January 30, 2009

FICO Scores

Posted to Brad & Liz Sears

Are FICO scores a bit of an enigma to you? Well, if they are, you’re not alone! So here’s a little info on how FICO scores are generated…

A FICO score is a statistic. It shows on a scale of about 350-850 (depending on which of the three major bureaus you are talking about) how likely you are to pay back your debt according to the original terms. Simple enough, right? Well, the way they determine what your score (or likelihood) is to do that is evolving and changing everyday because every day they gather new information on paying back debt.

They literally look at your exact situation, compare it to others that were in that exact situation and determine how many of those people paid back their debts according to their original terms.

You have heard that getting your credit pulled hurts your score, right? Well, yes and no. It depends on what the rest of your credit shows. Such as, someone who is applying for more debt and already has maxed out credit cards is more likely to default than someone with very small balances on their cards. Usually those with small balances aren’t getting more debt to make ends meet; they are probably just looking for the best rate. So their credit pulls hardly hurt them at all, whereas the first guy’s score has probably dropped upwards of 30-60 points.

Posted By: Brad & Liz Sears





January 29, 2009

The mortgage industry

Posted to Brad & Liz Sears

Here’s a little mortgage info that might help you understand the housing situation this country is facing.

Mortgages are really controlled by the secondary market. Most of the lenders who underwrite, approve and fund loans are part of the primary market. The secondary market is made up of companies that don’t underwrite, approve and fund most of their loans; they buy them from the primary market and they prefer to just service the loans. That’s why when you buy a home, you usually get a letter within a few months telling you that your loan has been sold and to now make your payments to a new mortgage company.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the biggest players in the secondary market. So when so many of their loans started going bad, they didn’t have money to buy more loans. This affected the Primary market because the Primary market only has money for so many loans at a time and they count on their ability to sell loans to the secondary market to get their money back so that they can write more loans. So I’m sure you can now see the vicious cycle that we are caught in.

If the secondary market fails, then there are not enough lenders to fund all the loans for the number of people who want to buy homes. Without home loans, 99.9% of people can’t buy houses. This is the main reason the government stepped in to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The availability of home loans is critical to our economy.

Posted By: Brad & Liz Sears





January 05, 2009

Keep Your Kids Active!

Posted to Brad & Liz Sears, Northern Utah Recreation & Attractions

Winter is such a wonderful season, especially when it snows. Building snowmen, sledding, snowball fights and skiing are a few of the fun things children and adults love to do. However, before long the cold seeps in and children start to want to hibernate in front of the television watching cartoons or playing video games all day.

I wanted to get my children into an activity during winter where they could expel their energy and get some exercise. I went to Layton city’s web site and pulled up youth sports. I found a wrestling program kindergarten through 9th grade and signed up my 3rd and 4th grade boys. I can’t believe how much they’ve enjoyed it! They had a lot of fun doing the warm ups, learning different moves and interacting with other children.

Children that stay active and get regular exercise tend to have higher self esteem, feel less stressed, keep a healthy weight and sleep better at night. These benefits also are proven to decrease the chance of getting sick! There are many different activities available for children during winter months, just go to your city’s web site and look for recreation and youth sports.

Posted By: Brad & Liz Sears