Holiday Safety - How to Keep Your Home Safe During the Christmas Season

Safety tips for the Holiday Season

 

Don't let the rush and excitement of the holiday season make you careless. Let's make this season especially cheerful by ensuring the protection of our loved ones and valuables. Make sure decorations are not only put up beautifully but safely as well.  If you have recently bought a new home, take the time to consider safety hazards or potential vulnerabilities. The following tips can help you be more careful, prepared and aware during the holiday season.

Keep any large displays of gifts out of sight

Securing your home this season: preventing burglary

The Holidays are a particularly vulnerable time for families and their home security. With the increase of purchasing and storing of desirable goods, burglars find this time particularly appealing. But home invasion can be easily prevented.  Keep windows, garages and sheds locked and don't forget to use deadbolts, even if you are just stepping out for a few minutes. Don't leave a spare key in a "hiding place." It's safe to say that if you put it somewhere that helps you remember where it is, it is probably somewhere others will easily guess. Lock your power box with an electricity authority lock (only you and the electric company have a key) so that your home security alarm system can't be cut off from the power supply.

Avoid drawing attention to your home by keeping any large displays of holiday gifts not be visible through the windows and doors of your home. You can discourage a lot of robbers by making your home appear "active" Use timers to turn on lights and a television or radio. Indoor and outdoor lights should be on an automatic timer. Think of it as the "Home Alone" method of home protection. When leaving home for an extended time, have a neighbor or family member watch your house and pick up your newspapers and mail. 

Make sure your Christmas tree is mounted on a sturdy base.

Hazard Free Decoration Placement: Ways of avoiding tripping, fire, and other safety issues

Placing the tree and other holiday decorations should not only be based on the lighting and Feng shui. Safety should be factored in as well. When setting up a Christmas tree or other holiday display, make sure doors and passageways are clear. Be sure your Christmas tree is mounted on a sturdy base so children, elderly persons or family pets cannot pull it over on themselves. Delicate or dangerous ornaments (such as swallowing hazards or glass) should be placed higher up on the tree away from little hands or doggies. Maintain at least a foot of space between a burning candle and anything that can catch fire. Try to keep electrical elements plugged in near an outlet, draping cords across rooms can be a very dangerous tripping hazard. 

Don't overload electric circuits with Holiday Lights

Fire Safety for all the lights, candles, wires, and highly flammable elements of the Holidays:

The Holidays can have quite the assortment of fire hazard possibilities. Materials such as dry pine trees and wrapping paper are highly flammable and surrounded by potentially fire producing sources. It's simple to make sure that all of our decorations and presents don't go up in smoke. When hanging lights outdoors, avoid using staples or nails which can damage wiring. Use UL-rated clips or wires instead. Each year check your string of lights on your Christmas tree to ensure the wiring is not damaged or frayed. Frayed or damaged wiring can cause a fire. Don't overload electric circuits with holiday lighting. Spread out the various electrical needs of your decorations to various outlets if possible. Always unplug lights before going to bed including your glittering tree. Place your Christmas tree in water or wet sand to keep it green and more flame retardant. Never place wrapping paper in your fireplace. It is not only enrionmentally unsafe but can contain toxins including lead!

This season while you check your Xmas "to-dos" off your list, keep track of safety as well. Make sure your home is always secure and appears "active". Place decorations aways from open flames and out of walkways. Check all of your wiring for frays and keep your tree quenched! And remember if all you want for christmas this year is a new home, Ricardo The Realtor and his team are here for you. We can find you homes in the Long Beach area for the same prices as renting. Our team will stay with you every step of the way and direct you to invaluable resources to help you have the best home purchasing experience.

Mortgages/Loans & the Documents you will need

Long Beach Homes for Sale Present: Mortgage & Loan Document tips

Applying for a loan can be overwhelming.

Your chances for being approved for a loan in Long Beach have recently increased. For the fourth straight quarter, fewer than 6% of banks tightened mortgage guidelines and roughly 10% of banks actually loosened them. This may suggest to us there is a quicker, simpler mortgage approval process but nowadays lenders require paperwork that documents every facet of your financial life. The team at Long Beach Homes for Sale understand the confusion that can be common for borrowers who are attempting to apply for a mortgage. Below is our compiled list of necessary documents needed for your loan request experience.

Personal identification documents: To verify your identity, banks often require photocopies of both sides of your drivers license and/or U.S. passport, and may also ask for copies of your social security card.

Credit Report: It's common knowledge that your credit report will be checked when applying for a loan. In addition, if your credit report lists collection items, judgments, or federal tax liens, be prepared to discuss these items with your lender. Sometimes, a derogatory credit event can be eliminated or ignored if it is explained properly. 

You need documents such as W-2 Forms and Pay Stubs.

W-2s, and pay stubs: Loan guidelines typically specify one month of verified income but lenders can request to see up to two years of documentation.  You can prove this with paycheck stubs. Employees paid electronically should call their employer and ask for printouts. Guidelines also typically require your most recent W-2 Form. Self-employed applicants may be asked for additional business information such as a current-year profit-and-loss statement. Borrowers earning income via Social Security, Disability Income, Pension or other means should expect to provide documentation.

