Ways to Build Credit

Find out how to build credit and maintain a healthy credit score with help from Mortgage Equity Partners.

Keeping a healthy credit score is integral to maintaining your financial wellness and moving toward your life goals.

And if your credit score isn’t quite where you want it to be, the good news is that it’s not set for life; your credit score can always improve with the help of smart financial practices. If you’re looking for ways to build and maintain a healthy credit score, take action with these tips.

1. Stay on top of your bills.

While it might sound obvious, you need to pay your bills on time, every time. This is one of the simplest ways to build credit, as it shows lenders that you are a responsible borrower. Making timely payments has a positive impact on your credit score, so be sure to stay on top of deadlines or set up an auto-pay system for your accounts. Remember, your bill payment history accounts for approximately 35% of your credit score, and even just one late payment can leave a negative mark.¹

2. Keep track of spending.

Budgeting is important in any financial situation, but it’s especially helpful when it comes to managing your credit cards. If you start to see that your monthly spending is getting close to your credit limit, it may be a good idea to increase your limit or consider scaling back on expenses. Your credit utilization ratio (how much available credit you actually use) has an impact on your credit score. Utilizing a small portion—we recommend 30% or less—of your available credit will go a long way in strengthening your score.

3. Pay off debts quickly.

According to a NerdWallet study, the 2018 average total of credit card debt owed by a U.S. household was $6,803. If you’ve missed any payments in the past, your credit score has probably dipped a little; however, you can minimize the impact of that debt by paying it down quickly.  Get back on track by cutting out unnecessary expenses and creating a payment plan. A good credit building practice is to never borrow more than you are able to pay back. Ultimately, the amount of debt you carry matters as it determines about 30% of your credit score.¹

4. Diversify the credit you use.

Having a solid credit mix plays a positive role in your credit health, demonstrating your ability to manage multiple types of debt at the same time. It’s not necessary to have each one, but a mix of credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage loans, and student loans may help improve your score. Evaluate the different types of credit you have open and make sure it’s a healthy mix of open and closed-end credit. Open-end credit refers to any loan where you can make repeated withdrawals and repayments, like a credit card. Closed-end credit refers to a loan that is fixed for a period of time with regular payments, like a car loan or mortgage. Your credit mix accounts for approximately 10% of your credit score.¹

5. Try a credit monitoring service.

Credit monitoring services such as Privacy Guard, Credit Karma, and Identity Force are designed to help protect you from identity theft by keeping a close watch on your credit report. After signing up for a service, they watch over your credit activity and alert you of any changes to your accounts, helping you avoid fraud and identity threats. This is especially important because the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) uncovered that the number of credit card numbers exposed in 2017 totaled 14.2 million, which was up 88% from the previous year.² Some services even offer personalized advice on how to maintain a healthy score. Monitoring your report may not be an instant way to build credit, but being proactive can help you quickly identify and solve potential threats before they have a chance to hurt your credit score.

6. Be patient.

The length of your credit history makes up about 15% of your credit score.¹ Depending where you are on your credit journey, it will take some time to age your credit history. In the meantime, focus on your financial habits and see where improvements can be made. Paying bills on time every time, paying off debts, keeping track of spending, and routinely monitoring your credit are all great ways to build credit over time.

Continue your credit journey.

if you ever have any questions on how to build credit or keep up positive financial habits. We can walk you through actionable steps to improve your existing plans, or help you get started.

Bill Nickerson | NMLS #4194 | Mortgage Equity Partners | Burlington

Email | (c) 978-273-3227

How will the higher Mortgage Rates affect your Buying Power?

We have been spoiled with mortgage rates over the last few years  as we saw the the 30 Year Fixed Rate get to the 2.50% range.  As we move forward in 2022, mortgage rates have already started to climb.  Rates are in the 4.00% to 4.25% range and we now have to adjust our purchasing power. Each half of a percent (.50%) in mortgage rate equates to about $25,000 of buying power. Depending upon when you were “Pre-Approved” for a mortgage, the new rates may greatly affect the home you now qualify for.

What should you do? Call your Lender or Bank and have your “Pre-Approval” updated to reflect the current mortgage rate of today.  This will bring your purchase price and loan amount down as these higher rates will increase the overall cost of your mortgage payment.

Why is this happening?  When the Fed raises the federal funds target rate, the goal is to increase the cost of credit throughout the economy. Higher interest rates make loans more expensive for both businesses and consumers, and everyone ends up spending more on interest payments.

