9 Steps to BOOST your credit before you BUY!

The process of buying a home doesn’t just begin when you walk through the door of your first open house – it starts long before that. One of the first stops on the road to home ownership is figuring out your finances, and that includes understanding your credit, a critical piece of the buying puzzle.


Good credit often opens the door to success when it comes to buying a home, and, unfortunately, bad credit can close it. In recent years, the number of consumers who have a top score (800 or above) has increased due to the fact that more individuals have cut spending and paid down debt in response to the recession. And that’s good news considering that the new Qualified Mortgage Rules which came into effect in January 2014. The new rules have upped the scrutiny of mortgage applications and made qualifying for a loan much more challenging.


Whether your credit is in need of an overhaul or you’re looking to preserve your stellar score, now is the time to address your creditworthiness so you can position yourself to get the best mortgage at the best rate. Here are 9 steps to take to strengthen and solidify your credit score.



1. Get Your Hands On Your Credit Report – If you don’t have a current one, get your credit report now. You need to be aware that problems exist before you can solve them – and serious issues, and sometimes even minor ones, can take months to repair. There are a variety of ways to get your report, and you’re entitled to a free one from each of the three credit bureaus once a year under the FACT Act; just go to Annual Credit Report website to retrieve it.






2. Mistakes Happen – Get Them Fixed – Every year, a whopping 25% of people who get declined for a mortgage had errors in their credit report. (And by “errors,” I mean inaccuracies). When you spot them, it’s up to you to fix them. You can find step-by-step guides on how to file a claim on any of the credit bureau websites; your report itself will also have instructions. Follow them to a T, and keep a good record of your dispute, including copies of any documents you file with the bureaus. Once you make an initial claim, you should get a response within thirty to sixty days.




3. Stay Current – Pay your bills on time – It sounds like a no-brainer, but if you’re looking to increase those scores over time in a clear and steady upward climb, never miss a payment. Ever!







4. Pay Over The Bottom Line – Another credit building tip is to always make more than the minimum payments on your revolving credits each month. A history of minimum-only payments is not a positive indicator for anyone reviewing your credit report. Always pay more – even if it’s just a little bit. Not only will you be chipping away at your balances faster, but you’ll save money on the total amount of interest handed over to your bank.




5. Maintain Low Balances – Some say the best way to keep you score afloat is to avoid carrying a balance that’s over 50% of your limit on each card, so pay those debts down below that halfway mark as soon as possible.




6. Don’t Move It, Lose It – Pay off the debt on your existing card, don’t just move it to a new one. The credit card companies have caught on to consumers who try to reduce balances by shifting them back and forth between cards, and while they’ll still let you do it, they’ll charge you hefty fees. Incurring the extra cost is simply not worth the benefit. You’ll pay off debt quicker (and you’ll have less of it) if you just work hard to pay off what’s on the card you already have.





7. Cutting Cards – As with juggling debt, there’s a lot of controversy regarding whether you should close paid-off accounts. I say it’s better to play it safe than sorry: pay off all your credit cards, but don’t close any of them prior to applying for a mortgage.






8. Buying A Car Can Put A Dent In Your Credit Score – It’s best to avoid any big changes your finances right before a home purchase. That means no big purchases on credit, like buying a car or charging an expensive vacation. Any significant buys can alter your financial picture, and banks don’t like to see sudden changes just before approving a loan.







9. Plan Waaay Ahead – If you think you can get your credit spruced up and ready to go in a matter of days, think again. Even without any dings on your report, you’ll want to make sure all your credit cards are paid up prior to qualifying for a loan, and that requires planning. Get ahead of the game by paying down your debt, then try and lock up your credit cards until your credit score has been checked and you have been approved for your mortgage.

