So many times people want to start looking at houses and either know they have bad credit, or don’t want to know what is on their report.

So, why get your credit report?  First of all, what is on your report affects your credit and your ability to shop.  Shopping for a home is one of your greatest pleasures and greatest debt you will incur.  If you don’t know how much you are qualified for, you might look at homes and find one you feel just fits your dreams, but you can’t afford it.  All that time you and Realtors® wasted could be saved.  From the dream to reality is often a huge disappointment.

Second, some credit reports are just wrong.  There is misinformation on reports that was never discovered.  One of the first homes I sold almost did not happen because the credit report was wrong.  It turned out that this woman had charges from  places she never lived.  The name of the person was different.  It belonged to a man, and I was dealing with a woman.  Wow!  Wonder how that happened, don’t you!?  That information is on a report that had never been discovered.

What if you find out the report has wrong information?  Find someone who can legally do “credit repair.”  There are sources who can help you challenge something that is wrong.  If you have paid off something that is still showing as active and negative, it needs to be removed.  Many people call and get no answer from credit unions, then just give up.  That negative report continues to show for years and might not be true.

Negative reporting affects your ability to borrow.  You can sometimes qualify for a credit card or even an auto, but not be able to qualify for a house.  Get your report and make sure it is correct.  Check the name spelling, addresses where you have lived, and the charges that are on your report.  Keep it accurate.

If you need help, don’t ignore it!  Get help from someone who can truly help you move forward.  It will not happen without your proactive input. Save receipts to show something is paid.  If you have a dispute, you have proof.  The better your credit score, the better home you can buy.

Need more help?  Be wary of just any credit repair, make sure it is legitimate.  You could be worse off than before. Don’t ignore it because you have had problems in the past. Take care of getting your bills paid and get credit for what has been paid.  You can get forgiveness for mistakes.

Check out more ideas on servingLawtonOK.com and see if you can find a home you can afford.  It is your credit!  Take care of it.  Also be sure to check out HomesforourSoldiers.com

Where are the rentals?  When moving to Ft. Sill, many military will be stunned that there is now an 18- month waiting list to live on post, and the good rentals are being taken quickly.  What should I do?

Be prepared by knowing how much you will be able to pay and be willing to find a house that might not meet your expectations.  We have to look hard and fast to see what is available and the condition of the house. Life is not always what we want, but choosing the best of what we find in the different price ranges.

There are lots of houses for sale in the area of Ft. Sill, and finding some way to find the right place may take a little effort. Here are some simple suggestions:

–Don’t sign anything you don’t understand.
–Don’t sign contracts that lock you in without understanding how you can get out of the contract legally.  Make sure you have a military clause, if you are military.
–Don’t sign contracts that you will have to pay someone to find you a house, unless you realize that most Realtors® do not require that payment.  Those who do, expect to be paid what you sign for, even if they don’t do a good job, or they don’t get that much on commission on the house you find.
–Ask questions often.  If you don’t understand something, go no further until you get a good answer.
–Look around.  There are lots of good people willing to help find you housing.
–Before starting. Know what the lender is willing to loan you.  It depends on your credit, amount of debts and your income.  Be truthful, as they will find it out anyway!
–Remember that you might qualify for the $8,000 stimulus rebate.  Check it out!
–Check to see what a good faith estimate looks like.  Have someone experienced look it over.
–Skilled Realtors ® can find junk  fees that might be charged, or a better interest rate for you.
–Ask questions!  You are not familiar with housing when moving into another area.  Ask about crime rates in neighborhoods, check on line or call the police for statistics.
–Know what your family needs.  Every family needs something different.  There are needs of each child and different schools offer different programs.  Special needs children may need a school that caters to their special needs.  Ask what is offered.
–Pick up literature for everything you might have a question about. There is an abundance of literature available in every location.
–Don’t feel pressured!  Back off, if someone pushes you to buy a house for more money than you can afford or you do not feel fits your families’ needs.
–Still need help?  Call and ask questions about your concerns.  A good Realtor ® will be happy to answer any question you might have.

–ServingLawtonOK.com and HomesForOurSoldiers.com> Here are two websites that offer a way to get information you might require.  You can choose your way to look up homes, or ask questions.

Have you ever noticed that some people just have a negative approach to everything in life? REALTORS® really see the best and worst in people. It is sometimes brought on by the news and messages that one chooses to listen to. Take the real estate market, for example.

Most of the news is negative about the housing industry. Foreclosures are on the rise. People loosing homes in every state, city and county in the nation. The economic news adds to the fear and concern that is looming at this time.

When a buyer gets ready to make an offer on a house, they are usually trying to get the best deal in town, but at the expense of the seller. If one stops to think how much the seller pays for the house, how much they have invested in the upkeep or redoing many things to make the house sellable, and factor in the seller’s closing cost that will be about 10-12% of the sales price, they are really suffering.

When a buyer makes a ridiculously low offer on a home, they are just trying to save money, make money or just get a bargain. Who could blame them? Many “specialists” are telling the world to get homes for “pennies on the dollars,” or at tax sales. What about the seller’s perspective? Most sellers are suffering miserably right now.

When you are ready to buy a home, it is in your best interest as a buyer, to get the most you can for the least amount of money. However, think for a moment that “you” are the seller and the tables are reversed. Be reasonable in making offers. Remember there is probably a family on the other side that is seeing their investments at a low price right now.

