Mortgage Companies

10 Questions People Need To Ask When Trying To Sell Their Home Fast

Many homeowners, for one reason or another, must sell their home quickly. There’s the possibility of the home being in probate. Perhaps a landlord is burnt out and needs to sell the home or perhaps they are tired of having the home for renters. Maybe the home is in need of major repairs and the homeowner is unable to afford the upkeep. It may be an elderly couple that needs to move into a nursing home. It could even be a family who needs to move because of a family situation. No matter the reason… you know there’s much that needs to be done to sell that home quickly. There are things people should ask themselves when trying to sell their home fast.

• Can you close on the home fast?
• Who is going to pay the closing costs?
• When will you get your check?
• When do you need to move out?
• Can you take your appliances?
• When should you shut off your utilities?
• Will you be a cash buyer?
• Will you have an inspection?
• When do you need to cancel your insurance?
• Can you rent the house back?

 

Question 1 – Can You Close On The Home Fast?

This is a question that every homeowner needs to ask the investor they are going to deal with. Remember that investors need to use other people’s money to purchase your home. Some people will rely on the banks, hard moneylenders, mortgage companies or private financing to get their money; other people may end up having cash. Some methods work quickly; other methods will take longer.

Question 2 – Who Is Going To Pay The Closing Costs?

Most people know that investors will pick up the costs of the closing. One of two things will happen: either the investor will offer the seller a lower price and pay the closing costs or give a higher price and have the seller pay the closing costs. If an investor is getting a loan, they generally don’t like to pay the closing costs.

Question 3 – When Will You Get Your Check?

There are two options to how you’d get your check. First, the title company can cut you a check or wire the money into your checking/savings account. This is generally done the day of closing. While the majority of banks will put holds on checks, wired money is good right away.

Question 4 – When Do You Need To Move Out?

You must be out of the house the day of the closing unless there has been an agreement ahead of time.

Question 5 – Can You Take Your Appliances?

When you decide to sell your home, it’s always nice to leave the stove and dishwasher. However, the refrigerator, washer and dryer can be negotiated.

Question 6 – When Should You Shut Off Your Utilities?

The best time to shut off the electricity is when it’s the day of closing. If something happens and the deal fell apart, your home will be without water or power and you’ll end up paying reconnection fees. The majority of investors like it for the seller to call the utility companies so that they will read the meters and that there’s no interruption of service and extra fees are avoided.

Question 7 – Will You Be A Cash Buyer

While true cash buyers are great, they are rare. Investors who have a great line of credit or have a relationship with a local bank are wonderful to deal with. It makes the entire transaction process go quicker.

Question 8 – Will You Have An Inspection?

Most investors will have some kind of inspection done on the home. Some will hire themselves an inspector to do either a full inspection or quick one. Some investors are experienced enough to do their own inspection.

Question 9 – When Do You Need To Cancel Your Insurance?

Once you’ve closed on the house, cancel your insurance. Make sure you let them know the closing date since it’s the one they will most often use.

Question 10 – Can You Rent The House Back?

 
Many investors buy a house to flip it. If they had short term financing because they didn’t pay cash, then chances are they are looking to sell it. However, if they bought it outright, then they may possible want to keep the home to rent out.

If you’re looking to sell your home quick in Virginia, answers to these 10 questions can help you out. Check out www.sellmyhomevirginia.com for assistance when trying to sell your home.

 

 

Mortgage Companies

Credit Scores Not Always On The Number

By Eileen Ambrose, Tribune Newspapers

Everyone’s got your number — a credit score, that is — and as a savvy consumer, you might want to find out exactly what they’ve got.

This three-digit number tries to predict whether you are a credit risk and can dictate the terms you get on credit cards, mortgage loans and insurance premiums. Once secret, scores are now widely pitched by companies, often for a price.

But the score you buy might not be anywhere close to the one your lender or creditor uses. Even a small difference could keep you from getting the terms you expected.

“They show you a score but don’t tell you it’s not the one that’s used by the lender, or not even used by a majority of lenders,” said Evan Hendricks, author of “Credit Scores & Credit Reports.” “That ain’t right.”

Scores and credit reports wield increasing influence on our financial lives. That’s why Congress has been looking into how they are created and used.

There’s also been a push on Capitol Hill to make credit scores more accessible. A provision in the House financial reform bill would allow consumers to buy the scores used by creditors. And next year, federal regulations take effect that could make free scores available to consumers applying for credit.

Credit scores remained a mystery until about a decade ago, when legislative pressure forced mortgage companies and credit bureaus to share scores with consumers.

Now they flood the marketplace. Fees run about $15 for a score and credit report, or $15 to $40 a month for a service that provides scores, reports and other features.

FICO is the oldest and most widely used score by creditors and lenders.

The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, created the VantageScore four years ago. Consumer advocates say it’s not broadly used by creditors, though TransUnion spokesman Steven Katz said many of the top financial institutions and credit card issuers use it.

There also are knockoffs, or so-called FAKO scores, that are purely educational and sold only to consumers.

Creditors select the score they want to use. It could be one that’s tailored for a specific product, such as autos or credit cards and not sold to the public. Or they can supplement a score with their own model.

Mortgage brokers find the scores a consumer buys can be 30 to 100 points higher than the FICO they use, said Liz Pulliam Weston, author of “Your Credit Score.” That can mean “not only don’t you have a good score, but you’re subprime,” she said.

Some creditors adjust every 20 points, Hendricks said. If you buy a score that says you’re a 740, but the lender is looking at one that pegs you at 720, the interest rate could be a quarter-point higher than you expected, Hendricks said.

If you’re just curious, try one of the free credit scores through Quizzle.com, CreditKarma.com and Credit.com.

But if you plan to refinance or make a big purchase using credit, buy your score at least three months in advance so you have time to improve it. (To boost a score, pay bills on time, avoid new lines of credit and reduce credit card balances.)

Buy the FICO score because it’s likely closest to the one your lender will use, credit experts say. Go to myFICO.com to get scores based on a TransUnion or Equifax report for $15.95 each. (Consumers no longer can buy a FICO score based on an Experian report, though lenders can get this.)

Get both FICOs in case the results vary significantly, a sign that one report holds more negative information than the other, Hendricks said.

“We focus so much on the credit score, we forget the score is driven by the report,” said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com.