Have you read the Wallstreet Journal Article on 7-10-10 entitled Borrowers Hit New Home-Loan Hurdles?  if you haven't-you should.  It highlights how difficult the mortgage financing market has become and WHY.  Rather than paraphrase the article, I would encourage you to read the article.  One thing that is more important than ever is to protect your credit score.  With that in mind, read the article below:

Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy

It doesn't take much these days to damage a credit score. Before the recession, late payments and blasting through credit limits would take its toll. But in the past year, Fair Isaac, the company that developed the algorithm that is the leading determinant of our scores, made an important change in its formula.

It's now putting much more emphasis on the size of your balances and how close they are to your total credit limit. It's a behavior trigger that creditors see as a bigger worry than ever. So the best thing you can do for your credit score is to get your balances down to under half of your credit limit.

Even better, pay them off entirely and use them only when you know you can pay them off at the end of the month. Inactive accounts will ding your credit score, but quick payments can only help.

The latest revision in the FICO system will actually allow a bit of lenience on late payment - something that might affect more than a few consumers with the downturn in the economy. Obviously, this won't mean that someone can chronically pay late, but once or twice won't make the same impact as in earlier FICO versions.

Yet credit utilization - the amount of credit you're actually using relative to your credit limit  - is a much bigger deal simply because high balances are still prevalent among consumers. From the lender's perspective, high balances mixed with a tough economy means a higher risk of default among customers.

So, one more time. What's a good target utilization rate for all your revolving credit accounts? No more than 50 percent of your credit limit, and if you can get it significantly lower than that over time, that's a good plan.  The lower your credit utilization, the better your score.

What does that mean for ordinary Americans who don't meet that under-50 percent goal? It means you shouldn't be applying for new credit or refinancing for awhile, and that includes something as innocuous as a department store charge.

So maybe that means deferring gratification for awhile until you get things under control. But look at it this way - you can use this time as a way to develop more knowledge about credit and be in a better position long-term.  Here are some things you need to know:

You'll need at least a 740 score for the best rates: You'll often hear that credit scores of 700 and up will get you best customer status with lenders. That's true, but you need to aim significantly higher. For the lowest rates and best terms, you need to get your credit score above 740 (the top credit score, by the way, is 850), so keep that target in mind.

Budget: If you've never reviewed your spending and picked out areas where you can cut, you've never done a budget. Start tracking your spending either on paper or with financial planning software and start pinpointing what spending you can shift over to paying off debt. 

Get some advice: Remember that debt is just one part of your overall financial picture. It might not be a bad time to sit down with a financial planner to talk about your debt issues, planning for retirement, your kids' college education and any other key financial goals.

Monitor your credit reports: Remember that you have the right to get all three of your credit reports -- from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax -- once a year for free. You can do so by ordering them at www.annualcreditreport.com. Order them individually at different points in the year. That means you'll get an extended picture of how your credit picture looks because the three bureaus feed each other the latest information. You'll also be able to clean up errors as you find them -- errors can drag down a credit score - and you'll also keep an eye on identity theft.  Oh, and make sure you use the site above and avoid the businesses that use "free credit report" in their title. It's easy. If they ask for your credit card number, don't do business with them.

Make electronic payments: Electronic bill payment will allow you to save on postage while guaranteeing on-time payment, and the budgeting advice mentioned above will allow you to put a few more bucks toward getting that loan or credit card bill paid off. It's important to always pay more than the minimum payment on your bill - otherwise your balance will barely move.

July 2010 - This column is produced by the Financial Planning Association, the membership organization for the financial planning community, and is provided by John Mazzara 952-929-2577 , a local member of FPA

Military & Certain Federal Employees
Get Home Buyer Tax Credits Until 2011

A little-known provision of the Home Buyer Tax Credit bill that became effective on Nov 6, 2009, is that certain military personnel and Foreign Service

employees have an EXTRA year to purchase a home and qualify for the tax credit. 

In addition to that, if they sold a principal residence between Jan 1, 2009 & April 30, 2010 because they had to relocate at least 50 miles due to "orders",

they qualify for a tax credit, even if they owned a home between the above time periods.  Income, age and sales price limitations still apply. 

Who qualifies?
 Member of "uniformed" services
 Member of Foreign Service of the US
 Employee of Intelligence Community
 Spouse of any of the above

And must have had:
 Extended Duty outside the US for 91 days, or
 Extended Duty inside the US for 91 days and had to relocate at least 50 miles from principal residence
 Sold principal residence between Jan 1 2009 & April 30, 2010

Tax Credit Dates Extended to:
 Signed contract by April 30, 2011
 Closed by June 30, 2011

Can get tax credit if:
 They sold their home or the home stops being their principal residence as of January 1, 2009 (because of government orders)
 Extended duty (either inside or outside the US) and had to move at least 50 miles away from principal residence
 Extended duty is defined as 91 days service (either inside or outside) the US.

