Posted On: March 2nd, 2017 8:17PM
No matter how much time you spend on researching and educating yourself about your home purchase, it's hard to cover every detail. Here are a few tips for avoiding rookie mistakes with your first home purchase.
Posted On: March 2nd, 2017 8:16PM
When you purchase a home, a title company will research the property to ensure that you are the rightful owner. They'll look through records for anything that might cause problems-ownership disputes, restrictions, unpaid taxes, liens, and more. Their goal is to document the chain of title and identify any issues that could become major problems down the road.
At the end of the process, the title company issues a title opinion. This is a legal document that states that the title is valid. The title opinion is part of obtaining title insurance. The insurance protects both the owner and the lender if there is a title dispute. If another party is actually the rightful owner of the home, your title insurance protects you from financial loss.
In addition to title opinions and title insurance, title companies also handle escrow accounts and distribute money to the appropriate parties at closing. They'll also deliver closing documents to the appropriate agencies.
Posted On: March 2nd, 2017 8:15PM
There's no more important time to work on your credit score than when you're about to apply for a mortgage. Improving your credit can save you a ton of money-we're talking about thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. Here are the actions you can take that will have a notable impact on your score.
Pay down your credit card balances Credit utilization is one of the biggest factors in determining your credit score. Your credit utilization should at least be less than 30 percent of your limit, and it's even better if you can get it below 15 percent. This rule applies to both individual cards and your overall credit limit.
It may even be worthwhile to use some of the cash funds you were planning to use for a down payment to pay off credit card balances.
Do no harm While you certainly want to improve your score if possible, at the very least you'll want to keep it steady. Avoid opening new lines of credit if you're applying for a mortgage in the very near future. This will cause a hard inquiry to show up on your credit report.
Take care of negative items It's good practice to check your credit report for negative items a few times a year-you can get one free report from each of the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) per year.
If you find any negative items (collections, late payments, etc.), write a letter to the original creditor. Explain the circumstances that led to the negative item, and request that it be removed from your report. It can be surprisingly effective, and removing a negative item will improve your credit score in a hurry. You can find some good templates for a request letter online.
Posted On: March 2nd, 2017 8:13PM
Unless you built a custom home, you probably have a long list of things you'd like to improve in your current home. Browsing online listings might get you in the mood to upgrade to a new home, or you might be thinking about renovating your current home after binging on HGTV. The answer to renovation vs. relocation depends greatly on what you're trying to fix.
Thinking about a new kitchen? If you're dreaming of a chef's kitchen with new appliances and beautiful cabinets, renovating your own kitchen gives you incredible ROI and is less costly than moving. You'll increase the value of your own home if you ever decide to sell, and there's a great sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a custom renovation.
Need more space? If you're running low on bedrooms, there may not be a lot of options. Converting an existing room to a bedroom doesn't create any new space. If you're in a condo, an addition is probably impossible. And additions can be expensive even if it's a possibility. Moving is usually the best option.
If the neighborhood isn't ideal You may have seen some potential for your neighborhood when you first moved there, but perhaps it still isn't welcoming the shops and restaurants you expected. If that's the case, consider moving. There's no sense in waiting years for the neighborhood to improve, especially if you can move to a house in the same price range in a more preferred part of the city.
Posted On: March 2nd, 2017 7:07PM