Jeff Hansen - King Condo

FAQ's Category

Is It Better To Rent Or Better To Buy?

What I’ve come to realize in my 18 years as a realtor, people either rent or they own. It may seem easier and cheaper to rent, but what people forget about are the benefits that come with owning. This article explains that even when home values aren’t at their highest, owning your property proves to be a better decision than renting from a landlord. Leave a comment below about your experiences with buying versus renting.

How Much Of A Role Does Credit Play In Purchasing A Home?

Lender Dave Setti of Turnkey Mortgage does a fantastic job of breaking down the different aspects of credit and how each of those aspects play a role in purchasing a home. Read below in his article of the “Five Factors of Credit Scoring.”

Five Factors of Credit Scoring

Not to put too fine a point on it, CREDIT IS KING! When it comes to buying a home, yes a lender want you to put some money down and have a solid income. But credit comes before down payment and income every time. Why you say? Simple: if you have a low income, you can always get a co-signer. If you have no down payment, you can always get a gift. However, if you have poor credit, you have to work for months, sometimes years, to erase the damage you have done. Remember, the best indicator of whether you will pay your bills in the future is whether or not you have paid your bills in the past! So what are the factors that make up your credit score?

Credit scores are comprised of five factors. Points are awarded for each component, and a high score is most favorable. The factors are listed below in order of importance.

1. PAYMENT HISTORY – 35% IMPACT
Paying debt on time and in full has the greatest positive impact on your credit score. Late payments, judgments and charge-offs all have a negative impact. Delinquencies that have occurred in the last two years carry more weight than older items.

2. OUTSTANDING CREDIT CARD BALANCES – 30% IMPACT
This factor marks the ratio between the outstanding balance and available credit. Ideally, the consumer should make an effort to keep balances as close to zero as possible, and definitely below 30% of the available credit limit at least 2-3 months prior to trying to purchase a home.

3. CREDIT HISTORY – 15% IMPACT
This portion of the credit score indicates the length of time since a particular credit line was established. A seasoned borrower will always be stronger in this area.

4. TYPE OF CREDIT – 10% IMPACT
A mix of auto loans, credit cards and mortgages is more positive than a concentration of debt from credit cards only. You should always have 1-2 open major credit card accounts.

5. INQUIRIES – 10% IMPACT
This percentage of the credit score quantifies the number of inquiries made on a consumer’s credit within a twelve-month period. Each hard inquiry can cost from two to 25 points on a credit score, depending on the amount of points someone has left in this factor. Note that if you pull your credit report yourself, it will have no effect on your score.

Was this article helpful? If you have any other questions about this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Curious As To Who Pays What Closing Costs?

I’ve helped many people both clients and non-clients with a variety of questions they’ve had. One question is who pays for closing costs? Sometimes they don’t ask this question because let’s face it, during the midst of finding their dream home, they have so many things running through their mind that they forget. Hopefully this will help you as a buyer, seller, agent, or anyone for that matter to have the ability to answer this question with ease.

Depending on the county, closing costs for a real estate transaction must be paid either by the buyer, the seller, or both. It’s important as a party in a transaction to be well aware of who pays for what. By clicking here, you can find out these exact details for every county in California. For example, if you are purchasing the perfect condo downtown, as a buyer you should know that the seller pays for a majority of the closing costs.  Purchasing a home is, for most people, the biggest transaction they will have made in their entire life, and this gem of a document shows exactly who pays for what in closing costs. Don’t forget to Subscribe!

Why Won’t Your House Sell?

This is a great article on the common problems that stand in the way of a house selling within a decent time period at a decent price. We all know that there are many reasons as to why selling a home can be time-intensive  and perhaps a little difficult whether you are an agent or a homeowner. But have you figured out why it’s taking so for yor home to get sold? Here are your answers… Read the rest of this entry »