Those who can’t or don’t want to afford the higher payments postpone projects that involve financing. It simultaneously encourages people to save money to earn higher interest payments. This reduces the supply of money in circulation, which tends to lower inflation and moderate economic activity—a.k.a. cool off the economy.

 Click here to learn more about mortgage rates

Economists have been warning us for the last few years, mortgage rates have to go up!  The longer you wait, the more it will cost to buy a home. Or another way to look at this, you buying power could drop by 10% or more for each 1% increase in mortgage rate.  Buy now while the mortgage rates are still low as we may not see these rates again in our lifetime!!

For more information on Mortgage Rates and Programs, feel free to call or email me anytime.

(C) 978-273-3227 or Bill’s Email 

Senior Loan Officer | NMLS #4194 | bill.nickerson@flagstar.com

3% Down and No Mortgage Insurance on 2, 3 and 4 Family Homes

With the announcement from Fannie Mae of increased loan limits for 2019. Not only are the Fannie Mae loans benefiting, so are the MassHousing loans!  Did you know that Mass Housing (MHFA) loans are a safe and affordable alternative to FHA Mortgages.  Did you know the Mortgage Insurance for FHA never goes away!  Mass Housing still offers its mortgage program that features Low Down Payments, as little as 3% down with No Mortgage Insurance!  This product provides financing (purchase or refinance) up to 97% of the appraised value of the home without the hefty mortgage insurance payments that are typically associated with low down payment programs. MHFA follows Fannie Mae Guidelines, which means the traditional loan limit is $484,1350!

This special program is available for owner occupied; one to four family properties including condominiums on both purchase and refinance transactions. With a low fixed rate, the down payment can be a gift on single family homes.  The MassHousing Mortgage with No Mortgage Insurance is a great choice for low and moderate income home buyers.

The 2019 Fannie Mae Loan Limits

• 1 Family Loan Amount of $484,350
• 2 Family Loan Amount of $620,200
• 3 Family Loan Amount of $749,650
• 4 Family Loan Amount of $931,600

Features of the Mass Housing Loans for 1 to 4 family homes

• As little as 3% down on single-family homes and condos
• As little as 5% down on 2, 3 and 4-family homes
  • 3 and 4 Family require 700 Credit Score
• No mortgage insurance required
• Income limits as high as $123,660 in many cities and towns
• Fannie Mae loan limits apply, borrower up to $484,350
• Approved community second mortgages allowed
• Credit scores as low as 660 (additional conditions may apply)

Advantages:

• Gift funds can be the source of the down payment on single family homes
• The interest rate will never increase
• Competitive fixed rates
• Safe, fixed-rate limited cash-out refinance option

Call me to learn why this innovative program is an attractive alternative to an FHA mortgage!  Remember, this program allows for the same low down payment options as FHA with no mortgage insurance. 

Bill Nickerson

The True Meaning of National Doughnut Day

National Doughnut Day started in 1938  as a fund raiser for Chicago’s Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor The Salvation Army “Lassies” of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers in the First World War.

Soon after the US entrance into World War I in 1917, The Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France. The mission concluded that the needs of US enlisted men could be met by canteens/social centers termed “huts” that could serve baked goods, provide writing supplies and stamps, and provide a clothes-mending service. Typically, 6 staff members per hut would include four female volunteers who could “mother” the boys. These huts were established by The Salvation Army in the United States near army training centers.

About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly baked goods from huts established in abandoned buildings near to the front lines, the two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an “instant hit”, and “soon many soldiers were visiting The Salvation Army huts”.  Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside a metal helmet of an American Soldier.  Salvation Army Lassies were the only women outside of military personnel allowed to visit the front lines.  Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance is considered the Salvation Army’s “first doughnut girl”.

Google “Doughnut Dollies” and click on Images.  Doughnut Dollies Served doughnuts right up until the Vietnam War.

Soon, these workers became known by the servicemen as “Doughnut Dollies”.

                       When receiving your free doughnut today, remember the true meaning of why you are receiving this today.

Enjoy!!!

Bill Nickerson~~Doughnut Connoisseur as well as Mortgage Professional

Bill Nickerson NMLS#4194

 

Adjustable Rates 101

An Adjustable Rate Mortgage provides a specific fixed rate term before becoming an adjustable mortgage.  An example: A 10/1 ARM is fixed for the first 10 years and then becomes a 1 year adjustable rate for the remaining term of the mortgage, thus giving you 10 years  of security at a fixed rate.

