If you’re thinking about buying real estate in the Portsmouth NH and Maine Seacoast areas, here are some important things to know about credit scores and how that impacts your ability to obtain a home mortgage.

Your credit score is more important today than ever before, and
if you’ve got a good credit score, you want to do everything you can to
protect that good score. Your credit score is a good indicator of how
likely you are to pay off your debts on time. The more likely your
credit history shows this to be, the better the mortgage program will be that you qualify for. The higher your credit score, the better you look to mortgage companies and banks.

Credit scores range from 350 to 850, and the higher your score, the
lower the risk you pose. This is how credit scores are categorized:

Excellent
Score –  760 and higher (this number has been increased to closer to 800)

Good
Score – 720 – 760

Average
Score
–  680 – 720

Reason for
Concern
–  620 – 680

Reason for Great
Concern –  620 and under

Are you thinking about buying
a home or condo or multi-family in the Portsmouth New Hampshire areas? 

If so, then the newly released increases in the FHA mortgage amounts may be
of particular interest to you!  Check the Rockingham County and Strafford County loan limits in the chart below (the yellow highligted rows) – those are some very nice increases for this area for maximum mortgage amounts.

The chart below shows the loan limits for those mortgages that close on or
after March 17, 2008.  This is good news for buyers and sellers as there is now
an option for those needing lower down payments for prices that were above the
existing FHA mortgage loan limits.

Do you own real estate in Portsmouth NH or
in the Seacoast area?  Are you having difficulty making ends meet?  We
all know times are a bit tough for many people lately, and it’s difficult making
all the payments you need to. 

I just read an article put out by the American Homeowners Foundation,
entitled “Top 10 Foreclosure Avoidance Tips”.  These tips are great for
those needing help now, and for anyone down the road that may find themselves
needing this kind of help.

 
Some of the tips they list are:

• 1)  Don’t ignore the problem
• 2)  Contact a HUD approved local nonprofit counseling agency for
  programs to help you
• 3)  Find out what your home is worth so you know how much equity you
  have in it
• 4)  Stay away from companies that charge you a fee for mortgage
  counseling
• 5)  Know your mortgage rights

These are just some of the tips they’ve listed, and on their site that I’ve
linked to above, they go into detail on each of the tips about why that advice
and how to do what they’re suggesting.  There’s some very helpful information in
their article, as well as on their website, American Homeowners.

New Hampshire Home Mortgage Workshop

Homeowners of New Hampshire – There will be a
New Hampshire Home Mortgage Workshop held in Manchester
this coming Saturday, Mary 8th, from 9am to noon.  This workshop will be held at
the Carol Rines Center, located at 1528 Elm Street, Manchester NH.

In an effort to help New Hampshire residents through the current home
mortgage environment, US Senator John Sununu and Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta
are inviting all interested parties to attend this workshop.

Those attending this workshop will be provided information regarding programs
and resources available to New Hampshire residents that have been developed in
response to today’s home mortgage market and the economic
concerns that many have today.  There will be housing counselors on hand to
address specific concerns or questions NH homeowners may have,
and they will be ready to work with you to help determine the best course of
action for your individual situation.

This workshop is open to all who want to attend, and there is no charge to
attend.

We all have concerns and questions about the mortgage industry situation, and
how it impacts each of us.  This free workshop is a terrific opportunity to get
some first hand information, as well as an opportunity to get some direct
specific information and assistance if you need it.

DEBT-Free!!  Who doesn’t want that??

We all know how hard it can be to manage our own
finances.  Been there, done that!  I just didn’t know how, until someone showed
me the way, and I’ve never looked back since that turning point.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about ways to achieve a
debt-free status, or pretty close to debt-free.  From that reading, I put
together these tips to help all of us.  For those looking to to buy Portsmouth NH real estate, or homes and condos in any
of the surrounding Seacoast areas of NH or Maine, getting rid
of debt will certainly help, especially with all the changes in the mortgage
guidelines lately.

Here are 7 tips that may just help you find your way to
being debt-free, if that’s your goal: