April 20, 2008
- Sub Prime Mortgages: Not So Easy Anymore
Sub Prime Mortgages: Not So Easy Anymore
If your credit isn't the best, you might be familiar with sub-prime loans: they're the kind with a high rate for people with low credit…
With the mortgage industry suffering it's worst setback in decades in the past 12 months, the landscape is changing. Money editor Stacy Johnson explains in [...]
April 3, 2008
- Mortgage Questions: There Are NO Dumb Ones
Mortgage Questions: There Are NO Dumb Ones
The old saying, "the only dumb question is the one you don't ask" couldn't be truer when it relates to your mortgage. The more you ask, the more you know. And the more you know, the better decisions you'll make when getting a mortgage.
when you are ready to talk [...]
March 28, 2008
- Home Mortgages with Bad Credit
Home Mortgages with Bad Credit
2 points to keep in mind with a mortgage loan for people with bad credit:
Finding a bad credit mortgage could take a while. The reason it can take a while is, most of the high street banks and financial institutions have shareholders. They usually want to make safe bets on people [...]
March 20, 2008
- Lenders Cutting Off the Home-Equity Spigot
Lenders Cutting Off the Home-Equity Spigot
For more than a decade, banks encouraged homeowners to tap their equity for everything from paying off credit cards to covering college tuition.
Now lenders are abruptly shutting off the spigot. More than 100,000 homeowners at one lender already have been told that their home-equity lines of credit have been frozen [...]
March 19, 2008
- High-Cost Mortgages: Now a Bit Cheaper
High-Cost Mortgages: Now a Bit Cheaper
Mortgage costs just got a little cheaper for buyers in high-cost areas.
The size of loans that can be guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was raised recently by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The new, higher loan limits will stay in effect through the end of the [...]
March 4, 2008
- Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payments: Don't Pay Fees
Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payments: Don't Pay Fees
The "magic" of a biweekly (every two weeks) mortgage payment is that you end up making the equivalent of 13 full mortgage payments in a year rather than the usual 12, reducing the time needed to pay down the mortgage and cutting interest payments substantially. But a biweekly payment plan [...]
February 25, 2008
- Can't Make the Mortgage Payment? Just Walk Away?
Can't Make the Mortgage Payment? Just Walk Away?
More and more borrowers are watching their house values sink while the cost of their loans skyrockets. What to do? It appears that some are opting to skip out on the mortgage all together.
Homeowners are abandoning their homes and, more importantly, their mortgages, rather than trying to keep [...]
February 17, 2008
- Counting on Higher Mortgage Limits? Be Patient
Counting on Higher Mortgage Limits? Be Patient
Homeowners are already calling their lenders about refinancing, and ads are pushing the idea that the congressional economic rescue plan offers the perfect time to get a loan.
But it could be weeks before consumers will be able to benefit from the mortgage provisions contained in the legislation approved by [...]
February 5, 2008
- Lenders Beginning to Make Deals
Lenders Beginning to Make Deals
With so many houses in the United States facing foreclosure, mortgage lenders are starting to offer favorable deals for distressed borrowers they would not have agreed to just six months ago. This is not altruism, but a case of lenders trying to avoid being stuck owning hundreds of thousands, or even [...]
February 3, 2008
- Should You Buy Points or Not?
Should You Buy Points or Not?
Make sure you understand what points are. Points (or discount points) are simply pre-paid interest. One point amounts to 1% of the total mortgage. If you have a $100,000 mortgage, one point costs $1,000. That's pretty much all there is to it.
So why would anyone want to "pre-pay" interest?
You pre-pay [...]
January 22, 2008
- Lender Going Under?
Lender Going Under?
What should you do if your mortgage lender goes bankrupt? Watch this video (1:12) to make sure you avoid a major problem…If you have a question or comment about the video, please post it below using the "Comment" link. Your email will never be published here for your protection and privacy against [...]
January 20, 2008
- Stop the Foreclosure Process
Stop the Foreclosure Process
It is estimated that more than 3 million homes will be foreclosed through 2009. This is worse than what happened during the Great Depression. Reasons for this are many, but put simply, homeowners have allowed themselves to get into mortgages they couldn't really afford. Predatory loan processes used by lenders have only [...]
January 17, 2008
- Considering a New Home Loan?
Considering a New Home Loan?
Those considering purchasing a new home need to be prepared for the changes that are happening almost on a daily basis in the mortgage marketplace. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are changing guidelines on a fast and furious pace to keep up with the real estate market declines in most of [...]
January 9, 2008
- Refinancing: Is Now The Right Time?
Refinancing: Is Now The Right Time?
You should only refinance if you can get a lower interest rate, lower monthly payment and better terms in your mortgage. If all these are favorable, then refinancing your home loan may be a sound financial decision right now.
Before making a decision to refinance, consider the following factors:
What are the [...]
January 3, 2008
- Help for the Nearly Homeless
Help for the Nearly Homeless
Over the next year, two million Americans will be facing higher payments as their adjustable mortgages reset to higher rates. But Uncle Sam may be making changes to help them out.
If you have a comment about the video, please leave it… we'd love to hear from you!
December 18, 2007
- Pay Off Your Mortgage or Invest the Money?
Pay Off Your Mortgage or Invest the Money?
As you invest your money, shop for a home or tackle any one of the many financial decisions you have to make over your lifetime, do you sometimes wish you'd paid more attention in math class? Do you find yourself having to "run the numbers" and wondering what's [...]
December 16, 2007
- The Rate Freeze Idea - Give Us Your Opinion
The Rate Freeze Idea - Give Us Your Opinion
If you haven't been keeping up with the news of late, you may not be aware of the new "Rate Freeze" idea that is being kicked around by the Hope Now Alliance, coalition of lenders, servicers, investors and community groups, put together by the Treasury Department. Details [...]
December 6, 2007
- Forestalling Foreclosure
Forestalling Foreclosure
Home foreclosures are reaching record levels in many parts of the country. And it's no wonder, since most people who can't make their payments do the opposite of what they should.
If you're behind in your mortgage, heed this expert advice from money reporter Stacy Johnson.
If you have a comment about this video, we'd [...]
December 5, 2007
- Mortgage Prepayment Programs: Beware of Fees
Mortgage Prepayment Programs: Beware of Fees
We all know the world is full of people trying to convince us to pay for things we shouldn't. For example, programs that promise to help you pay off your mortgage ahead of schedule. Worth the money? Not according to money reporter Stacy Johnson.
If you have more questions about [...]
December 3, 2007
- Foreclosure Scams Prey on Homeowners
Foreclosure Scams Prey on Homeowners
Consumer advocates and legal experts are advising homeowners to watch out for scams as foreclosure rates shoot through the roof. One popular scam is the offer to help a troubled homeowner get a new mortgage, and at a closing, trick the homeowner into signing away the deed to their property.
Has anyone [...]
