How Do I Get a Good FICO Score?

by M Emerson

Sage advice from John Ulzheimer  at Smart Credit on keeping your credit score high.   He says he™s a broken record on the subject, but I would contend that it is counsel that we need to revisit often¦

You know who you are “ you want to get the maximum FICO score of 850. You can™t be satisfied with an 849 or even 800. I hate to burst your bubble, but don™t waste your time on trying to reach the maximum score. You can get the lowest interest rates with a score of 760 and above. You don™t have to have the perfect score.

In your attempt to increase your score, you may actually decrease it instead so BE CAREFUL. Some actions you think may work can actually lower your scores, such as closing open accounts with no balance, paying off old charged off accounts, and applying for more credit card accounts.

Your score can change constantly because of the updates to your credit reports by the credit grantors. Even if you pay your bills in full each month, a balance will be reported to your credit reports unless you stop using them altogether.

Profile of consumer with 850 score

A credit reporting agency and analytics company for communication industry, SubscriberWise, conducted research on their database of one million consumers to analyze those with a FICO score of 850. Of those that received a score, .002% had a score of 850. The average age was 61 years (ages ranged from 44 to 89); and average age of credit file was 30 years (ranged from 1958 to 1994). Keep in mind this was a small population and for a particular industry. That doesn™t mean that those younger can™t achieve the maximum score.

The ideal range is 760 to 810; you still get the best interest rates. Don™t try to game the system. You may lower your score instead. I am a broken record on the best way to keep your credit score high “ pay your bills on time, don™t use more than 20% of your available credit, pay down your debt and don™t apply for new credit.

John Ulzheimer is the President of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com, the credit blogger for Mint.com, and a Contributor for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. He is an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft. Formerly of FICO, Equifax and Credit.com, John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry. Follow him on Twitter here.

A Window of Opportunity for House  Sellers

June 21, 2011

by M Emerson

Uncertainty is the word of the hour in real estate but there are several factors   the KCM Crew lay out below that are pointing to the fact that there may be  ¦ A Window of Opportunity for House Sellers.

There has been much confusion as to where housing prices are headed.   Today, we want to give our opinion on this subject for the short term. We believe sellers have a window of opportunity for the next 90-120 days in which to sell their homes for maximum price. We believe there will be increased downward pressure on home prices later this year and the first half of 2012.

Why renewed downward pressure?

Any item™s price is determined by ˜supply and demand™. In many parts of the country existing housing inventory is already high and actually increasing. In addition, an inventory of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) will be coming to market later this year. This inventory has been delayed for the last several months because of faulty paperwork by the banks when they originally attempted foreclosure proceedings on these homes.

Celia Chen, of Moody™s Analytics explains:

œForeclosures are weighing on the outlook for U.S. house prices, and the slow resolution of issues surrounding the so-called robo-signing scandal is keeping distressed homes off the market.

The New York Times also recently reported on this issue. They looked at the delays in certain states. As an example, this is what they found in New York:

œLast September, before the documentation crisis, nearly 1,500 New Yorkers  lost their houses as a result of foreclosure, according to LPS. The average over the last six months: 286. That is far lower than at any point since the recession began.

Banks are now correcting these errors.

There is evidence that the banks are getting their documentation in order and about to again increase their foreclosure repossessions. Housing Wire reported:

œSince major lenders delayed foreclosures to fix a broken process late last year, the amount of filings declined, but in May signs emerged the effect might be wearing off.

They went on to quote RealtyTrac  CEO James Saccacio:

œ¦lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory¦ Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask.

What will this mean to home prices?

As this inventory comes to market, it will impact prices in two ways:

1. It will provide discounted competition for buyers
2. It will impact the appraisal values of all homes in the area

Again, we quote Celia Chen:

œIt is quite possible that house prices will pick up slightly in the second or third quarter of this year, as foreclosure sales remain depressed while nondistress sales pick up¦By the fourth quarter of this year, however, the distress share will rise, sending the house price index back down¦

House prices will founder until early next year and start rising in earnest at the end of 2012.

Chapman™s Economic Forecast: No Double  Dip

June 17, 2011

by M Emerson

From  OC Metro

Orange County™s economic future is based largely on the housing industry.

BY STEVE CHURM

Orange County™s economic recovery is indeed slowing, but fears of another recession or œdouble dip are unfounded, according to economists at Chapman University.

The highly anticipated midyear economic update, presented by the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University, today confirmed that both the regional and national economies have been buffeted by a series of factors that have combined to put the brakes on the weak, but steady recovery over the past 18 months. Soaring gas prices, the Japanese earthquake and the end of government stimulus spending, as well as the federal budget impasse, have impacted manufacturing output and chilled consumer confidence, and therefore spending, since January.

However, Chapman President James Doti still predicted today œthe recovery is downshifting, not reversing itself. Speaking to more than 750 business and civic leaders at the Costa Mesa Hilton, Doti said this is not entirely unexpected when rebounding from a recession, particularly one as deep and unprecedented as the most recent downturn.

The wild card in the recovery picture, Doti said, is housing prices, which were down 4.3 percent for the first three months of this year after slight gains in 2010. Falling home prices have a direct and negative impact on personal wealth and generally cause consumers to curb or stop spending on durable goods altogether, triggering a domino effect that hurts retail and manufacturing. The other significant concern with declining home prices is the risk of more foreclosures and ultimately more stress and troubles for the nation™s banks.

œHousing is the key, Doti said. œAlthough affordability has rarely been better than it is today we are still faced with a lot of mixed signals and concerns on
the housing front.

Although the foreclosure rate has peaked, Doti said it may take another three years before the unprecedented foreclosure chapter in this recession is finally
over. As many as 3 million more properties are at risk nationally and, ultimately, must be refinanced or sold before we reach normal foreclosure levels in a healthy economy.

Chapman economists predict that housing prices in the county and California will show a 4 to 4.5 percent decline in 2011 and virtually no appreciation in 2012.

In terms of gas prices, another major drag on the recovery since January, Chapman predicts the price per gallon will remain steady between $3 and $4 through the year, barring any unexpected oil supply disruption.

On the all important jobs front, most industry sectors will continue to show positive growth through 2012. The fastest growing jobs will be in the professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and education and healthcare. Doti forecast that Orange County will have a net job gain of 20,000 or 1.5 percent by the end of this year and about 30,000 jobs or a 2.2 growth in 2012, roughly the same as California.

Doti characterized this level of job growth as positive and added it will improve personal income and ultimately consumer spending.

Open House in Shore Cliffs

Upgraded 5 bedroom single level home in one of the most coveted neighborhoods in Corona del Mar!

3 car garage, large front patio & backyard.

Call Sandra for details at (949) 500-0482

Stop in on Saturday!!!!