Bank Statements and Tax Returns: Borrowers generally must supply bank statements for the last 30-60 days.  Be prepared to explain unorthodox deposits that might bring suspicions of money laundering. Tax returns are scrutinized for reimbursed employee business expenses, self-employment business losses and other signs of loan fraud, such as reported income that doesn't match an employee's W-2. In the past, only self-employed borrowers were required to present income tax returns. Today, almost everyone is expected to provide a recent tax return.

Provide documents if you plan to rent your residence

Rental property income: Borrowers who include rents from investment property in their income need to show the income on their tax return. Ricardo the Realtor and his team would like to specifically point out to homeowners planning to buy a new home and rent out their current residence that you must provide a rental agreement, canceled rent checks and bank statements. You also must have at least 30 percent equity in their current residence.

Gift letter, paper trail: Borrowers who receive a cash gift toward their down payment should be prepared to provide a letter from the "giftor" that declares the gift isn't a loan. A copy of the giftor's bank account statement showing the funds, a canceled check and the borrower's own statement showing the funds also may be required.

Other documents, letters: Renters must supply 12 months of canceled rent checks and bank statements showing the rent was paid on time. Renters without that documentation can provide the landlord's name and contact information for payment verification. Borrowers also may be required to provide a copy of a divorce decree, proof of a child's age if child support is counted as income, bankruptcy discharge papers and more. Lenders also may demand letters that explain negative items on a credit report or verify the borrower's motivation for the loan.

Altered documents are invalid

A Few Loan tips:
Bring in documents early. Never cross out, white-out or alter any information or the document is invalid. Even if a document is blank, you should still include it. Documents expire after 60 days so if your house-hunting efforts take longer, expect to have to supply updated information such as a current paycheck.

The more information that you share with your lender, the smoother your mortgage approval process can be. The guidelines are much stricter than they used to be. As the housing market improves and lender confidence increases, mortgage guidelines are expected to loosen up. 2013 may open lending to even more mortgage applicants. Ricardo The Realtor and his team at Long Beach Homes for Sale are here to help. Give us a call and we can give you sound advice or direct to to a Loan professional that can help. 562.533.4003

Lifestyle of Long Beach offers advise on avoiding Foreclosure

Long Beach Homes for Sale Present: Short Sale Tips

Short Sales Stop Foreclosures: Why we should avoid Foreclosures

Sometimes things don't go as we hoped they would. But this doesn't mean that we have to give in and lose even more than our property. It is important to know your options when quick decisions have to be made. If funds fall short and you are no longer able to make payments for your piece of real estate in a timely fashion it is vital that you try and keep a good face by making smart decisions. If you need to sell your home in order to stay afloat, choosing to do a short sale instead of foreclosure is the right move.  Lifestyles of Long Beach and Ricardo the Realtor have some advice in regards to the advantages of doing a short sale vs. foreclosing your home. 

Know Your Terms:

Foreclosure is a forced sale of an asset

Foreclosure is when a lender legally forces the sale of the asset used as collateral for a loan to attempt to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments.

Short Sale can help you avoid foreclosure

  
A Short Sale is an arrangement between the current owner of a home and the current mortgage lender holding the mortgage to sell the real estate and accept an offer for less than the total amount owed to pay off the home loan. The lendee must encourage the lender to agree to this. Therefore, you must pursue this options a soon as you start falling behind in your payments.

 

 

Credit Score:

A foreclosure can affect your credit score from 250 to over 300 points. The affect will last for over 3 years and will remain on your credit history for 10 years. If you provide payments on time and regularly, a short sale will not affect your credit score. A short sale will not be shown on your credit report and when the transaction is complete, the loan will be shown as paid in full providing a positive score. Ricardo the Realtor advises to keep your Credit score looking good for when you plan on buying a home in the future.

Employment options will be effected by Foreclosure

 

 

Employment:

When deciding whether to foreclose or do a short sale, it is important to factor in how this might affect your employment.  Believe it or not, bad credit can effect whether or not you can get and keep the job of your dreams. Many sensitive positions or those with security clearances do regular credit checks on their employees. An individual having bad credit is enough grounds for immediate termination. Furthermore, most employees check credit reports when hiring on new employees. Becoming less employable will definitely make a hard time worse.  Foreclosures will be placed as a black mark on your credit report significantly effecting your score.  On the other hand, short sales are not put on your credit report, therefore they have no negative effect on your credit score or your employment options.

Future Loans:

What choices you make now could lead to worse options later. When in the future you apply for another loan, you will have to inform the prospective loaner of your previous foreclosure. They will add this into consideration when determining your rates. On the other hand Loan Officers will not request  acknowledgement of a previous short sale. Long Beach Homes for Sale highly recommends utilizing a short sale to ensure you have the highest chances of aquiring a future loan with the best rates.

Foreclosure is the worst option. You will lose your house and additional moneys can be claimed against you by the lender to cover their cost due to the foreclosure. It is important to look at your options in such a difficult time and consider having a short sale. The long term effects of a short sale are much less detrimental than those of foreclosure. Your credit score, employment options, and future loan requests will all be much better off. In order for you to have a short sale as an option remember to keep in good standing with your Loan Officer and to ask for this option as soon as you know you will not be able to make the loan payments on time.