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A Recipe for Good Credit

Copyright © 2006 Accion USA Written by: Josh Pike

If your credit is not as good as you want it to be, take action now! It's easier than you think to improve your credit. With the right mix of good payments and debt management, you will see positive changes in your credit report in as little as six months. Diana Dezso, credit expert at ACCION, offers the following "recipe" for improving your credit history. Like any good meal, it takes a little time and a lot of patience, but the payoff will be worth the effort!

1.) Pay bills on time. If you're only going to do one thing to improve your credit, pay your bills on time! You can begin to improve your credit history immediately by making at least the minimum payments on time. Within a few months it will be obvious that you are managing your credit responsibly and your credit report will be stronger.

2.) Use credit sparingly. The golden rule is to spend no more than a third of your income on all debt, including mortgages, credit cards and consumer loans. Try to use credit cards only for purchases that have long-term value, such as furniture, medical care, or emergency repairs. Depending on credit cards for everyday frills like dining out and entertainment is recipe for credit disaster.

3.) Correct mistakes. Your credit is a reflection of the information in your credit report. If your credit report contains negative information, it will negatively impact your credit regardless of whether or not the information is accurate. Review your reports from all three credit bureaus for accuracy once a year as well as several months before applying for a loan.

4.) Pay off old debts. Make arrangements to pay off all existing debt. Establish a written payment plan and when account is paid off; be sure to get a letter from the creditor that updates your credit bureau record. 5. Pay more than the minimum required. When you pay only the minimum due each month, you end up paying a lot of money in interest charges. 6. Do not max out credit cards - use only 30-50% of available revolving credit. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the benefits that a positive credit history offers. ============================================================ This article was written by Josh Pike at ACCION USA. ACCION USA (http://www.accionusa.org

) provides business loans up to $25,000 to small business owners who need financing to expand their businesses. ============================================================ Read More Articles From Josh Pike: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Josh_Pike

Show Me a Five Dollar Bill, and I'll Show You Why Your Listing Expired

Sometimes it's hard for sellers to understand why their listing expired. Sellers typically enjoy many fine years in their home, so they sometimes price their homes subjectively. To understand why listings expire, it helps to imagine a listing expiring on something we understand has an objective price. So let's imagine for a minute that you had a five dollar bill, but -- perhaps for some twilight zone reason -- five dollar bills were suddenly more difficult to sell. Because of this, you give a bill-salesman a 90-day listing on your five dollar bill, but it doesn't sell, and the listing expires. Now let's imagine I'm there with you and you show me your five dollar bill and say, "John, why did my listing expire"? Here are some possible reasons based on my experience. You wanted six dollars for the bill. One of the bill salespeople told you it was worth five, another told you she could get you six because she "sells so many bills every year". You hired the salesperson who told you she could get you six dollars. You listed the bill for five dollars, but insisted that your bill seller not show the bill to anyone unless you were there. You listed the bill for five dollars, but told your bill seller not to put a sign up on the bill, because you didn't want the other five dollar owners to know anything about your business and chat about you in the neighborhood. The bill was torn in half and had maple syrup on it. Your bill seller suggested $4.75 but you knew other bills sold for $5.50, so you agreed to list it for $5.25. You owed $4.00 to a lender for the bill, and wanted to buy a bill for $7.00, so you felt you needed to get $6.00 for it. With this in mind, you instructed your bill seller to list it for $6.00. Someone down the street got $10.00 for a "similar" bill with Alexander Hamilton on it. Based on that, you figured your bill should be worth at least $8.00. You paid $20.00 for a wallet for the bill. Eight months ago, people were getting six dollars for such bills. Your bill person told you that the most recent sales of such bills were for five dollars. You listed your bill for six dollars. You list the bill for $5.00. Your bill salesman doesn't enter any marketing data in the MLS, and puts up a sign in the yard and a flier box with no fliers in it. You get an offer at $4.95 and want to accept it, but your bill salesman writes a counter-offer asking for a different title company, and the transaction falls apart. You wanted eight dollars for the bill. You don't really need to buy another bill. You told your bill salesman to list it for $9.00 to "see what happens". Your bill salesman lives 300 miles away from the bill, so they can't be there readily to let buyers in or help answer questions from other agents. Your bill salesman is a family member, who's going to not only give you a break on the commission, he's going to list the bill for $6.50 for you. You know bill salesmen get too much money for what they do, so even though many bill salesman are getting 5% and 6% to list bills, you save money by hiring Help-You-Sell-Your-Bill. You agree to pay them 3% total. They offer 2% to the bill-buyer's agent, who won't show your bill because they can get 2.5% and 3% to show other bills. Nevertheless, a buyer is interested and is ready to see your home, but you hired Help-You-Sell-Your-Bill, so your agent doesn't show it for you, you have to show it yourself. You make an appointment to show the interested buyer your bill on Saturday. On Thursday they see another bill they like better, call the agent on the sign and see the bill that day, write the offer, and they're in escrow on Friday. They don't call to cancel the Saturday appointment, but when you call to ask why they're not there they tell you how excited they are about the bill they bought. Aren't you excited for them? You wanted eight dollars for the bill. Your bill salesman suggested selling it for five. You listed it for $7.50 and told your bill salesperson that if someone wants it they could "make you an offer". No one makes an offer. You wanted eight dollars for the bill. Your bill salesman suggested selling it for five. You listed it for $7.50 and told your bill salesperson that if someone wants it they could "make you an offer". Someone offers you $5.00 and you're insulted by this "lowball" offer, so you reject it. Two months later you ask your bill seller if that buyer is still interested, but meantime they've purchased another bill for $4.90.

