Posted in Credit Score

5 Reasons You Need to Improve Your Credit As A Local Real Estate Expert

If you’re looking to purchase a property or secure financing for your dreams, then improving your credit score is key. As a local real estate expert, I have seen the positive impact that credit improvement can make in giving individuals access to better mortgage rates and loan terms. Here are five reasons why it’s important for you to improve your credit before pursuing a home purchase.

Lower Interest Rates: One of the biggest benefits of improving your credit is that it can lower the interest rate on your loan. When lenders look at potential borrowers, they take into account their credit scores when setting their interest rates. The higher your score, the lower the interest rate you can expect on the loan – and this can result in substantial savings over time!

More Home Buying Options: Improving your credit will also open up more options for you when it comes time to buy a house or condo. If you have bad credit, many lenders may be unwilling to provide financing or may require higher down payment percentages than if you had a better credit score. Having a good rating puts more homes within reach and greatly increases opportunities for homeownership – something every person deserves!

Easier Debt Management: Good credit helps not only during the home buying process but after as well. Having high enough scores gives access to more attractive debt management options like balance transfers and debt consolidation loans which help reduce monthly payments significantly while paying off debt faster with more favorable terms than default repayment plans. This can help relieve stress and give peace of mind knowing that there’s an easier way to pay back debt without sacrificing personal financial security in order to do so.

Increased Access To Other Loans: Not only does having good ratings open up home buying possibilities but it also grants access to other types of financing such as car loans or personal loans with much lower interest rates compared to what subprime borrowers typically experience due to their poor scores! With regularly scheduled payments, these can easily be managed and paid off quickly – leading towards increased financial success long-term and asset building sooner rather than later!

Higher Credit Card Limits: As noted above, one benefit of improving one’s rating is being able to apply for more attractive cards with higher limits which allow consumers greater freedom in making purchases while avoiding excessive fees associated with maxing out their cards each month – something especially important during times of economic hardship where every penny counts! And because these are revolving lines of credit, regularly utilized ones lead towards even further improvements in a consumer’s score over time – meaning more opportunities down the road!

Credit improvement isn’t just about getting better rates on mortgage loans; it’s about opening doors that otherwise would remain closed due to having weak ratings in the first place! Whether wanting improved debt management options or greater financial freedom overall, taking action towards improving one’s rating should be seen as an investment into both short-term stability and long-term success – all through simple steps such as checking reports regularly, disputing errors promptly, making timely payments consistently and focusing on reducing existing balances whenever possible!

Posted in Best Time to Sell, Buying Homes, Real Estate Bay Midland Saginaw, Selling Homes

Best Time to Sell? Is it too late?

Spring, Spring, Spring!!! That’s what people think about when you mention the best time to sell real estate. Is it true? If you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, should you wait til spring? Well, my response to people in the past has always been that if April is the month with the highest number of closings, then people are obviously looking in February and putting offers in during March in order to close in April or May. I’ve looked at our Mid-Michigan stats before, but I thought recently that I’d study them a bit closer in regard to when people are most likely to buy. The truth is – it’s not Spring! At least not here in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

According to the closing stats, each of our three counties vary slightly. Midland County has a highest number of closings in June, with May & August tied in second and September coming in slightly after them. Saginaw County #1 closing month is August, with June being second and September & May being tied for third.  Bay county is almost the same as Saginaw, with August being 1st, May being 2nd and June & September tie for 3rd.

The biggest margin between the 1st and 4th most popular month is only 9 sales. So, in reality there are several great months to sell. Tis true that January is markedly the slowest month in all three counties, but things still sell. So what would my advice be to sellers? Get it on the market now! You can’t sell a house that’s not on the market. Your biggest asset is going to be your agent and their marketing plan, not the month. And for buyers, go on out and keep looking. Inventory is good. Been listing like hotcakes. Truth is; whenever you’re ready to buy or sell – that’s the BEST time to do it!

Remember, if you’d like a free market analysis I’m only a call/text/email away. And if you’re ready to find your next perfect home – same applies to you! 🙂 I would love to assist you.

Until next week – Monique, Your Real Estate Matchmaker; Connecting buyers and sellers for a perfect match.

Posted in Real Estate Bay Midland Saginaw, Tips for selling your home faster

Making the Most of Your Deck and Entrance

I love the dirt! I really haven’t found too many things in life that bring me more peace than breaking the soil with my bare hands. I grew up on a Mid-Michigan farm and spent my days in the dirt, literally. Our gardens looked like small fields! I loved them. Oh….but if only I’d found a way to keep the squash from growing! I’d have been much happier come fall, when it seemed to be served with every meal and we froze enough to feed us amply throughout the winter and spring. Yucky! Anyway – –

If I wasn’t out hoeing the fields or working in the garden, I was most likely found in my plum thicket fort or out in the woods digging for bugs, imagining wild creatures and great adventures. Now you may wonder what this has to do with me as a Realtor or why I’d have it in my blog. Well, doing a little digging in the dirt can go a long way toward making your house feel like a home as well as add a lot of curb appeal. Just yesterday I was touring a home with a client. On the way out the door of a fairly positive showing she stopped to admire the large hanging basket of petunias on the porch.  She then noted the unique vibrant colors of a hydrangea in the landscaping. It so captured her that we took a walk all the way around the home commenting on the different plants and flowers. It really helped open an avenue of communication and instill even more positive and “home” feelings for my buyer.

This doesn’t mean you have to become a huge gardener or landscaper. Note that her first comments were on a hanging basket. I moved again last summer. This year I re-stained our front deck and put two hanging flower baskets up and two deck rail planters that I added geraniums, petunias, and some other flowers to. I also converted an old giant flower pot into a tomato garden. I used some stone texture spray paint on an old pot, filled it with a little bit of stones, topped it off with good soil and added some grape tomato plants. Now I can walk out the kitchen door and grab some tomatoes for the salad, or snack as I sit on the deck to read! It was only a half hour job. I receive SO many compliments on my deck now. People love the beautiful view as they drive up. They’re not commenting on the new stain, nor the new table set, or the little gas fireplace, but the Wow Factor is coming from the flowers that bring it all together. Making a positive first impression is critical.  Whether your home is for sale or not, its a beautiful and easy way to make your home stand out in a positive way.

As always, remember I would love to give you some free tips on making your home more beautiful while preparing it to sell. I can do it at the same time as a free market analysis! Call me today at 989-475-2958! Have a super awesome day!!