Idaho Homes And Money Blog

"YOUR CREDIT SCORE MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT NUMBER YOU NEVER UNDERSTAND."

-Washington Post

I think the Washington Post is right. Most of our clients don't know how their credit scores are generated and just hope when they are applying for a home loan, that by paying their bills on time, their score should be excellent. Unfortunately, the credit scoring model does not use common sense all the time when factoring your score and if you don't know how to make your score the strongest, you could pay thousand of dollars extra in higher rates and fees associated with your lower FICO score.

Before you decide to purchase a home, it would be a great idea to check your credit out with a mortgage professional who understand the score. By reviewing it up front, it will allow you to clean up any items that are reporting incorrectly as well as restructure some of your debt so that your score is as strong as possible.

We would be happy to help you review your credit and make sure you are ready to move forward with your home purchase.

If you have further questions, please contact our mortgage team at: (208) 321-4161

If you are like most people buying a home right now, there is a good chance that it is a bank owned property. This is a property that the bank has taken back or foreclosed on and that they are now selling. The good news I have been hearing is that banks have been picking up their speed and are getting the approvals back much quicker then before!

Typically if you made an offer on a bank owned home, it could take months to hear back from them on that offer and even more time to get your home closed. Most people want a good deal on a home but are not sure they want to wait on the banks response.

With the speed up we are seeing in both the real estate market and the banks response time, the Idaho market seems to be on a steady climb in the right direction.

Don't forget if you are buying a home and trying to get the $8,000 tax gift, the deadline for that is November 31st, 2009 so I would waste no time sitting on the fence!

The past year has been tough for a lot of families out there.
Debt is rising, banks are closing, unemployment is up, real estate
dried up for a while, and the market has taken a roller coaster ride
that’s left all of us dizzy. Plus, all the talking heads on television
have gone on and on about how hopeless everything is, only
adding more fuel to the fire. In light of all this, many people ask if they should change thier investment and retirement plans. The short answer is, “NO WAY!” Sure, 2009 has hit a lot of people hard, but the truth is, it really just
shined a spotlight on what people were already doing with their money. If they were up to their necks in debt and payments with no savings and ridiculous mortgages, then of course they weren’t ready for a dip in the economy. It’s like Warren Buffet says, “When the tide goes out, you can tell who’s been skinny dipping!”

These teaching principles aren’t based on month-to-month shifts in the economy. God’s and Grandma’s ways of handling money are age old. These are timeless truths that don’t change. They work when the market is up, and they work when the market is down. 

Time and again that the people who get into trouble with their investments are those who try to time the market. That is, they put their money in, take it out, move it around, mess with it, and are completely incapableof leaving it alone! They get scared by the headlines and start messing with their longterm investments. That’s a HUGE mistake! Long-term investments are just that— investments for the long term. You should only invest money if you’re willing to leave it alone for at least five years. A full 100% of 15-year periods in the stock market’s history have made money. That’s 100%!  You don’t get hurt on a roller coaster unless you jump off!

Since 1970, the stock market has experienced a 10% drop 10 different
times, and the year following each drop shows an average gain of 33%. That’s how the market works; it has ups and downs. If you pull your money out during a down market, then you’re setting yourself up for failure and you’ll miss out on the upswing. Take the Great Depression for example.
That’s the biggest drop we’ve ever experienced. Do you think people were
scared back then? You bet they were! But here’s the key thing. Those wise investors who just held on and left their money alone recovered their losses in four years and four months. Those who sold out
during the crash realized a 78% loss. These people had a short-term mindset,
and it cost them everything. Don’t let that happen to you! 

If an example from the 1920s doesn’t do it for you, then let’s look at what’s going on right now. In July of 2009, the Dow Jones increased 8.6%. That’s
the best July performance in a decade! And the S&P 500, a listing of the 500 largest companies in America, was up 7.4% in July 2009. That’s the best
July performance for the S&P since 1997. Not only that, but it’s up 34% since March 2009!

Don’t play games with your investments. If you’ve been contributing to retirement accounts and other long-term goals, keep going! If you haven’t, and if you’re out of debt with a full emergency fund, this
is the perfect time to start! The market’s on sale! Get in the game!