| PERFECT STARTER HOME!!! This cute home boasts an open concept with the master suite downstairs. The home has plenty of storage space and is low maintenance on outdoor work. | ||||||||
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2 Bedroom Home Near Downtown Dallas – FOR SALE
| FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER DELIGHT!!! If you are a first time homeowner looking for low maintenance this is the ideal home. This cute home boasts an open concept that makes your first home an easy investment. Downstairs include the living and kitchen space with a half bathroom for guests. All kitchen appliances are included which makes this home an easy move-in. Master bedroom has a separate area in it for a small office or reading area. | ||||||||
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Why You Should Be Interested in the Housing Market?
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| Maybe it’s time to Move Up |
If the starter home you started with has started to seem too small, maybe it’s time to move up. Here are three reasons why you should be interested in the housing market as a seller. Yes just three.
1. Equity
Chances are, your home has appreciated in value. Now is the time to capitalize on the equity that you have made in your home. Here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, there are major corporations moving there headquarters to the area. Homes will be needed and homes can sell quickly for a great profit. Why not take the equity in your home to gain a profit and purchase another home? Who knows, the home you purchase could possibly be paid in full in cash or with a large down payment.
2. Payment
Did you ever imagine that your home would appreciate enough to finance the home you’ve always dreamed of? Here’s the time to take advantage of today’s historically low interest rates. You can have the chance to double the size of your home while still paying the same payment as you did in your old home. This is a win-win for families who need more space but at the same mortgage payment they pay now. How can you say no to that? More space for the same amount of money.
3. Lifestyle
For sellers, you have grown accustomed to your neighborhood. Your children love their schools in the neighborhood. When moving up, you can afford to buy a newer home in the neighborhood or live in the new subdivision that still feeds into the schools your children currently go to.
Owning a home is an accidental investment. Why not take the time to see how much you have in your investment? The inventory is low for buyers and now is the time to put your home on the market for more serious buyers. It is known that people who search for a home in the fall and winter are serious buyers. Think about it, who would search for a home in cold weather conditions (well maybe just cool because this is the Dallas area)if they weren’t serious?
Want to know the value of your home? Click here to find out how much your home is worth.
Could you use $20,000 to purchase your new home?
You could if you were purchasing a home from the City of Dallas Mortgage Assistance Program called Dallas MAP. This program is a down payment assistance that helps families purchase homes in the Dallas city limits. The $20,000 incentive is special for the community housing and development organization (CHDO) projects. These projects are newly constructed homes from 2011 to present in revitalized areas of Dallas. Now doesn’t that sound like a sweet incentive? Another bonus is that the $20,000 is a forgivable grant. Each year that you reside in the home the grant is forgiven and you never have to pay that percentage back until the specified time allotment of living in the home. That’s almost 10-15% down on a newly constructed home with closing costs. Now where else can you get a deal that sweet? Check the chart below to see if you qualify.
ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME
| INCOME RANGE | 80% OR BELOW |
| MAXIMUM SUBSIDY | UP TO $8,500/$10,000/$20,000 |
| HOUSEHOLD SIZE | HOUSEHOLD INCOME |
| 1 | $38,050 |
| 2 | $43,450 |
| 3 | $48,900 |
| 4 | $54,300 |
| 5 | $58,650 |
| 6 | $63,000 |
| 7 | $67,350 |
| 8 | $71,700 |
| 9 | $76,000 |
These deals don’t last long and that includes the low interest rates that are being offered for mortgages. Schedule an appointment with me today!
Family Activities for Halloween
It is almost time for the scariest part of the year and I have some family friendly events that will help you celebrate. Lately, I have noticed parents searching for kid-friendly and safe alternatives to the “trick or treat” phenomenon that is Halloween. Below I have listed different events happening near the Lewisville area. Take a look at nearby places. Where will you and your family be celebrating at?
Hall’s Pumpkin Farm – Grapevine, TX – Open all October
11:00 am – 8:00 pm – Hayrides start at Noon.
Welcome to Hall’s Pumpkin Farm, where families from all over Tarrant County and beyond come to enjoy an old fashion fall celebration. Every October, our family celebrates the harvest by inviting folks to visit our farm. We’ve got pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, gourds, hay bales and corn stalks galore! Our amazing Corn Maze is always an adventure….are YOU up to the challenge? Located in historic Grapevine – our farm is nestled between Dallas and Ft. Worth, just west of DFW airport. So, ya’ll come on out!
