Categories
Home Staging

How I Sold My Home For $30k More With Staging

Are you getting ready to put your home up for sell do you want to sell it on the first day for top dollar? I’m Becky with Intentional Interiors Staging & Design in Nashville Tennessee. I’m so grateful for all of those who join me each month for my monthly articles if you like learning about home decor, DIY, and increasing the value of your homes and crafts and really all things home related, I bring monthly tutorials on all these topics and I would love it if you join me. It just makes everything so much better! On this months article, with the big home selling season right at our front door I wanted to share a personal experience of mine when we sold our home for thirty thousand dollars more than any other unit had sold before and on the first day of showing but before I get into the nitty-gritty details of how we did that. I wanted to give a little bit of background about myself so I’ve been involved in real estate in some form or another since 2001, so almost two decades and I’ve been licensed in three different states and I have a background in home staging and interior design. But today I wanted to share a personal experience of selling our home which is something that we don’t usually do. Honestly, my husband and I are big advocates of holding on to our real estate but in this case, we knew that it was not a property that we wanted to keep and so we ended up selling a townhome we owned on the first stage showing for full asking price for $30,000 more than any other unit had previously sold!! Needless to say, our neighbors were happy to see us go! I don’t know why? maybe it just had to do something with the fact that we increase the equity of all their homes across the board and I guess you might be wondering. How did we do it? So let’s dive in. . . I’ll tell ya! You’re gonna want to read to the very end because I’m going to tell you where to go to see more pictures of the before and afters of this home as well as how to get my free ebook called “21 Ways to Add Value to Your Home Now”. And I will tell you how to get that at the end of this article.

Tip number one: Start with the ugliest house in the best neighborhood. . . now if you already own a home there’s nothing you can really do about that now, but when you go home shopping in the future it’s always a good idea to find the ugliest house in the best neighborhood that you can possibly stomach it, you know because there’s some people who aren’t cut out for DIY and projects and all of that and that’s what we did in this case so people thought we were straight-up crazy. We had lost our marbles when we bought this townhouse and honestly, we probably questioned our own sanity a couple of times and I’m being harsh on it. It really wasn’t quite that bad but it was in a really great location it was close to a lot of things and it had a lot of really good things going on it was a townhouse we had just purchased a house . . . like a year before and so in we had kept that. So we needed to kind of buy something that we could afford quickly and that’s you know The price range that we were in at the time really cute on the outside we walked in and it was just filled with smoke somebody had smoked in it for years and years and years and so it was like into the drywall. It was really, really strong. So that was a strike. Number one strike number two is it was like so 1980s like the 1980s called they wanted their decor back and it had to go but it was just it had like gray appliances. . . which I had never really seen before. But it had all gray appliances had like blue countertops and they had tried to do some updating but it was still just very much 1980s but what it did have for us is it had enough bedrooms and enough space for our family and location! Location! Location! Despite how ugly it was. It was in a great neighborhood so we bought the ugliest house in the best neighborhood and that’s what you need to do too!

Tip number two: Do as much of the renovations and work as you possibly can hire out as little as you can. . . that sweat equity is going to pay dividends on the back end having said that there are times when you need to call in the professionals and it makes more sense to call in the professionals, for example, if there are electrical issues then you definitely want to call in the professionals for that I switched out all the outlets and that property from like that creamy yellowy color from the1980s to the white that was an easy electrical thing that I felt comfortable doing. We did our homework so you need to kind of just pick and choose what you can painting is definitely something you should do on your own if you feel comfortable with a saw, then adding trim is another thing to do find a good handyman a lot of times they have a lot of skills and they will do it at a cheaper rate than a professional but big things like plumbing and electrical it’s usually best to call in somebody who’s licensed and approved for that type of renovations.

Tip number three: Know your buyer when choosing your finishes. So if you live in a very high-end neighborhood, you’re gonna want to choose finishes that are appropriate for that high-end neighborhood if you’re in a starter home neighborhood you want to choose finishes according to that you don’t want to go crazy you need to find deals do your homework get the best price you possibly can on finishes that are appropriate for that neighborhood. So for example in our townhouse you know, everything was dated in all of those units nobody had done any kind of renovations really to speak of if they did it was minimal things here and there so our renovated unit was like a standout but we kept in mind the buyers and I think the average age of the resident in there was in the mid-70s. So we were kind of the Young Bucks in there. So I kept that in mind as well as the price point. So in the kitchen, for example, and in the bath, I did Formica But I did a nice Formica in a Carrara marble look but it was not actually the cost of doing Carrara marble but to dress that up I did not do a backsplash on the Formica countertop I instead did like a white subway tile backsplash to dress up our Formica countertops and it worked out perfectly. So and then we did just we did a combination of carpet as well as a laminate wood flooring and so we kept that in mind But if you’re in a really high-end neighborhood again, you won’t like chef’s appliances nice quartz countertops or marble or granite or something, you know as a nice stone surface but you want to seek out the best price you can and again do the work yourself if you’re capable of doing that.

