Hate the Game Not the Players

CREDIT GAME
You can hate the credit game all you want, but if you don't watch your credit scores, you could spiral down into a deep hole of well...nothing, because you can't buy anything without some credit history or established credit. Love or hate the game, you need to have something to prove you can play the game and play it well. You don't have to be a master, you just need to understand the simple rules of establishing and maintaining decent credit scores.

Credit is a HUGE part of buying a home. Even if you have cash to throw down for a house, you might not WANT to put all your cash down for a big purchase unless you have an endless stream of that cash flow (And if you have that endless stream of cash, call me, I have some great homes to sell you!) A majority of us don't come from "old" George Dubya money, have a money tree in our backyard and probably are not self made millionaires, yet. And if you are, then you not only MASTERED the credit game, you are pretty much RUNNING the credit game. So, kudos to you!! (Call me!-- Think index finger to ear with pinky to mouth with slight knee bend, the heal to bootie kind)

Real Estate Agents really need  buyer clients to be pre-qualified for a home loan before we can go house hunting. In order to get that pre-qualification letter, we will refer you to our favorite lender, the lender will be the one who can pull your credit numbers. Your credit numbers come from 3 credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experianand TransUnion*. Once your lender checks (or pulls) your credit, they will determine how much moola you can borrow to purchase a home. It's like applying for a credit card and then the credit card company gives you a maximum dollar amount that you can spend with that credit card. Borrowers will need to prove income by pay stubs, tax forms, bank statements and so on. When you are going through the lending process you will feel that you are about to give away your first born (or future first born)  to get into a home!! This is the part of the game where people really feel the pressure and stress levels escalate.  Understandably so, but you don't want to get into a house payment where you end up living for your mortgage. ( more on that in a future post) If you are working with a diligent lender and real estate agent  (wink, wink) ask them all the questions you need to feel good about the process.  The lender knows the credit game and the real estate know the real estate game...but you need to listen to the advice these two are giving you to make the best informed decision for you and your family.

AIN'T NOTHIN' GOIN' ON BUT THE RENT
Remember that song? (if not, click on the link!)  
Totally dating myself but that is a great song, right?! Think you can have no or bad credit and rent a house or apartment? Guess again. In three years of working as a real estate agent, I have recently witnessed rental applicants get turned down due to stronger applications that were submitted on the same property. What that usually means, is that another applicant has better credit than the other applicants. Those who have investment properties are savvy when it comes to deciding on who can live in their houses and pay them rent. Rightly so. These are investment properties meaning that people buy homes and then turn around rent them out for a few years (which is income for the homeowner) and when they need or want to sell them they will typically make a pretty good return on their investment. If you are thinking about renting a home, check your credit scores on web sites like these:

•  http://www.creditchecktotal.com/
•  https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action.

In the past, I have recommended creditkarma.com  but was told that you don't get a full picture of your credit score with creditkarma.com. There is also another whole conversation regarding soft credit pulls vs hard credit pulls. Basically, when we use these consumer sights we are doing a soft credit pull and when a lender (or car dealership) pulls your credit it is called a hard credit pull. Got it?!!

So, this class I took last week about credit and cleaning up credit, I learned some interesting statistics about the credit scoring:

• 35% of your credit score is your PAYMENT HISTORY
• 30% is the AMOUNT OWED 
• 15% is the LENGTH OF CREDIT HISTORY
• 10% is new credit
• 10% is TYPES OF CREDIT USED

Cool graphic to support the bulleted list: 

Source for above info click HERE!

Nutshell version  RULES of the  CREDIT GAME
If you want to get approved for a mortgage loan, you have to have some established GOOD credit, a J-O-B to prove income, bank statements to prove you are getting paid from your job, tax records to show that the money you have put in the bank is coming from your place of employment and then some more proof of income. Then a little more proof that you are not going to be fired from your job and then show your taxes again and then sign a waiver that if you are lying about all the documentation that you just provided, the bank will get full custody of your first born child. (slight exaggeration obviously,  but that is pretty much how it feels when you are going through the process!)

EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEASY
It all seems easy enough, right? Well, think again. One would think that this is an game of luck or chance, but it isn't. It is literally a game where one has to prove that you can have access to a large sum of money, use that money and then make timely payments on the money you have used. The winner of the game is one who spends the right amount of money that is available to them and pays it off on the correct date and with the correct amount EACH time. How can anyone screw this plan up you ask? EASY. It's called LIFE. Sometimes one can lose a job or get injured and not be able to do the job you were hired to do or another life changing event occurs and you are set back financially for a while. We all experience these situations, and, if you have NEVER  had a financial set back contact me. My number is 480-226-7436. Call me! (see above)

I DON'T PLAY THE CREDIT CARD GAME, CAMILLE
That is FANTASTIC! That is a great way to live your life.  You won't have any debt, you only spend the money that you have and you will NEVER be in a financial mess. Which is a great theory. Just like all theories, there are some faults. If you have an endless stream of cash, this is a fantastic way to live. If you don't have a money tree, a rich relative, or money literally coming out of your ears, you will have to establish some type of credit history to make a major purchase such as a home. Somewhere along the road of life you will learn that you will not want to spend all your cash on one big purchase.  All the Dave Ramsey fans will be barking up my tree and down the other, but unless you have Dave Ramsey's bank account and cash flow, I will be introducing you to a great lender that I know...

I CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP
So here are the sources that I used to write this post:
*http://www.usa.gov/topics/money/credit/credit-reports/bureaus-scoring.shtml

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Ain't Nothing Going On But the Rent, click to listen to this classic!

 http://www.creditchecktotal.com/ &

 https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action.

*Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a professional writer nor am I am proficient in where to place commas, when to italicize (or is it appropriate to italicize or use parenthesis?) and that my sentences are grammatically correct. I am merely releasing all the thoughts that are in my brain and sharing them with you. If you enjoy my posts GREAT but I know they are written with many errors. Taking a creative writing class or a grammar class is next on my “to do” list. I promise. I also like to use double exclamation points!!!! (sometimes more than 2 and sometime a question mark and exclamation point!) I am also NOT a licensend mortgage lender, property manager, credit expert or anything of that nature.. This is strictly "good info" to know regarding Real Estate as I learn it on the job!

Post Tensioned Slabs

Every chance I get, I love to learn about residential home construction. As a Realtor, I spend my time marketing my business, working with clients, talking to lenders, talking to other realtors, interacting with title companies but I don't have many opportunities to learn about the construction of a home. And don't you think it is important that a Realtor knows the most basic of information about homes if I am hired to help purchase or sell a home? I feel it is very important. Sometimes the most obvious things are not so obvious. Sometimes the things you see on a daily basis mean nothing to you or have no impact on you, until you understand the importance of why you see something so mundane as a simple phrase stamped on the garage floor in the cement of every home that was constructed beginning in the mid 1990's. "DO NOT DRILL OR CORE/POST TENSIONED SLAB" means absolutely nothing to most people. Beware! It has a very huge consequence if you drill the cement foundation of a home that bears that stamp. 

During the most recent home inspection I attended, the home inspector described what a post tensioned slab is to the home buyers. I knew so little about house construction that I never paid attention to what that stamp meant until I started selling homes. Each time that I help a client make a home purchase I take notes during the home inspection summary. The summary session takes place after the inspector has done his inspection and he goes through the house, room by room, electric outlet by electric outlet and shows the client what he found during his inspection. This inspection, there was a lot of conversation surrounding post tensioned  slabs. 

Don't worry if you don't know what a post tensioned slab is, I didn't either until I sat through enough home inspections with clients and inspectors that now it is almost common knowledge to me! You see this wording all the time on the floor of a garage in homes and probably don't think twice about what it means. Basically, if you drill a hole in the cement foundation (not just the floor of your garage, but don't drill in any part of your flooring in your home) you will  ruin the entire home. Literally, the home will have to be torn down and be built again from the ground up. 

So what is this post tensioned slab? Basically, before pouring a cement foundation, cables are tightly stretched the length of the home by the width of the home. These cables are what the concrete for the foundation is poured into. By pouring the concrete in these cables will reduce the amount of cracks that occur in a structure over time. 

Here is what the Post Tension Institute says about post tensioned slabs: 

"Post-tensioned slabs-on-ground provide a cost-efficient, high-performance solution for problems associated with ground-supported residential foundations on shrink-swell soils. The compressive stresses resist the anticipated tension stresses induced by the soil movements, enhancing the performance over a non-prestressed foundation. Cost benefits are achieved by reductions in quantities of concrete, steel and excavations, which in turn reduce labor costs.

In less expansive soils, a uniform thickness foundation is utilized. Typical thickness ranges from 7.5- to 12-inches and any increases in material quantities are compensated by reductions in labor and equipment costs. With the elimination of stiffening ribs, a post-tensioned foundation can be constructed rapidly eliminating labor and equipment to dig the ribs and dispose of excavations. This is a substantial benefit in sandy soils where trenches require shoring. Post-tensioned foundations are also used in areas with stable soils to reduce cracking, reduce or eliminate control joints, increase flexural capacity and improve constructability. Reducing the control joints also improves the serviceability and eliminates durability problems."
LINK to the source: http://www.post-tensioning.org/wpt-slab-on-ground.php

There is also great info as the advantages of a post tensioned slab:

Advantages of using post-tensioning for your next slab-on-ground project:

• Stronger/more efficient: Less concrete and steel are needed for the same structural capacity and the slab stiffness is increased so that the slab is better able to resist bending caused by differential soil movements.

• Minimizes and Controls Cracking: Post-tensioning will  reduce cracking and keep any cracks that might form tight, preventing entry of insects and reducing possible water penetration, which can damage flooring and cause mold problems.

• Controls deflections: The strength and added stiffness of a post-tensioned foundation reduces the amount the slab will bend under load.

• Faster Installation: With fewer pieces to handle and less concrete to place, a post-tensioned slab can often be installed more quickly than a comparable rebar- or wire mesh-reinforced slab

• More Reliable: An engineered solution, post-tensioning is designed to exacting standards and code requirements, has an excellent performance record and offers increased reliability.

•       Economical: Cost benefits are achieved by reductions in quantities of concrete, steel and excavation, which in turn reduce labor costs. Beams are smaller and slab thickness is less, therefore savings in excavation and site preparation are possible.

Link to source: http://www.post-tensioning.org/sog-advantages.php


Isn't this cool information? I think so and know that secretly you do too! 


Until next time peeps! 
Camille


*Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a professional writer nor am I am proficient in where to place commas, when to italicize (or is it appropriate to italicize or use parenthesis?) and that my sentences are grammatically correct. I am merely releasing all the thoughts that are in my brain and sharing them with you. If you enjoy my posts GREAT but I know they are written with many errors. Taking a creative writing class or a grammar class is next on my “to do” list. I promise. I also like to use double exclamation points!!!! (sometimes more than 2!) I am also NOT a licensed contractor, home builder or anything of that nature. This is strictly "good info" to know regarding Real Estate as I learn it on the job!