My Motto

To Live, Laugh and Learn, and in no specific order



Tuesday, November 15, 2011

It's Not The White Picket Fence Anymore

It's not the white picket fence consumers are looking for today, it's the updated Kitchen and Master Bathroom or main bath if thats all you have to offer in your home. 
I'm going to focus today on the Bathroom. 

BOOST YOUR HOME VALUE ON YOUR BATHROOM

 I'm really not sure if it's because we  live such a hectic life style that we are all looking for that Calgon take me away room, but this room is very important to the sale of your home. 
From the popularity of the TREND to the ROI (return on investment) the highest area of importance in your bathroom remodel is the sink and fixtures.  That really surprised me, I thought it possibly would be the shower and or tubs or possibly flooring.  The counters and vanity where next followed by the floor then the tub/shower.
So if you go by this article, and it's from HGTV, and I believe they are on top of the trends, focus your efforts on the sink first.  This article I've attached is great because it will actually show you different products you can use, and even a "how to" if you want to tackle this your self.
BOOST YOUR HOME VALUE ON YOUR BATHROOM

Let me know how you like this article. 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

CREDIT SCORE VS. MORTGAGE RATE

The Higher Your Score, The More Money You Save

Unlike the BLOGS I've written in the past, where I stated the importance of your credit score in being able to get a loan to purchase a home,  I'm now going to show the importance of why that score needs to be a high as you can get it.   The higher your score the less it will cost you at closing.
I know that in this economy many are struggling and getting someone to just qualify for a loan is a feat in itself, but i want you to think past just qualifying and work towards that higher score.

Your FICO score has always influenced the mortgage rate for which you’re eligible, and  In 2008 it began to change your loan fees.
 
In response to major mortgage market losses, in April 2008, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced something called Loan-Level Pricing Adjustments (LLPA). Loan-level pricing adjustments are “discount points” added to a mortgage rate, based on a specific borrower’s risk to the lender.
A discount point is a loan fee, paid at the time of closing. 1 discount point is equal to 1 percent of your loan size.

Assuming a 20% down payment, look at how discount points change based on credit score. Fees get massive for FICOs under 700.
  • 740+ FICO : There are no discount points required. This loan is “low risk”.
  • 720-739 FICO : 0.250 discount points are charged to the borrower, or $250 per $100,000 borrowed
  • 700-719 FICO : 0.750 discount points are charged to the borrower, or $750 per $100,000 borrowed
  • 680-699 FICO : 1.500 discount points are charged to the borrower, or $1,500 per $100,000 borrowed
  • 660-679 FICO : 2.500 discount points are charged to the borrower, or $2,500 per $100,000 borrowed       (copied from Trulia.com)
Now, not many new home buyers just have that kind of extra cash just laying around. Therefore, as an alternative to paying discount points with cash, many choose to “roll up” the fees into their respective mortgage rates. In general, 1.000 discount point can be “traded in” for a 0.250 increase to your mortgage rate.
Example : A consumer with a 680 FICO score is required to pay 1.500 discount points at closing, or can alternatively accept a mortgage rate increase of 0.375%.
This is why it’s important to keep your credit score high. There are real dollar costs for having scores under 740.   

If your not quite sure what makes up a credit score, or what you can do to improve it,  email me and I'll forward you some articles that help to explain this.  Our mortgage department here at ERA King would also be happy to help you.

Until next time, start working on improving that score, you really never know when you are going to need it, and improvement doesn't happen over night.