house in evanston listed at $485,000

12 Questions you should be able to answer before your write a contract:

1. Did you have a consultation with the lender?
2. Are you pre-approved for a Conventional or FHA mortgage?
3. What will your monthly payments be?
4. Does that amount include taxes and assessments, and insurance?
5. How much money will you need to bring to your closing?
6. Did the lender provide you with a written estimate when they quoted you the rate?
7. What are your origination charges?
8. What are the credit charges or points?
9. How long would that rate be good for?  15, 30, 60 days?
10. If you shop other lenders for a comparable rate, would you shop on the same day?
11. Did they explain how to finance a short sale or foreclosure?
12. Did they offer renovation financing to you for vacant homes?

If you can’t answer these questions because you weren’t given a consultation and or a cost estimate, you may not be ready to shop for your next home.

Contact me for a free, no obligation Pre-Approval and my signature Mortgage 101 consultation and house shop with confidence.

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Wells Fargo just announced that they are dropping the rates I can give to home buyers! In addition to these low rates, if you lock in your rate and close within 30 days, you get an even lower rate!

This is unbelievable. The bottom of the housing market, mortgage rates lower than we’ve seen in 50 years, IRS tax credits and now even lower rates if you are a buyer!

How could it possibly be a better time to buy? (eh, conidering you are still employed, of course)

Contact me for a free pre-approval and first time home buyer consultation to see if it’s your time to become a home owner!

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Evanston Home for Sale

An article about the government and the Fed pulling out of the mortgage market:

washington post article

 Mortgage Rates are expected to rise significantly within months. This should motivate informed sellers to sell now and buyers to buy now.  

Low mortgage rates coupled with the $6,500 and $8,000 tax credit is a phenomenal opportunity that’s available right now. 

Don’t let this opportunity get away. Get pre-approved to buy today!! 

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A new year, a new home!

It’s a new day and Corinne and I have decided to shake things up a bit on our blog. We’re going to share our personal industry experiences with photos and commentary and a little more personality. We hope you enjoy these changes on ‘your place for everything real estate’ …and mortgage!

 As a mortgage consultant, I have many clients who are concerned about their credit so they can obtain the lowest interest rate possible on their mortgage. These are the issues I run into the most.

The most popular concern I get is “will my credit score go down if you run my credit report?” The answer is NO. When you apply for a mortgage pre-approval, your credit has to be pulled to determine your FICO score. This is the scoring system for a mortgage (other financing will have different scoring systems). A mortgage pre-approval does not lower your credit score since it is a pre-approval application. I have experienced this over and over. If a client has had their FICO score checked by one mortgage company then applies with me, the score is the same as they were told the first time. The only way your score will change is if there have been recent updates or activity that would change the score. So go ahead and shop, it doesn’t hurt.

The other misconception is that if you pay your credit card balances off every month, you will have perfect credit. This is not true and can really drop your score if you run balances on your credit cards every month, paid off or not.

Your credit card company reports your balance to the bureaus no more than once a month. Do you think they report it after you’ve paid it off? No, typically it is reported when your balance is the highest so the only thing the bureaus know is that you run a balance every month on that card. They are never updated when you pay it off. This can affect your credit score greatly.

I had a supervisor who got a new credit card that gave her points for airline mileage (who hasn’t done this) so she went wild and charged everything she bought on the card and paid it off every month. When she went to refinance her mortgage, she pulled her credit expecting the perfect scores she has always had and found that it had dropped 100 points. She has no late payments and a long standing credit history but her credit card balance that she paid off a week ago still showed the highest balance. She decided not to use the card for a month and then pulled her credit scores again and sure enough, her scores jumped up those 100 points again but by then she had missed the low mortgage rates.

Is this you? It’s a good financial decision to use your credit cards to defer payments and pay them off before you pay interest on that money but keep in mind that the bureaus are reporting your credit history, not your savvy financial management. They will assume that you need to use that credit card to get through the month.

If you are considering buying a home, it is important to have a mortgage company check your FICO scores at least 3 months before you are ready to shop. This allows time to correct any errors on your report and prepare you for a pre-approval.

For more information on managing your credit scores or a free credit consultation, contact me if you live in or around Chicago. For mortgages outside of Illinois, contact your local Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Consultant.

My direct email is corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com and phone number is 847-512-2775.

 RWF Mortgage is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

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Live in a premier luxury high-rise! Pristine and spacious condo with tons of closets, in-unit laundry, balcony with southern exposure and indoor parking. Doorperson and sundeck – what more can you ask for?! List price: $297,000 Assessments: $361/mth Taxes: $5454

Light and bright 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo boasts living room/dining room combo with gas fireplace, galley kitchen with granite and stainless and a master suite with private bath and balcony! List price: $294,900 Assessments: $188/mth Taxes: $3306

Beautiful and spacious top floor 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo that is as big as a house! Features include: barrel ceiling, huge living room with decorative fireplace and built-in shelves, French windows, formal dining, kitchen with pantry and breakfast room with built-in hutch. Hardwood throughout, garage and laundry included. A vintage lover’s dream! List price: $274,900 Assessments: $290/mth Taxes: $4815

New features make the extension attractive to homebuyers, including:

New Deadline:  Sales contract must be in place by April 30, 2010 – but homeowners have an additional 60 days to close

New Dollar Amount and Eligibility:  Up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers OR $6,500 for current homeowners who have lived in their current residence for 5 consecutive years and are purchasing their next property.

New Income Cap: maximum $125,000 (individual) or $225,000 (married couples). Increases in the cap make the measure available to a broader group of customers. (used to be $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples)

Purchase Price: $800,000 maximum purchase price

You still must live in the new home for 3 years or be required to repay the credit.

Advance Loan Programs provide down payment and closing cost financing assistance in some states so that homebuyers can use the credit before their closing. We don’t have this program for Illinois buyers at this time.

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in Illinois, contact me for a free pre-approval and consultation today. Office: 847-512-2775 or corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com.

RWF Mortgage is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

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