Joan Rogliano

With the economy slowing and holidays just around the corner, many consumers may be looking to credit cards to help them get through the heavy shopping season. While that may be a good short-term solution, you want to make sure you don't overlook the long-term impact on your credit rating. After all, the actions you take today could hang over your head for years to come--and may make it tough for you to get the home loan or car loan you want in the future.

To help you make sure you manage your credit cards--and your credit score--during the upcoming holiday spending season, follow these steps:

Double-check your card limits. Many credit card companies today have started lowering credit limits. That means you have less credit available, but it also may mean that your credit score is about to take a hit. That's because approximately 30% of your credit score is based on the amount you owe in relation to your available credit. So, if a credit card company cuts back your limit, you may find that you're suddenly almost maxed out. That's not a good sign for your long-term credit score rating.

Ask, pay down, or move around. If some of your credit limits have changed or are nearly maxed out, you can take a few steps to help alleviate the problem. First, consider simply asking for a higher limit to your card...not necessarily to use up with spending, but to allow more unused credit line to be available and therefore boost your credit score. You can also pay more money to the cards that are near the credit limit, if you can. Or, if you have cards with little to no remaining credit line, transfer some of the larger balances onto the cards with lower balances. That'll give you a more... well... balanced financial picture.
Leave home without it. One of the best tips for the holiday season is to: make a budget, identify specific items, and then leave home without your credit card. Instead, bring just enough cash to purchase the items on your list. That will help you resist the urge to impulse buy, and keep your credit card balances lower.

Pick a card... not just any card. If you can't bring cash, make a credit card plan. Identify specific items that you'll pay for on specific cards. By making a plan and spreading your purchases to different cards, you won't overspend and you won't risk running up one or two cards that are near the credit limit, which will hurt your credit rating.

Resist card offers at the counter. Retailers are famous for offering "savings" when you open a credit card. But those savings often don't outweigh the long- and short-term negatives. For one thing, opening a new account--or multiple accounts in a short period of time--can negatively impact your credit score. In addition, consumers often spend more than planned when a new card is suddenly available. So this holiday season, resist the temptation.

Stay active. If you have older cards that you don't use, make sure you keep them active. For one thing, some of those older cards help establish a longer history of positive credit. For another, the available credit on those older cards can help keep your credit score higher because it improves your overall debt-to-credit ratio. To keep those cards active, make sure you charge one or two items on them throughout the year... like, say, when you go shopping for the holidays. Then, pay them off when the bill comes in.
Always pay on time. Your payment record is a very large part of your credit score, so it's crucial that you have an idea how your holiday shopping will impact your credit card bills and that you make a plan to pay those bills on time. If you have trouble for any reason, contact your card companies right away to work out a plan that helps you pay down your debt... and save your credit rating from a huge hit.

Would you like more information? Contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com or visit www.roglianorealestategroup.com, www.wildflowergroup.com.

Happy Thanksgiving - Mortgage Rates Plunge Finally, some good news for the mortgage industry!

In a move to increase credit availability, the Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Banks announced that they would purchase up to $600 billion in Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), exciting news that sent interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages plummeting below 6.00% and near the lows for the year!
If you have been on the fence about buying or refinancing a home, now is the time to act. Interest rates are extremely low and home prices in some areas are at 2003-2004 levels. Add to that recent declines in energy prices and lower consumer interest rates, and you have a great holiday recipe for success. And don't forget about the bonus that will come after the holidays - the $7,500 homebuyers tax credit! Don't wait too long to make a move. Rates have already been very volatile and this opportunity might not survive the holidays. In many markets, falling prices are bringing out buyers that have been waiting to buy and they are scooping up both bargains and hot properties.

For more information about real estate in your area contact Joan@roglianorealestategroup.com or visit her websites at http://www.roglianorealestategroup.com/ or http://www.wildflowergroup.com/.

For most couples the family home is the highest valued asset they will have to divide in their divorce. Its division is usually fraught with controversy for varying reasons. It may be difficult to value, is not readily converted to cash, costs a substantial amount of money to maintain and has implications of federal and state tax liability.

As if all those things were not enough, your family's emotional attachment to your real estate, in particular a family or vacation home can cause you to make an irrational or poor decision at the time of the divorce. Your family may be haunted by that decision for years after your divorce.

Some questions that you need to answer are:
· Should you sell the family home?
· Do you keep it until the children are grown?
· Should you keep the home and buyout your soon to be ex-spouse, or vice versa?
· Can either of you afford to keep it after the divorce?

The answers to these questions and others can help you avoid or plan for problems associated with your real estate. Historically, the family home is the asset that most often causes controversy both before and after a divorce.

