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Why Your Credit Score Will Take a Hit Following a Mortgage

A mortgage is a bittersweet thing for a credit score.

Unless you’re paying your house in full, taking out a mortgage is just a part of the home ownership process. Financial advisors have always warned home buyers that a high credit score will benefit them in the long run. A solid credit score will yield a lower interest rate which reduces the total amount of money being paid through interest over the course of the mortgage. Once you do become approved for your mortgage, it will affect your credit score in several ways.

Your Credit Will Drop

As soon as you obtain your mortgage, expect your credit score to temporarily suffer. Your credit score is essentially a representation of your ability to pay back any debt. Because this may be one of the largest loans you’re going to be taking out in your entire lifetime, your score will go down until you actually start fulfilling the mortgage payment obligation.

Be Sure to Pay Your Mortgage on Time

Because you’re going to see your credit score drop, it’s important that you focus on raising it back up to what it was prior to taking out a mortgage. This can be done by being responsible with your monthly payments. There are multiple services that claim to raise your credit score in numerous ways, but many of them are either scams or will just hurt your score more than it will benefit it. Be a responsible borrower and continue to make timely payments. Your score will then naturally rise over time.

Kuba Jewgieniew is the head of Realty ONE Group, a real estate brokerage firm that has nearly 5,000 associates in California, Nevada, and Arizona. 

Retirees are Sizing Up, Rather Than Down

Upon retirement, and an empty home, the next logical step would be to downsize to a smaller house to preserve your cash flow as well as to generate some extra money during retirement. However, many retirees have been upsizing rather than following conventional wisdom. Why is this happening? There are numerous reasons ranging from providing an extra space for a growing family to indulging the riches of their golden years.

Many retirees live with their adult children. They also consider the fact that they want a large enough space to accommodate their grandchildren and comfortably fit everyone over for the holidays. As a result, retirees place their money into obtaining more square feet. While the luxury of having more overhead sounds pleasant, it can quickly eat away at someone’s cash flow with all of the added costs put together.

It isn’t rare for a retiree to take care of their mom or dad under their roof. By upsizing, they’ll be able to accommodate their loved ones and keep them under close watch. To help their aging parents, many retirees opt for homes that have a more safe structure so they can navigate around without the worry of injuring themselves.

Finally, upsizing has its perks. There’s more space to do whatever you want with it and you finally get to live the lavish life that you dreamed of. Many retirees leave their jobs with the mindset that they get to enjoy everything that they missed out on – and that means the large purchase of a new home as well.

Bio: Realty ONE Group was founded by Kuba Jewgieniew, a former computer engineer that revolutionized the real estate industry with the introduction of his real estate brand.

Tips on How Getting Approved for a Mortgage

Mortgage approval is based on several different factors. If you want to purchase your first home, you’re most likely going to have to go through a mortgage lender to make it happen. In order to qualify for the mortgage rate that you absolutely want, your application is going to have to look attractive in the eyes of the lender. Here are some tips that can potentially improve your chances of getting approved for a mortgage.

Obtain a Credit Report

Take a look at your credit report. What are your three scores currently listed at? Your credit score plays a major role in determining what type of mortgage interest rate you’re going to see – and it’s crucial that you get the lowest rate possible. Be sure that you check for any mistakes on your reports. It may be rare but misprints or inaccuracies do occur from time to time. Be sure to report them and fix them as soon as possible to get your credit back into good standing.

Fix Your Credit

The higher your credit score, the better your mortgage rate will be. This can’t be stressed enough as over time, the interest can really affect your finances. With due diligence, you’ll be able to fix your credit score and pay your bills on time. Keep your credit balances low and reduce the amount of debt that you owe also.

Large Down Payment

If you throw down a hefty down payment, it’ll show the lender that you’re financial situation is in the green. It’ll also increase the chances on getting approved for your mortgage as well. You want to prove to the lender that you have the capital to afford your monthly mortgage payments without any delinquencies.

Bio: Kuba Jewgieniew is the CEO and founder of Realty ONE Group, which has made INC. 500’s list of fastest growing companies in America for the 6^th consecutive year, and was ranked top 10 in the nation for closed transactions by Real Trends.

