Tips to Increase Your Credit Score
By Anthony Caciopo
Like it or not, credit scores impact many areas of our lives beyond just financial considerations. Credit scores are sometimes evaluated by insurance providers and even employers these days. Keeping one's score in the best shape possible is more important than ever. Even if you have no immediate desire to obtain a loan or additional credit, keep up your score. It's vital.
Your credit score can be managed, and managed well. Sure, having lots of money to pay off every bill well ahead of time is one way to ensure you keep a great credit score, but let's see a show of hands among us all who can do that these days. Bueller? Bueller?
Effective credit score management takes time. Nothing happens overnight. Start by obtaining copies of your report from the three primary credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Steer clear of certain consumer services which will provide a report from only one of the agencies, or an averaged or distilled version of all three. AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site sponsored by all three credit reporting agencies mentioned above. It allows consumers to check for free once per year.
After obtaining your credit reports, employ these tips to raise your score:
- Check the reports for accuracy. Credit reports are highly interesting, detailed documents. They might contain mistakes. Review everything, including your birthdate, social security number, names of accounts, credit cards, duplicate items, etc.
- Report errors. Credit bureaus are required by law to investigate mistakes you bring to their attention and report back to you.
- Pay your bills on time. Yep, you knew there was going to be at least a little heavy lifting in these tips, didn't you? Well, here it is. There's no magic bullet or shortcut to a lot of basic things in life, and keeping current with your bills is simply the best way to be financially responsible and increase your credit score.
- Pay down your debts. Don't be too close to the limit on your credit cards. Lenders look at this and may judge you to be near the edge financially.
- Keep credit cards and other revolving accounts open. That may seem counter-intuitive, but closing old accounts you're not using won't help your credit scores and may, in fact, hurt them. And from a lender's perspective, if you are carefully and wisely using various credit cards, without maxing them out or being delinquent in your payments, it speaks volumes about your ability to manage your finances.
If you're looking to purchase a place to live, be it a condo, townhouse or single family home, and you need financing, take that credit report to a lender for a look-see. Lenders will probably be required by their in-house rules to pull their own version of your credit reports in order to make any official committement to you, but generally speaking they can at least use the reports you supply to give you a general idea where you stand and perhaps prompt some additional tips and conversation that can help you. Also, be sure your credit reports are no more than 30 days old. Beyond that, they will be relatively useless, except for your own information.
With your credit reports in hand, you now have knowledge, and knowledge is power. Your credit score is important. Manage it well.
If Renting Makes Sense, We Can Help
By Anthony Caciopo
Real estate agents are fond of saying “Own, don’t rent.” And in many, many situations, ownership of one’s living space is more advantageous than renting, for a variety of reasons.
But there’s no denying that for some people, renting is simply the better option. Again, for a variety of reasons, renting may make more sense based on personal circumstances, the market and the prices/incentives available at any given time.
The condo specialist Realtors® at OwnACondo.com understand this and are ready to help. The rental market in many areas has an abundance of units, which generally means lower prices and/or incentives that are very attractive. Add the current challenging housing market and the result is many people opt for renting---at least for the time being.
In the Chicago area, for example, the homeownership rate in the first quarter of 2011 was 67.7%, down from a peak of 71.2% in 2066, right before the housing market deflated. The reasons include foreclosures, difficulty in obtaining mortgage financing and the general reluctance many potential buyers have for making a purchase with housing values in flux.
In the past, renting almost always meant “apartment,” but these days it can mean condos, townhomes and houses, too. Many property owners seek renters because the depressed real estate market makes it more difficult to sell after the owners have moved on. Rather than have the property sit vacant, owners seek renters to help cover their costs.
And, of course, there are developments of apartments and condos for rent in many locations that offer incentives such as an initial reduced rent, free or discounted parking as well as other amenities.
Contact OwnACondo.com if you’d like to rent an apartment, condo, townhome or house. Rent-to-own options are available, too. Our specialists will get to work for you and find what you’re looking for in your favorite communities. Call 866-696-2266 toll free or drop a line to info@ownacondo.com.
Resale Value and Condos
By Jennifer Alcide
When buying a condo, what holds the most resale value?
A lot depends on why you are buying the condo. Are you buying it for a home or for an investment? There is a difference.
