Category: Home Buying NWA

New homes and neighborhoods in Northwest Arkansas and home-buying tips

Identifying Home Styles and Design Elements

Having a knowledge of home styles and design elements can help you make wise choices when it comes time to remodel, add on or just give your own home some curb appeal. Understanding your home’s style and the key design element can give you a greater appreciation of its design and construction.

Accentuating the key design features of your home’s style is a great starting point for any home improvement project.

There are literally hundreds of styles and variations, when it comes to home designs, but let’s look at the top 10: Cape Cod, French Country, Colonial, Victorian, Tudor, Craftsman, Cottage, Mediterranean, Ranch and Contemporary.

If you want to study home styles and design features deeper, I recommend you check out these reference guides: Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use and Avoid and A Field Guide to American Houses, both available from Amazon.

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Check Your Credit Score Regularly

IMG_2367I can’t tell my clients this enough – check your credit score regularly. Your credit score is partially derived from the information on your credit report, and it is one factor that a mortgage lender will use in determining whether you qualify for financing. 

While it’s pretty easy to check your credit score, we sometimes get lazy about doing it.

I was working with a client recently who knew their credit score and didn’t think it allowed them to qualify for a home loan. I encouraged them to go ahead and pull the full credit reports and review them.

In doing that they found a number of issues in their credit history that did not originate with them. This happens sometimes, and it’s one of the reasons you need to check your credit report, not just your credit score.

They were able to work with Credit Counseling of Arkansas to get the discrepancies removed from their credit history. This resulted in an dramatic improvement in their credit score.

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7 Must-Do Steps to Buying A Home

There are a few mandatory preparations or steps to buying a home. It’s never too early to start preparing, and crossing these items off your list will make it easier to find and finance the home of your dreams.

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