Tip number four: It’s all in the details. This one’s gonna blow your mind. It did mine! we got an appraisal a couple of months before we ended up putting our home up for sale for $32,500 less than we actually sold it for! Now a lot of it had to do with comps but a lot of it had to do with one element I had done a lot of the renovations with a couple of years that we lived there and It was looking really really good at the time that we had it appraised but what I ended up doing is I spent a couple of hundred dollars on wood and did a lot of additional trim. I added batten board throughout the main space I finished up a lot of those unfinished projects that you mean to get to you’re gonna get to them. But you kind of put them off, put them off, put them off. So it was literally down to the detail every project was finished I’m telling you those little details made all the difference in my opinion. I am convinced that doing that trim work and that detail work and that finish work is what REALLY Pushed our unit over the edge.

Tip number five: Do not ignore the decor. you need to get your house “designed to the nines” and you know I hear all the time from appraisers, Realtors, brokers, everyone. . . . that a beautifully designed home does not equal more money on the back end at sell I’m gonna push against that and I say I disagree because if you really think about it if you have two homes that are identical square footage side-by-side everything for all intents and purposes are the same and one is designed beautifully and has been well thought out and the decor is lovely and then there the other ones just kind of whatever hodgepodge or whatever the one that is beautifully designed will sell faster which equals more money and it’s gonna sell for more money It will! it just will. I think if brokers and Realtors and appraisers were all honest with themselves. . . They would agree with that and there’s more perceived value and that equals more real money It just does.

Tip number six: clean and clean some more people don’t like other people’s dirt It’s just as old as the hills and so and people also want like a new house really that’s what if they could afford a brand new house or one that feels new. That’s what they’re gonna want. So cleanliness equals dollars!So. . . clean clean clean! You want your house so clean that you could like literally eat off the floor and feel fine about it that’s how clean it is and if you need to take the extra bit of time to do that to get it on the market if you need to call in the professionals and pay $300 to have your house cleaned from top to bottom do that because it needs to be so clean that will help you sell it faster and for more money. Okay. . . So my last tip, tip number seven: is present a fantastic package to the real estate market so you’ve done all this work picking out the right finishes. . . Doing the DIY Painting it getting it clean getting it decorated nice.

Doing everything you can to present this wonderful package to the market. . . Now what? The first thing you’re gonna want to do is hire a really good agent that knows their stuff. You are gonna want to price it right! Okay? So if you don’t price it right, right from the start, it’s gonna cost you big dollars on the back end and it just it happens all the time I know you’re probably going,” but Becky you listed your house $30,000 more than the units have been selling for before so why are you giving me a lecture on? Listing it right from the start?” My pricing strategy was not without merit there were other townhomes in locations literally a mile away that we’re selling for much higher plus I knew the amount of renovations that we had done had warranted an increase in value and so there was a lot of elements that came into play in pricing it how I did. If you price it too high. . . It’s gonna cost you big time on the back end because people are gonna be like, why is that house not selling?

Well it’s overpriced and then it’s gonna sit on the market and sit on the market and the price will go down down down down down until you pay on the back end. So get in the agent who can help you price it right from the start. Make sure you have fantastic photography video tours Everything for an online buyer. . . present this beautiful package wonderfully the first time to the market. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. . . so that first impression that first presentation to the market has to have all its ducks in a row all the ducks in a row first time it’s presented to the market. Otherwise, it just tacks on days and days and days and that costs you money. I hope you’ve learned something today If I missed something or have any questions put them in the comment section below I also have contact info in the description. I sell real estate in the Central Florida area and I also have contacts all across the country if you’re looking to sell elsewhere I can help you with that as well. In the meantime. . .

