NOLA, Credit, And Recovery
It’s interesting to note that our real estate market has historically run contrary to national trends. Mortgage loans in the low 6% range are still very available for the credit worthy. Pricing has more or less stabilized, and great buying opportunities abound. Take heart, business has not come to a halt like it has in Florida and California.
On another note…think about this: There is a large segment of the US population that has no clue about something called The Lay-A-Way Plan.
Watching happy-time ads showing young people with enviable physiques laying out on deserted beaches, buying new cars, reclining in rooms full of new furniture, dining in fabulous restaurants, or generally speaking enjoying instant gratification for whatever lust one could possible imagine, courtesy of easy credit, has not hidden one simple fact…you have to eventually pay for all of that fun.
Washington will do something to bail us out, but the fact remains that credit tightening will be the name of the game for some time. Consumers will have to watch their credit P’s & Q’s in order to retain the lines of credit they really need. As I’ve been saying, your credit score means more now than in many years.
As we recover from having the stuffin’ knocked out of our wallets, us folks, us battle weary Greater New Orleanians, survivors of floods, hurricanes, and political idiots, will survive this crisis as well. But we have one thing to be very thankful for…our struggle will be shared with some of the finest people on earth, the citizens of the great city of New Orleans. Collectively we have a giant heart, a beautiful soul, and a survival instinct second to none!
As ever, I remain at your service.
“Do I Pay Down The Mortgageor, Pay Off A Credit Card?”
In the August Newsletter I wrote that the next financial shock could very well come from the credit card industry. Well, that has come to pass. For the average person, tightening of credit and the potential for reduction of lines of credit will have serious effects…and every so-called expert says the same thing, pay down the credit cards first. Here’s the math: Paying down credit cards reduces the percentage of debt to credit availability…in the eyes of credit institutions this is a very good thing. Paying down the mortgage on a primary residence, unless there is a functional necessity to do so, means you are investing money in something that may not be not appreciating. In some areas of the country, home values are still depreciating! The words Credit Worthiness mean something again, and the best way to achieve that goal is to pay down credit cards, first.
