Blog - Bascomb Real Estate Group

Credit: Do’s and Don’ts

This Wednesday we are going to wrap up our discussion on credit and cover the do’s and don’ts around your credit when purchasing.

DO’s:

1. Pull your credit to see where you stand, every consumer in America is entitled to a free credit report every year www.annualcreditreport.com.
2. Contact a credit repair company if you feel you need a little extra help (we have great referrals).
3. Contact the three bureaus – Experian, Trans Union & Equifax if you find an error to begin making corrections.
4. Pay all your credit lines and loans on time.
5. As questions of your real estate broker and/or lender if you are unsure.

DON’Ts:

1. Have your credit pulled (inquiries) for any reason while you are purchasing a home, only your lender should be accessing your credit during this time.
2. Open new accounts of any kind for any reason.
3. Buy any large items either using your credit (auto loan purchase); or your current credit cards or lines (large purchase charged on your account). Wait until your transaction is closed and you have your keys in hand before making any purchases.
4. Pay your bills late.
5. Co-sign for anyone for anything, this will end up on your credit report.
6. Use Your Credit During Your Purchase!

We hope this segment was useful, if you have any questions feel free to leave a message in the comments section or shoot us an email at customerservice@bascombrealestate.com. Have a great week!

Credit: Tradelines

This week we are going to continue our conversation around your credit. As discussed last week, if you are in the market to buy now, very soon or sometime in the future, it is wise to start here.

Your credit mix is also important when a lender is reviewing your qualifications to buy a home. Just having the right credit score will not guarantee an approval, your credit mix is just as important. The term ‘credit mix’ encompasses the items that make up your credit as well as the age of your credit report.

Your credit lines (or tradelines) are very important; generally speaking a good mix is 2 – 3 unsecured tradelines lines, i.e. credit cards, lines of credit etc….; 1 – 2 installment loan(s), i.e. a car loan and/or fixed rate loan with the occasional student loan mixed in for a good number of us! For your credit lines, you should try and keep your balances at 30% of the line amounts. An example of this is you have a credit card with a limit of $2,000, you want to keep the balance at no more than $600 while you are shopping for a home.

The age of your report is also important, you may have a great score and all the tradelines lines needed, but if you credit is only 1 year old, additional questions may be asked. To verify your credit age, confirm how old your oldest tradeline is, that will determine the age of your credit. Until next Wednesday, have a great week!

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Why Credit is an Important Aspect of Real Estate

Credit is one of the 3 C’s considered when weighing someone’s worthiness with regarding to lending, the other 2 are Capacity and Collateral. It is, however, is the first thing considered by lenders when reviewing your request to purchase. It consists of many things, the first are your scores which are determined by the Big 3; Trans Union, Experian, Equifax. These 3 scores are received when credit is pulled and the mid-score of the 3 is what is used to determine your creditworthiness and your interest rate.

Although the magic number of ‘620’ is what many lenders require as a minimum score, there are numerous lenders available that will make decisions based on scores as low as 600 – 619 depending on the program. In addition, credit repair is an important factor if your credit is currently problematic and/or thin. We have great partners we work with who do an amazing job of working with our clients, so contact us today and don’t let it be the reason you don’t become a homeowner.

Next Wednesday, we will continue our discussion on Credit and its many facets in determining creditworthiness. If you have additional questions before our next installment, feel free to message us in our Facebook Page.

Power to the People

Power To The People

Knowledge is power as the adage goes. The more information you have, the higher the likelihood the decisions you make are going to benefit you and those you care for. Knowledge cannot be taken away, usurped, or destroyed once obtained and building wealth in the community is central to consolidating that power.

Every Wednesday we will provide answers to some of the questions most asked and misinformation most conveyed to me around homebuying. We will also use this forum to address questions you may have around buying property, whether it be lending, credit, saving, what you need, what you don’t need and sharing insights around the process with the community. We will start with one of the most common comments I hear:

I can’t afford to buy a house.

You can’t afford not to. Rents in the Puget Sound region from Everett to Lakewood are skyrocketing. With renting comes required deposits; first and last months rent to potentially be provided; and application fees to be paid. All to go towards adding equity and security to someone else’s property. This kind of money could be put towards starting on the path of building your own wealth and security with homeownership. With down payment assistance and lender specific credits, money is not the biggest barrier to buying, misinformation is. Contact Bascomb Real Estate Group and let us help you stay informed!

Office of Minority Women and Business Enterprise Certification

It’s Official! Bascomb Real Estate Group has been given the distinct honor of being certified as a Minority/Women Business Enterprise by the Washington State Office of Minority Women Business Enterprise (OMWBE).

The OMWBE promotes equity and increased participation in public contract and procurement for small business. To be certified through the office is a very intense process and to receive this designation as a minority/woman owned small business was a great achievement for us and we wanted to share this designation with our community!

Buying A House In Seattle

Buying a house in Seattle has rapidly turned into, buying a house in King County. Many people who relocate and/or currently live in the region have found it increasing difficult to purchase a home in Seattle proper. Pricing has increased exponentially year over year, from 2016 to 2017 the average Single Family Home in Seattle increased from a median price of $774,997 as of December 2016 to $870,000 as of December 2017, an 11%.

What does this mean for you if that median price is beyond your reach? That you most certainly can be a homeowner but considering the cities/towns that border Seattle is key. The suburbs of Seattle have grown into thriving, urban cities and warrant a deeper look. The cities of Renton, Burien, Des Moines, Kent and Federal Way for example, are great alternatives and with the growing regional transportation, working in the region provides much more flexibility. No matter your income level, consider homeownership; give Bascomb Real Estate Group a call and let us support your home buying dreams.