Expert Money Saving Tips for Phoenix Homeowners

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Today, Tom Ross from Nova Home Loans joins us to discuss PITI, which stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. There are a few things you can do with PITI that will save you money as a homeowner in the long run.

Principal is what you owe on your house. There is not a lot you can do to save money on principle unless you put more money down in the first place.

There are two ways you can save money on interest. First, you can refinance if interest rates get 0.5% better. Popular wisdom usually says to wait for a full point of improvement in rates, but when you do a no-cost refinance, you don’t need that full point. Tom and his team will run the numbers to make sure refinancing makes financial sense for you.

The other way to save money on interest is to make an extra payment each month. Instead of paying the minimum mortgage payment, put a little extra money into the interest. That way, you can turn your 30-year loan into a 25-year loan.

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You can save money in interest and on your insurance policy.

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Taxes are what they are. There is not much you can do to save on taxes.

A lot of people don’t think about looking at their home insurance policy. However, there are a couple of major carriers that recently upped their rates by 20% to 30%. These companies retooled their models and if you didn’t have a tip-top credit score, your insurance rates went up. It’s not a bad idea to look at your policy every couple years to check if anything has changed with your insurance.

If you have any questions for Tom, you can give him a call at 602.791.5861 or send him an email at tom.ross@novahomeloans.com. As always, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Don’t Shop for Homes Without Pulling Your Credit

Buying a Phoenix Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Phoenix Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Today, I’m here with Tom Ross, our preferred mortgage lender, to talk about pulling your credit. When should you pull your credit before the home buying process?

Pull your credit as soon as you know you’re prepared to buy a home. This helps determine your buying power in the transaction. However, this needs to be done with a respectable lender, not an online service.

The problem with free online credit reports is that they don’t include FICO scores. There’s a difference between FICO and credit scores. They use different algorithms. Ultimately, you can have two totally different scores, but the FICO score is the most important.

Does it hurt your credit if you pull it too early? Fortunately, the impact is minimal. Your credit score is only affected by three points per bureau. After 90 days, it will not show up and likewise, not hurt your credit.

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There are only advantages to knowing your credit ahead of time.

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Tom’s company, Nova, has its own in-house credit services department, which makes the process easier for you. Six months prior, we request your FICO score to help you improve it by the time you want to buy a home. Plus, this service is free of cost!

There are only advantages to knowing your credit ahead of time. Pull your credit ahead of time and even try improving it if necessary. To reach Tom, call him at 602-791-5861 or send him an email at tom.ross@novahomeloans.com.

As always, if you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to answer any real estate questions you might have!