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#61 Turned Down? What Happens Next?

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Well, you are not alone; not every applicant for a home loan is accepted the first time around.  It can be discouraging, and can feel like the air just went out of your balloon.  But, success arrives in many ways – sometimes disguised. Before you got the news that your application for a Home Mortgage loan was turned down, you and your Mortgage loan Officer worked hard to assemble and examine all the necessary facts that would determine either your eligibility, or the need for more preparation.   It only stands to reason, that the requirements to take on such a responsibility demand proof of both readiness and capability.   It has little to do with good intentions, promises or past statistics!     Getting a rejection was hard to take.    Time and timing are significant for you now, but, there are also strong feelings happening – some of raw disappointment, a big letdown, a sense of frustration or even a sense of failure.    You and your loan Officer worked so hard preparing.
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#60 Being Sure of Your Own Details

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Sometimes what we believe is simple and obvious can turn out to be anything but!  Here you are, ready to start the process of pulling together lots of data:  documents and records of all kinds for your Mortgage loan application.  ...no worry, piece of cake!  Really? Professionals I have known over the years, almost without exception, all have stories about client documentation compilation that are pretty hard to believe – and some even funny!    One of mine involved a woman who wasn’t sure if she was really divorced!     Don’t laugh too hard -- it was just one more of the many things that her former spouse handled...and she just wasn’t sure. Getting your hands on the vital information that is critical to your Mortgage loan potential can sometimes be tricky.   Of course, there are exceptions in both directions -- those who are meticulous to a fault and have everything filed and labeled and close at hand.    Then those who insist:    “...I know I have it here... somewhere..
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#59 Home Ownership & Self Sufficiency

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It is very tempting to say “independence,” but let’s be honest. We all depend at least in part on ˆsomething or someone” in our lives – regardless of stage or status!  Self-sufficiency is a bit more realistic; and, unlike independence, having the goal of a life that is relatively self-sufficient, in major aspects and function, is a goal that’s quite attainable. Setting the goal to buy a home of your own takes you a giant step toward self-sufficiency!    And, achieving that goal brings a lot of perks and privileges.  Let’s just start with all the things you can’t do while living in rental property!  That can be a pretty substantial list.   Landlords, of course, have the right to call the shots (it’s their property, after all); it amounts to living with rules and restrictions with which you might not agree!   Most of those handicaps disappear when you own your own home. The most obvious change is that you now have control of the place where you live, and how you wish to live t
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#58 Preserving an Interrupted Plan

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When making almost any kind of a serious plan, it’s probably smart to also consider the possibility of some kind of a glitch creating some kind of an interruption!   Interruptions to a plan for purchasing your own home can come in dozens of ways, from any number of directions.   But, understanding that reality, and accepting that “possibilities” may come up, shouldn’t be a reason to worry unnecessarily or become a bundle of nervous “what ifs.” Challenges, and many perfectly normal life situations, might arise and interrupt the original rhythms and timing you have developed for your master plan.    Most such things can be managed, and need not critically damage your plan.     An interruption to how you want things to proceed will probably just mean adjustments, modification and a little finagling! What’s most important, when the unexpected happens, is to keep your sights on your plan as a whole.   For instance, an employment status might change that alters your income; a
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#57 Windfalls and Nest Eggs

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They are definitely connected!  Understanding both – and their possible positive potential – can make measurable differences in your financial life! Having a formula, some disciplines and a plan for money to reserve may sound like an old fashioned homily, but savings don’t just happen – savings accumulate by determination and repetition.    When an unexpected “windfall” drops into your hands, it can be added to your existing reserves, or it can be a beginning to what you may have been intending but never quite got around to: some savings! Windfalls have several sources! A simple one might be an unexpected raise in pay, or an unexpected bonus!   The key determinator here is “unexpected.”   We all know how easily it can just disappear into the cash flow that’s already flowing! But, wait a minute.   Before it happened, you were probably making ends meet, one way or another, right?   Well, you now have an opportunity to treat a Windfall differently.    You can add it to exist
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#56 About Insurance

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The decision to buy a home of your own, includes both the consideration of, the added expense of and the mandate to carry the appropriate insurance coverage for the property you are considering.  It’s a “given” that qualifying for your Mortgage Loan means your new property must be insured to protect the property you do not actually own until your Mortgage loan is fully paid. Many factors drive the amount and the kind of insurance you must carry for your specific property.   The recent factors of repeated (and repeated!) wildfires and floods have inspired many new insurance considerations and changes that directly relate to both of those “natural” disasters.    It is not that floods and fires did not exist in the past.   However, the more recent phenomenon, of wildfires originating miles away then sweeping across densely populated areas some distance from their point of origin, is seriously impacting fire insurance availability and limits.    Newer, current insurance coverage mu
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#55 Credit Part 3: The Steward of Your Credit

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Let’s face it!  We are a “credit driven” society!  So, it’s easy to see that we should take our personal credit management responsibilities very seriously.  “Credit” is a social and business system that can help and enhance our lives – or become a serious problem affecting our ability to grow and progress financially. I call that management task the process of being the steward of your personal credit system! The first two parts of this series looked at exactly what Credit is, and how it is of value in your financial aspirations; then, how to go about fixing a Credit picture that’s in trouble.   Now, I’ll discuss ways to guide and benefit from a good Credit profile. Staying on top of the status of any form of Credit that you implement is the key!   It only takes one blip to endanger your Credit condition – and, therefrom, your Credit “score.”   Just as you carefully check on the accuracy of your utilities statements, the phone bill or the tab you get at the end of a nice di
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