John Lockwood is a California Real Estate Broker and author of http://www.sacramento-home.com. Visit his site for the latest area news and real estate listings. Article Copyright, 2005, John Lockwood. Published by permission under John's Free Content License.

 

Here you will find some great articles for home improvements.

 

The art of "Setting the Stage" to show and sell your home .

Getting your home ready to show and sell can make the difference between a quick sale and a long market time. Setting the stage may or may not get you more money but it can reduce the time it takes your home to sell, which does save you money. Setting the stage to show and sell your home is a two phase project. First, the things you need to do before you put your home on the market and secondly the things you need to do before EVERY showing. Prior to Putting Your Home on the Market

DE- CLUTTER Rent a storage unit if you have to. Try to look at your home through the eyes of a buyer. That stack of stuff in the corner that you are so used to looking at needs to be removed. If your home is small and or crowded consider rearranging or removing furniture . The exercise equipment that you never use -

Store It! Accessories are wonderful and should remain in moderation. Go to some model homes and see how they look. They have accessories, but nothing is overdone. Closets should be uncluttered also. Remove out of season clothes and give all those things you no longer need to charity. Stack things neatly on shelves.

OR ADD - if your furnishings are sparse, borrow some pictures for the walls, cover the beat up sofa with a throw and bring in a flower arrangement. Just use common sense, make your home look the best you can.

CLEAN EVERYTHING Your home should sparkle. Don't overlook light fixtures, a clean fixture can make a huge difference in the lighting in a room. While you are cleaning the fixtures replace dim bulbs with bright ones. Make sure your bathrooms are spotless, faucets should be shiny, counters empty except for a few accessories, fixtures cleaned and fresh (get the rust stains out of the toilet etc), mirrors should be clean and streak free. The same goes for the kitchen - sparkling faucet, clean shiny sink, cabinet fronts should be wiped down or cleaned, replace drip pans on the range. Wash all light switches, we don't realize how the fingerprints collect on these. Go through your home room by room and make sure everything has been cleaned, even the utility room and furnace.

MAKE MINOR REPAIRS That dripping faucet or toilet that won't quit running may just be a quick 10 minute repair but left alone can become a concern for the buyer. "Maybe there is a plumbing problem" , "we better offer less" or "there is too much deferred maintenance in this house" are typical comments from buyers. Touch up paint or paint a whole room if needed. The drawings your kids made on the wall will not be considered art by potential buyers. Touch up woodwork where needed. The scratches your dog made on the door (or worse chewed the woodwork) should all be fixed and painted. Re-caulk tubs and showers.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT Paint your front door. Sweep away leaves, cobwebs etc. I can't stress this enough, potential buyers are already deciding if they like your home while waiting for the REALTOR® or homeowner to unlock the door. 

 

Put out the Welcome Mat Before Every Showing 

Copyright 2000 homesalesguru.com
a division of Money Tree Systems

 

 

 

THIS IS A GOOD CHECKLIST THAT YOU CAN GO BY BEFORE EACH SHOWING

	Before Every Showing   Remember to:
Pick up every room. Straighten or remove newspapers, magazines, mail, toys, clothing, sports gear and dishes. Make the beds and plug in the deodorizers or other good smelling stuff and empty all trash cans (make sure empty cans are clean).
Open all blinds and shades. Turn on ALL lights whether is is day or night (closets and utility rooms too).
Maintain a comfortable temperature winter and summer.  You want the potential buyers to spend time in your home and not hurry through because it is to warm or too cold!
In winter make sure all sidewalks and steps are free of ice and snow (for safety as well as appearance).  In summer keep lawn mowed and sidewalks edged etc.  If you have automatic sprinklers, schedule them for early morning or late evening when there are few showings, that way potential buyers have the opportunity to walk around the exterior of the home and check out the yard without getting soaked.
Vacuum all carpets. Especially if you have pets! Sweep the kitchen floor, dust if needed.
Make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink or crumbs on the counter.
Last but not least, take the cat, cat litter, and or dog out of the home before the showing. I know this is not easy.  I recently moved and had to drive around for hours with 2 very unhappy cats and 1 hyper dog.  It was not fun but it was necessary!  The cat litter should be removed if possible, but if not at least clean it immediately before you leave or put it in the garage.  If you have guinea pigs, hamsters or other small pets make sure the cages are cleaned daily.
copyright 2000 homesalesguru.com a division of Money Tree Systems