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Higher Credit Scores Needed For Home Purchases

Average Homebuyer Score Rose from 700 in 2005 to 732 in 2016

Higher credit scores needed for homebuying in 2018.
Welcome to the 2018 home-buying market: Rising demand and an extremely tight supply of homes, especially in the critical starter-home market, make it difficult to realize your goal of home ownership.

In this market, you’ll need two important things to land your dream home – more money and a higher credit score.

Data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University highlight the credit score issue.

According to the 2017 JCHS study, “The State of the Nation’s Housing – 2017,” the median credit score for successful mortgage loan applications increased from a FICO score of 700 in 2005 to 732 in 2016.

Lenders are still conservative in their risk assessments – aided in part by regulations put in place during the housing crisis.
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More Homebuyers Stretch Toward Excessive Debt

More Homebuyers Stretching To Buy New Data Shows Homebuyers Trending Toward Excessive Debt
It’s difficult to purchase a home in today’s market. Pent-up demand and an extreme shortage of homes have led to a rapid increase in prices that outpaces recent wage gains.

The problem is acute in the market for starter homes and critical in high-value markets like San Jose, Seattle, and Austin.

Desperate homeowners are stretching their finances to buy a home, and lenders and mortgage backers are increasingly willing to accommodate them.
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Why Do Millennials Live With Their Parents?

Why do millennials live with their parents more than any other generation does?

It’s logical that younger generations are more likely to live with their parents in a non-caretaker capacity, even in the best of times.

Millennials suffered the added indignity of coming of age during one of the worst recessions in history while dealing with prohibitive student loan debt.
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How to Negotiate a Summer Home Rental

Summer home rental -- how do you negotiate a deal?

Are you considering bypassing the hotel or resort experience for your summer vacation and opting for a summer home rental instead?

Home rental networks are on the rise and have never been easier to use, thanks to the increased web presence and sites like Vacation Home Rentals, Airbnb, VRBO, and Vacation Rentals.

However, just because travel agents and middlemen are being squeezed out does not mean that you are getting the best deal possible.

You can negotiate with a vacation rental owner to receive an even better deal by following these steps.
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