Advantages: If you know that you are selling your home in a short period of time, 10-12 years or less, you can get a mortgage rate that is 3/4’s to 1 full percent below the traditional mortgage rates.  Today a 10 year ARM is 3.25% and you can borrower up to 2 Million Dollars.

How do they work?

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM’s) come in many different varieties.  The most common ARM’s are the following:  Three Year, Five Year, Seven Year and a Ten Year.  You will also see them displayed in this format as well:  3/1, 5/1, 7/1 and 10/1.  The first number represents the amount of years the loan will be fixed for and will not change from its original start rate.  The higher the first number or term, the higher the interest rate will be.

The second number represents how often the ARM will adjust after the fixed rate term ends.  Using a 5/1 ARM as the example, when your fixed term is about to expire, the Lender will send you a notice via mail notifying you that your rate is about to adjust and what that adjustment will be.  This will occur 45 days prior to this expiration date, in this case that would be 60 months in to this loan (5 Years). The new rate will be set for one year, or the term that is stated in the second number, 5/1.

The adjustments are based on 2 variables, the index and the margin.  The margin is set on the day you get the mortgage and is usually in the range of 2.25 or 2.75 depending upon the type of ARM you go with.  This will never change and is set for the life of the loan.  We would then add the current Index to this margin and combined that would create your new rate.

The Index can come from many places but is selected when we lock in your loan.  Typically we use the One Year Treasury Bill or the One Year LIBOR.  Both indexes move fairly slowly.  These Indexes are always posted in the Wall Street Journal but is very easy just to Google these terms. This will show you the current rate as well as show the history of these rates. You can also click this site at the US Treasury

Today’s one year treasury is at 1.30, this is the index.  Add this to the margin of 2.50 and your new rate today would be 3.875%. This rate would be rounded up to the next highest 1/8^th and this would give us 3.875% for one year.  Remember, this is what the rate would adjust to after the fixed term has ended.

Caps: Your loan comes with caps of 5/2/5, each number represents how your loan will adjust.  With the first adjustment the loan can adjust 5% up or down from the original start rate. The second number “2” is what it can adjust each time for the remaining years of the loan.  So, the second adjustment and every one after that the rate can move up or down a maximum of 2%.  The last number is the Life Cap.  This rate will never go higher than 5% of the starting rate.  So if you lock in a rate of 3.25% today, your rate would never exceed 8.25%.  To give you an idea, since 1996, this rate has not exceeded 8.25% at its high point. In the last several years, this rate as adjusted downward and as low as 2.00% in many cases.

I hope this is helpful. Always feel free to ask questions about any of this information. Email me at Bill@billnickerson.com or call 978-273-3227.

Thank you very much,

Bill Nickerson NMLS# 4194 | Flagstar Bank| 1500 District Avenue, Burlington MA

The Government Shut Down

The current shutdown of the Federal Government has left many homebuyers and real estate industry partners with many questions about how the shutdown will impact their ability to do business. Merrimack Mortgage will continue to operate at full capacity during the shutdown; however, the shutdown creates some challenges for lenders. We hope  you find this piece informative and that you will share it with staff and colleagues, as well as potential homebuyers and sellers.

FHA LOANS                                                                                                                                FHA Single Family Housing –  Government Shutdown FAQs Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plan

Q: How will this impact the housing market? A: Because we are able to endorse loans, we don’t expect the impact on the housing market to be significant, as long as the shutdown is brief. If the shutdown lasts and our commitment authority runs out, we do expect that potential homeowners will be impacted, as well as home sellers and the entire housing market. We could also see a decline in home sales during an extended shutdown period, reversing the trend toward a strengthening market that we’ve been experiencing.

Q: Will FHA have staff available to answer questions if there is a government shutdown? A: Limited FHA staff will be available to respond to questions, emails or other correspondence.

Q: Can I get an FHA case number? A: Yes. Lenders will be able to obtain an FHA case number from the FHA Connection.

Q: Will FHA insure any loans during the government shutdown? A: Yes, FHA will endorse single family loans; however, it may take a little longer to endorse.

Q: Will the Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System (CAIVRS) be available during a government shutdown? A: Yes. CAIVRS will be available to determine if a borrower has a delinquent federal debt.

Q: Can lenders submit packages for condo approvals? A: No. FHA will not approve condo projects during a government shutdown.

