Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Home Sellers, What’s Hiding In Your Home?

If you’re thinking about selling your home in the upcoming spring market, there are many things to think about ahead of time. The first to come to mind are…

  • Cleanup and spruce up
  • Selecting a realtor
  • Determining market value
  • Picking the best time to list

All these will make your home more visible. But what happens when you scratch the service? Is something hiding in your home that could make or break the sale?

Most people think of an inspection when it comes to purchasing a home. But, you might be surprised to learn that more and more sellers are having their own homes inspected before they sell.

Knowing about property issues allows you to decide whether you want to make repairs or upgrades up front or offer a financial incentive to the buyers. That way, needed repairs won’t jeopardize a potential sale down the road.

What is a home inspection? A home inspection is a visual inspection of the physical structure of your home and it’s systems from the very top (roof) to the very bottom (the foundation).

It should include…

  • The heating and cooling system
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical
  • The roof
  • Insulation and ventilation (if visible)
  • Walls
  • Floors
  • Windows
  • Ceilings
  • Doors
  • Basement

An inspection is not to be confused with an appraisal. Appraisals determine your home’s market value based on recent sales of similar homes in your area. Inspections make you aware of problems in your home that could reduce its sales value. Those problems could be cosmetic or structural.

Once your inspection is completed, you’ll receive a report on the physical condition of the home. Repairs suggested could range from relatively small (like peeling paint or loose tiles) to major (like heating system upgrades, roof replacement, or insect damage). While that might sound terrible, the advantage is actually yours.

As the homeowner, you’ll know about issues that could affect the sales price, and what steps you can take to help your bottom line.

If you’re lucky, you might have fairly simple issues to resolve. If you can fix them yourself, you can ask for a better purchase price for your home. If the issues are costly, requiring a professional, you can decide whether to pay to have it done yourself, or sell the home as-is at a reduced selling price (meaning that known issues will be the responsibility of the buyer). Either way, knowing the structural issues up front can help prevent delays in the sale.

A word of caution: If you find problems but elect not to repair them, be sure to tell your realtor! You realtor will want to disclose this information to all potential buyers. In some states, you can be liable for damages if you, or your realtor, knew about problems but didn’t disclosed them to the buyer.

A home inspection isn’t free, but it will more than pay for itself when it helps you achieve a successful sale.

21 Days to Pay your Credit Card Bill

 

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010. To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Eight

Does it ever feel like your credit card bill is due the same day it arrives in the mail? That’s changing with the Credit Card Act of 2009. Creditors will now have to mail your bill 21 days before the due date.

With Multiple Rates, the Highest Gets Paid First

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010 To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Seven

Do you ever wonder why it takes so long to pay off your credit card balance? It’s partly because creditors apply your credit card payment to the lowest interest rate balance first.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you took a zero percent balance transfer offer.  Then, you made some new purchases on that card.  In the past, your payment would go to the balance transfer amount first until that’s paid off, while you’re interest rates pile up on those clothes you bought 6 months ago. That allowed the credit card company to make the most interest it possibly could possible off your purchase.

Well, no more. The Credit Card Act of 2009 will require creditors to apply your payment to the highest interest rate balance first.

How Long Will It Take for Me to Pay Off My Credit Card

 

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010 To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Six

How do you handle your credit card payments? Do you pay the balance very month, or do you only pay the minimum?

Your bill will now include a section that tells you how many months it will take to pay off your credit card balance if you make only minimum payments. That will be an eye opener for some of us.

Weekend Credit Card Due Dates Don’t Count

 

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010. To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Five

Have you ever received a credit card bill with a Sunday due date? Were you charged a late fee if they didn’t process the payment until Monday? That’s changing with the new Credit card Act of 2009. Your payment won’t be marked as late if it’s due on a weekend or holiday, but posted by the next business day.

Stricter Credit Card Applications

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010. To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Four

If you had trouble getting a new credit card before, it may be harder now.  With the new Credit Card Act of 2009, you will have to disclose your income and your ability to repay the balance up to your credit limit.

Over Your Credit Limit? Purchase not approved

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010. To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Three

In the past, you wouldn’t know if a purchase put you over your credit limit until you received a big fee on credit card statement.

But that’s changed. Now, if a purchase will put you over your climit, your purchase will be declined. With the new Credit Card Act of 2009, only pre-authorized purchases will be approved.

(Remember, this doesn’t apply to your debit card. You’ll receive no warnings if a purchase will overdraw your checking account. )

No More Credit Card Payment Fees

The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010 To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips over the next three weeks.

Tip Number Two

Have you ever gone out of town and arrived back home to find out that you have a credit card payment due tomorrow? Like most people, you probably got on the phone, or online, to make the payment because you wanted to pay right away You also probably got charged a nice little fee for not sending a check through the postal service like a good little credit card owner.

With the new Credit Card Act of 2009, you will not be charged a fee to pay your credit card, unless you specifically ask to have your payment expedited (which means that you asked to have it rushed through).

New Minimum Age for Credit Cards


The New Credit Card Act of 2009 takes effect on February 22, 2010. To help you prepare, my blog will feature Nine Tips  over the next three weeks.

Tip Number One

Twenty-one is the new minimum age to apply for a credit card according to the Credit Card Act of 2009.

Guard Your Social Security Card

Your social security card has been lost or stolen – what do you do? That’s a tough question. If there is no evidence that someone is actually using the number, neither Social Security nor the FTC will help you.

If you do have evidence that someone is using your number, you can contact the FTC at 1-877-IDTHEFT or FTC.Gov. If you are unsuccessful in trying to correct the situation, Social Security might give you a new social security number. You can contact them by calling 1-800-772-1213. For more information, visit SocialSecurity.Gov.

You should also report the loss to each of the three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, EquiFax and TransUnion. Ask them to put an alert on your credit report. This will send a signal to any merchants or credit companies that the person requesting a new account may be using stolen information. Actively monitor your credit by ordering free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com

If you are in a state that allows you to put a credit freeze on your credit report, I would do this as well. That way, no one can access your report unless you authorize them to do so. There is a charge: First a fee to freeze your report, then another fee to unfreeze your report when you apply for credit cards, loans, or insurance. But, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

With that thought in mind, remember to keep your card in a safe place and not in your wallet.