Spring has finally come here in Iowa and with it, the true beginning of home buying and selling season. However, the housing market can be an intimidating place. There are so many things to consider, remember and do that it can be overwhelming. At Lincoln Savings Bank, we want to help you de-stress a little bit when it comes to your home buying or selling. Here are a few tips for people on both sides of the housing conundrum.

You should see more of these signs as the home buying and
selling season continues.

Tips for Home Buyers

Know how much home you can afford- a common rule of thumb is that you can afford a house that is up to twice your gross annual income. It also depends on six factors: income, available cash for down payment, closing costs and reserves, any debts you have, your credit score the type of mortgage and current interest rates

Find out the details- it’s best to hire someone to inspect the home you’re considering. Make sure the inspector you hire belongs to the American Society of Home Inspectors

Make the right down payment- the size of your down payment will differ based on your situation and loan type. Making a 20 percent down payment not only reduces the amount of debt you will finance, but it also waives the additional costs from having mortgage insurance

You can find more tips for buying a new home here on the Century 21 LSB Real Estate website.

Tips for Home Sellers

Price, Condition and Exposure- these are the three most important factors when trying to sell a home. The right pricing strategy can attract the ideal buyers, so be sure to do your homework on that. Cosmetic details, no matter how small, can affect the price of your home and a buyer’s willingness to make an offer, so be sure any “rough edges” are taken care of. You also want to make sure your home gets the right exposure through multiple online listings, open houses, broker open houses, advertising and quality signage.

Get your home appraised- getting the price right is difficult on your own, so use a professional appraiser to make sure the job is done right. Make sure to get any analysis in writing, and use a recommended professional appraiser.

Get your home ready to sell- de-clutter rooms, closets, cupboard and anywhere else a potential buyer will see. Give your home a thorough cleaning, and leave it looking and smelling nice. Finally, give the grass and hedges a trim to make a good first impression to potential buyers.

You can see more tips for selling your home here.

Lincoln Savings Bank and Century 21 LSB Real Estate would love to help you and your family find the home of your dreams this year. Let us know if there’s any way we can help! Until then, happy home hunting! 

Summer is coming soon, and so too are the crowds of vacationers hitting tourist spots around the country. If you and your family are thinking of taking a trip this summer, there are a few financial items you need to take care of first before hitting the beach, mountains or wherever your trip takes you:

Having your finances in check means more relaxation on vacation.

·         Make a checklist of monetary items you need: cash, your debit and credit cards, traveler’s checks or foreign currency if you are headed out of the country. You wouldn't want to get to your destination and realize you forgot something!

·         Notify Lincoln Savings Bank of your travel plans: this way we know not be worried when we see charges appearing from your vacation location.

·         Pay any upcoming bills ahead of time: you can do this easily through LSB’s OnlineBanking. You can also use Mobile Banking to make sure any checks you wrote cleared to avoid late fees or penalties.Get it done before you go so you don't worry about it while you're supposed to be enjoying yourself!

·         Have your mail held: while a good portion of your mail is junk, some of it may have important personal or financial information contained in it. That’s not something you want sitting in your mailbox for days.

·         Check your Online Banking: yes, you’re on vacation, but financial surprises can ruin a great trip. Check in with your Online Banking or Mobile Banking once a day just to be sure everything is going smoothly

There are these and many other ways to ensure that you have a wonderful vacation without any additional financial issues. Be sure to check back  here regularly for any other updates regarding vacation finances or other monetary issues you should be aware of. As always, you can get in contact with any of our branches if you need help of any kind. We hope to hear from you soon!

Though the weather has been a little crazy and slow trying to get here, we are nearing summer and all of the farmer’s markets, fairs and craft shows that come with it. If you and your family love to go to these types of events, you know that before you go you need to withdraw cash. Or do you?

Be prepared to see this type of payment device in the near future.

As smart phone and tablet technology has progressed and become mainstream, credit card and financial companies have developed ways for merchants to take credit card payments while selling corn on the side of the road. These devices and apps bring convenience to merchants looking to accept as many forms of payment as possible away from their “brick and mortar” location.

Let’s take a look at three of the most popular payment devices and programs that you may encounter this summer: Square, Intuit and Dwolla.

Square- this nifty little square (simple name for a simple product) plugs into Apple or Android devices and allows merchants to swipe credit cards and receive payment on the spot. The accompanying software allows, let’s say, a coffee shop owner to essentially put their menu and prices into the system so that employees can easily select and item, just like a normal register. The software also tracks purchases. With an advanced auditing system that prevents fraud and industry standards in encrypting and securing information, consumers can have their minds at ease when paying a merchant using Square.

