August 6, 2007
- Why a Mortgage Could Be Your Best (and Worst) Move
Why a Mortgage Could Be Your Best (and Worst) Move
If mortgage debt is good debt, why are so many borrowers having such a hard time right now?
Financial experts often tout the virtues of home loans, arguing that mortgages are the cheapest money you will ever borrow. Yet many homeowners are regretting the day they [...]
August 2, 2007
- Reverse Mortgages: A Simple Explanation
Reverse Mortgages: A Simple Explanation
Reverse mortgages have been around for some 20 years. They were created when the American Association of Retired Persons lobbied the US Congress to come up with a financial way for seniors to be able stay in their homes as long as possible. It took awhile for the product to catch [...]
July 30, 2007
- Interest Rates Level Off
Interest Rates Level Off
For nearly 10 months interest rates moved up a little, then down a little, but the average cost for most types of mortgages remained below 6.5%. Then rates unexpectedly took off in late May, making home loans more expensive than they’ve been since, well, this time last year.
A recent survey of major [...]
July 29, 2007
- Rent-to-Own Real Estate Deals - Beware!
Rent-to-Own Real Estate Deals - Beware!
Rent-to-own contracts that substitute for mortgages and conventional home loans are enjoying a surge in popularity in several regions of the country. The slumping real estate markets in parts of the U.S. fuels these deals, where homes can sit on the selling block for months at a time.
Add to this [...]
July 20, 2007
- How Much Home Can You Really Afford?
How Much Home Can You Really Afford?
Most people take for granted how much home they can afford. If the real estate agent or mortgage professional tells you that you can get up to a $300,000 home, do you argue? Most times not. Most people don't question it. But you should understand it and make sure [...]
July 19, 2007
- Yield Spread Premiums Can Bite You
Yield Spread Premiums Can Bite You
The yield spread premium (YSP) is a mystery to most home buyers, but it would pay you to get more familiar with this little misunderstood feature of the mortgage business.
It's the basis for the fee a broker gets for selling a loan above the par rate, or the lowest interest [...]
July 14, 2007
- Check Your Credit Before Home Shopping
Check Your Credit Before Home Shopping
If you are looking to buy a home, your lender or creditor will look at your credit report to see if you qualify. Whether or not they allow you to borrow the money needed to buy that home will be based on what they see on your credit report.
The three [...]
July 9, 2007
- Home Equity Loan: Is It Right For You?
Home Equity Loan: Is It Right For You?
Home equity loans are loans against the value of your home. If you are still paying off a mortgage, you can usually borrow up to 75 percent against the part of the home you actually own.
There are several plusses when considering a home equity loan. Borrowers see it [...]
July 4, 2007
- Mortgage Closing Costs and Fees
Mortgage Closing Costs and Fees
Usually, closing costs are paid by the person purchasing the home, but with some mortgages (VA for example) the seller can pay closing costs. A little-known fact is that a big part of costs and fees actually go to third parties who process the mortgage, as well as local governments as [...]
June 30, 2007
- Tips for Choosing a Mortgage
Tips for Choosing a Mortgage
Whether buying a home or refinancing an existing mortgage, it is important that home buyers and homeowners determine which type of home loan best fits their household's financial situation. To help simplify the decision-making, Countrywide is sharing 10 tips for choosing a mortgage loan. These helpful insights are just a few [...]
June 28, 2007
- Credit Cards Before the Mortgage?
Credit Cards Before the Mortgage?
In another symptom of the subprime mortgage meltdown, stressed-out borrowers may be taking care of their credit card bills before making their mortgage payments.
According to a report from consumer credit reporting agency Experian, borrowers with credit scores of 620 or below are 30 days late more often with mortgage payments than [...]
June 26, 2007
- Interest Only Loans - Can You Afford Them?
Interest Only Loans - Can You Afford Them?
Interest-only and deferred-interest mortgages are gaining increasing popularity, as homeowners like the idea of having the freedom to decide how much to pay against their mortgage each month. Interest-only loans offer you the option to pay only the monthly interest, or you can pay the monthly interest and [...]
June 24, 2007
- 30-Year Fixed Mortgages Looking Good Now
30-Year Fixed Mortgages Looking Good Now
Amid a steady stream of headlines about turmoil in the U.S. mortgage market propelled by rising defaults of subprime loans, home buyers and owners are fast turning to traditional, long-term mortgages for home financing needs.
Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages provide certainty and security, features that had been of little concern to many [...]
June 21, 2007
- Mortgage Reform Unlikely in 2007
Mortgage Reform Unlikely in 2007
Homeowners unable to pay monthly mortgage bills and facing foreclosure shouldn't count on help from Washington this year. Regulators and lawmakers seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach as they confront the fallout from several years of lenders making too many home loans to people with inadequate credit.
The foreclosure rate nationwide [...]
June 14, 2007
- Tapping the Equity in Your House
Tapping the Equity in Your House
For most people, their home is their biggest investment. Of course, when most people look at their house, they see it first as a place to live a life, maybe raise a family and fill with memories.
And that's the problem when it comes to retirement planning: Emotions often get in [...]
June 12, 2007
- How to Buy That Home with No Mortgage
How to Buy That Home with No Mortgage
What? Buy a home and not have a mortgage? Who can afford that? Only the Rich and Famous?
Yes, it can be done, it's not the easiest thing in the world, but it's entirely possible.
What if five years from now you were sitting in a reasonable paid for house. [...]
June 6, 2007
- Mortgage Brokers: Friends or Foes?
Mortgage Brokers: Friends or Foes?
The political debate over how to deal with a surge in defaults on home loans is raising a question that consumers ought to consider: Is my mortgage broker really working for me?
Borrowers often see mortgage brokers as their allies, searching far and wide for just the right home loan at an [...]
June 2, 2007
- Speed of Subprime Bust Surprising Lenders
Speed of Subprime Bust Surprising Lenders
The subprime mortgage meltdown has been a shock to industry insiders, but now they say it's hitting harder and faster than expected - even to those who predicted the crisis in the first place. Many would-be homebuyers are now finding they can no longer qualify for a mortgae due to [...]
May 28, 2007
- FHA Loans - Help for First-Time Buyers
FHA Loans - Help for First-Time Buyers
If you have little or no money for a down payment, iffy credit and too many bills, an FHA loan could be what you need to buy a house.
The Federal Housing Administration, a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was created 70 years ago to help [...]
May 27, 2007
- Avoiding Foreclosure - What You Can Do
Avoiding Foreclosure - What You Can Do
The rate of residential home foreclosure filings dropped dramatically in April, down 14.3% from the previous month, according to Foreclosures.com. Still, year-to-date the foreclosure-filings rate is higher than the same period a year earlier.
What to Do: Depending on your lender, you may be able to restructure your mortgage if [...]
