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When you’re shopping for a property, the Spring season gives you an opportunity to truly evaluate the exterior of a property in a way that you often can’t in summer, fall and winter. While the property is free of snow, fallen leaves and lush, summer foliage, take the opportunity to evaluate the exterior and decide if it meets your needs – or whether you spot any potentially expensive problems.

During the Spring season is a great time to check for water damage on the interior of a property. Water damage often starts to show in late winter and spring, as the integrity of the roof becomes challenged by snow sitting on it all winter, or spring rains cause more water than a home is capable of withstanding. When you’re checking out the interior of a home, look for water damage on the ceilings, walls and in the basement.

You know the old saying: April showers bring May flowers. Spring is traditionally the wettest time of the year in many parts of the country, and that makes the Spring real estate market a great time to view and evaluate properties. You’ll get to see water-related flaws in the property that you might not see at other parts of the year, which gives you a great chance to avoid potentially expensive repairs. You can also see the landscaping transition from winter to springtime, so you’ll get a clear view of the property – and all of its potential.

The Spring real estate market is classically the busiest time of year if you want to buy or sell real estate. Sellers love the Spring market, as the flurry of activity means they can often command higher prices during this time of year. And buyers love it, because they can browse a great selection of inventory and attempt to find their dream home. With the weather getting warmer early this year in many parts of the country, the spring market is already beginning to kick into gear – which means we’re just around the corner from peak buying and selling season! What do you need to know about the Spring market?

Home staging is when a real estate agent or home staging professional re-arranges the home, artfully places certain pieces of furniture, flowers or artwork, or even just de-clutters the home a little. The idea is that the home staging will make the home seem more attractive to buyers, and professionals who have a good understanding of making a home attractive can make even the dullest home seem sparkling and brilliant. When you’re shopping for homes, it’s important to look beyond home staging – or the lack thereof – to see the home you’ll buy.

When looking at your credit history, one of the things that plays a role in whether lenders want to lend to you is your credit card debt relative to your available credit. If you’ve got a high level of credit card debt relative to your credit limits – i.e. if all of your credit cards are maxed out – it looks like you’re not making enough money to cover all of your spending, and you may be considered a bad risk. But paying off your credit cards completely and not using them at all can also have a negative impact on your credit score. When it comes to credit card debt, the key is to strike the right balance to maximize your credit-worthiness.

Poor credit can be a big problem when you’re trying to get a mortgage loan, but improving your credit isn’t that difficult if you know how to do it. One way to improve your credit is to get and make regular payments on an installment loan. This works best if you have a limited credit history, and keep in mind that a new installment loan is also going to increase your debt ratio; here’s how to do it right to both improve your credit and also keep it from causing problems with getting a mortgage loan:

Getting a mortgage loan with poor credit has become a lot more difficult than it used to be. In 2007 and 2008, the sub prime lending market took a big hit – more and more homeowners in this segment defaulted, and it caused lenders in this area to pull out of the sub prime market, meaning fewer options for homeowners with poor credit. During this two-year period, hundreds of lenders were either shut down, suspended operations or were sold. This crisis has lingering affects on borrowers with poor credit; most notably the difficulty of getting a mortgage loan with bad credit these days.

When you apply for a mortgage, one of the first things that a lender does is pull your credit. A lender’s decision on whether or not to give you a mortgage loan is based, in large part, on your credit score. If your credit score qualifies, the lender will move on to looking at additional information, but the credit score is often the first hurdle. So what exactly is the credit score, and can you find out ahead of time what a lender will see?

Borrowing with poor credit is now much more difficult than it used to be, as mortgage lenders tighten their requirements and there’s far less sub prime financing available. If your credit score falls below a certain number, you lack a sizable downpayment or you have other borrowing-related woes, you may still have some financing options available. Consider non-traditional financing options for poor-credit borrowing, and work to rebuild your credit while you enjoy the perks of home ownership.