Well, the newest survey from the Consumer Federation of America was just released & it brought to light some issues that I never would have realized were so widespread. In a nutshell, the survey revealed the reasons why many people will never be able to get a loan. Now, I'm not saying all these people are stupid, however there certainly must be a high degree of ignorance here. I would have thought that most people would know some of the items that effect a credit score, such as credit history and ability to repay a debt. To my dismay, this was not the case. For example....

56% of respondents believe that age is used to calculate their credit score

54% believe their marital status is used to calculate their score

Only 56% knew that their credit score was used to measure the risk of repaying loans.

And only 29% knew that their low credit score meant they would have a higher interest rate and a higher payment than a person with a good credit score.

Um, people, if you want to buy a house you either need to have a good credit score (right now around 620 or above) or have cash. If you want to raise your credit score here are a few tricks:

1) Pay your bills on time. Yes, every month. You need to pay all of your bills on time each or they will report you to one or more of the 3 credit bureaus. You also need to pay your cell phone and utility bills...sorry.

2) Do not max out your credit cards. If you credit cards are all at or over the credit line you credit score will drop. A good rule of thumb is to carry a balance of about 30% of the credit line. This will raise your score.

3) Do not file bankruptcy or foreclosure - These stay on your credit for 7 to 10 years.

4) Pay your child support. You had the kid...step up and pay for him. If you cant pay your child support you cant buy a house.

5) What else is bad? Judgments, Student Loans that you have defaulted on, and car repos. If you have these things your credit will be bad.

I hoped some of this helped out a little bit. I was under the impression that most people knew most of these things. For the 56% of those that don't, please use some of these tips to help clean up your credit prior to applying for mortgage. In a couple years the dream of home ownership will be yours.

Attn: Spring Hill FL home owners! If you have a Bank of America mortgage and are underwater on your home loan be on the lookout for a notice in the mail. BOA has just announced a program to write off mortgage debt as part of a larger $25 Billion settlement with the government. In order to qualify you must be at least 60 days late on your loan and your Spring Hill home must be serviced through Bank Of America. Call your bank today to see if you qualify (not your local Hernando County branch). If they cant help you, Tropic Shores Realty may be able to assist with a short sale of your Spring Hill FL property.

According to a recent study about home prices in the USA Today, many home experts believe the prices of homes could be increasing at a rate of 4% a  year. With Investors leading the way, home inventory levels including homes for sale in Hernando County FL are decreasing to a level not seen in a few years. As the supply of homes dries up and the demand for those homes increases, the Hernando County Real Estate Market is expected to at least level off some time shortly. Hernando County Real Estate is much more affordable then most of the Tampa Bay area & this results in many investor and first time buyer purchases. Searching for a home for sale in Hernando County is pretty easy - just check out our website at www.TropicShoresRealty.com