Q: Can lenders file a claim and convey a property if there is a government shutdown? A: Yes. Lenders can file a claim and convey a property. The properties will be assigned to an Asset Manager and listed for sale. Claims will be paid.

Q: Will HUD Homes be listed? A: Yes. FHA’s Asset Managers (AM) will handle the sale of HUD Homes.

Q: Will I be able to place a bid on a HUD-owned property via the HUD Home Bid site during the shutdown? A: Yes. FHA contractors will handle the sale of HUD Homes and the bidding site (www.hud.gov/hudhomes) will be available and maintained during the shutdown.

Q: If I’m selling my home to a buyer utilizing FHA-insured financing will I still be able to complete the sale? A: The shutdown may delay the processing or closing of your FHA-insured loan. Please contact your lender for the exact status of your FHA loan.

VA LOANS

The Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to operate during the government shutdown so there should be no interruption of essential loan functions. We can still obtain VA case numbers, borrower Certificate of Eligibility and order appraisals as normal.  

POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREAS  

RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOANS The government shutdown will create issues for all new Rural Development originations as the USDA will be shutting down all essential functions. The RD GUS automated underwriting system will be unavailable during the shutdown and no local loan analysts will be reviewing loans. Borrowers may want to review secondary options with their loan officer.  

TAX RETURN PROCESSING

As the IRS will be closed during the shutdown, no tax returns transcript will be processed. If a loan requires use of non-salaried income from the tax returns for qualifying purposes such as self employment income or rental income, Merrimack and other lenders may not be able to close without the processed returns to ensure the validity of that income.  

PROPERTIES REQUIRING FLOOD INSURANCE

Merrimack Mortgage will be able to process flood certificates during the shutdown and that will not be a cause for delay. However, a closing will likely be delayed if a property requires flood insurance, as FEMA is shut down and unable to issue flood insurance guarantees.  

BORROWERS FURLOUGHED BY THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Any homebuyer or homeowner whose income is used for qualifying on the loan and whose current position has been furloughed without pay, will not be able to close their loan until a verbal verification of employment confirms they are back to work at the same rate of pay. Thank you for your cooperation and patience during this time. Merrimack Mortgage will make every reasonable effort to close loans during this process but in some cases will be limited by the individual situation.

Mortgage rates remain overall flat during this time as government reports are not available in regards to the economy.  The opinion of many, after the shutdown, rates make get the boost they need in order to put our housing market back on track.

For more information, feel free to call me anytime at 978-273-3227.  You can also email me at wnickerson@merrimackmortgage.com

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FHA to increase fees…Again!!

FHA is once again increasing mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) on all new purchase and refinance transactions. Effective for FHA loans that have been assigned on or after June 3, 2013 and in addition to this increase, the Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium will remain for the life of the loan. Meaning, you can only remove the mortgage insurance by refinancing out of the mortgage or selling the home.

FHA had just increased all its rates just over a year ago to 120 basis points (1.2% of the loan amount) of the loan amount and now it will be as high as 155 basis points. On a $100,000 loan amount, the old mortgage insurance payment would have been $100 per month; the new Mortgage Insurance payment will be $129.17. Considering just 2 years ago, the mortgage insurance premium on all FHA loans was 55 basis points (just over a half percent) and that payment on $100,000 would come to $45.83.

So even though mortgage rates have come down over the last 2 years, this increase in Mortgage Insurance has caused the cost of this loan to increase dramatically. Also with this additional cost, you can no longer have the mortgage insurance just drop off once you gain 20% of equity in the home.

Now, these may not seem like big increases to you, but for someone borrowing $400,000; this would have the Mortgage Insurance going from $183.33 to $516.67. Imagine…paying $516.67 for mortgage insurance!!

Now is the best time to get pre-approved by a qualified Loan Officer to give you several choices of mortgage programs. It is not always wise to chase to the lowest rate available without truly understanding the overall mortgage program.

Call me to find out about low down payment loans, as low as 3% with-out any mortgage insurance at all.

I can be reached at 978-273-3227 or feel free to email me at bill@billnickerson.com

National Open House Weekend April 20 and April 21, 2013

Did you know it is National Open House Weekend?  The National Association of Realtors is expecting to sell almost 10% of the current inventory. With lots of homes on the market and great low rates, this spring market is turning out to be fantastic!  This weekend real estate agents from around the area will be hosting open houses as part of the national Open House Weekend.  The Open House Weekend provides a great opportunity to visit some of the many homes in your local area while learning more about homeownership from a professional real estate agent.  Be sure to take advantage of this weekend and attend some of the open houses in your area!

