Whitney Watson's (whitneywatson) Blog

First Home Mortgage is honored to be a drop off location for Shannon Milligan with the RVA Home Team's Peanut Butter Drive.  FeedMore's mission is "to fight hunger in Central Virginia."  "FeedMore is Central Virginia's hunger-relief leader made up of the Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheel...

Why Do Credit Disputes Have to Be Removed Before My Mortgage Can Be Approve? This post has been a draft for almost a month, but I just couldn’t figure out the best way to present the topic.  However, at lunch with a few realtors yesterday, I heard a story that really highlights the importance of ...

Credit tip number 5 is to use caution when closing accounts. Closing an older account isn't always a good thing because it can cause your credit history to appear shorter and lower your score. If you're anything like me you found out the hard way (back in my college days) after you already close...

Credit tip number 4 is to create a budget and live within its limits. Credit should not be a source to live beyond your means. It is so easy to create a simple budget and it allows you to have more control because you track and see exactly where your money is going. 

Credit tip number 3 talks about having a mixture of different credit types to show that you know how to manage all types of credit. Outside of having credit cards to build credit, it shows great credit managing ability when you also have and installment loan, like a student or car loan.  

  Credit tip number 2 is to reduce your credit card balances below 30% of the credit limit on each credit card; reducing balances below 10% is even better. Credit card utilization has a very high impact on your credit score, so keeping balances low is key to building and maintaining a high score...

Part of my Facebook marketing is creating a series of tips on financial/mortgage issues. I finished a series on Avoiding Mortgage Sabotage a few weeks ago and just started my new series on Credit Tips. Tip number 1 is a crucial one to remind newer credit card owners holders of. I've heard severa...

Today I am thankful for a great friend of mine, Bridget. Yesterday she took her two teenage kids and my coworkers two children to go out for a day of fun. She said she'd love to take my daughter, Darby, along with them, so I took her up on the offer and Darby had a blast! It's the little things l...

My favorite thing about working for First Home Mortgage in Richmond, VA, is the team with whom I work.  We have a dedicated staff of underwriters and product support specialists available to research ways to assist clients with their outside-of-the-box lending needs.  When tough scenarios come up...