Channel: Zillow

Category: Education

Description: We’re here to help you learn about what it takes to plan for your first home. In this episode of Ask Zillow Anything, we talk to Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, CEO of The Fiscal Femme, about mortgage rates, down payments, budgeting, financial assistance programs, what lenders look for and more. Curious what other topics Ask Zillow Anything tackles? Find information on all the episodes here: zillow.com/z/ask-zillow-anything 0:00 – Welcome to Ask Zillow Anything 2:18 – Meet Ashley Feinstein Gerstley 3:10 – What is a credit score? 4:38 – How are FICO scores calculated? 4:56 – How to increase your credit score 7:36 – What to do if you have bad credit 9:02 – What is debt-to-income ratio? 9:59 – How to decrease debt-to-income ratio 10:57 – Three strategies for paying off debt 12:42 – Providing income to a lender 14:20 – How much to put down for a house 15:32 – What financials to have ready when buying a house 16:22 – How to motivate to save for a home