The Mortgage Guys

Open lines of credit, balances and how they affect your score

One misconception most people believe is that if you have a credit line, the best thing to do is to pay it off and close the account. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The fact is, that that exact misconception keeps a credit score down and prevents you from obtaining new credit rather than affect your score positively.

The way bureaus grade you, or the way your score is compiled is by your ability to make payments on a monthly basis. So if you pay off a credit card(s) and close the account, the bureaus will look at your account as a person that may be having problems maintaining current balances. If someone shows a lack of ability to pay it is usually due to loss of employment or something along those lines. So what happens is the score will decrease as months go by that you don’t have any activity or a significant decrease in activity.

Your most advantageous move would be to maintain low balances if possible below $50 balance. If maintaining account balances that low is impossible at the time the next best thing is keeping your balance below half or your limit. If balances are kept up near the limit for multiple months the credit score will begin to decrease since to the credit bureaus this will appear as a desperation to keep afloat and living off of credit to survive. Again, loss of  employment is a common cause someone would use credit for everyday expenses and not pay it off at the end of the month. So in order to show lenders this person is a high risk the score will come down.

For more information regarding credit call or email at 480.344.3678 or email jesus.perez@academy.cc

The tax incentive is over, now what?

If you were eligible for the tax incentive of up to $8,000 for purchasing a home under President Obama’s plan and did not get an accepted offer from a seller by April 30, 2010 then you have missed the incentive but you are not alone. Many people speculate that there might be another type of plan in the future. But for now all it is is just that; pure speculation.

So you missed the tax incentive, things could be a lot worse. The price of homes could be that of what they were in 2005. What I’m saying is that although there is not a tax incentive at this time it is still a GREAT time to buy. We are closing loans for  our borrowers for homes recently puchased for as low as $45,000 or great deals of homes in the $300,000 plus range. So whatever your budget there has not been a better time to buy than now. Down payment for FHA loans are still only 3.5%. There is talk that FHA may raise that to 5% but for now it is still only 3.5%. Rates are remaining low and recently the Feds decided to keep them as they are.

We are seeing some competition out there from the contracts we’ve received from our borrowers. One way we can monitor that is we are having appraisals come in significantly below contract price in some cases and have even had buyers pay over appraised value. That also tells us that there are still great values out there to be had. If a buyer believes he/she has such a great deal that they are willing to pay over the appraised value, well that tells us it was too good of a deal to pass up.                  So although the President’s incentive is gone, there is still an incentive to buy now! That incentive is getting a great deal and a low fixed rate and it lies before you if you are looking to take that step.

Feel free to fill out our online application at www.academy.cc/jesusperez or www.academy.cc/edwinsolis  We will contact you shortly therafter to discuss your options.

EXPIRED-EXPIRED-Eight Thousand Dollars for New Buyers ——–UPDATE- Extended until 4/2010

EXPIRED-EXPIRED! Eight Thousand Dollars for New Buyers

If you haven’t already heard, there is a new incentive for first-time home buyers to get moving on home purchases.  For many buyers, it takes time and much personal sacrifice (as it should) to save that down payment for the first home.  The problem is, many new buyers are wiped out after purchasing their home due to the fact that they used all of their savings for the down payment.  It’s a Catch-22 for many, and Uncle Sam has stepped in to help solve the problem.  

The Congress has passed legislation to provide you as a first-time buyer up to a $8,000 tax credit. For almost all taxpayers, this amounts to $8,000 cash, as it is a refundable tax credit. This means that even if you have no tax liability at the end of the year, you’ll actually get a check for $8,000. The money is a gift, and does not ever have to be repaid.

You probably guessed restrictions were coming: The new tax credit offers a larger tax credit, but it also sports a laundry list of fine print-like restrictions, from the date of purchase to the buyer’s income. 

Here are a few pointers:

• The $8,000 (for all homes over $80,000) tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid. Great news!
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000 – that’s where the $80,000 home number comes in.
• The credit is available purchases of homes on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
• There are incomes levels attached.  The limits are as follows:
  • Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
  • Married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.   

The spirit of the law is to aid first-time home buyers purchasing any kind of home—new or resale. To qualify for the tax credit, a home purchase must occur on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. For the purposes of the tax credit, and this is a biggie, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner.

Call with any questions, we’re more than glad to help

480-201-0461 Edwin

Free credit report and monitoring!

With identity theft at an all time high, you can not risk not knowing if someone is running off with your identity only to leave you in a tragic mess.

We believe in superior customer service not only helping you with your mortgage needs. We can provide a free service monitoring. With this free service we will pull your credit from one bureau every 4 months. We will call you to discuss any changes and send you a copy of your report.

In  years of providing service to people with mortgage needs we’ve come across customers with damaged credit due to identity theft, that if  caught early it could have made a world of difference for our prospective customer. We’d like to help prevent this from happening to you.

Call us to see how we can help you keep a close eye on the activity happening on your credit report.

Edwin Solis 480-201-0461 NMLS# 242330

Jesus Perez 480-344-3678 NMLS# 249677

Academy Mortgage  BR BK #0115484 

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5304 E. Southern #101 Mesa, AZ 85206 

Two week close guaranty!

Ask us how to buy a home from start to finish in only 2 weeks.

Unheard of? Maybe, at MOST other places.  At Academy Mortgage we strive to be the best. We challenge you to find a lender that works harder to make your purchase as smooth as possible.

Contact us today and find out how!

Edwin Solis 480-201-0461

Jesus Perez 480-203-7171

Conventional Loans, 10% down in AZ

A conventional loan has some advantages and some disadvantages, depending on the market. The market we find ourselves in now makes it tougher to obtain a conventional loan if you are limited with funds for a down payment. Up until a couple of years ago it was almost ALL conventional loans because you could easily qualify for a O down payment loan. Times have changed and FHA is the most economical and easiest loan to qualify for if you are limited with funds or simply decide you would rather use your extra funds to invest your money elswhere.

8 thousand tax credit first time homebuyers

Time is running out. Start now to take advantage of this awesome opportunity!

Property must be purchased by Nov 30, 2009 only 4 months left to do go. Get qualified and start shopping for homes today!

Conventional Loans

This is a post about conventional loans.