Jacque Applegate's Blog by The Applegate Team

5 BIG Credit Mistakes

This article is for all of you who ask Brandy and I about your credit scores. This is advice I have heard over the years from many lender on the mistakes customer make with their credit. Make sure you understand your credit score and how important it is to your home buying experience. As the rules for mortgages change daily, you have more negotiating power with a higer credit score then a lower one. Lenders base the rates they quote you on your credit score. So with the economy we are experiencing now, it helps to have a good credit score and some money in the bank. Gone are the days of 100% financing. So arm yourself with knowledge when you start shopping rates. Jacque
Click Here to Learn More About CreditCRM It's surprising how many consumers make the same credit scoring mistakes over and over again. In an effort to educate consumers on credit and credit scoring, we've compiled 5 common credit scoring mistakes into a list that defines each mistake ..(read more)

Current Market Conditions

The following is an article that came to me via email that actually shines a ray of light in the current market. Is the worst over? Hard to say but I do think we are seeing a rise in the sales of resale homes and new homes at least in Warner Robins continues to be steady. We are still building homes for buyers the only difference we see is that they need money in the bank now. Gone are the days of 100% financing and no money down. So if your in the market save your pennys because when you go to apply your gonna need em. Have a great week and give us a call if you have any questions. By: Hanley Wood

Fannie & Freddie on Rocks
Fears of a meltdown in the financial system have sent shockwaves across the markets in the past several days. Financials are still reeling from the effects of the meltdown in the mortgage markets. These issues have now brought into question the stability of the two large government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae ..(read more)

Respect the Flag

This was sent to me by a friend and I thought it was worthy of posting since July 4th is right around the corner. Respect the Flag When you see the Stars and Stripes displayed, son, stand up and take off your hat. Somebody may titter. It is in the blood of some to deride all expression of noble sentiment. You may blaspheme in the street and stagger drunken in public places, and the bystanders will not pay much attention to you; but if you should get down on your knees and pray to Almighty God, or if you should stand bareheaded while a company of old soldiers marches by with flags to the breeze, some people will think you are showing off. But don't you mind! When Old Glory comes along, salute, and let them think what they please! When you hear the band play "The Star-Spangled Banner" while you are in a restaurant or hotel dining room, get up even if you rise alone; stand there and don't be ashamed of it, either! For of all the signs and symbols since the ..(read more)

Memorial Day

Memorial Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed in 2008 on May 26). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. It is also traditionally viewed as the beginning of summer by many, since many schools are dismissed around Memorial Day.

To follow with that little bit of information I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day and don't forget to honor those who serve in the military. Remember they voluntarily choose to join to protect your freedom. ..(read more)

What is a short sale?

Short sales is a hot new buzz word in Real Estate lingo. What happens is that a Seller finds that thier home will not sale for the price they would like, and then they start to wonder if they should do a short sale. It is not a guaranteed out and it does not always solve the problem. A short sale happens when the lender is shorted on a mortgage, meaning the lender accepts less than the total amount that is due. If your mortgage is $100,000, but your home is worth, say, $90,000, you are $10,000 short, not including costs to close the sale such as real estate commissions, recording fees or title and escrow charges. Sometimes, to avoid going through the costs of foreclosure, a lender will sanction a short sale by letting a buyer purchase the home for less than the mortgage balance while the home is in pre-foreclosure stage. What this means to you is that you must have a ready willing and able buyer. A pre-foreclosure stage is one of the three stages of ..(read more)

INSIDE ADVICE: Owners facing squeeze encounter few attractive options

This man really has some good advice. Once think he did not mention was a short sale I will be posting another blog on short sales so be sure to read that one also. Jacque By John Adams
Contributor
Published on: 03/23/08 Today, some recent home buyers are finding themselves squeezed between an unusually slow resale market and little, if any, appreciation in the past couple of years. In fact, in some areas, homes have actually declined in value, based on ability to resell in today's market. To make matters worse, you may have accepted an adjustable rate loan when you bought, hoping that you could sell for a fast profit before your loan payments increased to unaffordable levels. Now you can't afford to make the new, higher payments. And you can't sell for enough to cover the high-balance mortgage that covers your property. You are literally stuck in an untenable situation. What are your options? > Call your lender and ask for help. Many ..(read more)

