The Phoenix Real Estate Advisor

 If you plan on buying a new home, there are some things you can do to keep your credit looking as good as possible.

- Check your credit report. Find out if there have been changes to your account limits, and make sure there aren’t any errors. Look for any negatives on your report-many negative items should be removed after seven or 10 years.
- Don’t get close to card limits. About 30% of your FICO is based on the ratio of the amount that is owed on active cards to your available credit. But utilization on individual cards is important too; getting close to the limit on one card will also reflect negatively on your score. Pay down balances as much as possible.
- Keep accounts active. Accounts get closed when there hasn’t been activity on them for a while. Make small purchases on cards a couple of times a year-then pay them off right away-to keep accounts active and your available credit up.
- Pay bills on time. This should an easy one, but could prove challenging for people who could lose their jobs in the months ahead. Be proactive, and contact the credit card company as soon as possible if you’re having problems paying your bill. Payment history counts for about 35% of your credit score.
- Don’t apply for new cards. Store cards are tempting when they offer discounts at the register, but don’t bite. Applying for that card will have a negative effect on your score in the short term.

We’ve heard a lot fromm people that “Investors” is what started this housing crisis. Most of us that work with short sales and foreclosure know this to not be true. We’ve understood that the vast majority are people like me and you that simply can not afford their home. Here’s an article from AZ Central that speaks to this subject: 

A group that works with people who “walk away” from homes instead of fighting to keep them out of foreclosure has released its first data. Almost 30 percent of the homeowners who contacted it from Arizona have other mailing addresses or own other homes, according to Carlsbad, Calif. You Walk Away. . That signals they are most likely investors. The figures, which have been compiled since the beginning of the year, show almost 50 percent of the people who are “walking away” in Florida are investors.  The top state for residents who contacted the firm is California. Then it was Florida, Nevada and Arizona at no.4. Those four states have much in common - the biggest speculator-driven home price run ups in 2004-05, and the fastest rising foreclosure rates now.

The firm tracking the trend says the figures show the majority of people considering walking away are primary homeowners, so the trend isn’t being fueled by speculators. However, the data is only from the beginning of the year. Some housing analysts believe speculators were the first to ”walk away” in Arizona when foreclosures started to really climb last summer. http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/CatherineReagor/26985

This means that 66% of the homes are owned by people that need help because they’ve gotten in over their head either by risky loans or loss of employement. This is why I’ve formed the group www.PhoenixHomeRescue.org, call us if you have questions 623.271.4234.

One thing Arizona is not proud of - we rank #1 in Identity Theft in the country. It’s a growing problem for a lot of people around the country and is not going away. I’m sure if you asked your friends/family you’d find that either they or someone they know has been a victim of this.  Don’t think you could become a victim? Here’s a few ways it can happen…do you do any of these?

• Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants?
• Do you supply personal information over the internet?
• Do you keep your social security number in your wallet or purse?
• Do you leave mail at your home or business for the postal carrier to collect?

I think that pretty much covers all of us, so what can you do to safeguard your credit? One way is to hire a company that specializes in protecting you like IdentityTheft Shield. They offer a full Identity Restoration program that will help restore your credit and good name when it’s under assault. They do an intial credit report, continuously monitor your credit and employ Licensesd Investigators that will work on your behalf when you need it most. All at a very affordable cost, usually less the $13 a month.

For more information about this great service please contact Glenn Reible at 480.272.0899 or email him at identitytheftsource@cox.net. Tell him Jay at RE/MAX sent you!

As we know not all companies are created equal and the one you choose to help improve your score is very important. One thing I know for sure is most of us do not understand our scores or how they can be repaired. Recently I’ve formed an alliance with a company that does credit score repair and I have to say they do it right and for a reasonable amount of money. If you would like their information please contact me directly.

Did you know that if you pay off a collection from 3 or more years ago, you can actually hurt your credit score? Doesn’t seem to make sense does it? The reason behind this is the majority of your score is calculated on the last 24 months and when you make that payoff you update the collection and now it shows active in the last 24 months thus lowering your score. Usually at the worst time…when you are getting approved for a loan.

Instead you should make this a condition at closing. This allows you to make the payoff at closing after the loan has been approved based on the credit score at that time. Now of course the payoff will still hurt your score but you’ve already closed on the new home.

How about credit card limits? At what point does it make sense to keep credit cards opened and with a balance? Most companies agree that anything over 75% of your limit will lower your score but at what point does it help? Most say just getting your revolving balances under 50% can increase your score by 60 points within a few months. Those points can make a difference between getting the home of your dreams or not. If nothing else it could force you to accept a higher interest rate.

When it comes to buying and selling real estate there are many techniques that you can do to actually hurt your chances and many things I can help you overcome. This is why it’s so important to use the services of a competent REALTOR and loan officer.

For more on how to improve your credit score please email me at Jay@ValleyREAdvisor.com and I’d be happy to send you a detailed list of items that will help.

Do we really understand how our credit scores are figured? Some of us think if we have little to no credit that helps keep our scores high, some think having a lot of credit lines helps keep them high and some of us really don’t understand what goes into a credit score. If you fall into that last group, it’s time you find out. This affects everything from buying a home or car all the way to how much your homeowners and car insurance costs.

Here’s a break down of how our scores are created:

1. Payment history- 35%.  This takes into account both adverse payment history as well as time they have been open and if they were ever late.
2. Amounts owed- 30%.  They take into account the amount owed in relationship to the total limit and even the lack of balances
3. Length of credit history- 15%.  How long have you had an account and what activity you’ve had on the accounts.
4. New Credit- 10%.  Not a big determining factor but you would not want to have a lot of “new credit lines” in a short amount of time.
5. Types of Credit Used- 10%.  Another small factor but having a lot of any one type (credit cards, loans, etc.) is not a good thing.

There are many factors when it comes to figuring your credit score but one thing’s for sure-you want your score above 680. Most mortgage companies are raising the minimum score to aquire their best programs with the lower rates. Recent changes in the lending world even penalizes you if you are below that score.

For more on how to improve your credit score pelase email me at Jay@ValleyREAdvisor.com and I’d be happy to send you a detailed list of items that will help.