With so many incentives to buy a home, now is by no doubt, the time to buy. With lenders tightening their guidelines, you might want to be sure you have your finances in check.
With brand new federal regulations, this will help you understand how it will benefit you and tame your credit card debt. The bad news, is because of this government intervention you might have already seen a rise in your interest rates. This is from Red Book Magazine
1. They can’t raise interest rates on debt you’ve already racked up. They can if you are more than 60 days late on these payments. So pay your cards on time!
2. If your card charges you different interest rates (say, 14% for existing balances, and 2% for balance transfers), they must apply your payments to the debt carrying the highest rates first. So the faster you pay it off, the more money you save.
3. They can’t raise your rates if they find out you’ve been late on other credit cards or loans. This doesn’t mean you credit score will not be affected, which can eventually lead to higher interest rates. Your best bet is just to pay it on time.
4. You can no longer go over your credit limit and be charged the subsequent fees- unless you notify your credit card company in writing that you’d like to spend more than your limit. So don’t spend more than your limit.
5. They will tell you on your bill how long it will take to pay off your debt and how much it will cost you, including interest, if you pay only the minimum each month. This will be an eye opener, and a hard lesson for many. Pay more than the minimum or you could possible pay on this card longer than your house mortgage.
6. Those under 21years old won’t be able to get a credit card unless they show proof of income or get an adult to cosign. I think this is the smartest law of all! When I was in college, you would sign your life away for a free t-shirt or can coozie. All adults over the age of 21 take note…DON’T COSIGN
Generally, when real estate owners start selling property, a fast and efficient sale is just as important as acquiring a profit. There are several tips out there on how to sell quickly but they may not be for you. Some methods for a quick sale may be too costly or just not something you are willing to do. This article covers just a few of the tips out there such as staging, quality photographs, and companies that purchase homes.
You ask, I can sell my house immediately?
A lot of people are convinced that properly staging your home is the best way to sell your home quickly and if money is not an issue, you want to consider hiring a professional stager. They will go through your home and analyze what needs to be done and then do it. Sometimes this can just be eliminating clutter. Other times this can entail a fresh coat of paint or redecorating.
In some instances a stager may recommend that you remodel a portion of your home, but the level of staging that you undergo really depends on your budget and the amount of time you have available to put the house on the market.
Another way of selling your house quick is to make sure that it is marketed with lots of quality pictures. With a lot of houses on the market, buyers can find themselves overwhelmed with the amount of property to look at.
Often time is of the essence for the buyer as well. They do not want to waste their time looking at homes that they are not interested in. As a result, hiring a photographer to take quality interior and exterior photographs can ensure that the buyers who come to look at the house are really interested and not there just to get a better look.
Taking several pictures of the exterior as well as shots of all the interior rooms is the best way to go about it. The buyer can have a virtual tour of the house through the pictures. If they are interested it is certain that the level of interest is much higher and can eliminate timely revisits.
If you are thinking about selling your Fort Mill SC home, Sharon Salisbury has the knowledge, experience, and ability to help you get a quick sale for top dollar!
Filed under Home Sellers, Marketing, Sell Your Home by 
In July, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities rose 1.2 percent from June’s number to a reading of 143.05. Although home prices are still 13.3 percent below last July’s figures a year ago, the study also shows that the annual declines have slowed in all 20 cities for the sixth straight month.
Now, although this is certainly some encouraging news, home prices overall are still down roughly 33% from the numbers from mid-July 2006. So while we are starting to see some improvements in the housing market overall, there’s still a very long way to go before things are completely back.
The report shows that with the exception of the Las Vegas, Detroit, and Seattle areas home prices are rising across the country and I would say that that’s the trend I’m seeing here in the Fort Mill SC and Rock Hill SC area.
Yes, it’s still very much a buyer’s market, but you can slowly see home prices starting to increase ever so slightly. We’ve been very fortunate in that home prices never really took the nose dive experienced by other markets, but home buyer confidence is certainly returning which in turn means homes are selling closer to asking price than previously.
Hopefully this trend will continue, not just in the Fort Mill SC area, but nationwide as well. Home sales has always been a bit of a barometer of how well the economy is doing so the better the home market is, the better off our economy is!
Filed under Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Market Trends, News Reports by
Thinking about selling your Fort Mill SC or Rock Hill SC home? If so, it’s important to make sure your home appeals to the buyers that will be coming through your house.
Here’s a quick video that shares some simple home staging tips that can help you sell your home faster:
Filed under Decorating Ideas, Home Sellers by
Given the turbulent housing market this past year or so has led to an obvious increase in the number of foreclosures across the country, and even here in our backyard in Fort Mill SC and Rock Hill SC. This means an increased inventory of homes available for purchase, which in turn means lower home prices for both those buying and selling real estate.
Well, while a foreclosure is the worst possible scenario for someone that has fallen behind on their mortgage payments and it’s something you want to avoid if all possible, there are other options. One of those options is something called a ‘short sale’.
As it relates to real estate, a short sale essentially means the lender has agreed to allow the home to be sold for LESS than what is actually owed. Now, not all homes qualify for a short sale simply because not all lenders will allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed on it.
If you’re in a situation where you feel like you’re about to lose your home, investigating the possibility of selling it via a short sale might be a good option, but as with everything in life you MUST do your own due diligence.
You certainly want to consult with your accountant and an attorney familiar with real estate short sales. You’ll find a great list of steps you could expect to have to take in order to sell your home via short sale right HERE.
On the buying side, purchasing a home via a short sale is much, much less certain a process than buying an average home listed for sale. You’d be wise to consult with a qualified real estate agent that has some experience working with real estate short sales.
If you have any questions about either selling your home via a short sale or purchasing a home via a short sale, I have experience in both so please don’t hesitate to CONTACT ME.
Filed under Buy Your Dream House, Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Sell Your Home by
