Helpful Tips on Buying A Home With Bad Credit

The home buying process can be complex and time consuming.  Having bad credit can make things even more challenging.  However, poor credit doesn’t necessarily preclude you from owning a home.  In our current economic climate loans help buying a home with a poor credit scoreare subject to a good deal of scrutiny before approval and the options available to you aren’t great.  Since the real estate bubble burst a few years ago, lending institutions have tended to be far more conservative, but it is still possible to buy a home with bad credit.

Most real estate and personal finance professionals will tell you that if you have sub-par credit, the best thing you can do is simply put off buying a house for a few years and spend that time improving your credit score.  This can save you a lot of money in the long run by enabling you to qualify for a low interest rate on your home loan.  Before you decide to purchase a house, make sure to ask yourself if buying is really a good idea right now.  Taking on a mortgage with bad credit will create an extra burden and could be the wrong financial move.

That said, if you have less than stellar credit and still want to buy a home, the very first thing you should do is get a copy of your FICO credit score.  You need to know where you stand before you begin talking to lenders and the difference of a few points can be important, especially if you’re on the lower end of the scale.  While reviewing your credit score, you might also spot errors.  If you do, you can report them to the credit agency that issued the report in order to improve your score.  After you’ve reviewed your credit score and decided that you’re going to get serious, there are several options available to you.

A route that many people go is to apply for Federal Housing Administration loan insurance.  By assuming the risk if you default, the FHA helps people qualify for a loan and can greatly reduce the down payment, which can be as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.  Many of the closing costs/fees can be rolled into the loan as well.  In order to obtain FHA loan insurance you must show current financial responsibility, but past bankruptcies or loan defaults won’t necessarily disqualify you.

Other options people sometimes use are local government home buying programs and obtaining a co-signer on the loan. Your local housing and community development office will have information on local government programs, if they exist.  Alternatively, you might be able to get a close family member to co-sign on your loan.  They can help you get approved by assuming the financial risk if you default.  Finally, you might be able to find a lender that will give you a shot, but be careful – you’re bound to pay a higher interest rate and commit to a much larger down payment.  The interest rate on subprime loans can be exorbitant, so signing up for one might leave you worse off than you were before.  Exercise extreme caution when looking for a subprime loan.

In conclusion, waiting it out a few years and improving your credit score is the most advisable route to go by most estimates.  If you do want to buy with less than stellar credit you can look into FHA loan insurance or try to find someone to co-sign your loan, but be wary of obtaining a sub-prime mortgage.  If you’d like to check out communities you’re interested in moving to, have a look at our MoveMap, which makes finding a new place to live a breeze!

The 5 Fastest Growing Cities in Florida

Whether you like living in a highly populated city or not, it is no secret that larger cities often times have a lot more to offer. In regards to economic growth of a particular area there is a direct correlation between the growth rate of a city and floridas fastest growing citiessuch things as higher employment rates and better housing markets among many other positive benefits. The nice thing about population growth in a particular area is the hidden driving factors like a new industry or large business moving in or it may be just a desirable cost effective area to live.  Whatever the reason is, just remember that if you want to benefit from a booming city than the earlier you jump on board the better.  Florida has many great cities but here is a list of 5 of Florida’s fastest growing cities.

1. Orlando

First and foremost and probably the largest city in the state, Orlando, known by the locals as “The city beautiful” with a population growth rate of 1.82% and a fantastic unemployment rate of 5.76% which is several points below the national average.

2. Cape Coral

Second is a smaller town of Cape Coral which is direct neighbors to the more well-known town Fort Myers.  The population growth rate of Cape Coral is currently around 2.41% and yet still a low unemployment rate of 6.22%.  Surprisingly this city was one of the hardest hit during the economic housing fall, good to see its coming back.

3. Palm Bay

Next we are brought to Palm Bay, Florida, while on the east coast this is a great beach city having a population increase of around 1.53% and an unemployment rate at 6.6%.  The average income in this town is right above $60,000 which could be greatly supported by such companies like NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and soon to be Northrop Grumman.

4. North Port

Coming in at number four would be North Port, Florida a location that piggy backs the more well-known metropolitan area Sarasota.  North Port is in a wonderful area on the west coast with white sand beaches, turquoise colored water and beautiful sunsets.  This town has boasted a 1.42% population growth rate along with a 6% unemployment rate.

5. Windermere

Back to the intercostal geographic area, this small town in Orange County Florida known for its rather large houses and the Arnold Palmer golf tournament Windermere makes the ranking at number five.  With about a 29% population growth since the year 2000 this has been a substantial increase even according the national level.  More known for its original basketball super star Shaquille O’Neal and golf legend Tiger Woods there is no question this is a very desirable city to live in.

Sure, getting on board with a city that is up and coming has its benefits but it wouldn’t be your first priority unless you were looking for purely investment purposes.  On the other hand you may be in a community that is growing with excellent supporting industry and opportunity.  If you are looking for more information on these communities I suggest using the tools offered on www.MoversAtlas.com.

Most Affordable Beach Cities to Live in Florida

Finding a place to live typically has a lot weighing on things like amenities, crime rates, school zones, local to a work place and of course cost.  Cost is sometimes an interesting topic because each household income varies and what one person most affordable beach cities to live in floridafeels comfortable paying relies heavily on the persons own circumstances and opinion.  For many people living by the beach is something they see as over priced and out of their budget but that isn’t always the case. Going off of the average household income in the U.S being around $51,000 as a bench mark there are still beach cities in Florida that are affordable for the average person or family.  The rule of thumb is the more desirable locations are going to cost more but the following list shows some of Florida’s beach towns that are actually affordable!

Indian Harbour Beach

The first one is Indian Harbour Beach which maybe one that even Floridians are not real familiar with.  Their motto is “The Greatest little City in Florida” which could be for good reason!  The city falls under a more well-known Brevard county but has a small census.  The median income in this city is around $56,000 and while this is slightly above the national average this doesn’t drive up the household costs sky high like other beach towns such as West Palm Beach or Ft. Lauderdale.  Indian Harbour is a quaint little town with average house sales around $180,000 keeping this beach town as a top candidate.

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Fort Myers Beach

The next destination takes us to the west coast right on the Gulf known for the white sand beaches and warmer waters.  Fort Myers Beach is slightly bigger than the last location at a population of 6,277.  Fort Myers is more of a well-known city under the jurisdiction of Lee County.  The town is affordable with the median household sales around $185,000 and all the amenities any beach town has.   The location of this town is nicely placed just outside of very desirable areas such a Sanibel and Captiva island which makes it perfect for Saturday afternoon beach days and sightseeing.  Fort Myers’ economy is rebounding much like the rest of the country but there are still many houses that can be found as outstanding deals.

Vero Beach

Last but not least in this list goes back to the east coast of Florida. A more well-known city Vero Beach which falls under Indian River County.  Vero’s motto is “Where the Tropics Begin” which is exactly what you are looking for in any beach town.  The town is larger with around 15,000 people with a median household income of $35,000 in 2011.  The average houses and condos are selling for around $200,000 and are well known for their intercostal waterway “Indian River Lagoon” excellent for fishing, boating and kayaking.  The location is right near the two large shopping malls and specialty shops along the barrier island known as the “Miracle Mile”.

There are many small beach towns in the state of Florida with many different variations in size, population and cost.  Coastal living to most may seem unattainable but by shopping carefully there are actually very affordable beach homes still around.  By using tools like www.MoversAtlas.com your dream home on the beach or inland is just a click away!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home or Apartment, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.