Two terms that are often (and incorrectly) used interchangeably are “pre-qualified” and “pre-approved”. A Pre-Qualification typically means a buyer has spoken with a lender (who may or may not have pulled a credit report) and verbally discussed employment, liabilities, payment histories, and assets. A true Pre-Approval, on the other hand, entails a strict review of […]
It is unusual for the monthly employment report to be released on the first day of the month. Friday, the first day of June, was an exception. Logically, you would think that data released this early would be subject to a higher level of revisions, but we have no statistics to support that theory. What […]
The stock market shined this past week with another show of resiliency. The ability to bounce back after two huge natural disasters hit was quite impressive — even as the Korean situation continued to fester. By the end of the week, stocks had healthy gains. Meanwhile, long-term rates moved up as the stock market rallied. […]
Good credit is essential in today’s age for investing in large products such as a car, an apartment or even a house. According to the real estate firm Zillow, prospective homebuyers with a credit score below 620 are being denied quotes, resulting in 30% of Americans without a mortgage. Home equity loans are becoming extremely […]
Federal regulators are looking into whether they should implement more regulations into the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 as a way to prevent banks from unfairly imposing more fees on consumers. Citing its success of the initial CARD Act, regulators are proposing a new CARD Act to crack down on […]
The National Association of REALTORS recently reported that approximately 29 percent of today’s homebuyers are down from the “historic norm” of 40 percent. The NAR cited tight credit conditions, limited housing inventories, and steep competition from investors for the same properties as reasons for the shrinking number of first-time homebuyers. Kevin Gillen, an economist at […]
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently came out with its biannual Small Business Credit Survey, which showed lenders expressing a more positive attitude towards small business financing. The survey — which received more than 800 responses from businesses from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — showed that almost half (44%) of small […]
(Huntington, NY) —Brian Leibowitz, CEO and Owner of Affordable Financial Services LTD, is reminding everyone that March is Credit Education Month. He is urging those who are looking to apply for a mortgage to check their credit score, as the federal government has recently tightened its lending requirements. Credit Education Month is a month-long campaign […]
A recent survey from YouWalkAway.com showed that 80% of homeowners in strategic default — that is, those who “walked away” from their mortgages when they started facing foreclosure — are looking to buy another house within the next 12 months. This may benefit the housing market early next year: Moody’s Analytics says that there will […]
CardHub, a website that compares credit card information and updates, recently released a report showing consumer credit card debt declining for three consecutive quarters of this year. It is the first time in three years that such debt decreased over three straight quarters. In addition, the debt load in Q3 2012 was 14 percent lower […]