely interested in real estate as an investment vehicle, these Financial Tools and links to financial information will help you understand the financial aspects of real estate as an asset and will provide you will additional financial resources to help you understand what financial information is actually relevant to your property decision.  Whatever your financial question may be, you should raise any issues with your Ballast Agent as well as consult any number of financial advisors to determine the best financial outcome for your property purchase or sale. Ballast is a full-service real estate brokerage company and encourages all buyers and sellers to consult the following advisors for specific financial advice:

Your Financial Advisor: Whether purchasing or selling your home or investing in real estate, a financial advisor can help you navigate complex matters related to the sale or purchase of a property.
Your Tax Advisor:  Real estate assets are treated differently under both Federal and State Taxation laws & regulations depending upon what type of real estate you hold, what type of personal or corporate structure you use to hold title, and other issues.  Because these issues can have a material effect on your investment return and on your quarterly or year-end taxes, be sure to consult an expert in this area.
Your Lender/Mortgage Broker:  Whether you are a Buyer or a Seller, your Financing Lender or Mortgage Broker will be able to help you determine whether you should choose one type of loan over another type or whether you should refinance an existing loan to improve the short-term or long-term financial outlook of your financing choice. Check out historical mortgage rates (30 year-fixed, 1 Yr. ARMs, 3 Yr. ARMs, etc.) for perspective before you start.
Your Real Estate Attorney:  A licensed Massachusetts real estate attorney will be able to discuss the financial impact of choosing one purchase or sale transaction structure over another.  For example: If you choose to purchase your property in your own name versus a company entity, you may avoid additional fees & costs associated with company ownership of real estate.

THE BEST ONLINE TOOLS, CALCULATORS & INFORMATIONAL WEBSITES ON FINANCES

www.bankrate.com
Provides free mortgage rate information to consumers on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees.

www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

FREE CREDIT REPORTS by the top 3 Credit Rating Agencies -- Experian, Equifax & TransUnion.  BEWARE OF IMPOSTER SITES -- this is the only OFFICIAL site to get a consumer credit report for free - one time a year only. The Federal Government required the credit agencies to disclose this information to consumers for free - use it and correct any errors on your report before you start the mortgage application process!

www.bloomberg.com/invest/calculators/index.html

Go to Bloomberg.com's Financial Calculators to get answers to any of your financial questions.

www.expensr.com

Want to save for a downpayment, but don't want to buy expensive software to keep track or too busy to create your own Excel spreadsheet? Expensr.com lets you track your own expenses and savings plans - and lets you know how you compare to other Americans. Are you saving more than others your age? Are you saving less? Plug in your info and get started!

www.mint.com/personal-budget-planner/

MINT.COM is another great website that allows users to plan budgets, price out financial products and associated fees, and organize their financial lives - quickly and easily! Give it a try if you want to get your financial goals on-track!