Before understanding how to repair your credit, it’s important to understand what your score is, and where it comes from.

Your credit score is a 3 digit number lenders use to calculate your eligibility and rate for a home loan. But how is your credit score calculated? The formula takes into account your payment history, how much you owe, how long you’ve had credit, and how often you apply for new credit.

There are several different credit score reporting agencies and each can have slightly different ranges. This is why it is important to take a look at 3 different credit reports in determining what your score range is.

 The following are examples of credit ranges and reporting agencies.

• The FICO score ranges from 300-850
• The VantageScore ranges from 501 – 990
• The Equifax credit scores range from 280 -850
• The Experian Plus ranges from 330-830
• The TransRisk score ranges from 350-850

With all these different credit scores and ranges, the one that is most widely used by creditors is the FICO score. Anything lower than a 650 may impede the process of qualifying for new credit. Because credit scores and credit reports are constantly changing it is important to review them on regular basis.  By checking your credit annually this helps you keep track of any fraudulent activity.

5 tips for improving your credit:

Pay bills on time: late payments and collections reduce your credit score.

Don’t max out credit limit: by keeping your balance below 65% of your maximum allowed credit you can increase your score.

Don’t apply for credit you don’t need: too many inquiries over a short period of time can reduce your credit score.

Don’t close old credit accounts even if they are inactive: this can make your credit history appear shorter which can reduce your score.

Correct any negative inaccuracies on your credit report: inaccuracies can increase your score.

With just these few tips and tricks to credit scores you can help keep your score at a reasonable level, and improve the probability of getting the best rates available for a home mortgage.

According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, December marked the third consecutive month of rising existing home sales. This upward trend put the housing industry ahead of last year’s numbers.

The chief economist for the NAR, Lawrence Yun said, “The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery,” he said. “Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.”

On a 12-month basis, from December of 2010 to December of 2011 existing home sales were higher by 3.6%.  Also in December, housing inventory dropped 9.2 percent to 2.38 million existing homes on the market. This is the lowest level since March of 2005 when existing homes on the market reached 2.30 million.  Yun Said, “The inventory supply suggests many markets will see prices stabilize or grow moderately in the near future.”

As existing home sales rose over the past 3 months, so too did homebuilders confidence which has reached the highest level since June 2007, according to Bloomberg News this rise in builder confidence can be attributed to stronger sales and improved buyer traffic. The confidence measure among builders, which increased for the past 4 months in a row, reflect an improvement in all four regions of the United States.

What do all these statistics mean for buyers? This means many markets will start to see stabilization in pricing and will begin to see some growth. Now is the time to buy a new home.  With less inventory, low interest rates, and a strong indicator that many markets are beginning to stabilize, this would be the time to hop of the fence and give serious thought to following through on that new home purchase you’ve been dreaming of.

Source: National Association of Realtors. 

Many people who are selling their homes often think that the holiday season is slow season and if they didn’t sell their home before labor day they might as well take their home off the market.

Oh contraire. The holiday season is the perfect time to showcase your home and profit from this misconception. Here are 5 advantages! Listing your home for the holidays could gain you the buyer you’ve been looking for.

Take Advantage of Reduced Inventory – “Slow” season in the real estate world means reduced inventory available in the market place. Just because it’s slow doesn’t mean people aren’t still looking. So by keeping your home on the market during the holiday season you have a better chance of catching the attention of a would-be homeowner.

Decorate to Impress – With cheery holiday decorations you create the perfect environment to help others envision them selves in your home. It really is the difference between a potential homebuyer seeing a house versus a home.

Smells of Home – Home is where the nose is, with holiday baking you will help entice potential buyers into believing this too could be their home with those lovely cookies baking in the oven.

Tax Advantages – Many people will look to close on a home before the tax year ends so that they can take advantage of some of the home ownership benefits out there for their tax returns.

Corporate Relocation – Many corporations relocate or transfer their employees at the beginning of the year. This creates a sense of urgency for those transferees to find a house to call home during the holiday season.

Just by keeping these 5 factors in mind, you can create your own holiday luck. Listing your home during the holidays is the first step to getting it seen and on the potential holiday wish list for that lucky family.

Ideal Homes has recently piloted an education program which is an extension of the current Oklahoma Real Estate Commission regulated CEC course Tony Marbell promotes and Vernon McKown presents. The Home Ownership Forum is a panel style session tailored to fit corporate environments. Ideal Homes provides lunch and the attendees are encouraged to ask questions during the forum; questions may also be submitted in advance. Those in attendance have access to industry experts in a format that encourages interaction.

Steve Shoemaker is the Ideal Homes Marketing Director and Moderator for the Home Ownership Forum. He states, “The single largest investment people make is their home. The decision making process for a home purchase evokes positive and negative emotions. We look to educate to help reduce stress. When a buyer is able to make informed decisions, the well being of that home buyer is affected positively. A majority of our success is a healthy market; we also look to educate buyers to ensure they understand the market and how it is affected by relative choices.”

