seattle realestate: Is Your Credit Score Sexy Enough? - 07/16/13 05:20 AM

Money can't buy you happiness, but can knowing how to handle money get you a spouse? That's the theory behind a couple of dating sites that use credit scores as a way for people to find Mr. or Ms. Right.
This is just the latest way credit scores -- which are based on a person's outstanding debt and payment histories -- have morphed into applications different from their original purpose: Financial institutions first used them as a means to determine whether they should make a loan to someone. Some companies now use them when doing background checks on job candidates. … (0 comments)

seattle realestate: Interest rate surge hammers US mortgage apps - 07/15/13 03:35 AM

An unrelenting surge in interest rates for home mortgages pushed borrowing costs to their highest level in two years, stymieing demand from potential homeowners, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
Interest rates on fixed 30-year mortgages rose for the ninth week in a row to average 4.68 percent in the week ended July 5, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. It was the highest level since July 2011 and a 10 basis point increase over the week before.
The surge in costs has been expected to push some undecided buyers into the market as they rush to lock in … (0 comments)

seattle realestate: Top 10 Scams of 2013 - 02/19/13 12:59 AM

Click here for the Better Business Bureau annual list of the worst schemes that aimed to steal people's money or identity.
… (0 comments)