Eric Mitchell Real Estate

Fast and Easy Ways to Improve Your Credit Within Months Improving your credit score can take a few months. So if you’re looking to get an auto or home loan, or want to apply for a new credit card, an early start can give you time to raise your credit score and then get a loan or new credit card at a better interest rate. Here are some ways to improve your credit within a few months: Pay your bills on time Payment history is the most important factor in FICO scores, accounting for up to 35 percent of a credit score. Paying your bills on time — from credit cards to utility bills — can help a lot. Late payments stay on a credit report for seven years. The longer ago they happened, the less they affect credit scores. If a bill goes unpaid long enough the debt can be sold to a collection agency, which will be reported to credit bureaus. Set up online alerts when a bill is due, look at your balances online and set automatic payments for a credit card. Low credit utilization

6 Small and Easy Steps to Improve Your Credit Score The best way to improve your credit score is simple, but not always that easy: Reduce your debt. Paying off your credit cards, or at least paying them down substantially, will not only increase your credit score, but having less debt will probably be more satisfying than a great credit score. And not using your credit cards anymore and paying off the balances is easier said than done. But there are smaller, easier steps that can improve a credit score. Here are six: Set payment reminders:  Making credit payments on time is one of the best ways to improve your credit score. Set payment reminders on your phone or whatever calendar you use, and check if your bank offers online reminders through email or text messages. Don’t open new accounts:  If you have a short credit history, then opening a lot of credit accounts too rapidly will lower your average account age and can drop your scores if you don’t have a lot of other c

How FICO 9 May Increase Credit Scores How medical debt and other collection items are tallied in a credit score is changing, potentially increasing the credit scores of millions of people. Called the FICO 9, the new credit score changes how medical collections are treated from non-medical changes, such as credit cards. A medical debt will now damage a credit score less than paying a credit card bill on time, for example. FICO 9 came out in 2014, but the improved credit scores could just now be coming to fruition for many consumers because it can take a few years for banks and other lenders to implement the new system. The new FICO 9 score should give responsible borrowers better access to credit and lower rates on existing credit once the changes are accepted by the industry. Part of the thinking behind the changes is that for many people facing medical debt collections, it isn’t something they have a lot of control over. People get sick or are in an accident and can’t

The Home-Buying Equation Buying a home for the first time can seem daunting. One way to alleviate the process is to organize your finances before embarking on the house hunt. Unsure how to get yours in order? Remember A + B + C + D + E: Ask + Budget + Check + Differentiate + Estimate Before you start searching for a home , ask  a real estate professional for guidance. He or she will have expertise related not only to financing, but also to negotiating a deal in your favor. Next, set a  budget  that takes into account your down payment, your anticipated monthly mortgage payment (with interest), and your closing costs. These figures are all important considerations in the home-buying process. Prior to house-hunting,  check  your credit report and score. Your credit is a determining factor in a lender’s approval or denial of your mortgage loan application, as well as your mortgage interest rate. Take steps to correct any errors on your report, or improve your score, if nec

Why Title Insurance Matters This comes up with just about every transaction. An owner’s title insurance policy protects your property rights as a homeowner. Those purchasing a home should obtain a policy to insure against defects associated with the title of the home. Owner’s title insurance is worthwhile because… …it protects your investment. A home is likely the largest investment you’ll make. Insuring it, says the American Land Title Association (ALTA), is like insuring any other valuable asset. Owner’s title insurance protects the rights of the property owner for as long as he or she (or heirs) owns the home. …it mitigates your risk. Issues inevitably arise for every homeowner, but title discrepancies shouldn’t be one of them. An owner’s title insurance policy will cover you in the event a title claim occurs. According to the ALTA, these include a tax lien against the property, an outstanding mortgage or a pending legal action related to the property. …it goes be

Options If Your Mortgage Is Underwater Owing more money on your mortgage loan than your home is worth—commonly referred to as being “underwater” on a home mortgage—can seem hopeless. There were 6.7 million underwater homes in the U.S. at the end of the first quarter of 2016, representing 12 percent of all properties with a mortgage, according to RealtyTrac. The numbers are dropping since a peak of 12.8 million homes in 2012, when 28 percent of all properties with a mortgage were underwater. For people still underwater, those numbers don’t offer much solace. However, there are some options for underwater homeowners, including: Short sale:  If you have to sell your home, a short sale may get you the most money. Your lender has to agree to let you sell it for less than you owe, which may lead to the home being sold quicker than it would otherwise. Your lender must agree to the lower price, and it will take the loss, and your credit score will fall. Lenders can also reject

Your New Homeowner To-Do List You’ve handed over a sizable chunk of cash in return for those shiny new keys—and in the first flush of happiness over owning your own home, you want to be ready to show it off. But money may be tight, and you are facing bills—like water and trash pick-up—that you’ve never had to pay before. The financial advice team at Investopedia.com suggests five steps new homeowners should take: Watch your wallet . Don’t overspend on furnishings or remodeling during your first few months as a homeowner. Give yourself time to adjust to a new budget and to rebuild your savings. Friends and family will understand if you take your time to fix-up and decorate—and the stores will still be filled with new furniture when you are ready to spend. Don’t   ignore maintenance items . While you can hold off on furnishings, there’s no longer a landlord to call when simple repairs need to be made. Investing in a basic tool kit, if you don’t already have one, and/or in a l

5 Ways to Make a Personal Statement at Home There’s so much advice out there about neutralizing your home design for maximum resale value that our personalities are in danger of getting lost in the shuffle. Unless you’re getting ready to put your home on the market soon, go ahead and let your individuality shine through with interior design that reflects your tastes and interests. Here are five easy ways to do so: 1. Make it a grand entrance.  Maybe it’s an unusual door knocker or a doorbell that plays Beethoven’s 5th—or a whimsical piece of statuary or planter filled with something unexpected, like a well-stacked group of beach rocks. Try hanging a small sign with a favorite saying that welcomes guests. Whatever you choose, small touches like these make a personal statement before anyone even gets inside. 2. Put furniture in the ‘wrong’ room.  Remember when Joey and Chandler opted for a foosball table over a kitchen table? Maybe something similar will work for you. Perhaps

Should You Borrow the Maximum a Lender Will Approve? When you apply for a mortgage, a lender will decide how much money it’s willing to give you to put toward the purchase of a house. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should take out a loan for the full amount. In some cases, borrowing the maximum a lender will allow could leave you overwhelmed by debt. How Lenders Decide How Much You Can Borrow Lenders base their mortgage decisions on several factors, including credit score and length of credit history, but the most important factor is a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio. This is the sum of all debts, including a mortgage, credit card minimum payments, and vehicle, student, and personal loans. Most lenders want borrowers to devote no more than 28 percent of their gross income to a mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners and private mortgage insurance. They also want total debt payments to be no more than 36 percent of gross income. If your debt-to-income ratio is highe

Benefits of Eating Dinner As a Family With the endless demands of work, school, errands, housework and extracurricular activities, it can be difficult for family members to find time to sit down, relax and talk to each other. But carving out the time to connect with one another can provide a wealth of benefits. In fact, studies have found that regular family dinners can contribute to many positive outcomes and prevent negative ones. Sharing Family Meals Can Help Kids Academically Eating dinner together offers family members an opportunity to engage in conversation about things going on in their lives, current events, as well as their hopes and plans for the future. The wide array of topics that may come up at the dinner table on any given evening can help children learn new words and ideas they may not have encountered in books or at school. While a broad vocabulary can help kids learn to read and express themselves, learning about new topics can keep them actively engaged in