There’s more to it than you might think
There is more to selling a home than you might think. Superficially, a person might think that it will sell itself currently because, nationally, homes for sale receive 3.6 offers and they sell within 18 days. Any business student can probably list the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. It may appear that there isn’t much to selling a home: put a price on it; photograph it; put a sign in the yard; and, put it in MLS but, on closer scrutiny, there is a lot more that the best agents provide. Long before the home goes on the market, the agent will create a...
Read MoreWill Soft Inquiries Hurt Your Credit Score?
Soft inquiries, sometimes known as a soft credit check or a soft credit pull, do not impact your credit scores because they are not attached to a specific application for credit. They can occur when a credit card issuer or mortgage lender checks a person’s credit for preapproval purposes. Examples of soft inquiries are when you check your own credit or one of your current creditors checks your credit. If you are concerned about the negative impact on your score, specify to the lender that you want a “soft pull” to see if you qualify for preapproval. Soft inquiries may...
Read MorePaying Down Your Mortgage
When the situation arises that you have a lump sum of cash to pay down your existing mortgage, there may be different options available. Pre-paying principal on a fixed-rate mortgage shortens the term of the mortgage but the payment stays the same. Conversely, recasting a mortgage with a lump-sum principal payment lowers the principal and interest payment but leaves the term intact with the same payoff date. The interest rate on the mortgage will stay the same regardless. Prepaying principal can be done at any time but may not be applied until the next payment date. Recasting cannot be done...
Read MoreIn Search of a Big Mortgage
The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits are adjusted annually to keep up with cost of living but with the appreciation experienced in many markets, it may not be enough. When the conforming loan limit is not enough, qualified buyers can turn to a jumbo loan. The maximum loan limit on conforming, conventional loans for 2022 is $625,000 for a single-family home but is increased up to $937,500 for designated high price areas. The underwriting guidelines for conforming loans are consistent with regards to things like minimum down payment, private mortgage insurance, debt-to-income ratio,...
Read MoreCredit Utilization Affects Your Score
Credit utilization reflects how much of your available credit is being used at a given time. Lower credit utilization indicates that a borrower is not heavily relying on their credit and that they are using their credit responsibly. Is calculated by dividing your total credit card balances by your total limits. The higher the percentage, the higher the risk which adversely affects the credit score according to most of the companies. It is recommended that your credit utilization be under 30% to positively impact your credit score. If the available limit on a credit card is $12,000 and their...
Read MoreLarger Payment, Shorter Term, Bigger Savings
Some people consider a house payment as basic as monthly utilities but with a plan and some discipline, you can be mortgage free. Consider a person borrowed $300,000 at 3% for 30 years, the principal and interest payment would be $1,264.81 and at the end of 12 years, the unpaid balance on the mortgage would be $210,900. If that same person had financed the home on a 15-year term at 2.5%, the payments would have been $2,000 but the unpaid balance at the end of 12 years would be $69,310. The homeowner will have a larger equity but they have also had to make higher payments. 15-year mortgages...
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