Make Money at Home

Your credit score is also commonly known as your FICO score. So what is your FICO score? FICO (Fair Isaac and Company Inc) is the credit rating that determines whether or not you get to finance that first car, purchase that first home or buy just about anything else you might want using credit. FICO scores are your credit rating. Most lenders base approval on them. You have three FICO scores, one for each credit bureau Equifax, TransUnion & Experion.

Whether you get a loan to buy a home depends on a computer-generated credit score that compares certain things about you. Things like how much money you earn, how long you’ve been using credit and whether you’ve made payments on time, determine your credit worthiness.

The five main criteria are:

1. Payment history - Your payment history on credit cards, retail accounts at stores, installment loans, and mortgages. (35% of total score
)
2. Amounts owed - What is important is how many accounts have balances and how much of the total credit line is being used on credit cards and other “revolving credit” accounts. (30% of total score.)

3. Length of credit history - That’s why parents should help children establish credit histories before they go out on their own. (15% of total score.)

4. New credit - Applying for too much new credit is one of the easiest ways for people to inadvertently harm their credit score. (10% of total score)

5. Types of credit - This takes into account your mix of installment loans, mortgages, retail accounts, credit cards and finance company accounts. (10% of total score)

The scores that the companies compile are sent to the credit reporting agencies as composite numbers. In addition to your salary and other factors mentioned above, here are some of the things that scoring agencies consider:

If all of this sounds arbitrary or unfair, remember that scoring systems have allowed department stores and other lending agencies to offer those “on-the-spot” credit approvals. You know the routine. You fill out some basic information on a card and five minutes later (if the computer is working properly), you’re either approved or disapproved for a loan.

Joe Kahler is recognized as an expert on helping young adults successfully transition from home to being “out on their own”. His latest work has recently been assembled in his book, Out On My Own… Now What? Tips and Insights So You Won’t Be Left Hanging in the “Real World”!

Joe received his undergraduate degree from Whittier College in Social Sciences and his Masters in Education from Arizona State University. His experience includes teaching, coaching, running numerous businesses, investing, selling insurance and real estate AND attending numerous personal, “hard knocks” training classes!

http://www.outonmyown.com

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There are five major factors to consider when selling a home. These factors will greatly influence not only the final price you will get for the property, but also how quickly it will sell and how much grief you will suffer through the sale.

Location

Over history it’s been said the three things to look for in buying a property are (1) Location, (2) Location, and (3) Location. There are positive and negative factors to almost every location. Let’s pretend your property is right next door to a fire station. You need the kind of marketing professional that can sell the benefits of not having to worry about your new home burning down, or perhaps the savings on fire insurance. Seriously, no matter where your property may be located, there is a ready, willing, and able buyer in the marketplace. The “problems” with the location of a property can be overcome, you just need a Realtor who will work hard to do so.

Your Realtor and his/her Company

Not all Realtors are the same. We each take different approaches to the marketing of your home. These range from as basic as placing the home on the MLS system and hoping it will sell, to Realtors who actively market the home through newspaper advertising and the Internet. You will likely have a positive Real Estate experience if you pick a Realtor who meets the following criteria:

• Personality. It’s hard to work with an agent you don’t like. You won’t trust him/her, and the entire experience will be a difficult one. You have enough on your mind without having to argue and bicker with your agent. No matter how good an agent is if you don’t like each other, then it won’t be a good experience.

• Availability. Having a full time Realtor (or a team of them) is vital to the successful sale of your home. If your Realtor isn’t available to sell your house because he/she’s “working a day job“, then how committed is that Realtor to you?

• Work Ethic. Just like any other professional in your life, you need a Realtor who is organized, professional, and hard working. Have you ever seen a lawyer show up for a case in sweat pants and a t-shirt? Or a doctor say; “I’m sorry, I can’t deliver your baby because I have a 4:00 t-off time”? How about an accountant who can’t manage his own finances? You should be able to expect the same level of professionalism from the agent you choose to represent you.

By having a professional Realtor working on your behalf, your entire experience will be more positive.

Terms

Are you flexible on possession dates? Is your property easy to show? Are you prepared to negotiate on appliances or other chattels? This flexibility makes your home much more attractive to potential buyers. For example, many out-of-town buyers won’t even consider a home if the possession is not flexible. First time home buyers often have to purchase the appliances with the home because they have to put all of their savings into the down payment. Where are they going to get $3000 to buy appliances?

Condition

Making a good first impression is important in getting a property sold. Painting the front door and trim, making sure the doorbell works, putting furniture and clothing in storage, and cleaning off counter tops and fridges are just a few of the little things that can be done to make properties more marketable. Just remember, cleanliness and pride of ownership will get you more money than used dirt.

Price

Determining a price is more than just picking a number. It involves careful analysis of the property. Many things come into account when determining a price. In fact, it is often through price where short comings in the other factors are balanced. For instance, if your home has been damaged from bad renters, is difficult to gain access to, is right next door to a “drug-den”, and is located between the city dump and the airport, then the home will have to be priced accordingly. But watch out, while the price can fix almost every short coming, it’s not always the best solution.

Having a Realtor who will be honest with you about these factors is important, and could save you several thousand dollars.

About The Author

John Carle & Sharon Gregresh are Realtors with Royal LePage - ArTeam in St. Albert, AB. They pride themselves on providing more than just real estate sales and listings. Their clients benefit from a much larger spectrum or real estate services. Contact them any time at information@workingtogether.ca or through their website at www.workingtogether.ca. They can be reached by phone at (780) 458-5595

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On Friday, flash media maker Lexar Media (LEXR) received a higher revised takeover bid from Micron Technology (MU). The revised bid places the all-stock exchange offer at around $10 a share, up marginally from the initial bid.

But major shareholders including billionaire investor Carl Icahn along with hedge funds and portfolio managers have deemed the initial bid to be inappropriate. Elliott Associates believes the initial bid “significantly undervalues Lexar,” and feels Lexar is worth between $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion. The estimate is well above the revised takeover bid of about $827 million.

I must concur and say the revised takeover bid is way too low and needs to be rejected by shareholders. Micron wants to pay around 1.10x sales for Lexar while the market leader SanDisk (SNDK) is trading at 4.35x sales. Lexar also has a $400 million patent infringement lawsuit against Toshiba that it had previously won but is now subject to an appeal by Toshiba.

Think about it this way, a successful $400 million settlement in favor of Lexar would equate to around $4.83 per share in additional cash to add to the current $0.54 in free cash after debt that Lexar has. This means Micron would pay less than $5 a share for Lexar’s assets, which is low.

There is also speculation that SanDisk is seriously thinking about taking a run at acquiring Lexar. This would make sense since SanDisk would solidify its leadership position.

Moreover, SanDisk has a close working relationship with Toshiba, which could see SanDisk drop or reduce the settlement if it managed to acquire Lexar.

Stay tune. A special shareholder meeting to review the takeover bid has been moved to June 16. In my view, the $10 bid undervalues Lexar. Question is will a white knight surface?

George Leong is the founder of Investornomics.com (http://www.investornomics.com) - a provider of independent stock and option trading commentary. He has a degree in finance/economics and offers over 15 years of research experience in investing and trading.

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