The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch – Double Oak Ranch – 5100 Cross Timbers Rd (Flower Mound )
Jan Balekian and The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch invite you to join the fun each fall at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch on the Double Oak Ranch. We are open from October 1st through October 31st from 9am to 7pm. You will find hundreds of pumpkins to choose from, cornstalks, hay bales, baked goods, and refreshments.
OCTOBER 18, 2014 – Fall Festival, Haunted House & Free Beer Tasting – Castle Hills Shops & Village (Lewisville)
Haunted House, Beer Tasting & Chili Cook-off 4:00 – 7:00 PM | KIWANIS HAUNTED HOUSE 5:00 – 7:00 PM | PROGRESSIVE BEER TASTING* & CHILI COOK-OFF
You won’t want to miss this year’s Fall Festival at the Village Shops. This year will feature a six-pony carousel, a longhorn photo-op, face painters, carnival games, hay rides, a petting zoo, arts & crafts by The Enchanted Artist, cookie decorating by I Like Big Bundts, pumpkin patch, photo booth and costume trunk! Live music will be provided by Manny and the Gringoderos. Two $100 Williams-Sonoma® gift cards will be given away, so don’t forget to stop by the registration table. Also available will be free candy apples for the first 100 people and food for purchase. Pumpkins will be sold by the Women’s Club of Castle Hills, and all contributions will go to one of their charitable efforts. The Kiwanis Haunted House will open at 4 p.m. and will be $5 for everyone. The 4th Annual Progressive Beer Tasting* will begin at 5 p.m. Participating merchants will offer free beer tasting and will hold a chili cook-off at their stores! You can purchase chili cook-off tickets at Castle Hills Chiropractic. *Valid ID required. Must be 21 or older for beer tasting.
October 18, 2014 – Coppell Oak Fest – 5pm – 9pm -Andy Brown Community Park East- 260 E. Parkway Blvd.
Join us for the annual Coppell Oak Fest, an event that will carry on for years to come. The theme celebrates life in Coppell being as diverse as the oak trees. The city of Coppell logo includes oak branches representing the city’s most prominent trees, longevity, and additionally, the oak wood used to build the railroad ties that put Coppell on the map. Building on our community’s roots and growing strength, we pause for an evening of community fun, live music, and fellowship.
Free Family Activities
Miniature Train Rides, Face Painting, Live Bands, Bounce Houses, Food Vendors…TOO MUCH FUN TO MISS! Band performance by the Limelight band and show performances by Professor Brainius.
Food
Kettle corn, BBQ Sandwiches, Chips and Drinks, Turkey legs, Funnel Cakes, Hamburgers, Roasted Corn on the Cob, Hot dogs, Nachos and more! Bring a picnic or enjoy some local food from a variety of vendors. Alcohol is not permitted inside City of Coppell Parks.
Parking is available in the parking lot by Kid Country, Town Center and Andrew Brown Community Park West and Central – just a trail walk away!
Halloween ComicFest – Lewisville Public Library – Saturday, Oct. 25 – Youth Services Desk
Children ages 5 and up can pick up a free mini-comic book at the Youth Services Desk while supplies last.
Spooktacular Trails and Glow Run Extravaganza – Saturday, Oct. 25, 5-9 p.m. – Toyota of Lewisville Railroad Park
Join Lewisville Parks and Leisure Services at the annual Spooktacular Trails and Glow Run Extravaganza on Sponsors and vendors will be at the free event for children to “trick-or-treat.”
Sponsors, vendors and community organizations will provide activities at their booths for children to enjoy. Featured activities include a kid-friendly haunted house, carnival games, face painting, Glow 5K Run/Monster Mile and a ghostly hayride. The ghostly hayride closes at 7:45 p.m.
Children and adults dressed in their Halloween best are invited to enter the Walgreens-sponsored digital costume contest. Registration is not required. The top five favorite costumes in each category will be posted on the city website on Monday, Oct. 27, for the public to vote for their top three. Contest categories are for ages 2 years & under, 3-5 years, 6-9 years, 10-12 years and 13-adult. Voting will close Sunday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. Prizes will be given to the top three winners for each category. All contestant pictures will be available for purchase beginning Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Walgreens. Pictures will be available at the Walgreens location on S. Valley Parkway and Round Grove Road in Lewisville.
The Glow 5K/Monster Mile is an off-road course loaded with spooky surprises. Participants are encouraged to come dressed with their favorite glow products. The Monster Mile starts at 8:15 p.m., with the 5K beginning at 8:30 p.m. Each participant will receive a shirt, medal, bib and two glow products to wear during race. Runners age 7 and younger must be accompanied by a registered, paid adult. Strollers are not permitted on the race course. Registration is required to enter race. There is a separate fee to enter the Glow 5K Run and Monster Mile.