Finding a Home in Richmond

By The Steele Group

If you’ve never been there before, you probably don’t know too much about Richmond, much less the rest of Virginia. To most people, Virginia is just a huge swath of land with plenty of wilderness and a close proximity to our country’s capitol. This is all true, of course, and a lot of people look for Richmond homes for sale specifically because they love the outdoors or work somewhere close to Washington, D.C.

With so many new homes in Virginia, it should be easy to tell that more and more people are waking up to the advantages of living here. Still, there are plenty of houses that are decades old and retain plenty of their amazing character and even some new, added features.

If you’re raising a family, you should definitely look into the amazing educational system in Virginia. Richmond has an especially good one, which makes it such a great place to raise your family. Of course, the colleges here offer plenty to love about them as well.

Whatever the case, if you’re planning a move soon, make time for exploring all that Virginia has to offer. You definitely won’t be sorry by the results once you finally move here.

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When you’re ready to relocate to Richmond, let The Steele Group know. While just about all Richmond, VA houses are amazing, you want the experience of these trusted realtors to make sure that your busying experience is everything it should be and more.

Living in Chesterfield

By Virginia Homes

If you are planning to move in the near future, then you most likely have plenty on your plate at the moment. Amongst many things, obviously, you’re hoping to find that perfect house. Few things will have as big an impact on your life as having a home you’ll be proud to own and enjoy spending time in with your family.

That’s why so many people love living in Virginia. Well, it’s one of many reasons, actually. Virginia has so many great homes to choose from in some really great neighborhoods.

To really speed the process up, just check out Chesterfield homes. Seriously, if you want to live in Virginia, what you should do is contact a Chesterfield realtor today and tell them exactly what you’re looking for in a home and community. Chances are they’ll have a house that’s just perfect for you. In fact, don’t be too surprised if you find out that there are several that fit the bill.

Living in Virginia is going to be amazing, no matter where it is you have your home. However, Chesterfield is known as one of the best areas in the entire state which is saying a lot.

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Are you in the market for a new residence? If so, you definitely have a lot of options these days, that’s for sure. However, talk to a realtor in VA before you make your final choice and chances are you’ll be very happy with your decision, especially if it’s one of those beautiful Chesterfield County homes.

Ten reasons to love Richmond, Virginia

Written by relocate to Richmond

Millions of people move and relocate every year in the US. One popular destination is the the Richmond region. Here are eight reasons why Richmond is considered an awesome place to move (and even visit):

1) Interesting tours – You get tours for everyone. Covering everything from the arts in Richmond to slave trail tours that cover the history from that period.

2) Fresh foods – They have a wide variety of food ranging from fresh fish, cheese and many other local produce. For the foodie there are plenty of restaurants to keep you occupied.

3) Presence of a beach nearby – If living by the beach is something that is important to you, then Richmond has that covered as well.

4) Close proximity to hills – Lots of places to go hiking and mountain biking.

5) Richmond hosts one of the biggest festival in the US – This comes in the month of October, this is a folk music festival and attracts thousands of visitors every year.

6) They have an Island – You can go fishing at the Belle Isle or even just walk around the island.

7) Cuisine – Richmond’s restaurants cover every cuisine you can think of.

8) Real estate – The real estate market is great. You can easily find a home that matches your taste and lifestyle. Checkout Henrico county real estate, one of the most popular suburbs.

The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty could be helpful if you are looking for Henrico county homes. This is a group of Virginia realtor who can provide guidance on Virginia homes for sale and on finding real estate Henrico county VA.

Big Companies in Virginia

By TheSteeleGroupSIR

One very important way to grade a state you may be thinking of moving to is by looking at their economy. Virginia has nothing to worry about thanks to 20 Fortune 500 companies calling this place home.

Freddie Mac probably needs no introduction. If you decide to move into one of the many Henrico county homes currently on the market, you could very well work at the mortgage giant. With over $80 billion in revenues last year, the company is doing very well despite the damage it took during the recession.

Then there’s CarMax, also located here in Virginia. It’s likely many of those people enthusiastic about looking at new homes in Virginia are employed here. The company sits at number 259 on the Fortune 500 list and brought in more than $10 billion last year with no signs of slowing down any time soon. As long as people want to find used vehicles that are worth their money, CarMax will no doubt continue to bring business to Virginia.

Given its proximity to the nation’s capital, it’s no surprise that you can find General Dynamics here too. The aerospace specialist is one of the best in the industry and has billions to show for it.