New Dolphin Ndamukong Suh Buys Fort Lauderdale Mansion for $6.5M

Fearsome defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has discovered his Miami digs. He’s settling down in a $6.5 million mansion in Fort Lauderdale, FL, that features six bedrooms and a whopping 11,142 square feet of space, according to the Miami Herald.
After five seasons with the Detroit Lions—where the star’s aggressive on-field conduct cost him more than $250,000 in fines—he signed a $114 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, becoming the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player ever.







His big payday is evident in this purchase. There’s nothing subtle about his new home, where a palm tree–lined walkway leads to the towering front doors, topped by a balcony flanked by stone columns.





The white-walled living spaces combine the comforts of home with the luxury of a five-star hotel. Glass banisters surround the upstairs catwalks that overlook seating areas below. Enormous two-story windows showcase Suh’s pool and the waterfront beyond—100 feet of which is his alone.












That is, if he ever decides to venture beyond the confines of this magnificent mansion. With the game room, an 11-seat theater room, and an enormous wine cellar, the home offers enough amenities to keep a superstar occupied for days.

N.Y. producers up for $211,000 from Film Office for HGTV series on Detroit mansion

The Michigan Film Office announced today that New York-based Chasing Light Entertainment, the production company responsible for the renovation of the Ransom Gills Detroit mansion through an eight-part HGTV series, is eligible for more than $200,000 in incentives.

The production company estimates it will spend $844,125 in Detroit while hiring 22 workers, 12 being Michigan residents. Those jobs equate to two full-time positions, according to a news release from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The company is eligible for $211,031 in incentives, which it will receive only after the work is complete and shows proof of spending and hiring in Michigan.

“There’s a process to demonstrate they are spending the money,” said Frank Provenzano, public relations manager for the Michigan Film Office. “It’s very much in stages. Once they spend a certain level, they get part of the incentive, and simultaneously they have to demonstrate they are hiring.”

The benchmarks to receive incentives vary entirely by project, Provenzano said.

Nicole Curtis, a metro Detroit native and host of the network's "Rehab Addict," is leading the restoration at 205 Alfred St. The series will premiere on HGTV in November.

Quicken Loans Inc. is collaborating with HGTV on the series, which will end with an open house for potential homebuyers, Crain’s reported in July.

The project is part of a $70 million redevelopment of 8.4 acres of Brush Park that includes 337 residential units, retail space and the restoration of four mansions. 

10 STEPS to BUYING a HOME

Buying a house requires time and effort, but these 10 steps can help make the home buying process manageable and help you make the best decisions possible.

Step 1: Start Your Research Early

As soon as you can, start reading Web sites, newspapers, and magazines that have real estate listings. Make a note of particular homes you are interested in and see how long they stay on the market. Also, note any changes in asking prices. This will give you a sense of the housing trends in specific areas.

Step 2: Determine How Much House You Can Afford

Lenders generally recommend that people look for homes that cost no more than three times their annual household income if the home buyers plan to make a 20% down payment and have a moderate amount of other debt.
But you should make this determination based on your own financial situation.

Step 3: Get Prequalified and Preapproved for credit for Your Mortgage

Before you start looking for a home, you will need to know how much you can actually spend. The best way to do that is to get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you just need to provide some financial information to your mortgage banker, such as your income and the amount of savings and investments you have. Your lender will review this information and tell you how much you can get approved for. This will tell you the price range of the homes you should be looking at. Later, you can get preapproved for credit, which involves providing your financial documents (W-2 statements, paycheck stubs, bank account statements, etc.) so your lender can verify your financial status and credit.

Step 4: Find a Realtor

Realtors are important partners when you’re buying or selling a home. Realtors can provide you with helpful information on homes and neighborhoods that isn’t easily accessible to the public. Their knowledge of the home buying process, negotiating skills, and familiarity with the area you want to live in can be extremely valuable. Your Realtor is compensated from the commission paid by the seller of the house.