Intuit- similar to Square, the Intuit card reader and app can be used on Apple and Android devices. Merchants can either swipe or key in the credit card number, then have customers “sign” for their purchase. Intuit also allows merchants to easily add their “menu” for quick and easy orders and tracking. Security is also top-notch with Intuit. It uses a 128-bit encryption and never stores credit cards numbers, so you sensitive data is kept secure.

Dwolla- this option differs from Square and Intuit in that there is no card reader, and also that it can be used for personal finances as well as for business. Owe your friend money? You can send it to them through Dwolla. Need to make a purchase at sandwich shop that accepts Dwolla? Do it from your iPhone or Android. Besides its amazing flexibility and pricing, Dwolla is also extremely secure. Unlike credit cards or checks, the only information out in the open when using Dwolla is your phone number, email address or unique Dwolla ID.

Providing convenience and security, these three options appear to be safe to use for consumers that are concerned about fraud. If you’re concerned about a purchase, you can also login to your Lincoln SavingsBank Online Banking account to keep an eye on your balance.

We are all looking forward to the summer, and hope that everyone has fun and stays safe in the coming months!

Your child has just graduated from high school this May, and in August or September they will set off into a brand new world full of excitement. They’ll need the right clothes to fit in at school, the right textbooks for their classes, and the right…credit card? Yes, it may be a good idea for your new college student to head to campus equipped with a credit card. However, it must be the right kind of credit card, and they have to be taught how to use the card responsibly. 

When used responsibly, credit cards are a great resource for college students

Sure, there is the possible pitfall of having your child rack up credit card debt in addition to the debt they will undoubtedly have when they graduate. So why risk it? Here are a few reasons:

• Responsibility- having a credit card can teach your child how to spend money wisely. They need to realize a card, like most great things in life, is not “free money”; it does need to be paid back, a great life lesson.
• Build credit- paying off the balance of the card every month allows a good credit score to be established before they even leave college. This can help them buy a car or rent/buy a house after graduation.
• Emergencies- bad things happen, so having a credit card provides a safety net just in case of an expensive disaster.
• Rewards- most student cards come with rewards of some kind. These can be used for purchasing items like textbooks, school supplies or gas to drive home.

Lincoln Savings Bank offers both the College Visa® Card and the Young Adult Visa® Card to help students and young adults make necessary purchases and build credit for a better future. If you have a recently graduated son or daughter and are interested in how we can help them, feel free to contact the Lincoln Savings Bank location nearest you today!

It’s funny the way life is sometimes. You can have everything figured out, a plan in place and be coasting when suddenly something changes. Maybe you meet someone, date for awhile and decide to get married. Perhaps you need a new house because your family is expecting an addition. Or maybe you or your child is getting to a certain age and you realize you need to start planning for the future.

Whatever your life brings, Lincoln Savings Bank can be there to work with you in figuring out the best path for your financial growth and success. The LSB Plus program allows us to look at your current financial state and help you find the best path to meet your goals. And now it’s even easier with the LSB Plus Online Portal that allows you to complete certain aspects of the process from the comfort of your own home.

LSB Plus uses phases of assessment, review, goal definition, contact and follow-up to ensure that you not only get started on the right path, but remain on it as time goes on.

We begin with an assessment of your current financial situation. Your LSB Plus Coordinator then takes the time to review any important financial documents. After the review, you work with the Coordinator to define your financial goals, which are taken into account by the Coordinator when they put you in contact with various financial experts at Lincoln Savings Bank.

And just as life tends to bring change, we are available for periodic reviews if your financial situation changes.

When it comes to your finances and future, going it alone is like trying to navigate a cluttered room in the dark: you may make it to your bed, but there will have been some painful experiences along the way, and you’ll be in worse shape than if you turned the lights on. Turn on the light by contacting your Lincoln Savings Bank branch today!

With all the expenses in life and how the economy has been the last couple of years, you want to be sure that you limit the expenses that are within your control. If you’re looking to refinance or buy a new home, the mortgage rate you get is surprisingly one of them. Here are three things that can affect your mortgage rate that you have some control over.

Getting a great mortgage rate is more in your hands than you think!

Your Credit Score- the higher your credit score, the better chance you have of scoring a lower mortgage rate. If your score is low, you need to do better when it comes to repaying student loans or other debts.

Your Job History- having the same job or being in the same industry for at least two years is a great start. Lenders want to see a stable job history. If you’ve been a victim of the economy and have had to change jobs or were unemployed for a time, work the two years and then begin the home search if it can wait.

Your Assets and Savings- lenders are aware that sometimes the world conspires against you. That’s why they want to see that you have four to six months of expenses saved up for emergencies. This shows that should the universe stop going your way, you still have a means of paying your mortgage. Not there yet? Try saving ten percent or more of each paycheck with an LSB savings account.

At Lincoln Savings Bank, we offer our customers the Mortgage 100 Percent Guarantee for conventional and FHA Fixed Rate residential mortgages. Through this offer, if we don’t meet the closing date we set for your mortgage, we’ll make the first payment for you! Certain limitations apply, so be sure to call your LSB Mortgage professional for all the details.

