How to Improve Your Credit Score Your credit score follows you everywhere that you go affecting the most important of financial decisions. In a perfect world, we would all have great credit and have no barriers when making big purchases like buying a car or a new home. However, that isn’t the case for everyone. It isn’t the end of the world though. If a home purchase is in your future, you should start now in Your credit score, also called a FICO score, is a simplified calculation of your history of paying back debts and making regular payments on loans. If you're borrowing money to buy a home, lenders want to be assured that you'll pay them back as agreed in the mortgage agreement. Your credit score and accompanying reports will be the primary basis for their decision. Your credit score will determine whether you qualify for a mortgage, the amount of money you qualify for in a mortgage, and even the interest rat you receive. On a 30 year mortgage e...

Buying versus Renting: You need to determine what will make you the happiest and what makes the most financial sense. I have seen it asked many times on Quora whether someone should continue renting or if they should buy a home. It is certainly a sign of the times that buying a home that used to be considered a major part of the American dream, is now considered to be much more optional.  Many will argue that renting is “throwing money away”, but that is not always the case.  For some, renting is still a viable option, while for others settling down and owning a home may be exactly what they need. There are arguments both for buying and for continuing to rent, depending on a potential homeowner’s individual circumstances. To help you understand these variables and evaluate your own situation, here are five important questions to consider as you make the buying versus renting decision. How long are you planning to stay in the same place? How long you stay in one loc...

Buying a home involves a lot of work.  Aside from the obvious things that you should look for while searching for your dream home here are a few other things that you should consider. (If you are considering buying a home for investment check out  Pros and Cons of Investment Properties. ) What makes you want to call this neighborhood home? When it comes to buying a home, everyone will want something different in terms of their environment. Affordability is obviously a top criterion, but peace and quiet, good schools, shops and a low crime rate are also likely to be important. Is the house close to the things that are important to you? Unless you are looking to live rural, making sure that prospective future homes have at least some level of proximity to the essentials is probably important to you. You may want to look for a house that’s a short drive or walk from the following: Shops, Grocery stores, Gas stations or public transit -  The convenien...

You’re tired of renting and paying someone else’s mortgage.  Now you want your own piece of the American dream. Experienced home owners make it seem easy.  If you are new to home ownership there are quite a few things that might take you by surprise.  Here are a few things to keep in mind as a first time home buyer before you begin your housing search. Decide location versus space before searching for a home Nobody enjoys experiencing buyer’s remorse.  It’s even worse when it involves a large purchase decision. Before shopping for a home, it’s important to set your priorities and decide which is more important to you: space or location. In most cases location will be more important in the long run than the space you have.  Also, knowing where you want to live can help you narrow your search. Don’t commit before you’re ready Though a mortgage payment is typically lower than a monthly rent, owning a home is a huge financial commitment -- In addition to y...