A free shuttle will run from the various parking lots at Toyota of Lewisville Railroad Park. Food and drinks will be on sale at the concessions area.
For more event details, call staff at Frederick P. Herring Recreation Center at 972.219.3560 or Memorial Park Recreation Center at 972.219.5061.
Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat – Sunday,October 26, 4pm – 6pm – Vista Ridge United Methodist Church (Lewisville)
Fall Festival – Westside Baptist Chuch – October 26 – 4pm (Lewisville)
Family Fright Night – Saturday, October 25 – Sunday, October 26 – 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m.- Stewart Creek Park – 3700 Sparks Rd., (The Colony)
Don’t miss the 8th annual Family Fright Night family Halloween campout at Stewart Creek Park. Join us for a haunted trail, tent trick or treating, costume and scream contests, scary movie, hayride, campfire, s’mores and great food. This event has limited enrollment and fills quickly, so don’t delay. Registration begins October 1. For more information, please contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 972-625-1106.
Are there any festivals or events that you would recommend? Please feel free to share.
Why Rent When You Can Own?: 2801 and 2829 South
TUESDAY TIP: THE COST OF RENTING
Why Rent When You Can Own? If you’re close to paying at least $1000 a month in rent, you could be owning. Here’s a look at the cost of renting in this video.
10 Step Guide to Buying Your Home
If you follow my social media pages (Facebook & Twitter), then you may have seen me tweet about the ten steps to buying your home from Realtor.com. Below you can find each step that you will need when purchasing your first home.
You can bookmark this page and research each step as you make your transition through the housing process.
Step 1: Are You Ready to Buy a Home
It is best to do a mental and financial check to make sure that you are indeed truly ready to be a homeowner.
Step 2: Hire A Realtor
It is always best to hire someone who has your best interest put forth. A buyer’s agent will help you through the process. When I work with buyers, I make sure they understand how the process works, deliver them all options, and make them extra confident about purchasing their first home. You should always have someone to represent you in the home buying process even if you decide to build your home.
Step 3: Get A Mortgage Pre-Approval
Before any Realtor takes you to view homes, they will want to know that you are pre-approved. Without having a pre-approval you are basically dreaming on a wish. It is best to know what you can afford based on your finances. I would suggest you go a step forward and see how much you can afford based on your net income.
Ex: Gross Monthly Income – $3000
Net Income (Take Home Pay) – $2,550
Gross Annual Income – $36,000
Net Annual Income – $30,600
Home Price You Should Buy – $92,000
The lender will only take in account to the debt being reported on your credit report. If it isn’t reported on your credit report (electricity, cell phone, gas, car maintenance and insurance, etc), then it won’t be calculated in what your monthly bills. Take that into play when purchasing your home. A rule of thumb is that your mortgage shouldn’t be more than 30% of your income. Based on this scenario, that range would be between $765- $900.
Step 4: Look at Homes
Now that the financial piece has been squared away, you are ready to search for homes that meet your price range.
Step 5: Choose Your Home
Base your home search on 3-5 things that you must have. Please take into consideration that if you are looking for an open concept, that can easily be adjusted if the wall can be knocked out. Don’t let small cosmetic things like ugly carpet, wallpaper, or paint colors stop you from purchasing a home. Cosmetic things can be changed in as little time as a weekend and sweat equity.
Step 6: Make An Offer
This is why you hired a Realtor. Your Realtor will help you determine the price to set your offer at and what conditions to ask for.
Step 7: Stay Mortgage Approved
Once you have decided on your home to buy and your offer has been accepted, it is time to do due diligence. Just because you have a pre-approval, DOES NOT mean you have been approved on a home loan. The pre-approval is just to say that a lender has checked your information and you can purchase a home in the select price range. In order to stay mortgage approved, you have to keep your debt to income ratio in the same position as you did when getting pre-approved. During this time of the process, don’t go buy a new car, new appliances, new furniture, or default on a credit card (yes this list can go on because this has happened before). Wait to buy these items when you have signed the closing documents and have the keys to the home in your hand.
Step 8: Protect Yourself…Get Insurance
Just as you need car insurance as a requirement to own and operate a car, you will need homeowner’s insurance to own your home too. This is no getting out of this one. I would suggest you start with your insurance carrier that you have car insurance with or even renter’s insurance. Some insurance companies offer discounts when you setup a bundle with them. (TIP: If you are apart of any organizations, see if your insurance company offers discounts with them. I was able to use my sorority to get a discount with my insurance company).