We look forward to helping many of you with refinancing or getting a mortgage as the spring home purchasing season continues. If you need a friend when it comes to your mortgage needs, look no further than Lincoln Savings Bank!

Anyone who’s lived in Iowa or even just driven through our state can see how important agriculture is to our economy. As a national leader in the production of corn and soybeans, Iowa and its farmers help feed and supply not just Iowans, but the nation as a whole. To put it simply, agriculture is the backbone of our state.

Iowa produces more sweet corn than any other state each year.

Lincoln Savings Bank is proud to be able to help farmers and their families in and around the communities we serve manage their finances, purchase new equipment and keep their crops protected from natural disasters or bad weather.

The importance of crop insurance for farming families can’t be understated. Last year’s drought in Iowa and throughout the Midwest hit many farming operations hard. For those that don’t know, crop insurance protects agricultural producers and farmers against loss of crop yields due to natural disasters such as hail, drought or flooding. There are also other insurance options available from Lincoln Savings Bank to help Iowa farmers succeed and strengthen our state’s economy.

For anyone who knows farmers or who puts in the long hours as part of an agricultural operation, you know how hard the work is and the dedication it takes. We would like to remind everyone to watch for farming equipment on the roads this season. If you see farming equipment on the road ahead, be sure to do these three things:

• Take proper action to give them plenty of space
• Remember that they are working hard and having huge impact on our economy, AND
• Honk and give them a smile and wave, because they’ve definitely earned it! 

We hope that all of our agricultural customers have success during this planting and growing season and that they weather stays favorable! If you have any questions as to how Lincoln Savings Bank can help you and your farming operation, don’t hesitate to contact the branch nearest you!

The best part about spring is a toss up: the fresh scent in the air, the blooming flowers, budding trees or the warm feeling of sun on your face are all wonderful aspects of the season. Unfortunately, we have yet to really experience any of those things regularly here in Iowa, but there is perhaps no season that better connects us to nature than spring. That’s why we at Lincoln Savings Bank would like to offer up a few tips to help you be environmentally savvy AND save money at the same time! 

How can you go green and save money?

Enroll in Online Banking- by enrolling in LSB’s Online Banking program, you can check account balances, transfer funds, check for cleared checks and do other transactions from home. Though we love seeing all of our customers, think about it this way: less driving to the bank means less gas used, equaling less carbon dioxide in the air, more gas in your tank and more money in your bank account.

Sign up for Estatements- using less paper is a huge aspect of being environmentally conscious, and our Estatements allow you to do just that. By eliminating paper statements in favor of being able to view these documents online, you allow LSB to cut down on paper use. These statements also give you the benefit of viewing account information so that you can create a more efficient financial plan and be smarter with your money.

Think green at home- unplug your “vampire devices” when they aren’t being used: TVs, stereos, computers, phone chargers (or turn off the power strips they use). Also use rechargeable batteries. While they cost more initially, most of them can be charged around 1000 times! That, and you’ll be throwing away less used batteries, keeping landfills free of battery acid.

Through using Lincoln Savings Bank’s Online Banking and Estatements you can easily have a positive impact on the outdoors while staying on top of your finances. What other ways can you think of to help the environment while saving money? Comment on our blog or post them to our Facebook page! We look forward to getting some great ideas!

Our new site is easier to use and provides more benefits to users.

As we touched on in our last blog post, our real estate division shares a connection with worldwide real estate giant Century 21. As a franchisee, our real estate division operates as Century 21 LSB Real Estate with two offices serving the Cedar Valley in an effort to become the leading real estate provider in the area.

We wanted to take a few minutes to discuss the features of the new Century 21 LSB website that can help you to find available homes and other real estate smoothly and easily. To take a look at the features as we discuss them, go to http://www.century21lsb.com/.

• The “Advice” tab on the home page is full of helpful tips for those looking to buy or sell their home. When it comes to home buying or selling, you can never have too much free advice! You can also find help in determining the value of your home, a mortgage calculator and a way to receive a relocation packet.
• You can easily search available homes in our “Listings” section using various search criteria and locations. You can also learn more about the various communities we serve to see which area is right for you.
• You can also find out how to join the Century 21 LSB team by clicking on the “Join our Team” button. There you can learn about what it takes to be a Century 21 LSB agent and how we help you become a high quality real estate agent.
• The Home Hunter feature searches properties for you 24/7 and helps you keep track of any you like based on your search criteria. Be sure to create an account today!

There are many other great tools and resources available on the new Century 21 website as well for you to discover. If you’re going to be selling or buying a home any time soon, be sure to visit the website or contact either of our Century 21 LSB Real Estate offices for professional real estate services.