When you have an escrow account, the mortgage company will pay your property taxes and homeowner's insurance for you. When you make your monthly mortgage payment, a portion of the payment goes towards your escrow account. If you look at your statement, you should have a breakdown of how much goes into the escrow account. Always know how much is in your escrow account. If your escrow account goes into the negative, your mortgage payments will go up. The reason your escrow account is in the negative is because you did not have enough money in the account to cover the property taxes and/or homeowner's insurance when the mortgage company made those payments. As a result, the mortgage company increases your monthly payment to make up the difference in the escrow account, and to make sure you have enough money in the account when your taxes and insurance are due again. If you notice that there is a shortage in your escrow account before the mortgage company pays your taxes and insurance, I would recommend that you send in extra money to be put into the escrow account. On the other hand, if you have an overage in the escrow account, the mortgage company will either refund you the overage or keep the money in the escrow account and decrease your monthly payments.
Should you have an escrow account? If you are good with money management, then you can actually set up your own escrow account in the form of a savings account and pay your taxes and insurance on your own. If money management is not one of your strengths, then I would recommend having an escrow account. That way, the mortgage company will pay your taxes and insurance for you, and you do not have to worry about coming up with money when the taxes and insurance are due.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Your 2009 Progress Report
Did you make any New Year's resolutions for 2009? If so, now is a great time for you to do a progress report. In the previous blog posts, we have talked about establishing excellent credit, creating a budget, buying your first home or investment property, having the right mortgage, avoiding foreclosure, and a number of other topics.
With that being said, I have a few questions to make you go HMMM!!! Have you worked on getting excellent credit, have you been sticking to your budget, have you purchased your first home or investment property, and do you have the right mortgage? I almost forgot the most important question, have you sent any referrals to EDJ? If you answered "No" to any of these questions, then we have a lot of work to do the second half of 2009. The great news is that the year is not over, so get in the game and make it happen.
If you want "The EDJe On Real Estate", please contact Edmond Donte' James at 832-647-1769 or 1-877- 469-3353 or email me at donte@RealEstateByEDJ.com.
With that being said, I have a few questions to make you go HMMM!!! Have you worked on getting excellent credit, have you been sticking to your budget, have you purchased your first home or investment property, and do you have the right mortgage? I almost forgot the most important question, have you sent any referrals to EDJ? If you answered "No" to any of these questions, then we have a lot of work to do the second half of 2009. The great news is that the year is not over, so get in the game and make it happen.
If you want "The EDJe On Real Estate", please contact Edmond Donte' James at 832-647-1769 or 1-877- 469-3353 or email me at donte@RealEstateByEDJ.com.
Monday, June 15, 2009
What Is Wealth Strategies?
The EDJ Philosophy is an eight step plan to wealth strategies. The first strategy to building wealth is paying your tithes. My belief is if you pay God what He is owed, He will in return bless you, your family, your business, and your career. Next, live on a budget. We talked about creating a budget earlier. If you have a budget, then you have a sense of what your monthly household expenses are, and how much discretionary funds you have available at the end of every month.Thirdly, pay-off all your debts excluding your mortgage. We will get to paying off the mortgage later. If you have a budget, then you can use some of those discretionary funds to pay-off your debts.
Fourth, start a savings and retirement plan. Once you pay-off your debts, you can use that extra money to contribute to a savings and/or retirement account. Fifth, you should have good to excellent credit. If you have paid your debts off, this will help your credit scores, which brings me to my sixth strategy, having the right mortgage. How do you get the right mortgage? First you call EDJ Mortgage & Wealth Strategies. With good to excellent credit, you will get a great interest rate. This will save you tons of money in interest. Another thought about having the right mortgage, you can get a great deal on the purchase price of a property. But if you get the wrong mortgage, this will totally negate the fact that you negotiated a good deal. The seventh strategy is paying off your mortgage early. Ways to pay your mortgage off early are to do bi-weekly payments, or make extra payments towards the principal. If you have been following EDJ's wealth strategies, you can use the extra money that you have to make extra payments towards the principal. Edmond Donte' James is a realtor and mortgage broker that does not want you to be broke because of your mortgage.
