Buyer’s Choice Realty blog

Home owners are constantly bombarded by lenders to refinance their mortgage under a variety of programs. The volume of offers can almost make you numb to the rational consideration.

There are common rules of thumbs that homeowners and agents use such as not refinancing more often than every two years or there must be at least 2% savings from your previous mortgage rate may not always be accurate.

The reality is that if you can refinance for a lower rate and you’ll be in the home long enough to recapture the cost of refinancing, it should be considered. The costs of previous refinancing that haven’t been recaptured by monthly savings may need to be added to the costs of the new refinance.

According to Freddie Mac, average mortgage rates are lower today than they were in January of 2012 and for the ten years before that.

Refinancing may save you a substantial amount of money, especially if you’re going to be in your home for a long time. It is definitely worth investigating. To get a quick idea of what your savings could be, use the calculator on our website.

Ronn Huth (800) 25 Buyer

Investigators from the Federal Trade Commission determined that at least one out of five consumers have a material error on at least one of their credit reports. These mistakes can negatively effect your credit score.

While the industry argues that their files are generally very accurate, critics say they are woefully lacking in accuracy, particularly for an industry raking in $4,000,000,000 a year while spending too little time and money preventing or fixing inaccuracies. The three big ones, of course, are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

Inaccuracies can occurs if you provide inaccurate data when applying for a loan or if the creditor who furnished the information to the credit bureau inaccurately inputs the data. Inaccuracies can occur when the bureaus match information about a consumer from a particular date furnisher to the wrong individual consumer’s file. They can come from other simple errors or when consumers become victims of identity theft or fraud.

Consumers also have the right to obtain a copy of their credit file and to receive notice of adverse actions involving credit reports with a resultant right to a free disclosure. These disclosures are one way for consumers to dispute information in their file they believe is not accurate or complete.

The Federal Trade Commission found that 79% of consumers who filed disputes had their files modified.

The government has started keeping closer track of the ratings agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has begun monitoring the files as well as the creditors who fill their files with information about their customers.

These agencies’ work should help the public monitor the progress. But no one cares more about the rating than you, so make sure you stay on top of your FICO score.

Ronn Huth 800 25 BUYER

Investigators from the Federal Trade Commission determined that at least one out of five consumers have a material error on at least one of their credit reports. These mistakes can negatively effect your credit score.

While the industry argues that their files are generally very accurate, critics say they are woefully lacking in accuracy, particularly for an industry raking in $4,000,000,000 a year while spending too little time and money preventing or fixing inaccuracies. The three big ones, of course, are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

Inaccuracies can occurs if you provide inaccurate data when applying for a loan or if the creditor who furnished the information to the credit bureau inaccurately inputs the data. Inaccuracies can occur when the bureaus match information about a consumer from a particular date furnisher to the wrong individual consumer’s file. They can come from other simple errors or when consumers become victims of identity theft or fraud.

Consumers also have the right to obtain a copy of their credit file and to receive notice of adverse actions involving credit reports with a resultant right to a free disclosure. These disclosures are one way for consumers to dispute information in their file they believe is not accurate or complete.

The Federal Trade Commission found that 79% of consumers who filed disputes had their files modified.

The government has started keeping closer track of the ratings agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has begun monitoring the files as well as the creditors who fill their files with information about their customers.

These agencies’ work should help the public monitor the progress. But no one cares more about the rating than you, so make sure you stay on top of your FICO score.

Ronn Huth 800 25 BUYER

Economists identify our housing recovery as the primary driver of economic growth this year. The bursting of the housing bubble plunged the economy into a recession from which we are finally beginning to recover.

Economists say this could finally be the year that housing lifts us out of the doldrums. Home sales saw the strongest rebound in the past five years and will most likely remain the strongest component for growth in 2013, according to Keith Hembre, chief economist of Nuveen Asset management.

There is a lot of pent up demand for housing and low inventory. This will stimulate new construction and existing home sales. As demand continues to improve, home builders’ inventory decreases and they have to keep building. This could also increase manufacturing jobs in the arena of products needed in new homes.

Economists suggest say that the tight supply and renewed demand for housing should lead to higher home values. Estimates are up to nearly a 4% increase.

Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist of Deutsche Bank, says “Even small moves in home prices can have large effects on consumption, because housing comprises such a significant share of household assets”.

Better home values can affect both consumer psychology on spending as well as their actual finances. But even with the bullish outlook on housing, economists are still forecasting only a modest rise in the overall economy this year.

The consensus estimate is for economic growth of about 2.4% in 2013, only a modest improvement from the 2012 growth rate of about 2% they’re forecasting when the final numbers are in.

Let’s hope that Captiol Hill can consider make the necessary decisons for economic health.

Homebuyers should be looking with eperienced buyer’s agents who can protect them in a economy where inventory is low, prices are rising, and competition is getting a bit ferocious.

Ronn Huth (800) 25 BUYER

As the overall housing market begins to show signs of life, more and more homeowners are repairing and remodeling their homes.

In recent years falling prices discouraged homeowners from repairing or expanding a house, but rising prices have given them confidence to undertake delayed projects.

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies recently commented that “foreclosed properties are being rehabilitated, sustainable home improvements are gaining in popularity and homeowners are retrofitting their home to accommodate their evolving needs.”

Who are these remodeling homeowners? Some are homeowners looking to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Government programs award these owners with tax benefits.

Older homeowners fixing up their home for retirement are also a major source of new business for the remodeling industry. Aging baby boomers will retrofit their homes to better accommodate their retirement years.

Younger households are also expected to move ahead on long-delayed projects to accommodate growing families.

As long as the overall economy continues to improve gradually, it is expected that remodeling demand will continue to pick up.
And, of course, with the housing market showing some rebound more potential buyers are coming out of the woodwork to find homes they can afford and that means fixer uppers will be more in demand.

Most buyer agents can help consumers find reputable contractors but this should be a time for home buyers to engage a buyer agent committed to helping find the best house for the best price and terms.

Ronn Huth (800) 25 BUYER

2013 will be an important year for those of you in the home buying market to improve their credit to get lower rates in home purchase mortgages.

Here are some things you can do to establish and maintain good credit.

Pull your credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) to make sure there are no errors. Keeping tabs on your credit is imperative! 

Pay down your credit card debt. A good goal is to keep your debt at 20% or less of your specific card credit limit. Make 2013 the year you are finally free of burdensome credit card debt. Don’t take every credit card offered to you. Make sure you understand their rate and terms.

Set aside time to regularly educate yourself about credit and debt. There are life long benefits to understanding and applying what you learn. Certainly you would evaluate any financial investments you are considering. It is equally important to understand credit and debt issues from a financial perspective.

Also, educate yourself about identity theft. Use your credit reports to help ensure that your identity is safe and thus help prevent identity theft from happening to you.

When you start shopping for a home purchase loan, don’t apply to too many lenders in a short time period. Too many inquiries will negatively impact your credit rating.

A good buyer’s agent will help put you in touch with a good lender who you can trust to educate you and walk you through the process.

Ronn Huth (800) 25 BUYER