Let’s help increase the value of your home so if you’re gonna definitely want to check out my ebook It has a whole bunch of ideas of how to add value to your home and you can get that on my website I’ll put the link above and as well as in the description. To improve the value and equity in your home! I do it even knowing that we are planning on holding on to our real estate properties. . . always a reason to be continually improving your property there’s ways to do it cost-effectively.

We’re doing a lot of DIY we’re doing a lot of interior decorating and if you want to learn some of these skills that I’ve talked about doing and using to improve the value of your home you’re gonna want to continue to read our articles because I’m gonna help you learn those skills to help increase the equity in your home and line your pocketbooks.

Categories
Real Estate Investing

What is a Lease Option in Real Estate?

What is a lease option? Friend, I’m glad you’re reading this article because today, out of all the strategies that I have used to build wealth from the world of real estate, I’m going to be sharing with you my absolute number one, absolute favorite. It’s called the lease option. So, I want to share with you how I discovered this because years ago, I was a brand-new investor. I hadn’t made the millions of dollars, I hadn’t you know, created the amazing lifestyle that I have today. And I was just starting out. I was nervous but I was hungry. And right now, if you’re watching this I want to ask. Are you hungry? Les Brown, famous motivational speaker and that big rich deep black voice what do I say, “Are you hungry?’And this hunger is this idea of what’s motivating you. If you’re reading this article, I’m going to impart all that I can to show you how to build wealth today in your life.

And literally, the lease option just gets me tickled pink because I’m going to show you exactly how I stumbled on it and then how I mastered it. So, my buddies were also investing at the time and they had already bought several homes. And I had just bought my first house. And they basically said, “John, you need to do a lease option. ” I’m like, “Well, what is that?’ And they described this handmade sign. They said, “We want you to go to the, you know, the supply store like OfficeMax or wherever you get that bright fluorescent poster board. ” You know whatI’m talking about? And they said, “This is what we want you to write. Rent. . . (In bad handwriting by the way. Don’t print this out. Not a professional sign. ) Rent to own. ‘ It didn’t go off the edge like that. But it said Rent To Own. No bank qualifying. And then it had my phone number. That this is not really my phone number. I don’t know how you guys still managed to get my phone number. But I swear, it’s out there somehow and I’m constantly getting a text from you guys. And you’re awesome and I love watching you rock it in real estate.

There’s a phone number and you put this sign basically out there. And bright-colored hideous and you put it on just like a stand and you plunk that in the yard. They said, “You’ll start getting calls like crazy. ” So on my very first house, I’m doing this for the very first time. And I put that sign out in the yard on that on that first investment property I had. And sure enough, I started getting calls. “Tell me about the house. ” And they had instructed me, “Don’t answer questions on the phone. Go bring people to the house and then do an open house. ” So that next weekend, I had an open house. I had a few families walk on through. And they said, “well, what is this?” and I was just following what was given to me and then I’m the rest. And basically, I said, “Well, rent to own means instead of renting and stop wasting your money. You can buy it. ” I own this house. I’ll be the bank and I’ll help you buy it in a few years. And that definitely had an attraction to a lot of people. So, they would walk through the house. They have fallen in love with that. They get excited and then they basically said, “Okay, so how does this work?”

I want to show you the flyer. I’d put this flyer together and this is what I had learned. Now, my mortgagee, what I want you to understand this. I got a sweet, sweet, deal on this house. When you do a house, you should always have a sweet deal. You should always be like freaking excited about the numbers on the deal. So, I got this house and I purchased it for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But on this exact house, it actually had a value of around $230,000. So, I was excited because the difference between 150 grand and 230, that’s an $80,000 spread. Like, I felt like I hit the jackpot. Like, that was way, way, way, way, way, more money than I made in a single year at the time. So, I’d found a good deal. When I actually bought it, my mortgage payment was just under a thousand dollars a month. Now, young, dumb, college kid trying to figure out what he wants to do with this life. No real career path. Starting on this real estate journey. I had an extra thousand dollar a month payment overhead in my life. And that was kind of nerve-wracking for me.

But I was optimistic. So, this is the flyer that I put together. It said no. But you know, rent to own, no bank qualifying and this is the exciting part. It basically said, you could all you could pay $3,000 as a downpayment and you could have a payment of $1,600 a month. Or you could put $5,000 down and you could have a payment of 1,500 a month. Or you could put $7,000 down and you could have a payment of1350 a month. Now, check it out, dude. Zoom in on this. I want you to see this. $7000. My payment was a thousand. So if someone gave me seven grand upfront, I was still going to have a $ 350-month cash flow. 1350 minus the thousand. So, I’ll put my cash flow here. This is going to be three hundred and fifty dollars a month. Now, to a young, dumb, college kid, $350 a month was enough to pay for like a car payment or to actually pay down debt or to buy school books. On this one, if they gave me five grand, I was going to make $500 a month.

