When buying a home, a number of factors should be taken into consideration to determine your purchasing price range, including income and costs associated with the home.

The amount of funds available for making a down payment and current interest rates are important considerations in determining your purchasing price range, as they affect how large the monthly mortgage payments will be. A number of web sites offer free mortgage calculator tools which can be used to determine the amount of these payments. In addition to determining if your present income is high enough to afford such payments and other basic expenses, potential changes in future income, inflation and/or interest rates should be kept in mind.

Property taxes and other required fees should be taken into consideration as well when you determine your purchasing price range. Some homes require several thousand dollars per year in property taxes, which can limit your ability to make mortgage payments. Property taxes tend to be higher if the home’s price is greater, but not always; municipalities do not determine such taxes based upon on the specific purchase price of an individual home, and they vary from one region to another. Homes in condominiums or mobile home parks have to pay monthly or yearly fees which can be fairly substantial.

The cost of insurance for the home ought to be considered when you determine your purchasing price range as well, which will vary depending upon the home’s vulnerability to flooding and other natural disasters. Home buyers considering to move to Alaska should take into account the state’s Permanent Fund, which offsets some expenses by providing a yearly dividend to each resident (based upon oil revenues and investments made with them.) Since 1990, the dividends have ranged from $845-$1963, according to the state government web site.

A complete, accurate calculation should be made of all the above-mentioned expenses so as to determine if it will still be possible to afford other expenses (food, electricity, healthcare, etc.) as the owner of a home in a particular price range. Some homeowners have run into financial difficulty by purchasing properties which they could not realistically afford, having the intention to re-sell quickly. It is acceptable to buy homes for the purpose of eventually re-selling them, but they should not be purchased if the owner is not prepared to live there indefinitely, as it is always possible for local or national economic conditions to change.

Generally, there is a broader income-based purchasing price range for each person, but the acceptable range varies depending upon the location and other characteristics of individual homes.

The full text of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is available online; however, it is eighty-six pages long, making it difficult to determine its meaning quickly. Read on for a summary of what the Fair Credit Reporting Act consists of…

Consumer Reporting Agencies, also referred to as CRAs, gather and provide consumer data which is used in credit evaluations, and is the basis for a credit report, according to wikipedia.org. The Federal Trade Commission website indicates that such agencies sell the data to potential creditors, landlords, employers, insurers, and others. The data contains such information as details about how often an individual paid bills on time and if he or she has declared bankruptcy in the past. According to the FTC, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) encourages CRAs to maintain fair, private (relatively), and accurate data.

As indicated by the FTC, the FCRA provides a number of rights to consumers in regard to the activities of CRAs. One of these rights is the ability to request the data on file with a particular CRA. Consumers are allowed to do this for free once every twelve month period from each national CRA, and are also eligible to request it for free in some situations, especially those involving fraud. Another right provided by the Act is the ability to request a numerical credit score from CRAs which use them; however, consumers have to pay for this in some situations.

The FCRA also requires anyone who applies the data provided by a CRA to deny or take other negative action against someone to notify the affected person of this and supply details on the CRA which generated the data. Additionally, consumers have the right to dispute data held by CRAs which is “incomplete” or false, and the CRA is required to remove such information if it cannot be verified. The Fair Credit Reporting Act also prohibits CRAs from reporting negative information over seven years old, and bankruptcies which happened over ten years ago, in most situations.

Other rights made available by the FCRA pertain to the privacy of consumers. According to the FTC, these rights restrict CRA data access to businesses and individuals with a “valid” reason, and require most types of employers to gain written consent from potential or current employees before requesting information from a CRA about them. It also provides a right allowing consumers to request not to receive unsolicited insurance and credit offers which are based upon credit report data.

The FTC also indicates that active-duty military personnel and victims of identity theft are entitled to more rights under the FCRA, and some individual states have laws providing additional rights related to consumer reporting agencies. Individuals can bring federal or state lawsuits against violators of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including CRAs and some types of CRA data suppliers or users.

Mortgage application volume fell 4 percent during the week ending Aug. 24, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey.
The MBA’s market composite index fell to 615.2 from 641.1 the previous week.

Refinance volume fell 4.2 percent, while purchase volume dropped 4 percent from the prior week.

Mortgages have gone increasingly delinquent and into default in recent months, with adjustable-rate mortgages, especially among subprime borrowers, among the worst-performing loans.

Adjustable-rate mortgages, which have accounted for the bulk of rising delinquencies and defaults, accounted for 15 percent of all mortgage applications during the week, down from 18.6 percent during the prior week and 26.8 percent during the comparable week one year ago.

Dozens of mortgage lenders have gone bankrupt in recent months as lending volume continues to tumble while performance further deteriorates.

