On this page your going to find things that aren't on other mortgage websites, very common mistakes people make and hopefully some all around good information and advice.

CREDIT

Whats in your wallet? Capitol One and AMEX can hurt your credit because they don't report your limit. This hurts because it looks like your maxed out every month. You can counter this by maxing out your card one month. This helps because your credit report shows the max you have put on it. This shows that your limit is atleast this high.

This is on other sites but it is still one of the most common mistakes people make. DON'T CANCEL YOUR CREDIT CARDS! By canceling your credit cards you actually lower your score. Your credit history counts for 15% of your score, also your debt ratio counts for 30%. For example if you had two credit cards that equaled $20,000 and had spend $10,000 on one of them you'd be at 50%. Lets now say you cancel the other card that had a  $10,000 limit, now your credit cards are maxed out at 100%!!!

Eliminate junkmail Help stop identity theft and save a tree at the same time. By calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT or go to optoutprescreen.com you can eliminate most credit card offers. Do you really want offers mailed to your house even after you move?

Credit Freeze Laws These can help fight identity theft, to find out if your state has them go here ConsumersUnion.org

Real Free Credit Reports!  Dont buy into companies that say "free credit report" and a few clicks later your being asked to pay something. By law you are allowed your credit report for free once a year. You won't get your score but you can see if there are any errors on it. AnnualCreditReport.com

Increase your credit score Instead of paying it completely off every month leave between 10-30% on. If you have a 0% or low interest rate this works great because your not paying any or very little interest.

How many credit cards should I have? Atleast three and five at the most. If you already have over five, remember don't cancel them, especially if you've had them for a long time.

LOAN STUFF

Always get a H.E.L.O.C. (Home Equity Line Of Credit) from a bank  Going directly to a bank will save you expenses a mortgage broker/loan officer can't avoid like appraisals. As much as I want your business, I just can't do it if I know you can get it and save quit a bit of money.

Always use a mortgage broker or loan officer for a home loan or refinancing  They can shop your loan around to dozens of banks. Plus they make more of an effort to help you get your score up and are usually more knowledgeable than a bank officer.

Never buy points down Buying points down is a scam. There are so many reasons why you shouldn't buy points down I am not putting them down, just don't! There are a million other places you can put your money, put it in one of those other million!!

Don't get a prepayment penalty...90% of the time  A prepayment penalty will save you a little bit of money but think about how much can go wrong. Sickness in the family and you have to move, if rates drop you can't refinance, divorce, job relocation. It's your choice but just make sure you put thought into it. If you do get one try for one that only penalizes you for refinancing not selling.

Giant companies don't save you money You can look at any corporate earnings report and verify this. Some spend up to $1,500 to obtain one loan/customer. Plus they have hundreds of employees, managers watching employees, supervisors watching managers, and up the ladder we go. I am not ripping them, I am just saying the money has to come from somewhere to pay for everything and everybody. I'm thinking it's your loan...   Here, we all work from our home to save on expenses.

No closing cost loans  Can be good or bad, it's a little tricky.  What "no closing costs" loans really mean is no upfront costs, in other words the money gets added on to the total amount of the loan or your interest rate will be higher than what it should of been. If your refinancing make sure the amount isn't just being added to your loan.

Find someone and stick with them  If you find someone you like and they treat you fairly, stick with them! Everytime I've seen someone get screwed it's because they used someone they didn't know.

If it sounds to good to be true  I see more advertisements for "Get a $500,000 home for $1,000 a month" WHAT?! I find myself scratching my head how people can really believe this. If you see this run the other direction. Do everyone a favor and don't work with dishonest people.

How To Get A Home