And I’m like, “Freak yeah!” Or if they give me $3,000, I’m going to make $600 a month. Now, check it out. The family that actually got this house, they gave me $3,000, they started paying $1600 a month. I was making $600 a month cash flow. But let me ask you. Do you really care if they put more or less down and if they give you that kind of cash flow? I’m just telling you right now, you don’t care, it doesn’t matter. It all amortizes out and works out to the same in over 24 months. One of them will be slightly bigger than the other but the real big deal here is that you’re getting paid a big chunk upfront non-refundable. They’re committing to entirely take care of the house because that’s what a lease option is. Plus you get a really juicy cash flow. This family didn’t buy this house but the next family did. And on that house, I made over$100,000. In fact, my sold that made $130,000. AndI’ve made a lot of good money in real estate.

This strategy is like seriously it’s the number one, it’s what works for me, it’s what I love about it. Now, I want to share with you one last thing that you need to know about what a lease option is. In real estate, when you have a home, you’re going to rent it, you’ll have a rental contract. What we’re doing is we’re adding a special second contract called option to purchase agreement. And what they’re going to do is this is the standard rental and this is the biggest air people will make in real estate. In that same document, they’ll add the language for the lease option. In most states, that will actually qualify as the tenure of ownership in the home. And if they actually can’t buy the house, they would actually have grounds to sue you or make a legal argument to get their money back. What you need is a separate document and this document is the option to purchase agreement. With the option to purchase agreement, what you’re going to do is that’s where you’re going to say, “You’re going to give me this amount down and this is the terms of that agreement here’s how long you have. ” You need the two agreements.

I’ve pioneered it, most people don’t have it. It has kept me and my clients legally safe. So you need to understand, the lease option is awesome but there are wrong ways to do it and there are right ways to do it. Payment calculators, what you should charge, and rent. How to find the deals, how to even buy real estate on lease option without needing to put any money down. I share all of that with people when I actually mentor with them. And I would tell you as a final bonus here that if you’re going to get in the game of real estate, you need a mentor. You need someone that will come into your life that will actually show you the ropes and I’m all set up to do that for you. So, if you’d actually like to join my real estate community of thousands of investors. If you want to learn how to and buy the best real estate in the country and you want to learn a strategy.

That is 250% more profitable than regular rentals. Today’s information will hopefully get you started. I got valuable content coming out every month where I’m going to be teaching you new things about how to make the most money you can in real estate because at the end of the day, my friends, you want to be free. That freedom, you can’t put a price on it. And these jobs keep us landlocked working 40, 50, 60 hours a week versus being free. And so real estate, it is the best pathway to freedom. And I invite you to take me up on learning more about exactly what that looks like.

Categories
Real Estate Investing

Real Estate Investing Mistakes To Avoid

You better believe with the billion dollars of real estate under my belt that I have made my share of mistakes. So, I’m dipping into my past today. And in today’s article, I’m going to share with you the top 5 mistakes that I’ve made that I’ve seen other people make so that you don’t have to. Really having success in a real estate investment business, it’s a formula. Which means there are ingredients and they got to be put in at the right time. So, I’m not just going to share with you the 5 biggest mistakes. I’m also going to share with you the3 most important things that you should do. School might be in session for my kids. But school is in session for you. And as I share my 5 biggest mistakes in real estate and then the 3 things that will save you. So, today, I’m inviting an authentic Italian man chef Raphael into my home to actually do our private school lesson which is teaching my children the ingredients of making a really fantastic Italian meal. And the reality is I don’t really know how to make the focaccia bread just right. I want to know how he makes the pasta. What I do know is that I rush it. I botched the recipe. And if you watch the recipe in real estate, you’re going to pay for it, the school might be in session for my kids but school is in session for you as I share my 5 biggest mistakes in real estate.

