Vacation Budget Tips

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Booking a last minute summer vacation? Check out these tips!
Lodging

• Look at websites that deal with vacation rentals. Often times, hotels or conference centers that deal primarily with business travelers have lower rates on the weekends. If renting a property, always read the entire listing and agreement before committing; don't miss any details or fine print.

Rental Car

• It is usually cheaper to rent in a less central location with a smaller company. Rent the cheapest car you can find and choose early morning pickup; it's very likely that yesterday's cars won't be returned yet so the company will have to offer you a larger car for the same price.
• Look over your existing insurance policy to see if you already have the right coverage for a rental car; if you do, think about skipping the rental company's policy.
• Don't rent a vehicle that is too small

Airline

• Follow major airlines on social media and make sure to join their rewards programs. Discounts can be earned over time and you will be able to keep up with promotions and sales.
• Invest in available package deals; these are a way for both airlines and hotels to book empty seats and rooms using low prices.
• Don't check air fares for just one day; if possible, be flexible and look around for a deal.

Location

• Consider local destinations and attractions. There are many national and state parks that may only be a few hours away that can provide a wonderful family getaway experience.
• Don't put a trip on a credit card if you can't truly afford it. Once interest payments start being made, that trip will end up costing a lot more than you originally planned on.

Happy Friday

The Do's And Don'ts Of Exterior Color

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Do

• Think about using color over neutrals
• Consider existing colors: When choosing colors for the exterior of your home, think about what colors are already there that cannot be changed, such as a color in the brick on your home or what shade your roof shingles are. When choosing an exterior color palette, keep these existing colors in mind and choose a palate that complements these.
• Use accent colors: Painting window trim and other details of the exterior can add both charm and character. 
• Get trendy: Exterior color trends stay around for quite awhile so colors that you choose now are likley to still be in style even 10 years from now. Although white is always a safe bet, many homeowners are now experimenting with tinted neutrals and other colors. If you need inspiration, try driving around your neighborhood and noting what others have done.
• Light or dark: Light colors make a home look larger while dark colors, especially on the bottom half of a home's exterior, can make the house look more substantial. 

Don't

• Misplace the accent: Accent colors can look great, but be careful to avoid using them incorrectly. Don't use accent colors to draw attention to less appealing aspects of your home such as the gutters or the air conditioner.
• Clash: While it's great to stand out, consider not choosing colors that will clash with your neighbor's color scheme.
• Test before painting: Try painting a small inconspicuous area of your home with the new colors you are wanting to use and see if they look good on your home before going all out and painting everything at once.

Financial Advantages Of Owning A Home

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1. No inflation: If you rent an apartment for $1,800 a month and the inflation rate is about 3%, your monthly rent will increase to over $2,000 a month in just 5 years and you will have paid about $115,000 of your landlord's mortgage in that time. When you own a home and have a fixed mortgage, your payment will not change.
2. Personal wealth: When you rent, you are paying your landlord's mortgage. When you own a home, your mortgage balance decreases while your property value goes up. If you treat your home like an investment, you can sell it when the market conditions are right and make a great profit.
3. Both Federal and State tax savings: Under IRS code, interest from loans used to acquire, construct, or improve real estate is tax deductible up to a $1,000,000 mortgage. Interest on loans connected to real estate for any reason is deductible on up to a $100,000 mortgage.
4. Diversified Assets: When you purchase a home, you can live in it while the investment grows unlike a 401(k) or IRA.
5. Savings: When making payments on a mortgage, you lower the mortgage amount almost creating a forced savings account. With a mortgage of $1,800 a month, in 5 years you will have paid about $29,331 of the principal portion of your mortgage. If you were to sell your home at that point, that amount deducted from your principal would basically be put in your pocket.

Preparing Your Home To Sell

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Getting your home prepped and ready to enter the market can be a stressful time and many homeowners are unsure of where to begin and what the first steps are to accomplishing this task.

