May - Mortgage Financing Made Simple

I Am Committed To Providing The Best Products, Service & Experience

Your credit score is one of the main factors when being qualified for a mortgage. Your score is calculated based on several variables:

1) Payment history, counts for approximately 35% of your score, is the most heavily weighted factor used in calculating your credit score. Consistently paying your bills on time has a positive influence on your score, while late or missed payments will hurt you in this area. If you have delinquent payments, the older the delinquency the less the negative impact on your score will be. Collection accounts and bankruptcy filings are also taken into consideration when analyzing your payment history.

2) Total debt and total available credit, counts for about 30%. This section looks at how much debt you have compared to the total available credit on your accounts. If all of your accounts are maxed out, you will be considered a poor credit risk, because it appears that you are struggling to pay off the debt you have already incurred. If your account balances are relatively low compared to your available credit, this part of the risk analysis should help your overall credit score. The score calculation also looks at these two factors independently. Having too much available credit, whether you have used it or not, could hurt your credit score, as statistical studies have shown that people with excessive amounts of available credit are a higher credit risk.

3) Length of positive credit history, which counts for about 15%. The longer you maintain accounts in good standing, the better your score will be. This shows that you are able to make a long-term commitment to a creditor and are consistently responsible about making your payments.

4) Mix of types of credit, which counts for approximately 10%. Having several different types of credit, such as revolving credit (credit cards), or installment credit (consumer loans, and secured debt), will have a positive influence on your credit score.

5) Number of new credit applications you completed recently, which accounts for about 10% of your score. Applying for too much new credit in a short time period makes indicates that you could be credit risk.

Homestead Funding Corp. currently offers Mortgage PreFlight. Currently, if you were to buy credit scores online, you would receive what is called the vantage score, not the FICO score. The vantage score cannot be used to close your loan with any mortgage company. For more information regarding our Mortgage PreFlight program, please visit my website: 

http://www.homesteadfunding.com/agents/nkoval  

It feels like summer already! Enjoy! 

Nancy Koval 

518-368-2198

HOME MORTGAGE & REAL ESTATE NEWS BY CNNMONEY.COM

Finances - The New Health Marketplace

Come this October 1st we will have to find insurance or be faced with more taxes next year.. Those who do not purchase a plan will pay at least $95 or up to 1% of their income for 2013 when filing faxes. That fee is expected to be higher in 2014.

The average full time worker will most likely have their insurance through work. Those over 65 will be eligible for Medicare. Small businesses pay for their own insurance. Those who could not afford insurance before will be able to do so under the Affordable Care Act.

The insurance plans coverage will go into effect January 1, 2014. This would help those in the age bracket of 50-64 who have a hard time getting coverage or have a preexisting condition. The online site will be available in October and will allow you to find out if you are eligible for Medicare or a tax credit to assist in paying for premiums.

Those who use the exchange health care policy will see that it varies from state to state. There will be four levels of coverage - bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Each plan will have the 10 basic elements of the health care benefits which include- prescription coverage, preventive services, hospitalization, mental health, & rehab care.

If you're single with income of up to $45,590 or married couple with combined income of up to $62,040, your premiums will be set as a percentage of your income and you may be eligible for a tax credit. Washington's intent was for you to simply pick a plan. The hope is that the health exchange will enroll 7 million people by 2014 and another 24 million by 2016, this estimate is from the Washington Budget Office.

This insurance exchange will help the elderly with flexibility in the selection of a plan, help with financial assistance and allow for more options than ever before. If you're self-employed, retired, or changing jobs there is no more worry of not having health insurance coverage available. The Healthcare.gov website provides a checklist to assist you with new Health Insurance Marketplace.

Your Home - Children and their Gadgets

Children nowadays have developed a type of dependence with the latest gadgets that have successfully conquered a majority of their attention around the world. Young and old, no one is exempt from this form of addiction.

Gone were the days when we see kids playing baseball or soccer in the streets, running, laughing, and feeling the wind on their faces. Indeed, they still play the same games, but not on the streets anymore. They play these games inside their houses. Whether via Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Wii, and all other types of game consoles, they already offer the same games we have played before.

Set Limits

This particular rule depends on the age bracket of your kid. If he or she is still young at about six to twelve years old, you can be stricter and more authoritative over your child's gadget usage. Set some rules like, no one can use any electronic gadget after dinner, no one can use any electronic gadget unless all the assignments and projects for school are all done, no one can use any electronic gadget after ten in the evening, and other rules that you think will help. However, once the rules are implemented you should also follow them. You must practice what you preach, so your kids will have an impression that you really are serious.

Set Punishments

It may sound a little harsh, but this is one way of motivating your child to strictly comply with the rules that were set in order to manage their addiction to electronic gadgets. Punishments need not be overly cruel like having him or her grounded from using gadgets for a week or two, just keep them plain and simple like making them do the dishes for the night, or reducing the time they use the gadgets.

Introduce new activities

Enroll them in a cooking class, or swimming class, introduce a new musical instrument, take him or her to a live basketball game, any activity that does not include an electronic gadget is good. By doing this, you are actually hitting two birds with one stone, you are steering away your child's attention from electronic gadgets and at the same time they are learning something new from the experience.

Technology is a double-edged sword, it can help you in a million ways, but it can also harm you in a gazillion ways.