The average interest rate for a traditional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.41 percent from 6.49 percent the previous week. The rate was 6.39 percent one year ago

Your credit score can affect your ability to take such actions as obtaining a loan, purchasing a house, or applying for insurance. Monitoring this score can give you a better idea of whether or not you will be approved for such services and reveal the impact of any negative information on your credit report. While it is possible to request a free report once every twelve months (at AnnualCreditReport.com), there is usually an expense associated with obtaining credit scores. Some services will provide a one-time indication of credit scores in exchange for payment, while others require a monthly fee for continuous access to reports and/or scores.

Experian.com offers credit report and score monitoring service for $12.95/month (as of August, 2007) or a one-time report and score for $15. Equifax.com has a service which allows you to continuously monitor your scores and see their trend (over time) for $8.95/month. A service for monitoring both the score and report is offered by TransUnion.com for $9.95 per month, as well. Another option is myFICO.com, which enables continuous monitoring for $8.95/month or $89.95/year. Scores can also be obtained for a fee when requesting a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com. Some of these services offer free trial periods, usually 30 days.

If you apply for services which can be affected by your credit score fairly often and have some reason to be concerned about it (unpaid bills, past bankruptcy, etc.), it might be worth paying for a monthly monitoring service. Another potential reason for continuously monitoring scores and reports is to spot identity theft or errors (they occur fairly frequently) which could be harmful. On the other hand, a one-time request of your score may be preferable if you do not have reason to be particularly concerned about it or cannot afford continuous monitoring. It should be considered that keeping the $9-13/month in savings which would be spend on credit monitoring will make it easier to pay your bills if you eventually encounter financial difficulties, which might do more to benefit your credit score.

IndyMac Bank announced today that it will resume originating prime, single-family residential, full doc jumbo loans after they temporarily reduced the origination of these products due to the recent credit cruch in the secondary markets.

“Given our strong financial position, we are fully committed to the market for prime jumbo home loans,” commented Michael W. Perry, Indymac’s Chairman and CEO. “Until the secondary market recovers, we plan to retain this product in our investment portfolio at what we believe will be attractive returns.”

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) home buyer preference survey asks people that bought homes the previous year about the importance of 75 home features and room types. The NAR recently release the results from home buyers of 2006 and the most 7 desired features were as follows.

1. Whether this trend is a sign of bigger cars or a need for more storage space is unknown, but 57% of people surveyed said an oversized garage with 2 or more spaces was the most important aspect of their purchasing decision.

2. Next up was air conditioning. Listed as very important by 75% of respondents, higher percentages were found in the South and Midwest where higher temperatures make life without AC unbearable.

3. An average of 53% of buyers preferred a walk-in closet in the master bedroom of their home. This rate was highest in the South with 66% of respondents saying that this was a very important feature of a potential home.

4. Hardwood floors have been gaining popularity since 2004, rising 7 percentage point in this year’s survey to see 28% of purchasers wanting them in their homes.

5. Another design element also rose 7 percentage points. Granite countertops have become more of a priority for home buyers in recent years as well with 23% citing this as a desired feature.

6. Although many companies offer free installation for most satellite or cable programs, a house that was already satellite or cable ready was listed as very important to 46% of buyers.

7. And even though buyers are looking for bigger bedrooms they want fewer of them. The average number of bedrooms has fallen from 4 to 3 over the past few years while the square footage of houses has risen by an average of 100 square feet.

Many buyers said in the survey that they were willing to pay extra to have any of the above features included in their purchased home. They were also willing to pay more for waterfront properties by a median of $4,760. The most popular rooms sought? The garage, living room and laundry room.

If you have had to declare bankruptcy in the past and do not have the ability to pay for a home in full, it is possible that you will face difficulty buying a home. You may not qualify for some types of mortgage loans because of lenders’ concerns regarding repayment. However, it is still quite possible to purchase a home after bankruptcy, under the right circumstances.

One option for buying a home after you have declared bankruptcy is to apply for a Federal Housing Administration mortgage loan. According to FHA.gov, these are not actually loans provided by the federal government; they are insured by the government so that the lender (bank) will receive compensation if the home buyer becomes unable to pay. This way, the lender is not put at risk, so they have greater ability to issue a loan. Also, unlike some methods of buying a residence after bankruptcy, Federal Housing Administration loans do not require a large down-payment to qualify.

It may also be possible to qualify for a mortgage loan if you are willing to pay higher rates and/or a large down-payment. This should only be considered if your income is consistent and high enough to give you the ability to pay such rates; reports of many property owners defaulting on high-rate mortgages of this type have appeared in the news recently (August 2007). Such mortgages are often referred to as “subprime” loans. As with all types of mortgages, you are more likely to be approved if it has been a longer period of time since you declared bankruptcy.