The principal reason for this problem is the timing of the sale of the home and the division of the net proceeds. Both events frequently occur some time after the divorce. In addition, couples seldom plan as they should for the payment of household maintenance and upkeep during the divorce. At first glance the family home appears to be the easiest asset to identify and describe. For purposes of a divorce, the description of your ownership interest in your home and other real estate can be very complicated with pitfalls for the unwary. As with the division of personal property, the rules and laws regarding the division of real estate vary from state to state.

There are several key factors about your real estate that affect the handling of the asset or the distribution of the net proceeds from the sale of the asset in a divorce.

The factors are:
· identification of the type of real estate and the type of ownership interest you have
· the ownership history of your real estate
· real estate, income and capital gain taxes
· Value and debts, such as loans and tax liens, that are secured by the real estate
· A plan to pay for and maintain the real estate during the divorce and afterward

Most importantly be sure to seek the guidance from trained professionals. Be sure to choose not just an attorney but a CPA, Financial Planner and Real Estate Professional to assist you in analyzing your options to come up with a new plan for our future.

Joan Rogliano is not just a Realtor but she created the Wildflower Group, an organization that strives to empower women with practical information about real estate investing and home ownership. Please visit the Wildflower Group web site for the next free workshop information

With all the bad economic news in the headlines lately, you can easily lose perspective on what's really going on in the real estate market.

Here is something to keep in mind: The stock market is NOT the housing market. The Stock Market is on a whole different set of tracks and it's been in a highly volatile state for more than a month.

Housing, on the other hand, has already endured its painful correction for two and a half years ... is now pretty much stabilized ... and is slowing moving toward its cyclical recovery.
For example, new mortgage applications increased last week by 12 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications from people looking to buy houses with FHA loans were up by 15.3 percent, while applications from purchasers seeking conventional mortgages rose by six and a half percent.

How could that be, with all the grim economic news? Well, remember that there is a huge pent-up demand simmering away out there for housing -- especially from first-time buyers who want to scoop up low-priced deals. This along with the $7,500 Homebuyer Tax credit and the drop in interest rates buyers are staring to come out and are ready to shop for a home.
Fixed thirty year rates fell from six and a half percent to 6.24 percent during the week. Fifteen year rates broke below six percent to 5.9 percent, down from 6.14 percent.

Another piece of positive news you may not have noticed: Pending home sales were higher than year-earlier levels for the second straight month -- 1.6 percent higher than September 2007.

All these facts add up to some good news for buyers and sellers which translates to good news for our economy!

Here are five common financial mistakes married women make - along with some advice on how to avoid them.


1. Mistake: Handing Over the Purse Strings By not engaging in the family finances, women set themselves up for potential hardships. Many women who managed their finances perfectly well while they were single, fail to stay informed after they got married which could lead to financial hardship.
Solution: Pay Attention to the Household Finances Both partners should attend the meetings with insurance agents, accountants, financial planners and lawyers. Women should also look over monthly bank statements and credit card bills and couples should make a list of all bank and brokerage accounts and insurance policies and keep it with other important documents, such as wills and medical directives.

2. Mistake: Losing Your (Financial) Identity Many women close out their old accounts and use joint accounts. Although there is some practicality to this it may result in you losing your own individual credit rating.
Solution: Maintain Some Individual Accounts You always want to maintain your own credit identity. It is recommended that couples keep three bank accounts (his, hers and ours) and maintain separate credit cards.

3. Mistake: Walking Away From Your Career While you might welcome the chance to stay home with your kids, the longer you're out of the work force, the harder it can be to jump back in. Women often face low ball wages or lower job titles when they try to return to work after a long hiatus.
Solution: Keep Your Skills Fresh It might be hard to do when you're up to your eyeballs in dirty diapers, but unless you're independently wealthy, you should always be aware that you might someday return to the work force for one reason or another. (Kids, after all, do grow up.) So don't lose touch completely. Try to take on consulting projects during your industry's busy season and attend professional networking events. Even charity work can give you a leg up when you start applying for a new job.

4. Mistake: Not Saving for Retirement Many married women don't make retirement-saving a priority. If the husband is the primary wage earner, the wife often trusts her spouse to save enough for their collective golden years
Solution: Penny-Pinch Now for Your Future Make saving for retirement a priority even if it means stashing away less for your children's college education. If you're working, save as much as you can in your company's retirement plan, or in an IRA. If you're not employed, contribute to a spousal IRA.

5. Mistake: Asking for the House During a Divorce Women often focus so intently on winning custody of the children or keeping the house that they lose sight of the bigger financial picture. Many fail to look at the entire financial picture including what their life will be like after the divorce.
Solution: Get Financial Guidance When women are going through a divorce, they need to determine which assets will help them pay their bills and reach their long-term goals. Some women might want to consult a financial planner as well as a real estate professional that specializes in these situations.

Joan Roliano is a professional realtor who specializes in guiding women through the divorce process and provides individualized counseling to see that her clients make the best choice for their family and their future. If you would like like additional information please contact joan@roglianorealestate.com.