Uncategorized

Your home should be a place where you can relax and unwind, but noise coming from outside and inside the house can make it difficult to get peace and quiet when you need it most. Here are some tips to reduce the level of noise in your home.

How Sound Travels
Sound is produced when an object vibrates. Sound waves can travel by bouncing off hard, flat, uniform surfaces. Blocking outdoor noise, reducing the number of hard surfaces in your house and increasing the number of soft surfaces can make your home more peaceful.

How to Block Outdoor Noise
If noise from cars, people and dogs outside your home is a problem, inspect your windows and doors. If there are gaps around them, you can seal them with caulk and weather stripping to keep noise out.

You can use drapes, curtains or blinds to cut down on noise. They can also keep your home cooler in the summer, lower your utility bills and give you additional privacy. Another option is to install soundproof window inserts.

Building materials with a lot of mass can block outside noise. If you are planning to renovate your home, installing thick walls with plenty of insulation, as well as thick windows and doors, can block outside noise.

How to Reduce the Spread of Noise Within Your House
Soft materials such as carpet, rugs and furniture can absorb sound. If you have wood or tile floors, you can reduce the noise level by installing carpet or by using rugs in high-traffic areas. That can be particularly helpful if footsteps upstairs bother people who are trying to relax below. A large couch and chairs can provide insulation and reduce interior noise levels.

Wall coverings can provide insulation and spruce up your homes dcor. If a member of your family likes to play loud music, installing acoustic tiles and foam in that persons room can absorb the sound so it wont be heard throughout the house.

If your home has an open floor plan, the lack of dividing walls can allow sound to travel throughout the house. Using furniture, bookcases and tall plants to separate the space can deflect noise and limit its ability to spread.

If the floors squeak, there may be gaps between the layers of flooring, or the subfloor may not be level. You can hire a contractor to inspect and repair squeaky floors.

If your appliances are a source of annoying background noise, you may be able to get some peace and quiet by installing new, more energy-efficient ones. They will be quieter and will also help you protect the environment and lower your utility bills.

Make Your Home More Peaceful
If unwanted noise is a problem, you may be able to block or absorb it by making some simple changes. If you plan to remodel your home, structural changes can provide permanent solutions.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Before you buy a house, you should request quotes from several lenders to get the best interest rate you can. You may have heard that having a lot of credit inquiries can hurt your credit score, but getting several mortgage quotes shouldnt have much of an effect on your score if you request them within a short window of time.

How Can Hard Inquiries Affect Your Credit Scores?
A hard inquiry is a formal review of an individuals credit report. It happens when a consumer applies for a loan or credit card. When you apply for a mortgage, lenders will make hard inquiries that will be reported to the three major credit reporting bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.

If you applied for several credit cards in a short period of time, numerous hard inquiries would hurt your credit score. Applying for multiple lines of credit could create the impression that you were in financial trouble. Things will work differently if you request several mortgage quotes.

Credit bureaus understand that people who are interested in buying a house shop around for competitive loan terms. If numerous mortgage lenders pull your credit reports in a short period of time, the credit bureaus will treat all those hard inquiries as if they were only a single review of your credit report. That means that you can request mortgage quotes from as many lenders as you would like without worrying that it would cause major damage to your credit score.

When to Request Mortgage Quotes
There are several FICO scoring models and lenders can decide which to use. If lenders use the new model, all credit pulls related to mortgage inquiries that are done within 45 days count as one inquiry. If lenders use the older scoring model, the window is shorter. In that case, all inquiries within 14 days count as one inquiry.

To be on the safe side, request all your mortgage quotes within a 14-day period. Applying for several mortgage quotes in two weeks is not as difficult as you may think. All the lenders will ask for the same information. You might even be able to get all the applications done within a few days.

How Much Will Your Credit Score be Affected?
Although hard inquiries can lower your credit score, requesting mortgage quotes will likely have a small effect on your score. The exact amount of the decline will depend on your individual circumstances. If you have a lengthy credit history and pay your bills on time, your score wont be affected as much as it would be for someone with a shorter credit history.

Check Your Credit Reports
Before you apply for mortgage quotes, request copies of your credit reports. If you find any errors, dispute them so that when you apply for a mortgage, lenders will have accurate data and you wont be penalized for outdated or erroneous information.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

For many families, having enough storage space is essential.

To avoid clutter, consider these factors before buying a home:

Are the closets big enough to fit all your clothes or kids toys?

Does the bathroom allow enough dedicated space for cosmetics and toiletries?

Would a lack of food storage cut into space for cookware in the kitchen?

Is there a garage or shed for your tools and lawn care equipment?

Take stock of what your family owns, and make sure a new home has enough space to store it.

A real estate agent can help find a home thats the right fit for you.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youre planning to buy a house, one of the most important decisions you will make is whether to get a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage. Make sure you understand how both work and consider your current circumstances and future plans before choosing.

Key Differences
With a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest rate remains constant over the life of the loan. An adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) has an introductory rate that is below the market rate for a fixed-rate mortgage. After one or several years, the rate begins to reset periodically based on market conditions. An ARM may have caps to limit the amount the interest rate can increase at once, a ceiling on the interest rate and a cap on monthly payments.

Pros and Cons
A fixed rate-mortgage could allow you to have consistent monthly payments. An ARM might be much less expensive than a fixed-rate mortgage in the period before the loan reset. Those lower initial payments might make it possible for you to afford a more expensive house with an ARM than you could with a fixed-rate loan.

The danger of an ARM is the unpredictability. Your monthly payments could rise significantly several times over the life of the loan. If you chose an ARM and the interest rate rose, you might be able to refinance to another ARM or to a fixed-rate loan, but there would be no guarantee. A lender would consider your income at the time, the amount of equity and other factors, as well as the overall state of the economy. Even if you were able to refinance to a lower rate, you would have to pay closing costs.

Which Is Right for You?
ARMs tend to appeal to first-time homebuyers who expect their incomes to rise in the future or who plan to have children and move in a few years. If you expect your income to increase as you move up the ranks in your company, or if you plan to earn a degree and get a better job, an ARM could be a good bet. You could have low payments now, pay more in the future when you have a higher income and pay less over the life of the mortgage than you would with a fixed-rate loan.

Consider your financial circumstances, including your income and how much you expect to earn in the future, as well as how long you plan to live in the house. If you would be able to afford higher payments later, or if you plan to move before the interest rate would reset, an ARM could save you money. If you plan to stay in the house longer, a fixed rate could give you peace of mind.

Look at the specific terms of different loan options. If you are considering an ARM, figure out how much your monthly payments would be in a worst-case scenario. If you couldnt afford that amount, a fixed-rate mortgage could be a safer option, even if it might cost you more at first.

Published with permission from RISMedia.