And then the three things that will save your bacon and get you making real money. Check it out. Pitfall number 1, you’ve got to actually buy real estate with the intention of profits –actually making money. You know, there’s a lot of people that I meet that actually just buy a home to say, “I’m an investor. Look, I’m in the game. ” And this is a mistake that I actually fortunately have not made. But today, I got to tell you. I have met so many people down the line that literally have a problem property and it’s because they bought it without any criteria. They just thought that if you buy a property and rent it out, you’re an investor and automatically you’re going to make money. If it was that easy, we would have way more success out there. People would be making way more money. But that is not the case. Never buy a property just to say that you own it. Pitfall number 2, never buy a property unless you know that it’s projected toat least produce a 20-percent annual ROI. ROI stands out for return on investment. And in real estate, there are several ways to actually factor in how much money am I going to make on this. It can be number one, though actually getting the house at a discount. Because when you sell, that’s actually going to be a part of your profit. But number 2, you’re going to earn cash flow on the thing.

So, every month that cheque is coming into you, that factors into the overall return or the money that has returned to you for the money that you put out or somebody put out. Certainly doesn’t have to be yours. Of course, properties appreciate. We know from the US Census Bureau since 1963, real estate goes up 4. 58% year after year after year after year after year. So, you’re going to get some appreciation on it, There’s also things like tax savings and depreciation. But when you take it all into account, it ultimately comes up with an ROI or a return on investment. One of the things that is overlooked is the fact that if you get like a 30-year mortgage, guess what’s going to happen? In time, every time you make a payment you’re actually paying down that house. So, that’s actually money or a principal reduction that will also come back to you. If you take all of that into account, you want to see that you’re getting 20% back on your money. And here’s what that means: Let’s say that I bought a property and a 20% down payment was $30,000. What is 20% of 30 grand? 20 percent of 30 grand. . . Well, 10% of 30 grand is 3grand. So, 20% double that is $6,000.

I’ve got to actually pull in $6,000 a year that I keep saying I actually have a 20% ROI. Now, does that 6 grand need to all be cash in hand or can it also be appreciation growth or money that I’m going to get down the road? I’ll also count that as well. The biggest mistake people make in real estate is they buy it and they can’t even tell you what they hope the ROI will be. And there are too many known variables for you to actually do the math and figure it out. By the way, if you’re reading this article saying, “John, that went so far over my head. ” Or “It’s complicated” or “I’m afraid I’ll do it wrong.”

We’ll actually help you crunch the numbers and make sure that you’re making smart, intelligent decisions. Pitfall number 3, never fix up a property to your liking. As in like, “Oh, my gosh. I would love this tile and I would love this granite. And I would like to put in froze a carpenter I would like to put this in. ” I would like 3 Tom pay. And I would like crown molding. In the game of real estate, you always fix up a property to the market standard. Or in other words, what are the other homes in the neighborhood, what is their condition that is currently selling in the market that you’re in. A lot of people just make the mistake of putting money in and they’re never gonna get it back out. For example, if you’re dealing with an entry-level single-family home and you decide to put 10 more thousand or20 more thousand dollars into it because it’s what you would want if you were living there.

You’re not going to get that money. You’re not going to see it. All it does is increase the perceived value. You might sell the house a lot faster. You’re not going to sell the house for more. So, that’s just the third thing mistake that I’ve seen people make is they’ll lose money because they’ve overbuilt or they put too much into making the house the way they want it versus what the market is actually asking for it. Number 4 pitfall, never buy a rental property that can’t cash flow at least with the 5% return on your investment. That should encourage a really strong cash flow in the hundreds of dollars a month. And this is a problem that a lot of people make in real estate. A lot of markets can’t support that 5% number. For me, my average lies between 6 and 10percent. Like we’re killing it. We’re crushing it.

Reality is there’s just not a lot of people that actually understand how you do it and how you do it right. So, this number is pretty easy to calculate. If I do put 30grand out, 5% of that is $1,500. I should have$1. 500 coming back to me and that’s just a really important part of the equation. If you mess that part up, you are buying the wrong real estate or you’re buying it the wrong way. You should be doing like my Lease Option program that can freaking double Jackyour cash flow. Or you should be buying in the markets that have the strongest cash flow. And it’s not as hard as it used to be to buy out of state real estate the right way. In fact, if you’re like “Man, John are you telling me that I can make 2 or 3 times as much money if I went out of state? But that’s scary. ”  I’ll actually share with you how simple stupid and easy that it actually is. And number 5, never buy real estate without the clear exit strategy.