This information was provided by mortgage currency

Minnesota condo purchase at 95% loan to value. Minnesota condo refinance at 95% loan to value.  Borrower just needs a FICO of 680.  This great opportunity is aailable on Primary Residence only.  Condo must be approved by Fannie Mae to qualify for this special financing.

Call Venture Development in Minneapolis Minnesota 952.285.4319 or visit our website www.VentureLoanApp.com.  We have a wide range of programs for home purchase or refinance.  If you are looking for a low-down payment program but this is not a match please call to see how we can help you.

Our latest booklet will be useful to buyers everywhere.  If you are in the Twin Cities metro area, we are able to help you find and finance a new home. In the meantime, visit our real estate website at http://www.MinneapolisStPaulHomes.com and start shopping for a new home.  You can set up your MLS on line search directly from the website.  To begin your mortgage application, please visit http://www.VentureLoanApp.com

Minnesota Low Down Payment Purchase for Primary Residence and Investment Property

97% financing for Primary Residence purchase in MN

90% financing on Investment Property purchase in Minnesota

Purchase of a MN foreclosed property owned by Fannie Mae

Down Payment can be from personal assets, gift, grant, or loan from a non-profit organization such as community programs that I have sourced throughout the Twin Cities and Minnesota.

Minneapolis and St Paul Minnesota mortgage offers low down payment financing for purchase of a foreclosed property.  Call Patti Mazzara 952.285.4319 for more information on how you can purchase your primary residence or investment property using this low down program. 

MN First time homebuyers ACT NOW before the funds are used up.  Anoka County in Minnesota is offering up to $10,000 on the purchase of single family homes, condominiums and townhouses.  Buyers just need to qualify for a VA guaranteed loan, FHA insured, or Fannie Mae approved conventional mortgage.  The MN home purchase must for a primary residence. 

Call Minnesota Mortgage Broker Patti Mazzara to learn more about Down Payment Assistance and the loan programs that make home ownership possible.

Purchase a forclosed home in Brooklyn Center, MN and receive up to $10,000 toward down payment and closings.  This program is a perfect complement to the FHA loan program that requires 3.5% of the purchase price as down payment.  

Highlights:

The borrower(s) must plan to occupy the home as a Primary Residence. 

No Non-Occupying co-signers will be allowed with the program. 

Borrower must not exceed the 31% housing 43% total debt ratios of the FHA program. 

Borrower must not own other residential property.

Homebuyer education class must be attended to qualify.

Minnesota FHA 203K can be used with the Brooklyn Center Rehab loan of up to $7000.

What Are We Supposed to Believe?

By Rob Minton & John Mazzara

There's a news aggregation website I visit from time to time that collects links to different sorts of articles and posts them all in one place.

Recently, this site -- in two different places but close to one another -- posted links to articles with the following headlines:

"No 'frenzy' to beat homebuyer tax credit deadline"

"Selling frenzy as homebuyer tax credit nears end"

Those are conflicting headlines to say the least! So what's a reader supposed to think?

The first headline links to an article on CNNMoney.com. The article says that while the expiration of the tax credits on April 30 led to an uptick in home sales, there hasn't been a last-minute frenzy to get deals signed before the expiration.

As you might guess, the other article -- from the Associated Press -- says there HAS been a frenzy as buyers try to get deals done before the deadline.

The two very different messages illustrate a point that deserves our attention: The media during this time of economic recovery can confuse the average person. This is a glaring example of the mixed messages the public has been sent regarding the economy. When it comes to the housing market, people are unsure what to believe.

The result is a tendency not to believe anything we read. Or at least to simply take bits of information from what we read and form our own opinions.

For example, new home sales were up 27 percent in March from the month before, the biggest increase in 47 years, according to the AP article. Sales of existing homes were up a substantial 7 percent. Is that a "frenzy?" That depends on your own personal interpretation of the word, doesn't it?

And that's the point. If we make our decisions or shape our opinions based others' interpretation of events, we are on dangerous ground. It's part of why there is so much confusion surrounding real estate markets these days. So-and-so says it's a great time to buy; but this So-and-So says real estate is a horrible investment. It's no wonder potential buyers and investors are confused.

On one shoulder, they have a little bird telling them they have the buying opportunity of a lifetime. On the other shoulder, another little bird is telling them to take no action. What happens? The conflicting information causes paralysis.

The best advice is to take what information you can from each little bird and make form your own opinion. Let the media INFORM your decision, but don't let them MAKE it. Otherwise, because of the often-conflicting perspectives, you'll never get anywhere.     

Homes in the Minneapolis St Paul Area are still a great value, regardless of the credit.  If you're considering housing, look today.

Members of the military and certain federal employees serving outside the US have an extra year to qualify for the first time buyer credit.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215594,00.html

Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year

to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy,

or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding

contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase.

Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence

community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual's

spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90

days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

Reminder:

Mortgage programs are changing.  NOW is the time to look at alternatives.  The USDA Rural program will allow for 100% financing for qualified buyers in rural areas.

ONLY if you are buying a home in Minnesota, visit us at http://www.VentureLoanApp.com