Is your credit score a big deal? If you want to buy a home, it’s a huge deal!

Your credit score will determine if you can get a loan. It will also determine how much you can borrow and what your interest rate will be! To buy a home with a mortgage loan you must have a strong credit score.

There are three primary sources for credit scores in the US: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. They all use the FICO system. These are the most used sources by creditors.

FICO developed the computer software the major credit scoring companies use. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. However, many creditors consider 500 to be the bottom of the acceptable range.

Your score is a measure of your credit-worthiness and determines the interest rate that you will pay for a loan. It’s not unusual for a creditor to obtain all three of the major scores and average them. A very good score is 700, and an excellent score in 750.

The primary factors that determine your score are:

• payment history (35%)
• debt/amounts owed (30%)
• age of credit history (15%)
• new credit/inquiries (10%)
• mix of accounts/types of credit (10%)

65% of the total score is determined by only two factors: payment history and amount of debt owed. You must have a good history of paying your bills on time. And you must be very careful about how much debt you have relative to your income!

That last point is extremely important when borrowing for a home mortgage. As of 2014 the federal regulations governing mortgage lending have changed. Borrowers can no longer carry total debt of more than 43% of gross annual income, including the mortgage debt! Lenders are going to be very strict about adhering to that ratio. There are serious consequences for the lender not doing so.

Many actions you take affect your score. Most people don’t think about:

• unpaid medical bills and parking tickets can lower your credit score
• heavy credit use can lower your score, even if you pay large balances off in full in a short time
• credit scores drop if you sign up and use store cards for initial discounts

For more advice about managing your credit, click here.

Looking forward to buying a home? Educate yourself, manage your credit score, and know your credit score before your lender does.

Information provided by Teri Isner Orlando Avenue Top Team.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Welcome to your up-to-the-minute May 2015 edition of Market Snapshot for Windermere, Florida compliments of Teri Isner. This report is personalized with charts including market activity for homes in the 34786 zip code.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Welcome to your up-to-the-minute May 2015 edition of Market Snapshot for Kissimmee, Florida compliments of Teri Isner. This report is personalized with charts including market activity for homes in the 34741 zip code.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Welcome to your up-to-the-minute May 2015 edition of market snapshot for Celebration, Florida compliments of Teri Isner. This report is personalized with charts including market activity for single family homes in the 34747 zip code.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Buying is 38% cheaper than renting. That statement reflects Trulia’s Winter Rent vs. Buy Report. “Although the gap between renting and buying is narrowing across the U.S., homeownership is still 38% cheaper than renting.”

When evaluating buying a home vs. renting you need to understand the local math. Although the national average is 38% cheaper for buying vs. renting, the range across the country is from 5% cheaper to 66% cheaper.

The Trulia report concludes that there is nowhere in the US that buying a home is not cheaper than renting. However, the percentage of difference does vary widely. That is because there are variables that depend on local circumstances such as:

• Local home values
• Local rents
• Mortgage interest rates
• Rates of value appreciation

If you really want to understand the detailed numbers go to the full report.

You can also go to Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy Calculator that allows you to plug in your local variables.

Borrower’s credit score is another factor you need to take into account when evaluating your situation. Mortgage interest rates are perhaps the most important variable in the buy vs. rent calculation. One of the factors that affects interest rates the most is the borrower’s credit score. The lower your credit score the higher the interest rate you will pay.

The monthly payment on a $200,000 loan for 30 years increases by $60.27 for every 0.5% added to the interest rate. That means the decision about whether to borrower using a variable interest rate (such as an ARM) or a fixed interest rate over the life of the loan is very important.

The Trulia report also evaluates the “tipping point” for interest rates that will cause renting to be cheaper than buying. For the national average that leads to the 38% figure the mortgage interest rate would have to rise to over 10%. However, you should look at local factors involved for a home using the Rent vs. Buy Calculator.

You can follow this link for the current Forbes.com interest rate forecast. You can also find current mortgage interest rates at bankrate.com.

Current indicators are that both home prices and interest rates are going to rise steadily over the next five years. That is good news for potential buyers, and means now is a good time to buy. However, if you’re hoping to become a homeowner anytime soon use these tools to do some research.

Information courtesy of Orlando Realtor Teri Isner.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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In March, Orlando, FL foreclosure filings were 13% higher than the previous month and 30% lower than the same time last year, according to RealtyTrac.com.

Orlando Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

Orlando foreclosures were 0.11% above national statistics, 0.02% below Florida figures, and the same as Orange County numbers in March 2015.

Orlando Foreclosure Status Distribution

The current distribution of foreclosures based on the number of active foreclosure homes in Orlando, FL.

Pre-foreclosures accounted for 27.6% of the foreclosure activity in March,  Auctions were 44.1%, and Bank-owned properties were 28.3%.

