3 Smart Reasons to Schedule a Home Inspection
February 6, 2008
Whether your in the market buying a new home or maybe an older home, the door should always be open to a home inspection–before buying. Home inspections help you spot potential problems with a house–ranging from dry rot to termites, and from faulty wiring to bad plumbing. That information not only saves you future headaches, but it can also be used as leverage when negotiating the price of a home.
Here’s a look at the top three ways home inspections can help buyers:
The Buying Process
January 6, 2008
Step 1: Choosing a REALTOR®
Buying a home is one of the largest purchases and biggest decisions of your life. The first thing to do is to find a REALTOR® you trust.
Ask your friends and relatives who have bought homes recently for their recommendations. Or, you can use the find-a-REALTOR® search to locate one in your area.
Before working with one, you should know that the duties of the REALTOR® depend on whom they represent.
8 Steps to Getting Your Finances in Order
January 5, 2008
- Develop a family budget. Instead of budgeting what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget for what you actually spent over the last six months. One advantage of this approach is that it factors in unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, illnesses, etc., as well as predictable costs such as rent.
- Reduce your debt. Generally speaking, lenders look for a total debt load of no more than 36 percent of income. Since this figure includes your mortgage, which typically ranges between 25 percent and 28 percent of income, you need to get the rest of installment debt—car loans, student loans, revolving balances on credit cards—down to between 8 percent and 10 percent of your total income.
8 Ways to Improve Your Credit
December 31, 2007
Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you’ll qualify for a loan and what loan terms you’ll be able to qualify for.
1. Check for and correct errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen, and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.
2. Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. However, transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score.
3. Don’t charge your credit cards to the maximum limit.
5 Factors That Decide Your Credit Score
December 21, 2007
Credit scores range between 300 and 850. Scores above 620 are considered desirable for obtaining a mortgage. These factors will affect your score.
1. Your payment history. Whether you paid credit card obligations on time.
2. How much you owe. Owing a great deal of money on numerous accounts can indicate that you are overextended.
3. The length of your credit history. In general, the longer the better.
4. How much new credit you have. New credit, either installment payments or new credit cards, are considered more risky, even if you pay promptly.
