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CREDIT SUICIDE By: Chris Brown

Few things influence the home buying process more than your credit. I like how Clark Howard refers to the three credit repositories as, “the three screw-ups”. There is some validity to that, and hopefully recent legislation will help clean up many of the inaccuracies. Regardless, lenders need a source to determine levels of risk for lending money… and the Fair Isaac Company is where it lies. (Note: Fair was one of their last names… doesn’t necessarily denote fairness.) There are close to 50 different things that influence your credit; some good, some bad. Within those 50, there is some 14,000 variations…talk about a fragile balance! For example, did you know that if you pay off a collection it might actually lower your score! Don’t worry most lenders don’t know it either. Also, beware of credit counseling services that promise all kinds of miracles. The only things that can be legitimately removed from your credit are things that are invalid, erroneous, or outdated. Aside from that, if it is yours… it’s yours. There may be ways to “flower it up” but it isn’t coming off. (Being intellectually honest, you know it shouldn’t either.)

If you are going to be hunting for a home, be sure to curtail the temptation to go out make purchases that may affect you credit. Obviously you wouldn’t want to go buy a car, but other things that may not be quite as obvious may be the purchase of furniture or home improvement items that would need financing. Chances are you may need these things, but wait till after closing.

What is the biggest credit mistake?

You wouldn’t believe how common it is! The biggest credit mistake that most of us make is closing our old paid off credit cards. I know that is seems like the right thing to do when you pay off the balance but 15% of your FICO score is made up of your credit history. If you close a credit card with no current balance that you’ve had for years, you are getting rid of a lot of your credit history.

Another 30% of your FICO score is made up by your Debt to Credit Limit ratio. With this component, you show how well you manage the credit extended to you by using it wisely and judiciously. Let’s say that you had two cards with $2,000 limits and one was maxed out and the other one was just paid off. Well you have $4,000 of credit extended to you and you’re using almost $2,000 of that credit (you don’t want to go over 50%). Now you cancel the paid off card and your new debt to credit limit ratio is 100% ($2.000 out of $2000). Ouch, that hurt your credit score

NOT EVERYONE IS BUYING OR SELLING, SOME ARE DOING BOTH

By: Chris Brown

As if one real estate transaction is not hectic enough… many of us end up needing to sell one place in order to move up to the next… this is the “real estate catch 22”. Do we buy first?? Do we sell first?? If we are fortunate, these events occur at the same time, but that is not always the case. The problem is trying to determine if it is worse to end up “temporarily homeless” because you sold first, or financially strapped because you bought first. Conventional wisdom states that IF you can’t make them happen simultaneously, it is better to sell before you buy. The rationale? If you sell first, you don’t end up at a disadvantage at the negotiating table. This happens by feeling pressured to accept something lackluster for your current home due to your impending closing on the new home. There are several providers of short-term, furnished lease properties that can fill the gap while you find the new dream home if needed. The purpose for finding a furnished property is for the simplicity in moving. Few people I know want to pack and unpack twice and a few months storage is a small price to pay for the convenience. (For those that enjoy packing, there are support groups available.) And yes, if you were wondering… the two scenarios DO affect the financing angle as well. Having moved on from the first home does help in the debt-to-income ratios that lenders use to qualify you and in the funds that you have available towards the down payment of the new place… both help in the rates that will be available to you.

What Do The Buyers Have The Right To Know? HOW MUCH SHOULD THE SELLER REVEAL?

Florida and other States are NOT among the 32 states with disclosure laws requiring home sellers to reveal potentially negative property issues. However, Florida case law does support seller disclosure requirements through case law dating back to 1986.

Since then, a written seller’s disclosure has become a critical part of a home sale transaction in Florida. It is a document that addresses everything from the propertys land and structural condition to its plumbing, roofing and electrical systems.

Seller disclosure standards in Florida cover obvious defects which are visible to the buyer, and material defects, which are not readily visible, such as a crack in an exterior wall hidden by landscaping. Since the 2004 hurricanes, disclosing the presence of mold in the home has also been addressed.

Sellers should always respond honestly to buyers’ direct questions about the condition of the home.

Real estate studies have shown that disclosing defects rarely compel an interested buyer to turn away from the deal; in fact, in most situations the defect becomes a negotiating point when determining the final sale price.

Generally, real estate attorneys advise that the seller volunteer information about problems such as:

* Malfunctions in the major systems of the home, such as the foundation, plumbing, electrical system, heating and air conditioning, siding, windows, doors, walls and ceilings
* Damage to property due to fire, floods, hurricanes, sink holes, etc.
* Environmental hazards such as lead-based paint (for homes built before 1978), asbestos, radon gas, contaminated soil or water, and mold
* Problems with termites
* Work completed without building permits, for example,do-it-yourself projects such as wiring an outdoor speaker system, carpentry, or plumbing jobs

The seller should hire an inspector before putting the home on the market, to learn what issues should be revealed to buyers, and to possibly negotiate for repairs. Ignoring problems and hoping they won’t get noticed is not the way to go. A prospective buyer’s inspector will likely discover them. If not, the buyer may find them later on, and the seller could be sued.

Remember, sellers are required only to reveal a homes defects, not to necessarily fix them. As long as the defect is disclosed, the seller is not liable if the buyer chooses not to make repairs down the road.

Full disclosure always does more good than harm. Most of the time, a buyer who is truly interested in a home will use the information only as a negotiating point. And in the end, the seller will want to be afforded the same honest, forthcoming treatment when the time comes for him to buy a new home.

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south hilo houses for sale
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kona houses for sale
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