Orlando Foreclosure Activity by Month

In March, the number of bank-owned properties decreased 13.5% from the previous month and remained the same as the previous year. The number of auctions increased 7.5% from the previous month and decreased 50.2% from the previous year. Pre-foreclosure activity increased 83.9% from the previous month and decreased 3.0% from the previous year.

Information courtesy of Orlando Realtor Teri Isner, Orlando Avenue top Team.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home shopping website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Celebrate the food, fun, sights and sounds of Latin culture at this annual Hispanic festival for the entire family, featuring live concerts by internationally renowned Latin musical artists and savory Latin cuisine prepared by SeaWorld Orlando’s own Executive Chef, Héctor Colón.

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico – Saturday, May 2

This salsa-orchestra group is considered the most popular salsa group to ever exist, and the most successful music group from Puerto Rico. The group has been producing hits for five decades with 40 albums and CDs. They have received many awards including a Latin Grammy for Best Tropical Album.

WHEN:  Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 12pm-close
WHERE: SeaWorld Orlando
COST:  Viva la Música is free with SeaWorld admission

Visit the Event Website for more information.

Information courtesy of Orlando Real Estate Expert Teri Isner and the Orlando Avenue Top Team.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website. Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale. You deserve professional real estate service!

You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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The Orlando real estate market experienced dramatic increases in March 2015 with both home sales and selling prices higher than March 2014. Take a look at the breakdown by county…

Orange County Real Estate Sales Statistics – March 2015

Orange County saw 434 more homes sold in March 2015 than March 2014, a 30.41% increase. The average sales price increased by 5.19% and the median sales price increased by 10.52% from March 2014.  Market times increased by 8 days or 12.9%.

Osceola County Real Estate Sales Statistics – March 2015

Osceola County home sales increased by 132 homes, a 27.% rise. Prices increased with the average sales price up 1.85% and the median price increased by 7.74%.  Market times increased by 7 days compared to March 2014.

Seminole County Real Estate Sales Statistics – March 2015

Seminole County residential sales increased 20.17% with 120 more homes sold in March 2015 compared to March 2014. The average sales price increased 3.42% and the median price increased by 11.32%. Market times decreased by 3 days.

Lake County Real Estate Sales Statistics – March 2015

Residential sales in Lake County increased in March 2015 with 81 more homes sold, a 14.73% difference. The average sales price increased by 20.91%, and the median sales price increased by 14.22% for the month compared to March 2014.  Market times decreased by 2 days.

Polk County Real Estate Sales Statistics – March 2015

Polk County saw 92 more homes sold in March 2015 compared to March 2014, a 11.9% increase.  The average sales price increased 10.88%, and the median sales price increased by 15.04%.  Market times dropped by 1 day.

Search all Orlando area homes for sale here!

Information courtesy of Orlando Realtor Teri Isner.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Kissimmee Condo For Sale:

2304 Silver Palm Drive #304, Kissimmee FL 34747
MLS# O5359921

Fully Furnished and Equipped!

Virtual Tour

Fully furnished and equipped, this three bedroom condo is in immaculate condition and ready for you to enjoy. Ideal for a family vacation spot or for the investor looking for great rental income. Tastefully decorated and well maintained means there is NO to-do list, so let the vacation begin. Windsor Palms is a guard-gated resort community featuring an Olympic size pool, fitness center, movie theatrer, tennis courts, volleyball, playground, sundries shop, grill, and much more. Conveniently located to nearby restaurants, shopping, and is only three miles to Disney. This is the one you have been looking for!

Marketed by Orlando Realtor Teri Isner, Orlando Avenue Top Team.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Kissimmee FL Home For Sale:

2517 Aster Cove Lane, Kissimmee FL 34758
MLS# O5361140 

Pride Of Ownership Abounds!

Virtual Tour

Beauty, warmth, and value with heated pool and no rear neighbors. This three bedroom, 2 bath fully furnished home in a gated community is ready for the next family to enjoy or for the investor looking to generate immediate rental income. Pride of ownership keeps this one spotless! The foyer leads to the great room, truly the heart of this home, directly adjoining both the kitchen and screened lanai that leads to the large private pool. Sound inviting? It is! What an ideal open floor plan designed for those who like to cook, entertain, and relax at the same time. Kitchen cabinetry has been upgraded to 42″ with plenty of storage space. Ceramic tile is throughout the home providing a cool, comfortable setting and easy care. Split bedrooms offer privacy. The master bedroom retreat includes a generous walk-in closet and an en-suite bath. Enjoy a spa day at home in the master bath with its large vanity, dual sinks, luxurious garden tub and separate shower. Two remaining bedrooms share the large hall bath. Conveniently located near shopping and is only a few minutes from Disney. Tampa / St Pete beaches are a short one-hour drive to the west and NASA’s space coast beaches only one hour to the east. Location and the home’s features make this one well suited as a primary residence or as an investment property. One year home warranty provided to the buyer. Come look inside today

Marketed by Orlando FL Realtor Teri Isner, Orlando Avenue top Team.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!