If you’re thinking about relocating here, just remember you’ll have job options.

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If you’re looking to relocate to Richmond or are interested in Chesterfield county homes in general, you’re making a good decision. All you need to do now a realtor in Richmond, VA like The Steele Group SIR to get going on the process.

Fortune 500 Companies in Virginia

Written by the Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty

If you’re looking for a new home, you could do a lot worse than moving to Virginia. Specifically, Henrico County homes have become extremely popular. There are so many different options to choose from. Henrico has some of the best new homes in Virginia and plenty of affordable ones too. There’s also the great educational system, urban creature comforts and all the wilderness you could ever want nearby as well.

However, no matter what you like about a potential new home, you definitely can’t move there if you won’t have a job once you arrive. Fortunately, Virginia isn’t lacking for job opportunities. In fact, it’s home to over 20 Fortune 500 companies.

One of these is Freddie Mac, which makes more than $80.6 billion. Most of you have probably already heard of Freddie Mac before. It’s equal parts government and corporation and focuses mainly on the real estate market.

Another great company here in Virginia is CarMax. At 259, the company pulls in $10.5 billion annually. For those who don’t know, CarMax helps people find new and used vehicles, compare them and do the necessary research so they can make the best choice. Advanced Auto Parts is another Fortune 500 company that deals with cars based out of Virginia too.

Being so close to DC, there are many companies here like General Dynamics that specialize in the aerospace industry and make billions of dollars.

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Interested in finding a realtor in Virginia? If so, The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty can help you and yours relocate to Richmond with a realtor in Richmond, VA.

Successful Fortune 500 companies in Virginia

Written by The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty

For the fourth year in a row, last year, a total of six companies located in Richmond Virginia have managed to keep their position on Fortune’s list of the 500 most successful businesses in the USA. As with every year, the ranking released last year by the magazine was based on revenues that these public companies had generated in the USA.

The companies that called home Richmond Virginia and which happened to be on the top 500 list did not change since 2012, which is quite a good news. Their ranks remained approximately constant as well. Business analysts have concluded that this success could be attributed to Richmond’s diversity in terms of economical activities. Another important aspect is that the Fortune 1000 list contains a total of 10 local Virginia companies. The region’s diverse economy consists of various industries namely insurance, utilities, tobacco, chemicals, packaging and business services.

Most importantly, out of the six on the top 500 list, two of them have even progressed from their initial rankings. For instance CarMax Inc., an automotive retail company based in Goochland County is ranked at 259. The company ranked at 279th place in 2012. Yet another company, Owens & Minor Inc. was ranked at number 298 earlier and had moved up one rank in 2014. However, the most successful Virginia based company by far is the tobacco leading company Altria Group Inc. which is now ranked at the 156th place.

The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty provides guidance to people wishing to relocate to Richmond on real estate Henrico county VA and Henrico county homes

Big companies (Fortune 500) in Virginia

Written by The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty

Last year, in 2014, for the fourth consecutive year, six companies headquartered in Richmond, Virginia have sustained their position on Fortune Magazine’s list of 500 most successful companies in the USA. The magazine had released its ranking last year and as with every year, the ranking is based on the revenues generated by public companies in the USA.

The companies mentioned on the list and hailing from the Richmond area did not change since the year 2012. Their rankings stayed more or less the same as well. Several business analysts have reflected that this success in due to Richmond’s diverse economic atmosphere. The Fortune 1000 list features a total of 10 local companies. Industries that were represented in the top 1000 list consists of utilities, tobacco, insurance, automotive retailing, business services, chemicals and packaging.

Most notably, two out of the six companies listed on the Fortune 500 list have even progressed from their initial rankings. Automotive retail company CarMax Inc. which is based in Goochland County is now ranked at number 259 compared to being at number 279 in 2012. Another company, Owens & Minor Inc. which was initially ranked at 298 had moved one notch up the list. The most successful Virginia based company is the tobacco giant Altria Group Inc. which was ranked at 159 on the list. In 2012, Altria was ranked at the 156th place.

The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty provides the services of a Virginia real estate agent specifically for people seeking to find information on Henrico county real estate or relocate to Richmond. They are able to provide advices and deals on Henrico county homes.