Our perspective is important in helping the housing market make a recovery. We all need to keep balance in the picture. If one can afford the house, go for it. Get the best deal you can. But think carefully before you make that offer and remember there is another perspective for the one selling. If they don’t jump at your low offer, it could possibly be that they do not have the cash to close on the house at that price.

The Indian proverb about walking a mile in another’s moccasin before jumping to conclusions about others can really make a difference in a sale. As a REALTOR® who tries to keep a perspective for both parties in a transaction, it is often sad to tell sellers what has been offered on their homes. It is a great time to buy a house with the low interest rates, with the stimulus package, and with all the incentives out there. Just remember for all involved, keep a good perspective on the situation, and if necessary, try a new perspective of the others involved.

Ever feel you are getting depressed every time you listen to news? This is especially true of the housing market. News everyday seems to be negative and out of touch with some local markets.

If you want to know what the local market is doing, you have to check with local Realtors who are buying and selling daily. They can tell you if the market indicators are encouraging you to buy or hold your house. They are the ones who know what the best values are. Local Realtors the ones who know where to get the best interest rates.

Local real estate varies from state to state, community to community. On the coasts and some certain states the market bottomed and people are loosing dramatically, but in other states, there has not been much of a decline in property values.

In Oklahoma, where I am, people listen to the news and are clueless to the true price of homes. The sellers want much more than they are worth. Many buyers think that any offer they put on a house should be accepted, not realizing that someone has to pay off the mortgage and pay closing costs.

Stop listening to national news to determine when to buy and sell. Check with a local expert and make reasonable offers on homes and watch your investment grow. It will come back. I am a positive person about the future. What goes down, will come back up. This has been true for many years about houses and it will be true again.

Although some markets may stay depressed for many years because there was too much built in such a short time, and many were approved for home loans who simply cannot afford them, most people will ride through the storm and recover.

This economic downturn should be a lesson to all of us to learn how much we can truly afford and stay away from loans that are too much for us to sustain when things get bad, or we have a family crisis. Other than that, quit listening to bad news and look forward to great affordable homes.

Many customers wonder what is the first step in finding a home. In fact, some resist the idea that they can’t just go look at all the Lawton houses they see and find one they like, make an offer and then find out if they are qualified for the loan.

Think of the heartache that customers feel when they find a Lawton house they absolutely fall in love with and then they find out they cannot afford the house. Realtors ® used to show houses like that. I used to show houses like that. What would happen? Often they were not qualified for the Lawton house they wanted. After they found out what they were qualified to buy, they were not satisfied with what their money could afford in any given market.

One of the reasons the country is having an economic downturn is the very fact that many homebuyers actually bought homes that were based on dream loans. Remember when someone could qualify for a home that was twice what they should have bought? Stated income loans, loans over the based on more than the value of the home, or 100% loans between the 80% and 20% combination loan programs. What a mistake!!

Many Realtors ® and lenders realize that some people simply cannot afford what they really want. They either to have too much debt already, or they have taste that are way above their pocketbooks. It is time for a reality check.

As for those in the industry who want to help people become responsible Lawton homeowners, let’s start at the beginning and evaluate what a family can truly afford and not be in danger of loosing their home if someone in the family becomes ill, or loses a job.

Families need to budget for the unexpected, because it happens to all of us sooner or later.

If you are in the market to purchase a Lawton home, find someone who will realistically tell you what you can afford without stretching too far. Get help in understanding what the market buys. It is different from the Midwest to the east or west coast. Money goes further where I live than where many buyers are coming from. It is my job as a Lawton Realtor® to help them see different homes in the same price range, and then help them decide what is best for their family.

Get a credit check first! Begin by knowing what is affordable and what is not. Keep dreams in the real world. Buy a Lawton home that you and your family can stay in and enjoy for years to come. That is where most people build equity, not in quick sales. Your home is to enjoy, not lose.

There has never been a better time to buy than now!

The first question to answer has to do with your personal situation. I got a call today from someone in Tennessee looking to move to Oklahoma and said the figures are great. The cost of living is less. Housing is definitely less. There are more jobs available.

Sunday, April 5, 2009, the Lawton Constitution, features an article, “Recession light in Lawton,” explains that many companies are looking for quality employees who will stay with a job. Employers are looking for people who basically “want” to work. “Lawton ranks 21st best in nation in unemployment.”

Ever noticed that you can go to many stores where employees are standing around visiting with each other and not finding ways to help customers? Take a look at Oklahoma and see how much lower the employment rates have been. See if there are jobs you might be interested in applying for.

Now is the best time you might have had in years to move to Oklahoma. The interest rates are lower than they have been. There is a stimulus package* to help you get some money from the government. Many sellers are wanting to sell homes. Buyers are looking for bargains on houses, and we have them.

The Lawton area has one of the oldest Wildlife Refuges in the country. You can actually see buffalo, longhorn, elk, deer, prairie dogs roaming. There are lakes to ski on. There is land where you don’t have to put your house next to your neighbor. Come check us out! You’ll be impressed.

My goal — treat you like family and help you find what is right for you! It is a pleasure to help families get settled and fall in love with Oklahoma.