Finally, you should acquire real estate. The majority of the successful financial people that I know and read about have real estate in their portfolio. You can either acquire real estate and sell it for a profit or have rental properties. Again, if you have been following EDJ's wealth strategies, you should have good to excellent credit which will allow you to obtain financing to get these properties, and pay them off early.
This is EDJ's philosophy on building wealth. Call EDJ and let me give you that EDJe.
Fourth, start a savings and retirement plan. Once you pay-off your debts, you can use that extra money to contribute to a savings and/or retirement account. Fifth, you should have good to excellent credit. If you have paid your debts off, this will help your credit scores, which brings me to my sixth strategy, having the right mortgage. How do you get the right mortgage? First you call EDJ Mortgage & Wealth Strategies. With good to excellent credit, you will get a great interest rate. This will save you tons of money in interest. Another thought about having the right mortgage, you can get a great deal on the purchase price of a property. But if you get the wrong mortgage, this will totally negate the fact that you negotiated a good deal. The seventh strategy is paying off your mortgage early. Ways to pay your mortgage off early are to do bi-weekly payments, or make extra payments towards the principal. If you have been following EDJ's wealth strategies, you can use the extra money that you have to make extra payments towards the principal. Edmond Donte' James is a realtor and mortgage broker that does not want you to be broke because of your mortgage.
Finally, you should acquire real estate. The majority of the successful financial people that I know and read about have real estate in their portfolio. You can either acquire real estate and sell it for a profit or have rental properties. Again, if you have been following EDJ's wealth strategies, you should have good to excellent credit which will allow you to obtain financing to get these properties, and pay them off early.
This is EDJ's philosophy on building wealth. Call EDJ and let me give you that EDJe.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Advantages Of Home Ownership
The first advantage of owning your home is the fact that you achieve that great "American Dream" of home ownership. As you know, home ownership is an important component to building wealth.
Secondly, there are also tax benefits to owning your home. The interest that you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible when you file your taxes every year.
The third advantage is every time you make your mortgage payment, you are gaining equity in your home because you are paying down your principal balance. In addition, most real estate appreciates, so this is another way to gain equity in your home. If you decide to sell your home, you will walk away from the closing with a profit because you have been paying your mortgage principal down every month and the value of your home has increased from when you first purchased it.
Finally, when you own your home, you are making an investment in your community and an investment in your financial future. This investment will assure you a great return, but to guarantee that great return, you must first obtain the right financing. To get the right financing and the best deal for your home, call EDJ today at 832-647-1769 or 1-877-469-3353!!! June is a good month to start building your wealth. CALL EDJ TODAY!
Secondly, there are also tax benefits to owning your home. The interest that you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible when you file your taxes every year.
The third advantage is every time you make your mortgage payment, you are gaining equity in your home because you are paying down your principal balance. In addition, most real estate appreciates, so this is another way to gain equity in your home. If you decide to sell your home, you will walk away from the closing with a profit because you have been paying your mortgage principal down every month and the value of your home has increased from when you first purchased it.
Finally, when you own your home, you are making an investment in your community and an investment in your financial future. This investment will assure you a great return, but to guarantee that great return, you must first obtain the right financing. To get the right financing and the best deal for your home, call EDJ today at 832-647-1769 or 1-877-469-3353!!! June is a good month to start building your wealth. CALL EDJ TODAY!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Creating A Budget
My first question to you is, how much do you spend each month on household expenses? If you don’t know, I would recommend that you create an excel spreadsheet that lists all your expenses (i.e. mortgage/rent, car note, credit cards, insurance, student loans, cable, electricity, gas, phone, cell phone, water, etc.). You should also be tracking how much you spend each month on each bill.
In addition to your household expenses, establish a monthly budget for your groceries and entertainment. Next, determine your total monthly household income. Now, subtract your total expenses from your total income (Hopefully this is a positive number). If this is a positive number, this is considered your discretionary funds. My recommendation is that you put a percentage or certain amount of your discretionary funds in some type of savings account. This savings account can be used for your emergency funds. Each household should have 9 to 12 months of monthly expenses saved in case of an emergency or life changing circumstance (i.e. sickness, losing a job, etc.).
If you are already doing this, CONGRATULATIONS! You already have “The EDJe On Building Wealth.” If you do not have a household budget, NOW would be a great time to start building wealth.
