• How long have you been a REALTOR®? Are you full or part time?
• What professional organizations do you belong to? (Local Associations/National Association of REALTORS)
• Do you have a valid Real Estate License?
• What is your responsibility to me as your client?
• Do you represent both buyers and sellers at the same time? If so, Who’s best interest are you looking out for?
• What does the listing agreement entail, what are the beginning and expiration dates, and what are the fee amounts I will be paying?
• Is there a charge or contract when working with buyers?
• What types of things separate you from your competition and will you give me some feedback?
• What disclosure laws apply to me and what do I need to be aware of?
• How do you market to other Realtors?
• Are they a REALTOR® or a Real Estate agent? (There is a difference)
• Does the REALTOR® have a strong internet presence? If not, why? Will your home have enough exposure for all potential buyers to view? (85% of buyers go to the internet first)

Carry a notebook with you when you are house-hunting, and give each house its own page. At the top of the page, note the address and price. Write down the exterior construction, style and color, as well as the color of the living room carpet and walls and any other major feature that will jog your memory later. You can nickname the houses–”the cow mailbox house” or “organic garden house”–anything to help you retain a mental picture of the property. This will enable you to recap the day and give your real estate agent important feedback that can speed up your search for the perfect home!

A credit score is a number that is calculated based on your credit history to aid lenders in determining your credit-worthiness. This number is intended to help a lender determine the level of risk they may be taking in lending to you. The system gives you points based on information in your credit report.

What Can I Do to Improve My Score?

* To get the best credit score, you need a mix of different credit types including revolving accounts (credit cards, lines of credit) and installment accounts (auto loans, personal loans, mortgages).

* Reduce your balances on credit cards to 75% or less of your available credit. Don’t charge more than you can pay off in a month. You don’t have to pay interest on a credit card to get a good credit score, and it’s a smart financial habit to pay off your credit cards in full each month.

* Pay your bills on time.

* If you don’t already have established credit or you need to rebuild, get a secured credit card. Secured credit cards report your credit payment history information to the credit bureaus just like a regular credit card. They are “secured” by your money. Check with your personal banker.

Avoiding over-inquiries

There are two types of credit inquiries that can be made to your credit report: hard inquiries and soft inquiries.

A hard inquiry occurs when you seek to obtain credit. This happens when you apply for a loan or credit card, for example. Each time you fill out a credit card application at a department store, the inquiry counts as a hard inquiry. Only you can authorize a creditor to perform a hard inquiry on your credit report.

A prospective lender or other creditor will likely be concerned with an applicant whose credit report shows a high volume of hard inquiries. That’s because it suggests a carefree attitude in applying for credit or an effort to borrow excessively.

Borrowing too much — a situation called over-leveraging — is a potential red flag for creditors. It signals you may face more difficulty in repaying your debts in cash-strapped times than a person who judiciously applies for credit.

If you’re going to ping your credit report with frequent hard inquiries, it may be best to concentrate them around the time you apply for a home or auto loan. If you’re thinking about applying for a mortgage loan, please contact me for advice and information before starting.

A soft inquiry is one where the inquiry is not tallied on your credit report. A soft inquiry does not constitute a bona fide request for credit. For example, a soft inquiry occurs when you obtain a copy of your report.

Get a copy of your credit report. If you are being turned down for credit you need to be sure the reason is valid. Many credit reports have errors. Dispute any inaccuracies you find.

Get a credit report from all three bureaus. Each one may have different information and maybe errors in your file. You can’t know which bureau’s data will be used to evaluate your credit application, so check them all.

Here is the contact info for the three major credit bureaus:
……..
Equifax (CBI) PO Box 740249
Atlanta, GA 30374
(800) 685-1111
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Experian (TRW) (888) 397-3742
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Trans-Union 555 W. Adams
Chicago, IL 60661
(800) 916-8800
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