Ahh, the end of summer begins, but the real estate market is still going strong, even with a little price modulation. Interested in selling this year? Call me for a listing appointment to explore your options. ~Mardin, (408) 210-2073
If you’ll be applying for a mortgage soon, take these extra steps to ensure your credit score doesn’t take a hit through the homebuying process.
1st — Avoid establishing any new credit while applying for a mortgage and for the entire time you're in the home buying process, until closing. No car purchases, appliances, or in-store credit cards. Use the credit you have and pay it off immediately.
2nd — Select one or two mortgage companies who will do a pre-qualification. Resist their efforts to pull your credit report at this point. The details of a pre-qualification are based only on what you tell the lender, so you can see it won't be official. But the process can help you know if you need to do more financial work before formally applying for a mortgage. Some lenders won't do a pre-qualification. If not, go to the next lender.
3rd — When you’re ready, fill out formal mortgage applications with two or three different companies, including a hard credit pull. If you do this within 45 days of each other, it won’t be counted against your credit report. Since you only have 45 days in the credit grace period, it pays to have done your homework during your pre-qualification phase. Contactme if you need referrals to lenders.
September Quiz QuestionYou bought an item for $7, sold it for $8, bought it back for $9, and sold it for $10. How much profit did you make?
Send your answer for a chance to win a $5 coffee card! Last month's Q&A:With me, you can see cities but no houses, mountains but no rocks, and coasts but no sand. What am I? A map.Congratulations to last month's winner!
Nuggets of News
Financial Therapy
Financial therapy is counseling that combines financial advice and emotional support to help people manage financial stress. Worry about financial matters can have a crippling effect on people, negatively impacting their family life, work, and all other aspects of their lives. Read here for details about using this kind of counseling, and to find a certified financial therapist.
“You have to be odd to be number one.” ~ Theodor Geisel
Dr. Seuss's home is for sale...
Guess how much?
Can you sell it in a box? Can you sell it with a fox? The Theodor Suess Geisel home hit the market in August for the first time ever. We don't yet know the selling price, but the asking price was nearly $19 million. You read that right...it's quite a site! (Too much?) There’s a great story about the history of the house in this San Diego news report.
Which costs more...EV or gas car?
When it comes to a pure kilowatt to gas comparison, EVs win, hands down. But other factors can complicate the economics of EV ownership, such as the higher initial price, the cost of a home charger, electricity costs, and fees to offset the loss of gas tax revenue. EVs are less expensive to drive and better for clean skies, but not always as economical as expected.
Release Your Inner Architect with an ADU
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) are small, highly customizable homes and garage conversions. Also known as mother-in-law apartments and granny flats, they're an ideal way to add a rental apartment or parent/child home to your own house, and they can be a fun way to express your inner architect. Check out these creative ADU design images.
Just for Fun
Where in the World?
Can you guess which country these 4 iconic house styles belong to? After making some guesses, click here to see the answers.
