Cheryl Nightingale - Monarch Realty Group, LLC

How to Improve Your Credit Credit scores play a big role in determining whether you’ll qualify for a loan and what your loan terms will be. So, keep your credit score high by doing the following: Check for errors in your credit report. Thanks to an act of Congress, you can download one free credit report each year at annualcreditreport.com. If you find any errors, correct them immediately. Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. Transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score. Don’t charge your credit cards to the max. Pay down as much as you can every month. Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage. You’re penalized less severely for problems after a year. Don’t order items for your new home on credit. Wait until after your home loan is approved to charge appliances and furniture, as that will add to your debt. Don’t open new credit card accounts. If you’re applying

Off-Campus Housing Is Hot DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016  Privately-owned housing that's built specifically for college students is proving to be a lucrative real estate investment in certain markets, according to new data from Axiometrics, commissioned by property management software company AppFolio. They conclude that these shifts could upend the dynamics in local real estate markets near major colleges and universities. More than 47,000 new beds in privately-owned student housing are scheduled for delivery during the current semester, which is higher than any other year they examined. While the researchers expect more development to come online this time next year, they also suggest demand will remain high throughout 2017 and beyond. "In all, more than 1,000 beds were added at each of 12 university markets. Of those, only two have more than 1,000 beds scheduled for 2017 delivery," writes Alexis Hammond, manager of marketing communicat

Student loan debt and high rental prices continue to sideline potential home buyers. More than half – 53 percent – of potential home buyers with student loan debt say the debt “somewhat” or “very much” is an obstacle to them in buying a home, up from 49 percent in 2014, according to the fourth annual housing survey from NeighborWorks America. Read more : Student Loans Fuel Wealth Gap “With the home ownership rate at the lowest point in decades, and minority home ownership plunging even further, these data signal a weak home buying market going forward, despite near record-low mortgage rates and broad-based national income growth,” says Paul Weech, president and CEO of NeighborWorks America. Nearly 60 percent of renters say they want their next housing move to be into home ownership, according to the survey, but rising rental and home costs are delaying student loan holders from obtaining home ownership. A survey by the National Association of REALTORS® and SALT conducte

Retirees are increasingly flocking to cooler climates and smaller towns than sunny, southern havens in states like Florida or Arizona that generally are popular retirement hot-spots. Baby boomers are looking elsewhere, from Maine to Washington. "Boomers and retirees these days are considering a much wider range of destinations for retirement, often choosing states that don't commonly come to mind, such as Maine and Montana," says Mary Lu Abbott, editor of Where to Retire magazine. "Yes, the Sun Belt remains popular, but many people prefer a four-season climate and enjoy the changing of seasons. They seek towns that are safe and have active, appealing downtowns and good hospitals nearby, and increasingly they're looking for places with a lower cost of living and lower overall tax rate." As they retire, baby boomers are increasingly looking at places that are familiar to them, such as where they’ve once vacationed or spent time at as a child, David Savageau,

Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.  Please click on this link to view the Housing Trends September 2016 Newsletter http://nighthomes.housingtrendsenewsletter.com   The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau, Realtor.org reports and other sources.  Housing Trends eNewsletter is filled with local and national real estate sales and price activity provided by MLSs and the National Association of Realtors, U.S. Census Bureau key market indicators, consumer videos, blogs, real estate glossary, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, and REALTOR.com local community reports.  If you are interested in determining the value of your

Recent Study shows that Americans favor walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, with 56 percent of respondents preferring smart growth neighborhoods over neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work and recreation.