Another possible method for buying a home after bankruptcy is owner financing. With owner financed home purchases, the individual owner selling the property determines whether or not to approve the home buyer. Some owners specifically state that they will consider financing buyers with bankruptcy and/or a poor credit history. A search for “owner financing” on the CraigsList.org housing section for your area will usually produce a number of listings with sellers willing to offer this. The ability to obtain such financing is greatly enhanced if you are able to pay a large down-payment, thus reducing risk faced by the seller.

Overall, buying a home after bankruptcy is very possible but likely to require some additional steps and/or extra expense. Using one or more of the above-mentioned options is an ability of most buyers, but should only be implemented after careful research and consideration so as to avoid future financial difficulties.

French banking giant BNP Paribas on Thursday suspended three of its funds exposed to US high-risk property loans, sparking further turmoil in world stock markets.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners, a unit of the French bank, said the funds — Parvest Dynamic ABS, BNP Paribas ABS Euribor and BNP Paribas ABS Eonia — will accept no redemptions or subscriptions until further notice, the bank said.

The announcement sent shares tumbling in Asian markets that were still open when the news broke, as well as in London, Paris and Frankfurt, dealers said.

A Paris-based dealer said the news had shaken the market, reversing opinion on financials which rallied strongly Wednesday thanks to reassuring comments on exposure to the US subprime market, where mortgages are provided to people with poor credit histories.

“Basically, BNP is now saying it’s got major problems with the credit market,” he said.

There are growing jitters about the potential fallout for the world economy from problems in the US subprime lending sector.

BNP’s announcement adds to these fears and follows a similar decision last Friday by the German mutual fund Union Investment which froze one of its funds that has exposure to the US subprime market.

BNP said in a statement it was suspending the calculation of net asset value in the three funds invested in asset-backed securities, due to a “complete evaporation of liquidity in certain segments of the US securitisation market.”

American’s are hooked on credit card rewards and while those that give consumers free airline miles are pretty old hat, lenders are constantly coming up with new ways to lure the plastic addicted to switch accounts.

Two of the newest variations involve mortgages and both are rather creative.

In May American Express announced a new program, the first in the nation, that allows cardholders to say “charge it” to their mortgage lender. In the past the holder of almost any card could take a cash advance to make a mortgage payment, but mortgage companies were not usually willing to pay the sizeable merchant fees required by the credit card companies to process loan payments directly. Under this new American Express program cardholders can even out any cash-flow problems involving mortgage payments or effectively shift the due date and can earn reward points for doing so.

Credit cards are essential to helping you build a credit history and learning to manage debt responsibly. Unfortunately, they are a little too easy to use. With the buy now, pay later mentality consumers make bigger purchases more frequently. This habit is leading to more and more consumers being mired in credit card debt everyday.

If this situation sounds familiar, don’t worry. Here are 7 easy things you can do to lighten your debt and manage your plastic.

1. Stop adding debt to your current balance. This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprises how many times we continue to pile more onto our already high balances. Avoid impulse buys and cut up your cards if necessary.

2. Pay off your highest interest rates first. If you carry multiple cards, focus on the one with the highest interest rate by paying 5%-10% more than the minimum while paying the minimum due on the rest of your cards. Once you pay the outstanding balance on the first card move on to the next card and do the same thing.

3. Ask for a lower interest rate on your current accounts. This seems simple and it is. Often getting a lower rate depends on who you talk to so be persistent. Ask for a supervisor if it’s necessary. If you’ve been a good customer you may also want to mention other offers you are receiving in the mail. Your issuer will be likely to lower your rate just to keep you as a customer.

4. Consider transferring your balances to a card with a lower introductory APR. Transferring is a great idea if you can pay off your balance in the introductory period – generally 6 to 12 months. Be sure to check if the APR applies to transfers and new purchases, as well as the terms and conditions of the card. Often low APR cards have fine print that raise your interest exponentially if you miss a payment or have debt beyond the introductory phase.

5. Talk with your bank or credit union about getting a personal loan for all your debt. This will give you a lower interest rate and minimize the number of payments you have to make each month.

6. If you own your own home and have enough equity (owing less than 80% of total value) you could roll all your debts into your home loan. The downside to this is that you will end up paying your credit cards debts off over a longer period.

7. Finally, don’t be afraid to seek professional help. Debt Counselors of America is a nonprofit company that assists consumers with financial problems. You can reach them by phone at 1-800-680-3328 or visit their website www.debtcounselorsofamerica.com.

Remember getting out of debt will take discipline and time. It’s important that you use credit responsibly and take control of your finances, especially to get the best deals for future investments, like buying a house. Be patient, stay focused on your goals and don’t expect instant miracles and it’ll pay off in the end.