The resale value is always an important factor when purchasing property. If you are looking at your purchase as a home, then make selective improvements that will mostly enhance your quality of living, and not based solely on a possible return. If you are looking to invest, then spend only a minimal amount on upgrades.
Condos with a pleasant view of the city or the lakefront often sell at a premium above similar condos without the view. If a view is important to you, try to pay as little extra as possible. Otherwise, you might not get your money back, as a view may be a deal breaker for you, and an added bonus for someone else.
Since the resale value is an important factor when purchasing, make sure you do not buy in a neighborhood that is already saturated. It may be difficult to sell when the time comes. You should buy a modest sized model, perhaps not always the largest. When determining market value, the surroundings in your area are most important.
In the end, choosing to buy a condo is a matter of personal preferences. This is one of those times where determining your "wants" versus your "needs" can be extremely important.
Want more information about resale value and other topics related to condos? Contact me via email at jalcide@ownacondo.com or call me at 847-414-5349.
What’s in a Million? An Awful Lot (of Foreclosures, That Is)
By Anthony Caciopo
You've got to admit, a million of anything is a heck of a lot, even in these days of hyper-realistic, super-sized everything.
A million YouTube hits? That's a pretty darn popular video. A million stars in the sky? Try counting 'em. Good luck. Contact us next summer to tell us how that's going. And how about a million bucks? Well, even though a million doesn't have the impact it used to (consider that financial planners regularly advise people that they had better have at least a million dollars in 401(k) plans, savings and other investments to see them comfortably through their golden years)...yes, despite the fact that even ONE MILLION DOLLARS doesn't buy what it used to, I think most of us would still be tickled pink to get our itchly little fingers on a million bucks, thank you very much.
One seriously sobering statistic in which one million is figured prominently is the number of homes that were repossesed by lenders in 2010, the highest on record. In fact, the total was actually more than one million homes, according to RealtyTrac which publishes the largest database of foreclosures and bank-owned homes in the United States.
With total U.S. population currently standing at approximately 310 million people, you might be wondering how more than one million repossesed homes figures into the total housing picture. After all, 310 million people includes a lot of children and adults who reside together.
The answer is that one in 45 U.S. households received foreclosure filings in 2010. And that's just in one year. The proportion becomes even more alarming when figuring in all the previous years, too.
And speaking of alarming, the experts at OwnACondo.com's sister companies, RealEstateAuctions.com and BankREOs.com, expect that the U.S. will exceed that one million-plus figure for 2011.
Foreclosures typically sell at an average discount of 20 percent. They weigh heavily on the real estate market and tend to depress the value of all homes, even those not in foreclosure.
If you are interested in possibly purchasing a foreclosed property, or simply wish to learn more, be sure to contact OwnACondo.com. We welcome your call at 866-696-2266 (toll free) or drop us an email at info@ownacondo.com.
While I Was Away
By Patty Boysen
I just returned back to work from my honeymoon and so much has changed since I have been gone! I drove in to work, put my flashers on and ran in to grab my parking pass that I had left at work for someone else to use while I was away. It was that moment that I decided to take a look around and see all of the new improvements that OwnACondo.com had made. I took a quick lap around our brand new office at 540 N. Lake Shore Drive to see that most of the boxes were unpacked, furniture was cleaned and pictures were hanging on the walls. I then hopped back in my car, parked it and entered back into work. Just as I sat down to start my day, my co-worker comes through the door. The questions that of course come out of my mouth right away was, “Hello, How are you?” and “What did I miss?”
After a short pause my co-worker says, “Oh, you didn’t hear what happened while you were away?” I said, “No, what?” He goes on further to say that I needed to get up right away and follow him to the conference room. Here I am thinking, oh maybe we got a new table or a new TV for the conference room or something.
As soon as I walk into the room, I immediately gasped! Yes, he explains someone drove into our conference room early Sunday morning. Needless to say there was glass everywhere, blinds broken, windows boarded up, and the bumper with the license plate on it. So my co-worker proceeds to say, nothing much really happened while you were away, just this small mishap!
So, just as OwnACondo.com gets the office spruced up and looking beautiful, a little surprise comes our way. This does not stop anything or anyone however, and work is resuming as usual. We are still recruiting and expanding all over the United States. Let’s just say, a car driving into our office doesn’t even stop us!
