A Guide for Relocating with Your Pets

By Joshua T. Beck (Own work)

Moving is stressful. Organizing, packing, cleaning, scheduling… the number of tasks can seem overwhelming. One thing that makes the stress worthwhile is the idea that soon you’ll be settling into your new home.

But what about your pets? For them, moving is an extremely unsettling experience. While you know the big picture, your furry and feathered friends only see their world falling apart. This can result in stress-related behaviors or even illness. So how do you preserve your pets’ sanity during the change?

An investment property with a twist

Now is an excellent time to invest in a property. Whether you’re an all-cash buyer or looking to lock in a favorable rate on a loan, there are perfect properties out there you can leverage into a cash-flow-positive asset.

If you’ve ever considered owning a rental property, but haven’t much liked the thought of a traditional tenant/landlord relationship, perhaps some of these alternative ideas will spark your imagination.

Scoring the Scoreless: New FICO Approach

If you’re in the market for a home, you’re probably in the market for a mortgage. With the exception of all-cash buyers, most buyers will find out soon what their FICO score is and what banks think about it.

The FICO score has a huge impact on whether or not lenders consider you an acceptable credit risk, and yet there are more than 53 million Americans out there who don’t have a credit score at all. This doesn’t mean they’re a bad risk, necessarily… it just means they haven’t used credit cards, held a previous mortgage, or had an auto loan. They may be perfectly responsible financial citizens. So how do they apply for a mortgage?

FHA Condo Buyers Beware

By Mofadz at ms.wikipedia (Own work Transferred from ms.wikipedia)
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

If you’re looking to take advantage of an FHA Loan and are considering a condo, you should be aware that not all condos are eligible for FHA Loans.

A condo can be a great choice for a first-time buyer. Also great for first-time buyers? FHA Loans. Many FHA Loans require down payments as small as 3.5% of the purchase price of the property. They also create loan opportunities for people with less-than-perfect credit or other financial challenges.