Avoid Risky Business when Saving for Big Purchases

Your credit report will be instrumental
in securing your home loan

When you are saving up for a big purchase like a car or a home, it is important to keep the goal in mind when making everyday purchases. If you can’t keep your self control when it comes to buying, your credit report will show. Then, you will end up paying for it with a higher interest rate. The Equifax Finance Blog explains how your credit report tells on you in the article, “Are You Receiving the Best Interest Rates on Your Loans?”

Your credit report keeps track of your financial habits, and it forms the score which determines your interest rates. If you borrow too much, have too many accounts or check your score too often, the report shows and lowers your score. Thankfully, the financial institutions that check your credit score for issuing you a loan now have to inform you when you don’t qualify for the best rate.

Chicago Joins Northern Areas of Greater Foreclosures

Unfortunately, Chicago has received the dubious honor of having the largest inventory of bank-owned foreclosure properties on the market in April, according to RealtyTrac. This is just part of a wider movement of the foreclosure plague, on which real estate expert Steve Cook offers insight in the recent Equifax Finance Blog Post, “Foreclosures Move North to Changing Markets.”

Midwest and Northeastern areas are where foreclosures are clustering. Kansas City posted the highest foreclosure discount in April and New Jersey posted the highest rise in foreclosures for the same time period. Eleven of the nation’s 20 largest metro areas that posted increased foreclosures were in the East or Midwest.