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Free Credit Scores - Trick or Treat?

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Services for Real Estate Pros with Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage NMLS# 377413

 

Mortgage by Randy

 

 

 

 

In Issue 67 We Touch On:

 

Sub-Prime Is Back!

Free Credit Scores - Trick or Treat?
Real Estate Divorce Tips

 

 

The holiday season is here. How are you feeling about that? Is it a tight budget year or are you planning on a splurge? Either way, your best bet is to establish a budget and stick to it. Fifteen minutes of planning to establish how much gift money per person you intend to spend will help you avoid spontaneous purchases amidst the hustle and bustle of the shopping scene. The holidays and spirit of family and gift giving are fun, but do proper planning now to avoid the stomach ache of higher than expected credit card bills come January! This is especially important for anyone in process of getting mortgage. A sudden surge in your credit card balances prior to closing your loan could stop you in your tracks.
 
 

The current newsletter and all prior newsletters are archived at the Mortgage by Randy blog. Bookmark it and share with your friends and family.  You can make your own comments and feedback as well.  Time for the news…

 

 

Mortgage Market: Sub-Prime Is Back! 
Despite the housing market on the upswing and interest rates dropping, three out of ten Americans are unlikely to qualify for a mortgage, according to a recent study by Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. They analyzed 13 million loan quotes and more than 225,000 purchase loan requests in September and compared the results to a previous study in September of 2010. The study showed that borrowers with credit scores under 620 who requested purchase loan quotes were unlikely to receive even one quote, even if they could offer a down payment of 15-25%. That is unchanged from September of 2010, according to Zillow. Almost three out of ten Americans have credit scores below 620. Maybe those people should read this newsletter more often!
 

Slowly but surely more loan programs are being introduced to help sub-prime and prior prime customers. The new programs are typically designed to assist borrowers who have experienced a recent short sale, previous modification, prior foreclosure and/or a prior bankruptcy. In addition, there is some expansion in loan programs available for self-employed borrowers who sometimes have difficulty documenting all of their income and expenses. Specialty loan programs for foreign nationals, fix and flips and other niches are starting make appearances again. Never hesitate to contact me to discuss loan scenarios so we can explore if there are options for a non-traditional situation.

 

 

Personal Credit: Free Credit Reports and Scores - Trick or Treat?

Understanding credit is indeed something that is very important but not taught in school or by our parents (no one taught them either!). The good news is that credit is not hard to learn about.  Although you can access your credit report from many websites, consumers only need to utilize the safest one which is to go to the portal at www.annualcreditreport.com. Consumers can access their free annual credit report from each of the 3 major bureaus there. I recommend that consumers pull one of their three reports every 4 months so that you have a consistent rotation of inspecting your credit reports more frequently than once per year.

In addition, consumers should not be fooled by similar websites such as freecreditreport.com which sounds innocent enough but is really a commercial website designed to entice consumers to open their wallet and purchase credit scores and ongoing credit monitoring services. These services are useful don't get me wrong (I have 24x7 monitoring in place and it has saved me multiple times from identity theft attempts). However, consumers only wanting to see their free reports should use annualcreditreport.com which is the ONLY site blessed by the U.S. Government under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to serve as our national portal for consumer credit report access.
 

 

Ask Me Your Credit Score Questions

Have you been given credit score advice that you are not sure about or read an article that has conflicting credit score information from what you believe to be true?  I am here to help.  Submit your question and I will be happy to respond. For more free and easy to read credit score tips visit the DailyDollar and click on the Credit Score and Credit Monitoring sections. Remember, to get a truly free approximation of your credit score, read my article about Credit Sesame and try them out.

 
 

Economy & Financial Insights: How The Government Shutdown Affects Your Wallet
Government shut down drama is behind us (at least for 90 days) as our elected officials chose once again to kick the can down the road rather make any important long-term decisions. We will be flooded with hour by hour news drama about the threat of another government shut down as we approach the February expiration of the current 90 day solution.

Delayed economic reports from the shut down period are trickling out now and the news is not encouraging. Job growth is painfully slow, incomes are still depressed and the cost of living is being affected by higher healthcare costs, higher taxes (federal and local) and higher food costs. Worse, the threat of rising interest rates is still looming which will zap our wallets of more interest on credit card balances and adjustable rate mortgages
. The government shutdown circus has also zapped consumer confidence. A possible cure for that, at least temporarily, is our entrance into the holiday season.