Call me today to see the closing cost credits you are eligible for!!   

Need a realtor? Call me.  Need a real estate attorney?  Call me.  Need a mortgage or pre-approval?  Call me.  Have financing questions?  Call me.  Bill Nickerson 978-273-3227

Or send me an email at bill@billnickerson.com  If you need to apply online, visit my website at www.billnickerson.net

You do know the Valentine’s Day Legend??

The Legend of St. Valentine

The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Origins of Valentine’s Day: A Pagan Festival in February

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Valentine’s Day: A Day of Romance

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Typical Valentine’s Day Greetings

In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.
Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

Have a Very Happy Valentine’s Day, Bill Nickerson

Courtesty History.com

What is a Business Cycle?

The “Books” say an average business cycle is 44.4 months and we have lived through many of them. Some longer than that and some as short as a season in New England.  A business cycle is like the exhibit from our youth…“What makes an ocean wave, wave” at the New England Aquarium.  In the exhibit, you get to move the wave with a lever and if you move the lever too much you have to pull it back as the wave comes crashing down…and again, you go too far the other way and the wave crashes in the other direction.  It’s impossible to control an ocean wave.  So here we are now in the middle of a business cycle “The Ocean Wave”. 

As Americans we do the same thing.  When we feel confident and wealthy, we tend to spend a little too much; perhaps buy a car that has all the bells and whistles or buy the  house we all dreamed of or even dined at the newest expensive restaurant we’ve never been to… building up that ocean wave.  We did this as a nation and created a very large wave.  We are in the “Trough” of the business cycle which is like a dead calm in the sea.  Nothing moves.  We are paralyzed by our own actions and cannot find a direction to get back…there is just no wind for our sails.  As individuals, we are going through our own personal process of what will get us back on track.  In some cases, we cancel our vacations, limit the activities our children participate in at school or even bring lunch every day.  By drastically cutting our spending, we have moved the “wave” too far in the other direction thus hurting the economy even further.  Not only have we given up those fancy dinners…we are not even going to the local diner for the blue plate special.

Consumer confidence is measured at an all-time low today and we are letting our emotions and fear govern our decisions and actions.  The News Media has the ability to heighten this fear by focusing on the negative and over emphasizing the issues at hand.   As FDR said, “The only thing we have to fear is Fear itself”.  This speech was given in 1933 in the middle of one of the biggest bank panics of the century which followed the Stock Market Crash of 1929.  There was a “RUN” on the banks where consumers wanted to withdraw all of the cash they had in the banks for fear it would be gone.  The banks had lent this money out for loans, mortgages etc. and the banks quickly ran out of cash.  FDR implemented the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation “FDIC” that to this day insures our deposits up to $250,000.  This speech did spark a generation as well as the economy, and it was backed by a plan of how to get us moving as a country.  Today, we do not look up to our leaders.   And as of this moment, we do not have a plan of how to get out of the economic turmoil we are in.  So as a strong country, we must take matters in our own hands and move ahead…full steam ahead.

We are in a very unique situation in the economy: Mortgage rates are creating new historical lows every day, house prices are nearing levels of value we have not seen since 2004.  As we always do, we will look back on this day and say, “I wish I had bought that home, or vacation house or even that investment property”.  Trust me; it happens every time we go through these business cycles.  As I mentioned earlier, we are letting our emotions govern our business decisions.  That is not allowed in business.  It’s business and there is no crying in business!!  Remember the saying “Buy Low and Sell High”.  This is not just some catch phrase.  It is a sound business decision that should be followed regardless of your emotional ties. 

So what do we do now? 

·         Keep spending but in a healthy way.  Make sound buying decisions based on needs versus wants.  By putting some money back into the economy, we will slowly recover.

·         Look to your advisers!!  Not your friends or family, but your financial advisers.  This would be the person that handles your investments, your banking, and your estate.  These are professionals that do this time and time again all day every day. 

·         Be patient.  Throughout history we have experienced turbulent times in the business cycle.  And we have pulled out of it.  In the words of Warren Buffett, “Americans are in a cycle of fear which leads to people not wanting to spend and not wanting to make investments, and that leads to more fear. We’ll break out of it. It takes time.”

For information regarding home financing or the economy, please contact me at     Bill@billnickerson.com   or    978-273-3227