INSIDE ADVICE: Uncontrolled decline in prices? Numbers say no

This was a great article sent out onto a business website. It has some great facts that partain to the Georgia market. Hope you find it as interesting as I did. Jacque By John Adams
Contributor
Published on: 03/09/08 I recently heard a report on the national news that home values were in a "free fall." Not being exactly sure what a free fall is, I looked it up. A "rapid, uncontrolled decline" was the meaning I settled on. If, in fact, home values were in a free fall, that would be very bad for those of us who own real estate, especially those who have invested a lot in their own homes. And since the average American family has a large part of their net worth tied up in their house, a "free fall" in home values could spell trouble for many reading this column. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when the most widely trusted home price index for the United States was released recently. It showed that, in fact, home prices are not in free ..(read more)

Using Points to Lower your rate

SHOULD YOU PAY POINTS? These days, it's more important than ever to read the fine print and understand all the aspects to any mortgage. Your mortgage lender will always be willing to answer any questions you may have about any options, including that of paying points on the loan... First of all, do you know what points are? A (discount) ?point? in mortgage language is equal to one percent of the amount of the overall mortgage loan. You usually pay these up front in order to reduce the interest you will pay on the loan. For example, three points on a $150,000 loan would equal $4500. A discount point usually lowers your interest rate by about .125 percent. So on an interest rate of 7.5% for example, paying a point would lower interest to 7.375%, and if the loan were for $100,000, that point would cost you $1,000. You can deduct ..(read more)

Building a House

John my wonderful husband of 25 years and I are building a new house. What an endeavor it has been as well as a wonderful learning experience. I really thought I knew a lot about the construction phases of building and I guess I really do but I have been humbled and I have learned so much more. Do you know that in the process of building a house you have close to 100 inspections? Yeah well neither did I. One of Joel's young friends whose family built a house a couple of years ago went out to the construction site and we were just finishing the framing and he said "Yeah now it is gonna sit like this for a month." I thought he's crazy I have a good builder he knows what he doing and I will see progress. Well need I say Will was right we did not see the kind of progress my kids and husband thought we would see, instead we saw the HVAC unit installed the plumbing was plumbed, the electrical was wired but still no walls. I watched and learned. I wish I had done this ..(read more)

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

On Friday of last week Brandy and I met a couple who were first time home buyers. They called on one of our listings and we met them on Friday at Madison Place a subdivision where we have an exclusive listing. Which mean we are the only Realtors who list out there. Well they were interested in one of our houses but they had been pre-approved by their Realtor who was also a licensed mortgage broker. Needless to say we felt this was a conflict of interest in the other agent, was he going to look out for their best interest in getting the best loan possible? Of this I doubt. When we got back to the office we found out that this same Realtor had done a loan with my broker last month and on the loan the lender had put in a yield spread which is a little noticed line on the HUD document that is where the Lender makes a large chunk of change that most buyers never notice but you as a buyer do pay for it. I feel that this is one area where your Realtor earns their commission to look ..(read more)

Lesson from the subprime fallout

In cruising the INTERNET I found this article on the sub-prime fallout and it really hit home with my team. A couple of years ago we had a Colonel come to us to sell a house in a fairly new subdivision, he was a victim of a sub-prime loan. The Realtor who sold him the house did an interest only loan even though this gentleman could afford the payment had money to put down and had a great credit history. His agent at the time sold him this home with an interest only loan. After living in the house for 3 years he owed more on the house then it was worth. He had to bring 10,000. to the table to cover his cost. It was sad. We did all we could to help but we still had to tell him the unfortunate information that he would need to bring a large chunk of change to the closing table. If we had sold this Colonel the house we would never have put him in an ARM with a balloon payment, nor would we have done an interest only loan. There was no reason for this customer to be in this situation. It ..(read more)

Warner Robins Little League World Champs

Congratulations to the Warner Robins Little League Baseball team who beat Japan 3-2 on Sunday evening. What a great testament they are for our wonderful city. What struck us in the office was the sportsmanship these young men displayed. At the end of the game when they went out and hugged the Japanese players who were distraught and crying verses just shaking their hands, it actually made me so proud. I know Micky Lay personally and I know he is a wonderful coach and a great man and he has the interest of those young men as a top priority. I also feel personally that weather they won or lost they would have been so proud to have just had the opportunity to play in an arena like the one they did. Christy a member of our Real Estate team drove a 16 pack van up on Friday loaded with siblings of the the players who had to go to school. They left work on Friday and drove 12 + hours to PA to take the family members who could not go. What a great community to be a part of when people ..(read more)