Step 5: Shop for Your Home and Make an Offer

Start touring homes in your price range. It might be helpful to take notes on all the homes you visit. You will see a lot of houses! It can be hard to remember everything about them, so you might want to take pictures or video to help you remember each home.
Make sure to check out the little details of each house. For example:

• Test the plumbing by running the shower to see how strong the water pressure is and how long it takes to get hot water
• Try the electrical system by turning switches on and off
• Open and close the windows and doors to see if they work properly

It’s also important to evaluate the neighborhood and make a note of things such as:

• Are the other homes on the block well maintained?
• How much traffic does the street get?
• Is there enough street parking for your family and visitors?
• Is it conveniently located near places of interest to you: schools, shopping centers, restaurants, parks, and public transportation?

Work with your Realtor to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached agreement on a price, the house will go pending, which is the time period it takes to complete all of the remaining steps in the home buying process.

Step 6: Get a Home Inspection

Typically, purchase offers are contingent on a home inspection of the property to check for signs of structural damage or things that may need fixing. Your real estate agent usually will help you arrange to have this inspection conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. This contingency protects you by giving you a chance to renegotiate your offer or withdraw it without penalty if the inspection reveals significant material damage.
You will receive a report on the home inspector’s findings. Before the sale closes, you will have a walk-through of the house, which gives you the chance to confirm that any agreed-upon repairs have been made.

Step 7: Work with a Mortgage Banker to Select Your Loan

Lenders have a wide range of competitively priced loan programs and a reputation for exceptional customer service. You will have many questions when you are purchasing a home, and having one of our experienced, responsive mortgage bankers assist you can make the process much easier.
Every home buyer has their own priorities when choosing a mortgage. Some are interested in keeping their monthly payments as low as possible. Others are interested in making sure that their monthly payments never increase. And still others pick a loan based on the knowledge they will be moving again in just a few years.

Step 8: Have the Home Appraised

Lenders will arrange for an appraiser to provide an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying. The appraiser is a member of a third party company and is not directly associated with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties involved know that you are paying a fair price for the home.

Step 9: Coordinate the Paperwork

As you can imagine, there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying a house. Your lender will arrange for a title company to handle all of the paperwork and make sure that the seller is the rightful owner
of the house you are buying.

Step 10: Close the Sale

At closing, you will sign all of the paperwork required to complete the purchase, including your loan documents.  Once the check is delivered to the seller, you are ready to move into your new home!

It PAYS to LIVE in Detroit!

The $10 million program that gives living incentives for young professionals to move to Detroit's Midtown neighborhood is expanded north due to a lack of available housing.

If you or someone you know works for any of the 3 companies below, you can qualify for huge incentives to live in Midtown Detroit.

Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Health Systems and Wayne State University each invest funding to the program. That investment has been matched by the Hudson-Webber Foundation and MSHDA. The Kresge Foundation also provides additional support for the program. Total funding for the first year will be $1.2 million. The 3 main companies are slated to continue to the program in years to follow adjusting where necessary.
Incentives for individuals to move to the Detroit Midtown area include:

• $2,500 allowance for new renters toward the cost of their apartment in the first year followed by an additional funding of $1,000 for the second year
• $1,000 allowance for existing renters who are renewing a lease
• $20,000 forgivable loan toward the purchase of a primary residence (if taken at one time), or $25,000 at the rate of $5,000 per year (if taken over five years)
• $5,000 exterior home improvement matching funds; for projects of $10,000 or more for existing homeowners

The incentives are only available to employees of the three anchor institutions: DMC, HFHS and WSU. To qualify for the incentives, housing units must be located within the boundaries that includes New Center, Midtown, Virginia Park and Woodbridge, and now the Boston Edison neighborhoods.

Development-focused non-profit Midtown Detroit, Inc. announced the Live Midtown program will now include the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood, which is generally bound by Linwood to the west, Woodward to the east, Edison to the South and Boston to the north.

The neighborhood, which is stable by Detroit standards but still has several relatively low-priced, historic single family homes for sale, is just to the north of the Northend, New Center and Woodbridge areas, which are also included in the Live Midtown program.