Step 9: You’ve Made It to Closing Day
You have finally made it to the closing day. You have exhausted yourself to find the perfect home and now it is almost time to achieve that reality.
Step 10: I’m A Homeowner
You are officially a part of the homeowner club. You have to make sure that you maintain your home. If you see a neighbor whose yard is decreasing your home value, be neighborly and charge a fee to keep it cut for them. See I’ve helped you create a small hustle in the neighborhood. You can also volunteer to do it as well.
These ten steps will help you prepare for purchasing your first home. If you or someone you know is ready to get the train rolling on purchasing your home, contact me today.
HELLO FALL
Fall is here and unfortunately in Texas we cannot tell the difference. I will definitely take high 80 and low 90 degrees weather any day in the South. Fall is one of the most celebrated seasons with the trendy fashions but what about your home?
For myself, I enjoy changing my home decor according to the season. Every room has a theme because I want to explore different moods when I walk into certain rooms. Take a look at some fall home decor looks that I’ve created on my Pinterest board. How do you decorate your home for the fall season?
Rebuilding Your Credit Part 2
Thanks for coming back for part two of the rebuilding your credit discussion. Part one was an introduction to rebuilding your credit. Part two will help you center your attention on what is important to maximize your credit results. Now that you have dispute any inaccuracies, it is time to focus on what is correct in your credit report. I know you were probably hoping that old cell phone bill wouldn’t show up but it did and it is yours so now is the time that you deal with it. From a mortgage lender standpoint, you will need to handle any judgments that you may have. Judgments can be found in the “public record” section of the credit report. You may also find child support payments here as well if you are ordered by a court to pay child support. If that is the case, don’t worry but this section. Judgments range from any creditor that sued you (and won) for an unpaid debt. For some people they didn’t know they were sued or that the creditor won because they probably never opened their mail. You see why that is important? You could have settled, negotiated, or set up payment plans before things went this way but at this point that is neither here or there. Your judgment will need to be paid before moving on to any other step in this course. At this point, if you are saving money that is your negotiating point for that creditor. All creditors’ contact information are listed on the credit report. Contact the creditor who won the judgment and negotiate. In the terms of negotiation, money today is better than money tomorrow. Always have a stopping point. If the creditor isn’t willing to work with your stopping point, hang up and move on to the next creditor. {NOTE: Don’t negotiate if you don’t have any funds}. Just because the creditor didn’t budge that day, call the next day. You will probably get a new person the next day who is ready to talk business? You have to have a game plan. How much you plan to pay or all of it (of course all of it makes it easier right? Start negotiating before you agree to pay all though)? This will determine your stopping point. Once this is paid, request a receipt and then send the receipt to the credit bureaus to have the judgment either removed or updated. Please do not rely on the creditor to do this for you. Remember the inaccuracies?
Now the same scenario that you used in the judgment will be applied for any other debt. You can ask and please do ask for a deletion for payment but if they refuse, don’t worry because negative debt has a time period on your credit report. Here is an excerpt from Equifax about negative information:
Credit Accounts
- Accounts paid as agreed generally remain on your credit file for up to ten years from the date of last activity (DLA).
- Accounts not paid as agreed generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date the account first became past due, leading to the current not-paid status.
- Late-payment history generally remains on your credit file for seven years. It’s important to note that accounts with current statuses, such as R1 (revolving debt) and I1 (installment debt), that reflect previously late payment history will remain on the credit file for up to ten years from the date of the last activity-only the late payment history is removed after seven years.
Collection Accounts
- Collection accounts generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date the account first became past due, leading to the account’s placement with a collection agency.
Public Records
- Judgments generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date filed, whether satisfied (paid) or not.
- Paid tax liens generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date released (paid).
- Unpaid tax liens generally remain on your credit file indefinitely.
Bankruptcy
- A bankruptcy under chapter 7 or 11 or a non-discharged or dismissed chapter 13 bankruptcy generally remains on your credit file for ten years from the date filed.
- A discharged chapter 13 bankruptcy generally remains on your credit file for seven years from the date filed.
Inquiries
- Inquiries are a record of companies and others who obtained a copy of your Equifax credit file. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that Equifax disclose to you who requested copies of your credit file. Depending on the reason your credit file was accessed, credit reporting agencies generally retain these for one to two years.
- Some types of inquiries you might see on your credit report are not reported to others or used in credit score calculations. Promotional inquiries, in which your name and address were provided to a person who made you a firm offer of credit or insurance, such as a pre-approved credit card offer, generally remains on your credit file for twelve months and does not affect your credit score. An account monitoring or account review inquiries happen when one of your creditors performs a periodic review of your credit file in connection with reviewing your account. These inquiries generally remain on your credit file for twelve months and do not affect your credit score.
