10 Truths and Myths about Your Credit Score

There are several very important truths about your credit score:

Truth #1: Your credit score is the single most important factor determining whether you’ll get approved for a mortgage, car loan, refinance loan, or credit cards.

Truth #2: Your credit score affects your APR.  If it’s low, you’ll pay very high interest rates, up to 23%.

Truth #3: Your credit score may affect how much you pay for car insurance, since insurance companies usually run a credit check before selling you insurance. (more…)

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Your NJ Real Estate Agent…And More!

When to Hire a New Jersey Real Estate Agent

If you are buying, instead of selling a house, you really don’t need a real estate agent. For buyers, the only purpose real estate agents serve is to help get past the guard-gated communities, or to unlock keys at the empty homes of sellers. Although a real estate agent can also handle the closing and escrow, it is preferable it be handled by a real estate attorney. Even if you can rave about your real estate agent, and how tenaciously he or she hunts down houses that match your criteria, you still need a good property attorney. Remember to select an attorney on your own. Do not let your real estate agent choose your real estate attorney.

When you are selling your home, a Real Estate Agent can be very helpful. To choose a successful agent, research those who have success selling homes in your neighborhood. Often you’ll find the same two or three agents closing deals. The most successful agents have full-page ads in the local classified magazines listing houses grouped by neighborhoods or areas. Successful agents have many listings. Part-timers and unsuccessful agents may have few, if any, homes listed. To get the attention you deserve, it is best to choose a successful agent who is a full-time partner in selling your home. (more…)

Everything In New Jersey Is Negotiable

In the New Jersey and the United States, were not used to negotiating a price for our every day purchases. But when you’re buying a NJ home, not negotiating the sellers’ asking price may mean paying more than the home’s fair market value. To avoid feeling that you paid too much, you must learn the art of give and take for a successful purchase price.

For example, you may find your New Jersey dream house with an asking price of $112,000. Your NJ real estate agent tells you that comparable homes in that area sold in the last six months for $100,000 to $110,000, so you make an offer of $100,000. Before formally presenting the offer to the sellers, your NJ real estate attorney or NJ real estate agent prepares a contract, writing in the appropriate contingencies, including the condition that all appliances and light fixtures remain in the home.

Within a few days, you receive a counter-offer of $110,000 with the seller’s contingency that you submit a pre-approval letter from your lender. After a few more rounds, the seller finally agrees to come down to $105,000 if you move the closing day from four weeks to six weeks to allow their kids to finish school.

Because you need to close in four weeks, you offer to let the sellers rent the house from you for two weeks after closing. The sellers accept. Finally, you have a deal!

Remember, the goal is not to crush the seller by getting everything your way. It is about getting your dream house at a fair price. And negotiations always involve a little compromise and give and take. To learn how read these 9 tips. (more…)

Affording to Buy a New Jersey Home

Can you really afford a house? If so, how much house can you afford? To determine this answer will take serious financial planning, and the best time to start is at least six months before buying the home.

Although buying a new home may seem like an American Dream or romantic venture, the reality is that the house you can afford depends on your current income and debt obligations. You must be able to pay your mortgage, satisfy all your current debt, and still have money left over each month to put in the bank. When you consider all these issues, you may find you will actually be shopping for a lower-priced house than the anticipated dream home.

If after careful financial evaluation, you realize you cannot afford the house of your dreams, don’t feel tempted to count on expected annual raises, thinking that eventually you’ll be able to afford the higher payments. Most raises are generally 4% to 7%. In bad times, you won’t get a raise, while inflation overtakes you. In the worse case scenario, you may get laid off and you won’t be able to afford your monthly bills. If you don’t have a budget that includes a savings account worked out on a spreadsheet, you are faced with a serious debt problem waiting to happen. If you cannot recite from memory all the creditors you owe and how much you owe them, you have a credit problem. (more…)

Your New Jersey Real Estate Buying and Selling Team

Buying or selling a home is a monumental transaction, and definitely not one in which you want to go it alone. You cannot be an expert on all matters; therefore, you must assemble an expert team.

The recommended team for the task includes the following six professionals:

1.) Your Real Estate Attorney

Having a real estate lawyer on your side can help make sure your interests are faithfully upheld. And the earlier in the process you involve a real estate lawyer (e.g., pre-contract signing), the more value you gain. One of the greatest benefits of using an attorney is that he or she has an ethical obligation to work on behalf of your best interest.

Plus, your real estate attorney is versed in real estate law and will either personally perform or make sure all procedures are completed in a timely, professional manner. (more…)

New Jersey Mortgage 101

Obtaining an NJ mortgage is a big commitment and you need an experienced professional guiding you through the process, answering your questions so that you’ll know with confidence that you made the right choice. We have taken the time to prepare a few items of information to better prepare you for the mortgage process.

In order for you to obtain a NJ mortgage, you should have a basic understanding of the mortgage process from start to finish. Please look at the following 4 steps:

1. Ensure that your documentation and finances are in order.

A good first step would be to review your credit report. The credit report will be used by your prospective lender as a measure of how you manage your finances. Good credit gets you better rates and a stronger negotiating position for terms. Most people are surprised at their report’s contents because errors in reporting are common. Now is the time to clean them up. (more…)