Here are a few helpful tips to getting the interior of your home ready:

1. Give each and every room a good cleaning. Remove any clutter that may detract from the beauty and functionality of your home. In order to do this, you may need to rent a storage space to store extra items.

2. It may be a good idea to hire a professional cleaner to come once every couple of weeks just while your home is on the market. This may be especially true for homeowners who are working full time and are busy outside the home.

3. Focus on the kitchen and remove any items from your counter tops that are not necessary or are seldom used. Doing so will make your kitchen appear cleaner and larger which is very important. If the cabinets are older, invest in attractive and modern knobs to give the cabinets an instant face lift. New window treatments in the kitchen can also go a long way with making the space appear newer.

4. Steam clean any carpets that are dirty or showing wear. Also, it is a good idea to paint any walls that have bright or loud colors on them with a paint color that is neutral and will lighten and brighten the room.

5. Repair any cracks or holes in the walls and check for cracks/dampness in the basement and make repairs as needed.

6. Replace leaking faucets and shower heads. Putting out new towels in the bathrooms for showings will also improve the overall look and feel of your home.

9 Ways To Improve Curb Appeal

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Are you looking for ways to improve the curb appeal of your home without taking a big chunk out of your wallet? Here are 9 ways to do just that:

1. Add mulch: Mulch goes a long way in instantly giving your yard a face lift. The darker the mulch, the bigger the effect is. Not only does new mulch look nice, it saves water by cutting down on runoff. 
2. Improve the front door: Upgrading to new and modern hardware really improves the look of the door. You also want to make sure your front entrance is free of cob webs and other debris. Replacing the door bell, the door's kick plate, and the outdoor light fixtures can also really amp up your home's style.
3. Fence: Fix any discolor or wear by using a semitransparent stain on your fence. This will improve the look of your yard by giving it an all-over fresh feel. 
4. Pressure clean: Rent a pressure washer to clean up your home's exterior, driveway, walkways, patio, deck, stairs, porch, etc. Don't forget about your front door and mailbox; be sure to clean those by hand if they need some attention.
5. Accent color: Consider adding an accent color to your home's window casements, shutters, or front door. If you are unsure as to how to choose a good color, head to your local home improvement store and look at the color accent cards that large manufacturers provide.
6. Fill in your yard: Look for spaces in beds and borders and put in annual flowers. 
7. Cool-colored plants: It is a good idea to stick to plants in cool colors such as blue, purple, light pink, and white as people usually react in an emotional way to hot colors such as reds or yellows. Also, stick with either one color or one color with an accent color in order to create a polished and organized look. Planting flowers of many different colors may look too busy.
8. Mow and weed: Ensure your lawn is taken care of by mowing the grass and pulling out the weeds. A well taken care of lawn translates that the homeowner takes pride in their residence. 
9. Light it up: Add lights to walkways and near plants/trees that you want to highlight. Illuminating your yard looks great at night and you never know when a potential buyer will drive by.

Credit Scores

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Your credit score plays a large role in the type of financing you will be offered when looking to buy a home. Banks usually decide on the terms of a loan based on the credit score category that you fall in to. It is important to check into your credit score and to ensure that you take any necessary steps to improving your score as much as possible before deciding to finance a home. Here is a quick summary of how banks view your credit score in relation to financing:

• The lower the credit score, the more difficult it is to become approved for a loan and the loans that are obtained with a lower score will typically have a higher interest rate
• In order to qualify for conventional financing, a borrower must have a minimum score of 620; some lenders have raised the minimum score needed for conventional loans through overlays (rule overrides)
• The national average FICO score is 689

Below are the credit tiers according to Fannie/Freddie:

- 760 Plus New Tier 1 A

- 740-759 Old Tier 1 A

- 720-739 Fair Sub A

- 700-719 Fair

- 680-699 Average

- 660-670 Below Average

- 640-659

- 620-639