If I’m flipping a home, the goal is to exit in a few months. If it’s a buy and hold, how long? Is it a 30-year old, is it a 5-year old? If you don’t really know, then that just means you’rebuying it the wrong way. You’re buying it hoping with time that it’s actually all going to work out. Always know exactly what you’re doing and how you’re going to exit. Now, that you know the 5 things that you should never do, here are 3things that you should always do: Number 1, always make sure that you’refollowing a system with a track record. And where you find those is usually with some kind of mentor, a guru. Someone with a lot of experience that knows exactly what they’re doing. And if you follow a system that has a track record, it’ll basically tell you all the pitfalls that they figured out upfront so that you can have a shortcut to success. Always vet multiple deals. Most people will find a deal and then they’ll jump on it and they haven’t compared it to anything. I go through thousands of deals every week to find like 7 to 10 winners that I’m taking action on.

You should be vetting many deals so that by comparison, you might find something you love. But just hang tight. You’ll probably find something you love a whole lot more. The amount of winning you do in real estate at the end of the day really does come down to how many deals you vet to find that needle in the haystack, that winner that you’re going to kill it on. And the last piece of the formula, the third thing to make sure that you’re always doing is when everything lines up, when you’ve got the right deal in front of you when the numbers make sense; you take action.

Hey, thank you for reading today’s article about successful ingredients. If you’d like to get a copy of my book for free, I’m going to send it right to you literally no questions asked. It delivers the entire formula of how you can do real estate in your backyard step-by-step and make yourself the money that you deserve in your life.

Categories
Real Estate Credit Score

Increasing Your Credit Score To Buy A Home

It helps to know what a FICO score is and how its determined if you’re thinking about buying a home that number is going to be super important to your future mortgage do you know if a 300 is a good or a bad score how about an 850 do you know how you can approve your score well let’s talk about it right now.  If you are thinking of purchasing a house or you’re just in the planning stages please download a copy of my free guide preparing to purchase a home as always I am here to help home buyers and sellers in the San Francisco’s Bay or really anywhere in the US. I can find you an agent that best suits your needs.

Today we are talking about your FICO scores the score is important whether you want it to be or not because 95% of financial institutions use this number and get their scores from FICO. FICO weighs the information in your credit history it is used to determine the factors in your repayment ability according to myFICO.com there are five major factors that weigh into your credit score let’s talk about those number 35 percent of your score is based upon your payment history meaning do you pay your bills on time or are you late number to 30 percent of your score is how much you owe.

Also called your capacity of credit this is based on the amount of credit you have been extended and how much balance you carry on that credit number 3, 15 percent of your score is based on the length of your credit history which credit card or installment plan have you had the longest number for 10 percent of your score is the mix of your credit can be credit cards car loans school loans, etc

number 5 the final 10% of your score is new credit have you opened any new credit cards and if so how many have you opened recently your credit score can be the lowest of 300 to the top and best score of 850.

What’s important to know is that along with a higher credit score comes better interest rates not only for mortgages but also for auto loans student loans and credit cards so now you know how your credit score is made up let’s say that you want to improve it or build your credit score these are the ways that you can do that first of all and the most important let me say it again the most important is PAY YOUR BILLS ON time every month and don’t be late next is pay all of your bills in full each month if possible now if you run into trouble and you need to carry a balance on a credit card make sure it is 30% of your available credit or less.

So here’s my example let’s use a round number for this example you have a credit card that has a $10,000 credit balance I’m sorry credit limit you want to keep your balance at $3,000 or less on that credit card if you have to carry a balance over that $3,000 put the overage on to another credit card.

in essence, you’ll need to carry two credit cards but keep them both under that 30% or under next even when you pay off a credit card keep that credit card open this is going to add life to the scoring of your length of credit history it shows that you are able to manage a credit you were able to pay your credit and you’re showing it over a long length of time next avoid all the negatives to your credit this is going to be bankruptcy foreclosure repossession of cars short sales on home and ugly things like that finally you want to be sure to look at your credit at least once a year you want to be sure there are no inaccuracy or errors on it and if there are you want to go through the process of getting it removed every year you can get a free copy of your credit from annualcreditreport.com

So use it so here are the basics of your FICO score and getting a mortgage if you have bad credit you’re gonna need to take a step back and work on correcting it starting with the steps that I talked about previously if your credit is really bad you may need to go to a credit repair specialist if your credit is considered fair you can get a mortgage but don’t expect to get the best rates that you hear quoted on TV or the internet those are the rates that they save for the people that have good or great credit these are the people who have established themselves and proven themselves through their credit score to be trustworthy to borrow money.