Your Comments Welcomed
We'd love to hear your comments about whether you think the economy will improve in the second half of the year?
And we'd also like to know what, if anything, you are doing to weather the current economy… or have you not been affected at all?
Don't worry, your privacy is assured, as email addresses are NEVER published here. Just use the "comment" link below to tell us how you're fairing in this economy. We'd love to hear from you.
Pre-Cooking on Amateur Budgets
As Americans, we typically only spend more on housing and cars than we do on the food we eat. Normally when you pay less, you get less, but that's not necessarily true when it comes to the food you buy. Money editor Stacy Johnson explains… (video runs 1:39)
If you have any other money saving tips you'd like to share, please chime in by using the "comment" link below. We welcome your input, and remember, your email address will never be published here (for your privacy and protection.)
Buying A House With A Low Credit Score
If your credit problem isn't too serious, you may still be able to get a traditional loan. First, you should correct any errors on your credit report, and challenge any entries you think shouldn't be there. This is your legal right. If you can get it changed, then once those changes are reflected in your credit score, you may be able to apply again and get a loan for that home.
You also can go only to lenders who hold their own loans "in house." This means they don't sell them into the secondary market, which means the loans don't have to meet certain requirements. A bank which holds its own loans can make their own rules (to an extent). Ask around to see if some of your local banks or credit unions keep mortgage loans in their own portfolio. Few do these days, but some still do. It pays to ask.
A more creative way to overcome bad credit is to buy a house with another person. This isn't only for married couples. Any two people can buy a home together, and the lender will look at both credit histories. It might be tricky to buy a house with a friend, but it can be better for both compared to renting. For example, you might have a down payment, and your friend could have good credit. You could agree to sell the home five years later to recover your down payment and each of your respective shares of the equity that is built up from appreciation and the paying down of the loan.
Seller financing is another way to buy when you can't get a loan because of bad credit. Some homes have sold without credit checks and even with nothing down by sellers who financed the purchase. Their motivation is usually to get a higher price and/or to sell a problem property, but this doesn't rule out a good opportunity for you. When sellers don't offer terms, find out if they own their houses free and clear. If so, you could make an offer that involves payments to the owner rather than getting a loan from the bank.
Green Up Your Kitchen
In this short video tip, our Money Talks editor Stacy Johnson takes a look at saving some money and the environment by greening up our kitchens. This video runs 1:19.
If you have any other ideas for "going green"… sound off here and let everyone else know. Just use the "comment" link below. Even though your email address is required for posting, don't worry, your email address will NEVER BE PUBLISHED here for your protection and privacy.
Foreclosures: Lenders Slashing Prices
Lenders stung by the housing bust are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars in some places that harken back to the market's go-go years and may signal the bottom is near.
The trend is more dramatic in some parts of the country where prices skyrocketed during the housing boom and are now falling precipitously. Sales of foreclosures, vacant new homes and other distressed properties now dominate some markets, causing grief for individual homeowners who need to sell for other reasons, like a job in a new city.
Nationwide, one out of every four sales between January and March was a distressed sale, and that figure jumps to more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas.
Over the past year, as the housing crisis accelerated, the number of properties turned over to bank ownership more than doubled. As of April, there were more than 660,000 such properties in the U.S., up from 254,000 in April last year.
With lenders slashing prices on foreclosures at record paces, now might be a good time to contact us to see if there are any foreclosures in our market that you could get a good deal on. You never know til you ask.
