Jackie, Exit Realty Mizner

09/19/2018

Very cozy!!

The paint company Behr has named its top pick for 2019's Color of the Year. See the trending color in home design.

03/15/2018

03/14/2018

Great for Staging!!

12/16/2016

Ten Reasons Why You Should Own Your Own Home!!!
1. Predictable monthly housing payments

A landlord can raise your rent whenever a lease expires—and often by as much as he pleases. But as a homeowner, you can lock in a predictable mortgage payment for as long as 30 years.

Instead of worrying about fluctuating rents, “homeowners can create a budget knowing that their principal and interest payments won’t rise … ever,” says Brian Davis, co-founder and real estate blogger at SparkRental.com.

Bonus: Your housing budget goes toward your homeownership, not your landlord’s.

2. Appreciation

“Owning a house provides you with a valuable asset and financial stability,” says Peter Vekselman, a real estate professional with Keller Williams’ Yates Estates in Georgia. By purchasing a home, you’ll have an asset that, in many cases, will appreciate in value over time. A $200,000 home today should see an increase in value to $250,000, $300,000, or more—depending on how long you plan to live there and market conditions, according to Vekselman. This makes your home one of the best investments you can make and a way to establish a financial foundation for future generations (aka your kids).

3. Tax benefits

The many expenses of owning a home—like property taxes and accounting costs—are tax-deductible. The largest deduction is generally the interest you pay on your mortgage, according to Liane Jamason, a broker associate with Florida’s Jamason Realty Group. “This allows you to keep more of your hard-earned money.”

4. Freedom to make modifications

What renter hasn’t thought “I’d really love to paint/alter/knock down this wall to…”? Well, to do whatever the hell you want to do. But, of course, you can’t—not without the landlord’s blessing. And if you are allowed to renovate your rental, it’s the landlord who will ultimately benefit. (Especially if you do a really awesome job at it.)

Homeowners, on the other hand, don’t need permission. They can paint any room any color, replace the cabinets, add a deck, or do any other modifications they wish, says Davis. “Homeownership enables you to live life under your own rules.”

5. It’s cheaper

Sure, there’s the upfront cost of the down payment and closing.

“After that, the monthly outlay of owning a home is much less than paying rent in the majority of markets in the U.S.,” says Davis. According to ReatlyTrac, buying is the more affordable choice in 58% of U.S. markets (figure out costs in your area with the Rent Vs. Buy Calculator). Plus, mortgage rates are currently low, making it an economically wise choice to purchase a home sooner than later.

6. Increased privacy

Some rentals are constructed of inferior building materials like plywood or shoddy drywall. If your house, townhouse, or condo is built of concrete and stucco, it will provide a greater sound barrier from your neighbors.

“When you own, you can also make your own modifications such as putting up a fence for added privacy,” says Jamason.

7. Built-in rainy day fund

Homeownership provides you with the opportunity to borrow money on the equity you eventually build up by consistently paying your mortgage. Securing a home equity loan at a relatively low interest rate “will enable you to get financing for an emergency, large project, or other expense,” says Vekselman.

8. Community ties

Owning a house you plan to stay in for a while also allows you to have an impact on your community with your taxes benefiting local infrastructure, schools, and organizations. You’ll also have a voice—if you wish—in how things are run in your area.

9. A secure retirement

A home can be the ultimate nest egg, providing you with a great investment for retirement. The longer you own a house, the more it should eventually be worth.

“If you live there for 30 years, other things being equal, the home should appreciate 100% or even more,” says Vekselman.

As you get older, you can sell the home and use the proceeds to purchase or rent something smaller. Another option: Rent out the house to maintain a steady income stream so you can travel or use for other recreational activities.

10. It’s yours!

This may seem fairly obvious, but it’s worth emphasizing: With a rental, you run the risk of getting kicked out at the end of your lease. With a home, you can live there indefinitely. And isn’t there something comforting in knowing there’s a place where you’ll always have a roof over your head?

10/21/2016

10/21/2016

NEW YORK – Oct. 18, 2016 – Once, building credit meant taking on debt – sometimes expensive debt like a car loan or a credit card with a high rate.

