Why You Need to Know Your Credit Score
A recent survey of about 5000 people across the U.S. resulted in a very surprising discovery - almost half of those surveyed had no idea of what their credit score is or even what range it fell into. Even more surprising was the discovery that more than a third of those surveyed said that it had been more than five years since they had even seen a copy of their credit report.
The majority of consumers do not understand the far reaching impact of one's credit report and credit score. Credit scores are used in many more places today than ever before.
One place where a low credit score can hit you is with a mortgage loan. Say you have a mortgage loan of $175,000. If your credit score is under about 580 versus a score of over 760, this can make a difference of more than $150,000 over the life of the loan, just based on the difference in interest that a lower credit score would get on the mortgage.
Take the time to understand what your credit history means, how it is reported, and what areas of your life are affected by your credit score. Then get copies of your credit report from the credit bureaus and make sure that each and every item is correct. If there are errors, take the time and effort to get them corrected, or it could cost you a fortune!
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Buying a Home - How to Get the Best Deal
Balance is found in nature and the real estate market is not exempt from this. It was only a matter of time until the strong sellers' market swung back to buyers. We seem to be at the beginning of a great buyers' market as desperate homeowners flood the real estate market with homes for sale.
It is a really good time to be a buyer. Go to view homes in most real estate markets these days and sellers fall all over themselves trying to make sure you get a good impression.
While being a buyer in this market is a good, it is only a starting point. If you really want to get the absolute best deal out there, you need to take an extra step. You need to get your financing lined up before house shopping. This means getting pre-approved by a lender.
Sellers have learned to be wary of interested buyers these days. Yes, they want to find someone to buy their home, but there are a lot of "false" buyers looking at homes these days. These false buyers definitely are looking for a new home, but they make their offers conditioned on the sale of their current home. In short, often times the offers are not worth the paper they're written on.
If you approach a seller with a letter of financing from a lender, you will be taken seriously. You can negotiate a lower purchase price. You can probably also get the seller to kick in furniture or other items. When you have financing in hand, you are a rare bird in this market, and more apt to get the best deal on the home of your dreams.
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