Blog - Real Estate Tips

Protecting Your Credit During COVID-19

Your credit plays a key role in financial opportunities, today and in the future. Understandably, the current pandemic environment is making it more challenging. But still, there are actions you can take to protect your credit. 

Here are tips that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggested for protecting your credit during these trying times.

Request A Free Copy of Your Credit

Did you know that you're entitled to a free credit report every year? Unlike the hard credit inquiries that creditors do when you apply for credit, this free annual report does not negatively affect your score. 

Additionally, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian (the three nationwide credit reporting agencies), also provide you with a free credit report…

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Real Estate Investment 101

Real estate offers a solid investment opportunity that can provide not only an income stream, but long-term value appreciation as well. It’s never too late to begin investing in real estate. Regardless of the ups and downs of the market, people will always need housing, so real estate will remain a good way to create wealth.

By understanding some of the basics of real estate investing, you can begin to create a successful investment plan.

• Start Now – Every market offers opportunities for buyers; there is no perfect time to get started.

• Understand the Risks – Before investing, you should be certain that you can hold the property until conditions are right to sell.

• Do Your Homework – Know the market and understand the trends which can…

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New Construction vs Resale: What's Right for You?

When it comes to home buying it feels like there are already limitless decisions to comb through of wants, needs, hopes, and budgets. While it can feel like there isn’t an easy way to start narrowing down what you are going to prioritize looking at or searching for, there is one important distinction that, if an obvious choice comes to you, you could easily mitigate a lot of time-wasting in the process. That decision is whether or not you are interested in a new construction home, or a resale home. Below we’ve laid out some of the biggest benefits about each type of home-buying. We hope this helps make your decision even a tiny bit easier! 

Perks of New Construction Homes

The “Green” Aspect

Whether it’s more on a cost basis or an…

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Breaking Down Mortgage Closing Costs

Whether you are buying a home or are refinancing, there are fees required to finalize the loan. We lump all these together and call them closing costs. With refinance loans, the closing costs are a bit less because certain elements are missing (such as title fees, home appraisal fees, and other sale-related fees).

This article will focus on the closing costs that you can expect to pay when you buy a property.

How much can you expect to pay in closing costs? 

Closing costs are about 2% to 5% of your loan amount. So if your loan is for $250k, you can expect to pay about $5,000 and $12,500 in closing costs. Admittedly, this is a fairly large range but we’ll break down the costs so you can have a better understanding of why it varies so much. 

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Signs it's Time to Upgrade Your Home

The home you own now will likely always remain special to you. After all, you selected it from dozens of others on the market. You’ll always remember the jitters of shopping for such a big-ticket item, the triumph of moving in after signing, and perhaps the first time you had the extended family over to your own home for the holidays. 

Whether this is your starter home or the home in which you raised your family, it’s natural that you’ve gone back and forth trying to decide whether you really need to sell and move on. For most homeowners, though, the day does ultimately arrive when it’s time to upgrade from a starter home to a home that’s better suited for their long-term lifestyle goals. 

If you’re considering whether this is your year to make…

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Qualifying for a Home Loan with Student Debt

When you first took out your school loan, you did it to open more opportunities. Unfortunately, having a significant amount of school debt can challenge those opportunities. If you have a considerable amount of school debt and are left wondering how you can still qualify for a home loan, this article is for you!

The insights we’re about to share with you will help you get a better idea of how to manage your school loan as well as show how it’s possible to be a homeowner despite having student debt. 

How Student Loans Affect Your Home Loan Approval

The first thing to clarify is that student loans themselves don’t prevent you from getting a home loan. However, the debt of student loans can affect your debt-to-income ratio, and a poor DTI can…

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Buying A Home With Low Credit

If you have bad credit, it may seem like buying a house is out of reach - or at least a couple of years away. But, in reality, struggling credit may not be as much of a roadblock as you may think! 

If you have less than ideal credit and have the goal of buying a home, then this blog is for you! Read on to find out more about loan programs for low-credit home buyers as well as how you can improve your score to qualify for a lower interest rate.

The Truth About Bad Credit and Mortgages

Technically, there isn’t a specific minimum credit score to qualify for a conventional loan. Lenders will set their own requirements since they are the ones that are loaning the funds. As you can imagine, they prefer higher scores as that means less risk.

…

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Tax Savings for Homeowners

Tax season isn’t always met with positivity. But when you’re a homeowner, you tend to view tax season differently because of the tax benefits. With tax season soon upon us, we wanted to share some of the lesser-known tax benefits of owning a home. 

Did you miss out on the tax breaks for 2019? Not to worry! You can still benefit in the coming year! Come to think of it, the sooner you purchase a home, the longer you can rake in those benefits! 

Interest Paid on Your mortgage is Deductible (in most cases)

Generally speaking, if your mortgage is not greater than $750,000, then you can deduct the interest paid on the loan. This is the most significant benefit of owning a home and claiming it is relatively simple. At the end of the year, your…

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When Are You Ready to Buy Your First House?

Millennials, you’re buying your first homes! Congratulations: it’s exciting to see so many of you settling in. If you’re a millennial who is trying to decide when you’re ready to buy your first house, Parks has you covered with our First Home Purchaser’s Readiness Checklist. 

Financial Readiness

Financial readiness is, without a doubt, the most important factor in successfully purchasing your first home without experiencing the pangs of buyer’s remorse that are felt by a reported 81% of millennial homeowners. 

Take the following steps to prepare yourself financially for homeownership.

• Reduce or eliminate all other debt.

High-interest consumer debt, student loans, and sizable car payments will all affect your ability to…

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What to Expect When Buying a Foreclosed Home

Foreclosed homes are some of the best home purchase deals you can find but that doesn’t mean that you should through caution to the wind when considering purchasing a foreclosed home. 

In fact, some foreclosed homes can end up costing you more money (or headaches) than they’re worth. Here’s what you need to know about purchasing a foreclosed home. 

Foreclosed Homes are a Diamond in the Rough 

The first thing to understand is that foreclosed homes are often in a rough state. This may be partly due to the fact that the previous owner was unable to make their mortgage payments, and therefore, couldn’t afford the upkeep either.

Or it could be that the previous owner was imbittered about their home being foreclosed on and abandoned the home,…

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