Car Crashes into OwnACondo.com’s Lake Shore Drive Office
If the phone rings at 3 a.m., it’s usually not good news. And sure enough, when OwnACondo.com’s Owner and Managing Broker Brian Kuzdas answered his cell phone late Saturday night / early Sunday morning June 5, he didn’t like what he had to hear.
“It was the doorman at our building, informing me a car had crashed into our office,” said Mr. Kuzdas.
The vehicle, apparently heading southbound the wrong way along a frontage street that runs parallel to Lake Shore Drive, struck the southwest corner of the vintage condominium and office building at 540 N. Lake Shore Drive where OwnACondo.com opened only two months ago.
Mr. Kuzdas said he was told the car then backed out of the damaged area and made a getaway heading west on Ohio—again, going the wrong way—but not before leaving behind something very important.
“The car’s bumper with license plate attached was lying in the street,” he said. The pieces were looked at by authorities and eventually removed from the area.
Damage to the building includes broken windows, various structural elements surrounding the windows, furnishings and supplies inside OwnACondo.com’s office and possibly more to be revealed when insurance adjusters finish the investigation.
As of this writing, no information is available about citations, injuries or suspects. And despite the well-known habit of Realtors® to work long and unconventional hours, the OwnACondo.com office was fortunately unoccupied at the time of the incident. Our condo specialists and their colleagues at our sister company, BankREOs.com, had thankfully long since returned home for the night.
Tami Theriault Shines With Silver
OwnACondo.com's very own Tami Theriault earned Silver Inner Circle honors from the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors® for her contribution to the Realtor® Political Action Committee (RPAC).
Although such a distinction might seem strictly of interest to co-workers and industry insiders, it's actually important to consumers, too. That's because of major issues that Realtors® are fighting for on behalf of not only themselves but for the home-buying consumer. Realtors® like Tami Theriault, through their RPAC donations, have worked tirelessly to preserve the mortgage interest deduction, address problems with banks and short sales, defeat new taxes and regulations on property transactions, and defeat ornerous proposals in Illinois to put municipalities in the role of land trusts. Although the real estate market is currently down, Realtors® and the RPAC are busier than ever defending the interests of consumers.
Tami Theriault has been a condo specialist Realtor® with OwnACondo.com since 2008. She helps people buy and sell condomniums, single family homes, townhouses and more. We're not at all surprised she advocates for her profession and the public at large. Good people always rise to the ocassion, and good people are what we like here at OwnACondo.com.
Rent-to-Own: Is It the Right Option for You?
By Jennifer Alcide
I recently had this discussion with a friend of mine. He asked me, “Why would anyone Rent-to-Own in the first place?” If you are at a place where you’d rather not be paying rent, but you don’t quite have the money for a home yet, then this alternative option may be fitting for you.
In general, Rent-to-Own is a good option if you desire your own home, but lack the ability to secure financing. However, this is not the best option for everyone. Rent-to-Own is a great way for you start on your journey of homeownership. You will enter into a lease giving you an option to purchase.
Benefits to the seller
“What benefits are there to the seller?” my friend asked. Rent-to-own is a great alternative for sellers who are having trouble selling, and need the monthly income to keep up with the mortgage. Subsequently, the selling price has already been established and is secure in the lease-option contract; therefore, knowing exactly what you will receive will eliminate any amount of worry if the market declines slightly during the lease period.
Benefits to the buyer
“So how does the buyer benefit?” If you are entering into a Rent-to-Own agreement, more likely than not, it is because of financial difficulties. If you don't currently have the down payment and/or the monthly income to qualify for a mortgage, but will within the next couple of years, a lease option allows you to speed up the process to homeownership rather than renting outright from a landlord. By signing a contract now, you will be securing a purchase price and you'll have no worries about home prices rising.
If you think you are not eligible to own your own home, you may want to consider the Rent-to-Own option; it may be a possibility for you! Get on the path to homeownership, and learn how to make your money work for you, not for your landlord!
Rent-to-Own applicants must qualify. Contact me today for more information via email at jalcide@ownacondo.com or call 847-414-5349.