There are many questions asked of our experts and one recurring question is, “How do I know it is the right time to buy?” It is usually asked out of those concerned about the real estate market. According to Oklahoma Mortgage Bankers Association (OMBA) the following is true about Oklahoma housing:

• Oklahoma’s economy continues to show signs of strength
• State tax receipts are up 15% over the past year as of June
• Statewide unemployment dropped to 5.3%, decreasing in all 77 counties
• Unemployment  in Oklahoma City is 4.5% – lowest in the nation of major cities
• Since 4^th Quarter of 2009, Oklahoma’s personal income growth  is 2^nd highest nationally
• Oklahoma is one of a few states with significant inward migration
• Market values on most homes have remained stable
• Lenders and borrowers remember the Oil Bust and have remained conservative

The above points are an example of information shared during the Home Ownership Forum and the Real Estate CEC Classes. If you have additional questions or are interested in holding a forum or CEC Class, contact Kristy Boone – kboone@ideal-homes.com.

All you hear in the news seems to spell gloom and doom for the economy. Every time you turn around it’s debt ceiling this, and economy that. But this is global, this is national, it is not local. It is not personal.

When assessing your personal situation, only you will know whether or not to be confident in your decisions. Are you generally a confident person? Are you generally smart enough to know what is good for you and your family? Have you made smart decisions when it comes to your use of credit? Have you been generally good with your finances thus far? Are you secure in your job and your position? Is it your dream to own your own home? Only you can answer these questions. These are personal questions, not global questions.

These answers are not dictated by the global economy, they are not dictated by the nation’s economy. These answers do not have anything to do with an arbitrary debt ceiling the nation has decided it will or wont raise. It’s fully dependent on your personal finances and your personal comfort level and confidence.

Purchasing a house is an important decision yes, but it is also an emotional as well as a logical one. First it’s important to realize you are looking for a home, not a house. A home is a place where you raise your family, it’s a kitchen where you prepare meals, it’s a dining room where you discuss the day’s events…who won the little league game, how did the book club go? It is a family room where you settle in for the evening watching your favorite show with your arm around your sweetheart. It’s a bedroom where you tuck the kids in at night. It is a yard where your beloved dog romps.

For some reason we’ve been conditioned to believe a house is strictly a financial investment and it’s only about the bottom line. We’ve lost sight somehow of what a home really is. A home is not a 401K, a stock portfolio or a savings bond. Really it’s all about family, community and neighborhood. Whether you are a family of one, or ten, a home is a safe secure place to build memories.

Builders across the nation are still weathering the financial storm and creating that ability to fulfill the dream of homeownership. Becoming a homeowner is more affordable then ever before, because of the global economy. That’s the only place where you are actually affected by what is going on across the country and around the world. You are affected in your favor as a new homebuyer.

If the global economy were stronger, interest rates would be higher. The current reality is that if the economy were not doing this crazy limbo dance, you would not be able to get nearly the value for your money that is currently being offered in the new home market place. Right now homebuyers are experiencing the most value for their money then ever before.

If you can confidently answer yes to the earlier questions, you should be able to confidently purchase a new home and stop waiting on the “economy” to begin your dream of homeownership.

This is a question often heard from homeowners who currently own, but who are contemplating a move. There are several different angles to look at when making this decision.

The truth of the matter is there is no cut and dried answer for this question. Each potential home shopper, and homeowner has a different set of circumstances.

First ask yourself a series of questions:
• Why do you want to sell your home?
• What is your motivation?
• What will you achieve by selling your home?
• Is your home valued at less than you owe to the bank?
• If so do you have cash you can bring to the table?
• What are the liabilities of holding on to your current home? (i.e. taxes, repairs, a continued decrease in the value of your neighborhood)
• What is your emotional commitment to your current home? After all there is a reason you are contemplating selling, so define those reasons why.

Then weigh all these questions and reasons and look at both your financial and your emotional health when deciding to sell now or wait. It may sound silly to say dive into your emotions, but by looking at the long-term effect on your emotional state by staying in a home that no longer fits your needs, it will help you come to terms with how you want to be living for the next several years.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they wait they will get the best price for their home. But there are so many factors that contribute to that “price.” First off, as the market gets stronger so will the prices on homes you wish to purchase once you sell your own home. As you wait for prices to increase you run the risk of interest rates increasing which means that you will afford less and less house for the money you have to spend. And finally if you wait, how long do you wait?