 

Interest rates will likely remain steady for the foreseeable future. There is no indication from the Federal Reserve as to when that may change. With the upcoming retirement of Ben Bernanke and the installation of new Fed Chair, I think that there will be no changes until after the transition happens.

 

 

Question of the Month: How Do I Remove My Ex-Spouse's Name From My Property?

There are three popular ways to remove an ex-spouse from the title of your property.

Option #1: Quitclaim Deed: a legal document which removes someone from the title
Option #2: Refinance: get a new mortgage in your name only
Option #3: Owelty Refinance: a new mortgage in your name only AND the equity is split between the divorcing parties

A lot of misinformed couples think that Option #1, the quitclaim deed, absolves the leaving spouse of any financial responsibility for the mortgage. They learn the hard way that this is a huge mistake. Their credit will be at risk and completely reliant upon the staying spouse to pay the mortgage on time each month. If the staying spouse misses a payment, that will negatively impact the departing spouse even if their name is no longer on the title. Lenders don't care about the title. They care about the names on the loan. If your name is on a loan, you are liable no matter what. The only way to truly get a spouse absolved of responsibility for a property is to sell it and pay off the mortgage or have the staying spouse refinance into a new mortgage.

 

Giving Back: Rare Cancer Attacking  Lisa Murgalo - Insurance Declined - Donations Needed
My friend Janine Oteri shared this sad and maddening situation and we ask that you consider helping out. A mother of 2 amazing daughters, Lisa Murgalo, needs our help. Lisa was diagnosed in May with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, a rare and aggressive breast cancer. Her treatment has been halted once already due to an insurance dispute. Lisa's insurance company has not paid one dime of any of her claims.  With only 2 chemo treatments left she was informed by the cancer center that they could not continue treatment without payment.  She is now faced with a legal battle on top of her cancer battle.  This hasn't stopped her. Now you can help. Click to help Lisa now and learn a lot more details about her battle with cancer, her battle with insurance and her conviction to live life to the fullest despite the challenges she is facing!.

 

Join Upromise!
 

 

Need volunteers? Do you have a fundraising event upcoming?   Do you have a personal web site where you are raising donations for your cause?  Submit the information to randy@mortgagebyrandy.com by the 5th day of each month and we will do our best to include your information in the next issue.
 

Our annual pilgrimage to the Disney Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT was another success. It is amazing how quickly Disney helps you part way with your money. But it's worth every penny. If you ever plan to go, let me know because we have a bunch of tips to share with you. Have a safe and fun Halloween and let's remember to take time to thank our Veterans on Monday November 11. 
 

Randy
 

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Mortgage by Randy newsletter, Copyright 2008-2013 Randy Mitchelson.  All Rights Reserved.

Randy Mitchelson is a licensed mortgage professional. All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. All material represents the opinions of Randy Mitchelson.  Recommendations may change and readers are urged to check with their financial advisors before making any decisions. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Mitchelson can be reached at 239-851-6738.

________________________________________________________________________________________

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print as long as the following is included:

 

Randy Mitchelson is an entrepreneur, author and community activist with 20 years experience in financial services.  Mitchelson has served in leadership roles for Fortune 500 firms Bank of America, KeyBank and CIBC.

 

As a licensed mortgage professional and member of National Association of Mortgage Brokers, Mitchelson educates both individuals and groups about credit scoring by conducting personalized credit report reviews, action plans and one on one consultations. He is author of the free monthly newsletter, Mortgage by Randy.

 

He founded of Estero, Florida based National Web Leads, LLC, (NWL) in 2005, an internet marketing and lead generation services company. NWL merged with Reach Prime in 2012 where Mitchelson is CMO. Reach drives new customer acquisition through email, web display, social media, keyword search strategies, mobile devices and more.

 

Reach distributes customers' marketing campaigns via it's network of publishing partners. Clients include payday lenders, auto loan lenders, educational institutions, legal services, health and beauty product distributors and more.
 

Mitchelson also writes the DailyDollar™ personal finance newsletter. U.S. News and World Report named DailyDollar to its list of 8 Savvy Personal Financial Podcasts.

 

Mitchelson earned his BS and MBA at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.  He is a founding member of the Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership Inc. and Vice President for the Michelle’s Angels Foundation Inc.  He is married to Susan, a Pharmacy Supervisor in the Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, Florida.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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