The Midtown neighborhood now stands at a 97 percent residential occupancy rate, according to Midtown Detroit, Inc.
“This expansion not only opens up an array of quality housing stock, but also supports the Detroit Future Cities Framework Plan which identifies this area as an important district to stabilize,” the non-profit said in a statement.

The Live Midtown and Live Downtown programs thus far have moved 1,600 people in to the city and helped another 1,000 to renew leases there, according to Midtown Detroit, Inc.

Inside the REDESIGNED David Whitney Building in Downtown Detroit!

The iconic David Whitney Building is set to reopen to the public in December.

Designed by renowned Chicago architect Daniel Burnham and constructed in 1915, the building at 1 Park Ave. in downtown Detroit has been empty since 1999, when it last served as an office building.

After being left vacant for more 12 years, the journey to restoration started in March 2011, when Whitney Partners LLC, a joint venture between Detroit-based developer The Roxbury Group and Farmington Hills-based hotel investment firm Trans Inns Management Inc., bought the building for $3.3 million.

Whitney Partners has preserved the building’s historical touches, including its terra-cotta, mahogany and marble surfaces. The building’s exterior is also being restored to bring its façade as close as possible to the original 1915 design.



 “We are in the final stages of redeveloping one of Detroit’s most celebrated buildings and returning it to Detroiters and visitors to enjoy,” David Di Rita, principal of The Roxbury Group, told a 50-person crowd during a media tour and update of the building’s $94.5 million redevelopment project.The building includes:

• a four-story atrium;
• The Residences at the David Whitney, 108 one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments;
• Aloft Detroit, a 136-room boutique hotel that is part of the Sherwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. chain; and
• Grand Cirque Brasserie, the building’s signature restaurant.

The building will also be a transportation hub, with second-floor access to the Grand Circus Park Detroit People Mover station, which has been closed for renovations, and an M-1 Rail stop outside the building

Knowing the components of a GOOD offer when selling your home!

Price

Price is definitely a major factor to consider when evaluating a deal, and it’s hard to complain about a full-price offer. If the initial offer is too low, the seller can make a counteroffer. Sellers often agree to a lower price if the offer is for cash. Many transactions fail to close because the appraisal value is lower than the offered price, or the lender doesn’t approve the buyer for a mortgage loan. A cash offer can eliminate both potential pitfalls.

Earnest Money

Earnest money is proof of the buyer’s good intentions; the seller may receive this money if the buyer cancels the contract without a legal reason for doing so.
The buyer’s real estate agent collects the money from the buyer after the offer is accepted, and a real estate broker, attorney or title company holds the funds in a trust account. The money helps pay the buyer’s closing costs if the deal successfully closes. The amount of this good faith money varies by region and market conditions, but three percent of the offer price should be satisfactory.

Proof of Funds

Never accept a cash offer without seeing proof of the buyer’s ability to pay. This may include a bank or brokerage account statement with the buyer’s name visible on the printout.

Pre-Approval Letter

Think twice before accepting a financed offer without first seeing a pre-approval letter from a lender. At the very least, insist on seeing a pre-qualification letter from a loan originator stating that the borrower’s credit score and verbal discussion of debt and income is adequate for loan approval. Many deals fall apart because the buyer is unable to obtain a mortgage. Smart sellers want to minimize the chance of that happening to them.

As-Is Contract

An as-is contract allows the buyer to have a home inspection but eliminates the requirement for the seller to contribute money toward repairs. The MLS listing should specifically request that offers be submitted using an as-is contract.

Quick Close

If the sellers are prepared to leave or have already vacated the property, a quick close is preferable to a long delay. Unexpected events like a fire, wind damage or flood can ruin a deal. Financed transactions may take 40 days to complete, while 2-3 weeks is usually possible for a cash deal. Cash deals take that long because of the home inspection, lien search and property survey.

If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 248-875-5868, or email at kandiss@dwellingsunlimited.com

Kandiss