We never have the luxury of knowing the optimum time to sell, that’s where the emotional health of the situation comes in. Are you constantly unhappy as you fight for cabinet space in an inadequately small kitchen? Do you find yourself cursing your master bath, closet or bedroom over and over again for it’s lack of ability to fit your needs? Are the kids outgrowing the space your current home has to offer? Do you find yourself wishing over and over that you were in a different area due to long commutes, better schools, newer neighborhoods or a slew of other reasons that started you looking for a new home in the first place?

Then on an emotional level it may be time to make the decision to sell now and find a home that better fits your needs and those of your family.

Maybe you’ve been on the fence for a while, asking yourself, “is it a good time to buy a home?” It’s easy to play the waiting game. Waiting for the perfect storm of conditions to come together for the lowest, prices, rates, and best availability and options. However most people find that they only know in retrospect, when they should have moved forward to begin the next phase of life.

Here are 6 good reasons to buy now, described in more detail in a recent Wall Street Journal Article, “Why It’s Time to Buy.”

Lowest Mortgage Rates in 50 Years – Sure you keep hearing this, but do you really know what that means? According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Survey quoted in their May 2011 Outlook, “Homebuyer affordability remains extraordinarily high because of low mortgage rates and house prices that are well off their cyclic peak: The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages has hovered between 4.75 and 5% for most of this year”

Your parents didn’t get these kinds of interest rates when purchasing their homes. And in many cases they had a much higher required down payment to even receive a home loan.

Home Prices Near Decade Lows - Home prices are competitive with pre-housing boom pricing found a decade ago. The median price for a previously owned home fell to $156,100 in February, the lowest level since 2002 but are on the rise again to $163,700. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Compared to the year before, however, the pricing is down 5%.

The Price to Income Ratio is at Pre-Bubble Numbers -The price to income ratio is the affordability measure generally expressed as the median house prices to the median family income. According to Moody Analytics that ratio is now 20.9%. It is lower than the 15-year average ending in 2010. This is 12.5% lower than the 1989 – 2004 average.

Inventory Still High - According to the NAR, total existing home inventory in April grew 9.9 percent to 3.87 million homes, a 9.2-month supply at the current sales pace. Even though inventory levels in Oklahoma remain healthier than the national level, there  still remains a buyers’ market scenario that allows choice while keeping pricing down for the would-be homebuyer.

Long-term Homeownership Benefits - As a homeowner, you can deduct the mortgage interest on your taxes. Unlike renting, you are paying toward your own equity with every monthly payment verses a rental payment toward your landlord’s property investment. In a rental home improvements are money out of your pocket you will never see. When you own your home, you increase your own property’s value with every improvement to live the way you want.

Prices Edging Upward - According to the Wall Street Journal, Moody’s Analytics predicts that the number of distressed sales will begin to fall in 2013 causing the prices to edge upward. That coupled with demographic indicators such as rising “household formation” will begin to reduce the amount of inventory on the market causing prices to continue upward with smaller supply and more demand.

So if you’ve been hanging out on the fence in limbo asking yourself whether or not it’s time to buy, you are likely to find the perfect home right now verses waiting for the next phase of your life to begin.

At Ideal Homes we design every floor plan around livability. We strive to build new homes in Oklahoma City that work for how people actually live in them by looking at how our home buyers use their homes and customizing floor plans to fit their needs. We learn what home buyers need by analyzing feedback from several sources.

1.  Homeowner surveys. We ask every family in an Ideal home how they live in their home, what they like, and what they would change.
2.  Customer requests in the Ideal Homes’ Design Center. When we see a trend, we implement it in future designs.
3.  Ideal Homes employees. A large number of our employees are also Ideal homeowners. We get great feedback from inside our own company.

One example of feedback we’ve taken directly from our homeowners and applied to our floor plan design is the addition of more flexible space. Through a combination of the avenues above, we learned that many homeowners were using formal dining rooms for home offices, playrooms, craft rooms, music rooms or home gyms. Families were using the extra space to meet their unique needs. We knew our floor plans needed to reflect that. Ideal Homes responded by including more flex space in homes that offered different options for the space and provided plans with more flexible layouts that could meet a variety of needs.

New homes in Oklahoma City should reflect how you live.  We always encourage feedback.  Feel free to visit any of our furnished model homes and give us our thoughts.

The July issue of The Builder Report, published by Dharma, Inc., is hot off the press.  This report provides a large amount of data on Oklahoma City new home construction.  It’s a valuable resource for those of us in the Oklahoma Real Estate industry.  Not only does it track overall new home permits, but also compiles a list of the top selling neighborhoods in the Oklahoma City metro area.  

Of special note, four out of the top five hottest neighborhoods are in far NW OKC (Edmond/Deer Creek schools) and are within a mile of each other.  Of course we’re partial to Valencia, which tops the list, but homebuyers have no shortage of new home options in Edmond or Deer Creek.

As always, the hot spots jump around from year-to-year or even month-to-month.  Some areas of Mustang are picking up steam.