Northern Poconos Real Estate News

Most real estate experts would tell you that spring and early summer is peak season for buying or selling a home, and statistics show that they’re right. But that doesn’t mean that the rest of the summer is wasted time for people looking to buy or sell.

August, in particular, can be a productive month, as people are looking to move into better school districts, move before the less than desirable winter months come, and are more anxious to sell after months of unproductive showings.

If you’ve ever noticed a rise in interest rates in the news or saw your credit card bill get a little higher, there’s one federal agency that you can look to: the Federal Reserve Board.

When the Fed raises interest rates, most borrowers with car and home loans won’t see their rates change because they’ve locked in rates. People getting new loans, however, will see the higher rates, as will credit card users.

The home inspection is an essential part of your homebuying journey. Your inspector can identify potential problems in the house, such as foundation damage and a leaky roof, before you head to closing—giving you time to negotiate repairs. However, the inspector only conducts a basic visual inspection of some home components and will not check other areas. While the requirements for a home inspection can vary from state to state, the list below includes the parts of the home that require addition...

If you have an old credit card that you no longer use, you might think that it would make sense to close the account. Under some circumstances, that can actually backfire and hurt your credit score.

Factors That Impact Your Credit Score
Credit scores are based on several factors. Algorithms analyze an individual’s history to figure out how likely that person is to fail to repay debts or to make payments late.

A poor credit score can affect people in many ways. It can make it difficult to get approved for a mortgage or other type of loan, and can lead to paying higher interest rates on those loans and on credit cards. It can also make it hard to get a cellphone contract or rent an apartment.

By paying off a high credit card balance, borrowers can improve their credit score and, over time, start to see lower interest rates offered to them.

Using a credit card to buy lunch or a cup of coffee may not feel like a loan, but it can be if you use it as revolving credit. 

Revolving credit is a credit line to borrow against and repay repeatedly. The amount of credit you can use each month is your credit line, or credit limit, and can be used as little or as much as you want up to that amount. 

If you have a good credit score, you can probably get approved for a credit card that doesn’t have an annual fee. The benefits? You’ll have a credit card without being stuck with an annual fee, and you’ll be happier.

Consumers with no-annual-fee credit cards were twice as likely to be satisfied with their card than consumers with annual-fee cards—70 percent to 35 percent—according to a recent survey from Discover, a major issuer of no-fee credit cards.