With rates at record lows and home affordability lower than ever now is a great time to be a home buyer. Let me help!

Locally sourced meats and produce make YourBurger unique. Give them a try! Download the YourBurger coupon here. Enjoy!

Kiplinger’s places Nashville in the top 10 for value based on cost of living and home value!

Talking head today…note to self, “No green shirt when working with a green screen!” All the same, you have to ask me about the FHA 203k. It is the loan for our time!

This is one of my early blog posts prior to TMI. I have to say it is great information. Everyone wants to know how to fix their credit, protect it, or optimize it. This post explains all about scoring models and how to get the best score possible in just s few minutes. Let me know what you think!

Both options involve a significant investment of time and money, so it’s important to take your time and make an informed decision. You’ll also want to be sure to consider both the financial and the emotional sides of the equation. Let’s begin by examining the financial factors involved.

Moving: A good local real estate agent should be able to assist you with estimates on these numbers.

• How much will it cost to purchase a home that will meet your needs?
•  How much could you sell your existing home for? Don’t forget to subtract the agent’s commission from this total.
• What will it cost to move? According to real estate consultant and best-selling author of Remodel or Move, Dan Fritschen, a typical move costs 10% of the value of your home.
• How much will your property taxes increase as a result of the move?

Remodeling:

•  What projects do you want to have done and how much will they cost? An architect or general contractor will be able to assist you with these figures.
• How much will the improvements add to the value of your home, also known as the “payback”? A local real estate agent can assist with this as well.

If the decision about whether to renovate or move were purely a financial one, then it would be quite easy to look at the numbers and come to the right conclusion. However, there are also emotional factors that come into play, and they have a value as well. Let’s consider some examples.

Reasons you may want to move:

•  If you relocate to a new neighborhood, your children could attend superior schools.
• You would like to reduce your commute or have better access to local amenities, such as restaurants and shopping.
• You’re not particularly fond of your current neighborhood.
• Your yard is too small, and you cannot expand it.

Reasons you may want to stay and remodel:

• You’re happy with your location. It’s convenient, you love your neighbors, and the schools are either excellent or are not a factor.
• You love the layout of your home.
• All you need is a little more space, and your home will be perfect.

Of course only you know what is truly important for your happiness, so try to use these questions as a starting point. Create a list of the pros and cons of each scenario and leave it someplace accessible, so that you and your spouse can add to it as you think of additional factors. You may also want to consider attending open houses and visiting new housing developments to see what is available and how your home compares.

Once you’ve completed your list and your financial assessment, it’s time to draw some conclusions. Are the numbers and the emotional factors pointing you in a clear direction? If you’re still feeling unsure and would like some additional assistance, you may want to read Dan Fritschen’s book, Remodel or Move, or visit his website at www.remodelormove.com. Both contain a calculator that will assist you with the difficult task of quantifying the ramifications of your decision. In addition, you can learn tips to assist you with the next step, after you’ve determined what it will be.

If you choose to remodel, then you’ll need to have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish before finalizing any details with the contractor or architect. One of the most expensive things you can do is change the project midstream.

If you decide to move, then there are low-cost improvements you can make to your existing home that will help it to sell more quickly. The kitchen and the bathrooms provide the biggest return on investment in this area.

Whether you decide to remodel or buy a new home, it’s important to ensure that you have proper financing in place prior to moving forward. If you decide to purchase a home, a mortgage originator will help you to determine how much you can afford, as well as which loan package works best with your overall financial plan. In the case of remodeling, you should meet with a mortgage professional before any construction takes place. Otherwise you may severely limit the type of financing options available to you.

Let me know if I can help!

It has been a crazy week! It seems like a lot of people have made decisions to buy a home or refinance. Let me tell you why. Don’t miss out!

Now more than ever, you need to make sure you understand what’s on your credit report – and you need to know what steps you can take to improve your score. For example, did you know that a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) can impact your credit score quite dramatically – and sometimes unfairly – depending on how it is reported?

Here’s What You Need to Know… and Do!

First, you need to know that HELOC’s are commonly reported by the three credit bureaus as revolving accounts. In reality however, they do not fall under the typical revolving terms, even though they are set up in the same way as a revolving account. That’s because HELOC’s are secured by an asset.

Here’s the Good News…

The Fair Credit Reporting act requires reporting agencies to report true and accurate information. So when a HELOC is reported as a revolving account, you can actually send a letter to the three credit bureaus asking them to change the type of account from “Revolving” to “Line of Credit” or “Other.” This way, the account will not be rated by the scoring system using the “Balance to Limit” ratio scenario – which can drop a credit score by as much as 75 points if the HELOC is maxed out to the limit of the available credit line.

A Final Word of Advice

If you do decide to send a letter, you should send it as a Certified Letter, along with a copy of the HELOC agreement. You may have to send the letters more than once, but persistence is the key to accomplishing a positive result with the bureaus.

FHA allows you to establish a gift account that friends and family can deposit into during a major life event (i.e. wedding) and then you can use that account as an asset to purchase a home. Let me show you how!

Real estate expert Kim Reynolds of Coldwell Banker Snow & Wall joins me to talk about cheap and easy fixes that can help your home move in our slow housing market. E-mail Kim here. Thanks for the great tips Kim!