Clutter Bug in Your Home? | Clutter Free Tips | Provided by HouseLogic

Do you constantly clash with the clutter bug in your home? Here are tips on how opposing clutter styles can live in peace.

If you live alone, you never must tolerate anyone’s clutter but your own. Add another human to the household, and you’re bound to butt heads over how and when stuff is stored, piled, and put away.  The Wall Street Journal feels your pain and recently hosted an online chat about clutter styles.

Writer Alina Dizik and psychologist Patty Ann Tublin advised readers — mostly women complaining about packrat husbands and boyfriends — how to navigate relationships between clutter bugs and neatniks.

Here are 5 tips we culled from the conversation:
1. Determine if arguments about clutter are really power struggles. Is the rift really about piles of paper or an attempt to acquire more control? If you can’t figure this out, consult a professional organizer or counselor.

2. To reduce stress in your home, designate “clutter free” and “clutter friendly” areas. Perhaps the guests-only living room is a No Clutter space, while a mudroom or small den can accommodate some clutter. Also, investigate unusual places to store clutter, like under the stairs, or these space-saving hacks.

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Your Credit Score and How It Affects Your Interest Rate

 

The number one thing that affects your interest rate is your credit score.

 
Mortgage rates determine your monthly payment for your home loan and the total amount that you'll be repaying. However, mortgage rates can be a fickle factor to estimate when figuring out your mortgage costs.
While the news may boast about low rates, you might not be able to obtain that exact rate. There are many factors that go into determining your mortgage interest rate such as your loan option, property type and down payment amount.
But the number one thing that affects your interest rate is your credit score.
 
What's My Credit Score?
Your credit score is a three-digit number generated from information in your credit report. It is designed to predict risk and the likelihood that you'll pay your credit obligations back on time. It's for this reason that lenders look to your credit score to make a more informed decision about you regarding your loan qualification. By acquiring your score through major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax), lenders will look at your bill payment history, along with the number of outstanding debts you have, in comparison to your income to decide if you qualify for a home loan with them.

Keep in mind that the higher your credit score, the easier it is to obtain a mortgage and a lower interest rate:
Excellent Credit Score: 800 and higher
Very Good Credit Score: 700 – 799
Good Credit Score: 680 – 699
Ok or Fair Credit Score: 620 – 679
Poor Credit Score: 580 – 619
Bad Credit Score: 500 – 579
Very Bad Credit Score: 499 and lower

A bad score means you're a risk to the lender. For example, delinquency (whether you make regular credit payments on time) accounts for more than a third of your credit score, so if it shows you have issues paying regular credit payments on time, it'll be hard for the lender to trust you to pay them on time.
If you have a high credit score, you'll directly benefit by receiving a lower interest rate, ultimately meaning lower monthly payments and less cost overall. Someone with a score between 760 and 850 could be offered an interest rate as much as 25% lower than those with a score between 620 and 640!

If you're at the beginning of your home purchase process, check your credit score and try to improve it if it's low, before continuing on with your home purchase. If you're already in a position where you can't improve your score, you may be able to be more appealing to your lender by putting down a higher down payment.

Article Provided by Laura Delhey at Guaranteed Rate via Neal Paskvan  Baird and Warner (Downers Grove)

You can contact Laura via e-mail at  ldelhey@guarateedrate.com

6 – Do’s Before You Apply For A Mortgage

 With good preparation, most things are easier. That works in mortgages too! Today, I want to give you some ideas that can make your mortgage experience less painful.

Income Items:

1. Gather your documents. Today, many people will have to produce 2 years’ complete tax returns, including W2′s, 1099′s, K1′s, and all the schedules, as well as a month’s worth of pay stubs.
2. Be prepared to explain them. Deductions in your returns and your pay stubs may impact the income your lender will use to qualify you which, in turn, has a big impact on the loan you will get.
3. Have a breakdown of base pay versus overtime for both your pay stubs and 2 years’ W2′s. Lenders treat overtime (and bonus income) differently than your base pay. Be prepared to explain any changes over the last few years because your loan officer will ask you about it.

Asset Items:

1. Start accumulating your bank statements. Lenders look back 3 months from when you sign your contract of sale.
2. You will have to explain any and all large deposits (which are defined as deposits greater than your regular pay check) because lenders want to make sure you haven’t taken out any new loans that aren’t on your credit report.
3. Avoid any significant cash deposits. However, if you did have a cash deposit, understand that the lender will have you source it (a bill of sale and DMV receipt for that motorcycle, for example).
4. If you will be receiving a gift, consult your loan officer on how to document it (from the donor’s ability to how you deposit it).

Credit Items:

1. Ask your loan officer to run your credit and go over it with them. Believe it or not, most credit reports contain errors. Best to identify them and get working on correcting them as early as possible.
2. Do what you can to pay down your balances to under 30% of available credit to help you get the best score possible.
3. Do NOT close accounts or pay off collection accounts without discussing it with your loan officer. Either one of these logical moves can actually have a negative impact on your score.

When buying a home, remember the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared”. Following these suggestions will make your loan approval easier and less stressful.

Credits- Dean Hartman- The KCM Crew- Neal Paskvan

If you need some advice about this subject or anything else Real Estate… feel free to contact me.
Neal Paskvan- Baird Warner- Downers Grove- 630-964-1855

   Email  neal.paskvan@bairdwarner.com

7407 Canterbury Place, Downers Grove, Il 60516

2-Bedroom and 1-1/2 Bath Close to Everything!

Many Upgrades Make this Home a Super Value ~ Up Dated Kitchen Cabinets and Counter Tops ~ Granite Upgrades in all Bathrooms and Dressing area ~ Anderson Efficient Windows and Sliding Doors, just to name a few ~ Balcony off of Master Bedroom ~ Minutes to I-55 & I-355 ~ Pace Commuter Bus to Metra ~ Moments to Major Shopping ~ Over $20,000 of Recent Upgrades~ Nothing to do but Move in and Enjoy !

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