Which creditor do you focus on? I say start with the creditors that were placed in collection within the previous two years. That is two years from today. So September 2012 to today. Any debt from the previous 24 months is what is affecting your score the most at this point. Yes any debt before this timeframe is affecting your score but not as much as the previous 24 months. From there, you can focus on the Dave Ramsey but on old debt instead of current debt (I will get to current debt but let’s focus on rebuilding credit). List the debts that are in collection within the previous 24 months in order from least to greatest. From here, you will follow the same steps you did in the negotiation with the judgment. This is not to say you won’t have to pay any of those other collections but the focus is to help rebuild your credit and develop savings. The tools here is to create a habit so that you are prepared for these times if it happens again.
On to the Tips
Next, look at your positive credit. If you have negative debt but no positive, you need some positive debt to offset the negative. If you have no credit at all, you can have nontraditional credit applied to your report like rent payments, cell phone payments, utility payments. You will need to ask those providers if they will report your payments to the credit bureaus. Back to the positive credit, if you don’t have any and need some to offset the negatives here are some suggestions:
1. Credit Cards – yes we are rebuilding your credit so why get in more debt? Blame it on America. In other to have a credit score, you will need some form of credit. Sorry I didn’t make the rules. I hate this too. You will need either an unsecured credit card (typical credit card) or a secured credit card (you front the money on this card). Credit card are equivalent to easy courses in college. Just how those easy courses are GPA boosters. Credit cards are credit score boosters. Now here is the tip to improving your score and beating the game. Find a bill that you pay ON TIME ALL THE TIME. Use your credit card to pay that debt and set it up as an automatic payment through that creditor. Then when it is time to pay your credit card bill you will pay the majority of the bill with the exception of $5-10. The key here is to show that you know how to manage debt and that you leave low balances on your credit cards. Remember in part one I told you that payment history and balances owed were key factors in determining your score. Look at my example below:
Cell Phone Bill: $90
Credit Card Limit: $500
Setup automatic payments through your cell phone carrier to make the payment on your credit card. The credit card pays the cell phone bill. You turn around and pay $80-$85 on the credit card. In this situation you need to know the three following dates: date the creditor sends the information to the bureaus, date payment is due, and date that interest is charged. You would want the information reported to the bureau to show some type of balance. Usually after interest has been charged, that is what will be reported to the credit bureaus. After that date, go ahead and pay the whole thing off. Then start the process over the next month.
It is important to keep credit cards available balance to credit card limit between 30 to 50 percent. So in this example, a credit card that has a $500 limit, you shouldn’t spend no more than $150-$250. For safe practices, let’s stick to 30%. Now if your cell phone bill puts you above the 30% threshold, then select a smaller bill or get gas with the card once a month. If you get into a bind, please take this card off automatic payments. The purpose of credit cards is to boost your credit and show that you can be responsible.
2. Secured loans
The next tip is to do a secured loan program through a bank or credit union. You won’t find many banks or credit unions that do this. This type of loan is called a credit builder loan. In Dallas/Fort Worth, there are two credit unions that do this and they are ResourceOne Credit Union and Neighborhood Credit Union. The only initial cost to you is to become a member of the credit union which could be as low as $25. This program IS a forced savings. If you don’t live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, contact your local credit union or bank to see if they have a similar program. For this situation, the minimum loan would be $500. The thing for this loan is that it reports to all three credit bureaus as a normal loan. The difference is that $500 isn’t given to you. You have to work for the $500 by *coughs* saving it. Each month the credit union will require that you make a certain payment to the loan each month. The $500 will be placed as a hold in your savings account. Once you have satisfied (“saved”) the amount of the loan, the $500 will then be released in your savings account. This is a easier way to pay yourself first because now you are contractually obligated to do so.
As you work on rebuilding your credit, you will pay off negative debts and increase your score. From pulling yourself out of credit challenges, you can work on paying down any debt. You should develop a habit of savings and paying down debt. Once you have the collection issues resolved, you can fully complete the Dave Ramsey structure through the debt snowball method. With the credit cards that you obtained from building your credit, you won’t have much to pay off. The key here is to rebuild your credit to obtain your financial goals whether they are short term or long term.
If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, here are some counseling agencies that can help you in your particular situation for FREE:
These are excellent resources to get you on the track to financial freedom whether that freedom will help you become debt free, a homeowner, or spare you the freedom to travel.