Today, it's possible to build a good credit score in a year without a big chunk of cash upfront or a large debt at the end. You can make yourself look better to lenders while keeping more money in your pocket. Here's how to do it right.

Old advice: Take whatever credit you can get, even at double-digit interest rates.

New advice: Start with a credit builder loan, then add a credit card to the mix.

With a credit-builder loan, you build credit and savings at the same time. The money you borrow is placed in a certificate of deposit or savings account that you can claim once you've made all the payments, which are reported to credit bureaus.

Many credit unions offer these loans. If yours doesn't, check to see if there's a community development financial institution near you that does, or investigate Self Lender, an online lender that makes one-year credit-builder loans of $550, $1,100 and $2,200. Someone who borrows $550, for example, would claim a $550 CD after making 12 payments of $48.50, plus a $12 administration fee.

These loans can help people build credit scores in the high 600s or even low 700s, says credit expert Barry Paperno, who blogs at Speaking of Credit.

"Regardless of the loan amount, one year of on-time-payment installment loan history with no other credit on the report should deliver a decent score," says Paperno, who previously worked for credit scoring company FICO and credit bureau Experian.

Once your scores are in the mid-600s, you can qualify for a regular credit card. Using the card for a few small purchases each month and paying the balance in full will continue to build your scores.

You can get plastic even earlier if you have some cash to make a deposit on a secured card. Most require people to put down $200 to $2,000 in exchange for a credit limit equal to that deposit.

"Adding a secured credit card with even the smallest limit and obtained at about the same time as the installment loan would make for an even better score," Paperno says.

Old advice: Regular credit cards are better than store cards for building credit.

New advice: Certain store cards may help you get a mortgage.

Store-branded cards have long been seen as a stepping stone to "real" credit cards. Store cards typically are easier for people who are building credit to get, but regular or general-purpose cards issued by national banks are weighed more favorably by credit-scoring formulas.

However, if you're building or rebuilding credit with the goal of getting a mortgage, store cards may prove more helpful.

Mortgage buyer Fannie Mae now requires mortgage lenders to look more favorably on people who regularly pay off their credit card balances when that information, known as trended or time series data, is available. Research by Fannie Mae and credit bureau TransUnion has found that people who don't carry balances are less likely to default on any credit account than those who do.

Unlike many big card issuers, some store-branded cards report actual amounts paid each month to credit bureaus. These including Synchrony Bank's Amazon card and TD Bank's Target card. If getting a mortgage is important to you, call the issuer and ask if it will report your actual payment amounts to the credit bureaus before you apply.

Old advice: Monitor your FICO scores to track your progress.

New advice: Keep tabs with free scores and buy the right FICO before you apply for loans.

FICO credit scores are used in far more lending decisions than rival VantageScores, but VantageScores have an edge for people new to credit.

FICO formulas require at least six months of credit history before a score can be generated, and at least one account must have been updated by the issuer in the previous six months. A VantageScore can be calculated as soon as a person's first account is reported to the credit bureaus, typically within 30 days of approval. A VantageScore also can be calculated for anyone with a credit account that's been updated in the prior two years.

Many credit card issuers offer free FICOs or VantageScores. The version of the FICO they typically offer is the FICO 8, the most commonly used score in lending decisions. It's not the FICO that most mortgage lenders use, however – they typically use older versions of the scores pulled from each of the three credit bureaus:

The score retrieved from Equifax credit bureau is typically called FICO Score 5 or Beacon 5.
At Experian, it's FICO Score 2 or Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model V2SM.
At TransUnion, it's FICO Score 4 or FICO Risk Score, Classic 04.
Similarly, auto lenders use various versions of FICO Auto Scores, which have a 250-to-900 scale. FICO Auto Score 8 is commonly pulled from all three credit bureaus, while version 2 is popular at Experian, version 5 at Equifax and version 4 at TransUnion.

When you're ready to apply for a major loan such as a mortgage or auto loan, you can get a better idea of how lenders are likely to view you by purchasing your scores from MyFico.com. Currently you can't buy just an auto or mortgage score; you need to purchase your FICO 8s from each bureau for about $20 each, and the other scores come with the package.

Until then, go for a free score.

AP Logo Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet, Liz Weston. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related Topics: Credit scores