In addition to your household expenses, establish a monthly budget for your groceries and entertainment. Next, determine your total monthly household income. Now, subtract your total expenses from your total income (Hopefully this is a positive number). If this is a positive number, this is considered your discretionary funds. My recommendation is that you put a percentage or certain amount of your discretionary funds in some type of savings account. This savings account can be used for your emergency funds. Each household should have 9 to 12 months of monthly expenses saved in case of an emergency or life changing circumstance (i.e. sickness, losing a job, etc.).
If you are already doing this, CONGRATULATIONS! You already have “The EDJe On Building Wealth.” If you do not have a household budget, NOW would be a great time to start building wealth.
What Are Your Credit Scores?
What are your credit scores? I always tell my clients, just like you are supposed to have an annual physical, you should also check your credit at least once a year. Your credit scores follow you everywhere you go. There are even companies that pull your credit report before they hire you. If your credit isn’t good to excellent, it could prevent you from getting that job.
You have three credit scores from three different credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The 3 reasons you need to review your credit scores are: 1) Make sure your identity has not been stolen. 2) Make sure everything is accurate on your credit report. 3) Know what your scores are so you can clean up your credit. Here are some of the ways to increase your credit scores: 1) Look for any past due balances on the credit report and bring them current 2) Pay off past dues and charge-offs within the last two years 3) Reduce all outstanding debt to as close to a zero balance as possible. If you are unable to pay all debt down, try to keep balances below 50% of available credit. For example, if your available credit is $1000, you want to keep your balance below $500, but keeping it below 30% or $300 would be even better. Also do not close existing accounts. 4) Too many inquiries for credit will negatively impact the score.
Certain low credit scores can hinder you from buying a home, but if you check your credit every year and dispute any inaccuracies on your report in a timely fashion, you can be assured of maintaining good to excellent credit scores. If you are seeking to purchase a home, your should acquire a credit report from Real Estate By EDJ. Knowing Your Credit Scores is the 1st Step toward purchasing your new home!
You have three credit scores from three different credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The 3 reasons you need to review your credit scores are: 1) Make sure your identity has not been stolen. 2) Make sure everything is accurate on your credit report. 3) Know what your scores are so you can clean up your credit. Here are some of the ways to increase your credit scores: 1) Look for any past due balances on the credit report and bring them current 2) Pay off past dues and charge-offs within the last two years 3) Reduce all outstanding debt to as close to a zero balance as possible. If you are unable to pay all debt down, try to keep balances below 50% of available credit. For example, if your available credit is $1000, you want to keep your balance below $500, but keeping it below 30% or $300 would be even better. Also do not close existing accounts. 4) Too many inquiries for credit will negatively impact the score.
Certain low credit scores can hinder you from buying a home, but if you check your credit every year and dispute any inaccuracies on your report in a timely fashion, you can be assured of maintaining good to excellent credit scores. If you are seeking to purchase a home, your should acquire a credit report from Real Estate By EDJ. Knowing Your Credit Scores is the 1st Step toward purchasing your new home!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Still a Great Time to Buy Real Estate
Contrary to the news media reports, now is still a great time to buy real estate. There is a plethora of inventory that sellers are ready to off load, including my current listing picutred here.
As we kick off the new Spring Season, the economy still has been the main topic of discussion around many dinner tables. As we all know, the housing and real estate market is seeing some of its worst times, but if you are in the market for a new home, now is a great time to buy a home. Interest Rates are at an all-time low! So don't believe the hype that now is the time to sit still. As you read this, great deals are being made and many more Americans who have good credit and a down payment are getting a 'steal-of-a-deal' So YES! It's definitely a great time to buy a home!
Already have a home? It's an excellent time to refinance your home. Low interest rates are not only good for the home buyer, it's a great opportunity for existing homeowners to secure a lower interest rate on their current mortgage.
Whether you are in the market for a new home or need to refinance your current home, EDJ is poised to help you all the way! EDJ is a one stop shop with our mortgage office ready to finance you and our real estate office ready to help you find your new home or investment property.
When you think real estate, think EDJ! And YES, we still appreciate all your referrals. Give us a call at 1-877-469-3353 or email me at donte@realestatebyedj.com
When you think real estate, think EDJ! And YES, we still appreciate all your referrals. Give us a call at 1-877-469-3353 or email me at donte@realestatebyedj.com
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