The Lowdown on Loans – What Determines Your Mortgage Rate? Understanding mortgage loans and interest rates can be confusing and frustrating for many homebuyers. It doesn’t help that most advertised rates are just a marketing ploy to lure you in! In fact, a lender looks at several factors to determine an interest rate based on […]

Should You Use 401k Money for a Down Payment? Did you know that you can borrow money to buy a home from yourself if you have a 401k plan? Getting a 401k loan is one way to get additional money toward a down payment.  It’s a lump sum of money that is already yours — […]

The 10 “Credit Score” Commandments  How to Get Your Credit Score Up — Week 4 This series shines a light on the importance of your credit score when buying a home. Most buyers need to take out a mortgage, and that’s when your finances become an open book. Lenders will need to gauge if you’re […]

3 Common Mistakes that Lower Credit Scores How to Get Your Credit Score Up — Week 3 Having a high credit score is important all the time, whether you are buying a home anytime soon or not.  Your FICO score and credit report are so vital to getting any type of loan, and this series […]

Demystifying Your Credit Score How to Get Your Credit Score Up — Week 2 Having a high credit score is important all the time, whether you are buying a home anytime soon or not.  Your FICO score and credit report are so vital to getting any type of loan, and this series will give you […]

Why Having a Credit Card Helps Your Credit Having a high credit score is important all the time, whether you are buying a home anytime soon or not.  Your FICO score and credit report are so vital to getting any type of loan, and this series will give you the financial strategies you need to […]

Prep Now to Buy a Home Later This Year Buying a home takes a lot of preparation and planning. It’s important to get your finances in order and other tasks done before you even start house hunting! Keep in mind that this early stage of the buying process doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time on […]

How to Get the Best Interest Rate for YOU When it comes to getting a mortgage, it’s easy to focus on the interest rate.  But, if you only focus on the interest rate, you might be missing some “hidden” fees that makes getting that interest rate more expensive.  That sounds counterproductive but it isn’t. Several […]

Don’t Press Your Luck – Avoid These 6 Mistakes When Buying Your First Home It’s both exciting and a little scary to buy your first home. That feeling of nervousness and not knowing what to expect is normal!   But, what you don’t want to rely on during this process is luck or chance.  Everyone […]

Should You or Shouldn’t You Avoid PMI? How to Get the Best Mortgage Series – Week 8 Follow this series to learn how to get the best mortgage for your specific financial situation and goals. You’ll see what steps you need to take throughout this process to make it productive and successful. This week you’ll […]