Here is some food for thought: you’re planning to renovate your home or take out a loan to pay for a new car. You’ve done extensive research on what you want and, in the case of a home improvement project, you’ve chosen the contractor, drawn up plans, and priced those new kitchen cabinets and counter tops you want.

One thing remains undone, an important step that could scuttle your dreams: your credit could be trashed, thanks to the work of an identity thief or because of a mistake made by the credit bureau. Yes, you’ve done your homework but you forgot one key step: checking your credit reports to see if they are accurate and reflect current information.

Your credit report is a vital part of consumer lending and, thanks to an act of Congress, is free when ordered through Annual Credit Report, a website managed by the three primary credit reporting agencies, Experian, Expedia, and TransUnion. Once annually, you can get one copy each from the three agencies of your credit report for free and optionally pay the $4-8 fee to get your credit score. Yes, pay the money for your credit score because that is the number creditors use to determine if you qualify for a loan and at what rate.

Checking your credit reports regularly makes sense, but what about other services which keep tabs on you? Though credit reporting bureaus are the most important way to get “the goods” on you, there are some other organizations who keep tabs on you, namely:

Insurance — Your medical history or your homeowner’s policy could be information that insurers want. Several companies keep tabs on this stuff including MIB and Choice Trust.

Tenancy – If you’ve rented before and left your landlord high and dry, don’t think for a moment that this decision won’t come back to haunt you. SafeRent and ChoicePoint know what you did and they’re more than willing to share this information with a landlord, for a fee of course.

Job — Acxiom and ChoicePoint keep tabs of your employment history, but you could be aiding them with your online resume through Monster or CareerBuilder.

Banking — Have you written a hot check lately? Probably not, but opening up a checking account is serious business. That’s why TeleCheck, ChexSystems, and SCAN keep track of good and bad deposit information.

If a problem does come up,  the credit reporting bureau or other credit checker must allow you to address the mistake or correct a problem. Most of the companies I’ve mentioned will provide that information to you for free, but you have to ask in order to get it.

Don’t wait until after you set your home improvement or other consumer project in motion before checking your credit reports. To delay means you’ll really pay, but certainly not in a good way!

Tags: banking, credit history, credit score, employment, free credit report, insurance, tenancy

FSBO or For Sale By Owner remains a popular marketing alternative for people who are buying or selling a home. Sellers like them because they can cut out the realtor’s commission, thereby saving them thousands of dollars while buyer’s like them because they usually can find a home at a good price.

However, just because a home is listed FSBO doesn’t make it a good deal. In fact, there are some things both the seller and buyer can do to help close a deal quickly and at a price acceptable to both parties. Read on and we’ll examine how a seller and a buyer can make FSBO work for them:

If You Are The Seller

Secure Your Home’s Market Value — Prior to putting your home on the market, you’ll need to get it professionally appraised. Hire an appraiser who can help you determine a price for your home, the same price that a realtor would recommend your home be listed for.

Get Ready For Show — Assess the interior and exterior of your home and spruce it up as needed. Remove excess furniture, touch up the walls with paint, clear the clutter off of the kitchen counter, plant new flowers, and trim shrubbery. You may need to tackle additional improvement projects when the home inspection report is completed; anticipate what needs to be done before the home sells now to avoid rushing around later.

Start Marketing — Selling FSBO means a big time commitment, something that should be considered before doing it yourself. List your home in Craigslist and find a good FSBO site to feature your home. You’ll need a For Sale and information holder to place in front of your house, with plenty of pamphlets or sheets listing your home’s many features. Price your home at our below its appraised amount, but no lower than 5% lower or you cancel out the reason for not using a realtor in the first place.

If You Are The Buyer

Ask For A Copy Of The Appraisal — Dealing directly with the owner puts you at a good advantage, allowing you to ask the seller questions directly. Secure a copy of the seller’s appraisal and do your own market analysis on the neighborhood to confirm that the house is being sold for its appraised price.

Make An Offer — Most FSBO homes are placed on the market for the same price a realtor would list the home for. This means that the seller has some latitude when it comes to price. You probably can’t shave a full 5-6% off of the price of the home, otherwise the seller basically loses the money they would have paid in commission to you. On the other hand, if the home has been on the market for several months, offering 3% below the appraised value of the home can be a fair middle ground for both parties.

Get An Inspection — An independent inspection (that you pay for) from a trained home inspector can be the most valuable investment you make. Once you have the completed report in hand, ask the homeowner to handle whatever items should be addressed. The homeowner could counter and slash his price and ask your to handle repairs or simply refuse to address major problems. Estimate the cost of these repairs and subtract them from your final offer.

Toward Completing A Satisfactory Transaction

Once an agreed upon price has been reached and repairs made, then you’re ready to set a closing date. As a seller, your organization skills have paid off; as a buyer, your diligence has been rewarded resulting in a home at an attractive price.

Tags: FSBO, home appraisal, home buy, home inspection, home sell, home valuation, neighborhood report, real estate, realtor

A cool economy could make for some hot vacation deals

High fuel prices and an economy teetering on the brink of recession may not keep people from traveling this summer after all.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) recently shared a report from the Travel Industry Association (TIA) which says that Americans are expected to take more than 327 million leisure trips during June, July and August of 2008. Representing only a slight decline of 1-1.5% over last summer, it is expected that the current economic conditions will create opportunities for vacationers to find bargains when traveling to destinations worldwide.

According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, the average rate for a AAA Three Diamond hotel room in July 2008 is $136 in Honolulu/Waikiki, $259 in Maui, $256 in New York City, $160 in Washington, D.C., $138 in Las Vegas, and $193 in San Francisco, with travel packages offering additional opportunities to save. By combining airfare and hotel stay in one package, vacationers can receive significant savings. In some cases, as outlined below, extras such as transportation from the airport or some meals may also be included.

AAA, which is the largest automotive membership club in the US, is offering a variety of packages this summer including the following:

Hawaii: Five nights in Maui which includes hotel and airfare from Los Angeles or San Francisco for only $529*; Chicago, $795*; Denver, $739*; Seattle, $625*; and New York, $799*. AAA prices are per person, based on quad occupancy (two adults and two children under the age of 13) for select dates available August through December.

San Francisco: Package includes a 2-night hotel stay, San Francisco CityPass Sightseeing booklet, and all state and local taxes. Prices start at $209 per person, based on double occupancy, excluding airfare.

Washington, DC: Package includes 4-night hotel stay in Washington, D.C. Prices start at $329 per person, based on double occupancy, excluding airfare.

As with any package, certain restrictions apply. Visit AAA.com for more information and don’t forget to check out special deals being offered through Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, and other online vacation package companies.

Tags: AAA, air travel, Hawaii, hotels, rental car, San Francisco, save money, vacation, vacation package, vacation travel, Washington DC