October 7, 2009
- Understanding Interest-Only and Reverse Mortgages
Understanding Interest-Only and Reverse Mortgages
Presently, there are around 6,000,000 home owners who have an interest only mortgage. This kind of mortgage implies that the standard payments you make are just taking off the amount of interest the mortgage amasses.
The capitol you borrowed must be paid back when the mortgage has run its term. The interest [...]
October 2, 2009
- Reverse Mortgage for Purchase
Reverse Mortgage for Purchase
Imagine a mortgage that pays you, instead of the other way around.Questions or comments about this video on Reverse Mortgages? Use the comment link below and we'll get back to you with answers. Remember, your email address, though needed to post a comment or question, is never published on our website. [...]
September 22, 2009
- Home Equity Loans - Facts You Need To Know
Home Equity Loans - Facts You Need To Know
Your home is probably the biggest asset you have to use for money. A home to back you up when you need funds is one of the greatest advantages of home ownership. In recent years, there has been a major boom in the amount of people looking [...]
September 3, 2009
- Mortgage Rates: Locking In
Mortgage Rates: Locking In
Shopping for a mortgage doesn't just mean shopping for the best interest rate, you need to be aware of locking in the best mortgage, and what that time and date could mean. Stacy Johnson explains in this short video…Questions or comments about mortgage rates, or locking in your mortgage rate? Use the comment [...]
August 12, 2009
- How to Buy a Foreclosure
How to Buy a Foreclosure
Think buying a foreclosure is the way to go? Not necessarily! Learn how to buy a foreclosure without watching an infomercial, but ready for the pitfalls.Questions or comments? Click the comment link below. Your email address will never show up here. We hate spam as much as you do, and don't [...]
July 30, 2009
- Balloon Mortgages Explained
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Balloon Mortgages ExplainedA balloon mortgage is a loan that is provided for a short period of time for a set amount of money. Balloon mortgages will often involve periodic payments that are made at a fixed interest rate. During this period, the loan may not be amortized. The balance [...]
July 20, 2009
- FHA Mortgages Increase in Popularity
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FHA Mortgages Increase in PopularityFHA Mortgages keep getting more popular. In June, the share of applications for government-insured mortgages reached its highest level since November 1990, with government-insured loans accounting for nearly 36% of all mortgage applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Most of those loans are made by [...]
June 24, 2009
- Reverse Mortgage: Is It Right for You?
Reverse Mortgage: Is It Right for You?
With housing activity improving in most markets, the time is right for homeowners age 62 and older to see if a home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) might work for them. The loans have been controversial, and they are complicated, which is one reason that consumer counseling is a required [...]
June 12, 2009
- FHA Backs Away From No Down Payment Loans
FHA Backs Away From No Down Payment Loans
After announcing a plan that would have allowed first time homebuyers to use a special tax credit to cover the 3.5% required down payment on an FHA-insured loan, the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development apparently had second thoughts.
HUD recently released a newly remodeled plan that does not [...]
May 25, 2009
- Mortgages: What's Wrong with Prepaying?
Mortgages: What's Wrong with Prepaying?
When it comes to mortgages, this may be the most asked question there is when it comes to savings, taxes and retirement - "Should I pay off my mortgage early?"
Your home is not an asset like a car where you pay a certain amount, it depreciates, you pay it off and [...]
May 13, 2009
- High End Mortgages Easier to Get
High End Mortgages Easier to Get
Things are looking up for buyers and owners of higher-priced homes: The jumbo-loan freeze is thawing.
After the bank scare began last fall, jumbos — mortgages bigger than what the government will buy or guarantee (between $417,000 and $729,750, depending on the location) — dried up.
Jumbo rates have not dropped, and [...]
April 30, 2009
- Low-Rate Home Loans?
Low-Rate Home Loans?
On paper it seems like the perfect time to refinance. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage recently hit a 20-year low when it fell below 5% in mid-March. And the Fed has said that it will spend $300 billion to buy back government-backed Treasury bonds; that will probably keep loan rates [...]
April 22, 2009
- Qualifying for a Low-Down FHA Loan
Qualifying for a Low-Down FHA Loan
FHA (Federal Housing Administration) lending is soaring - with good reason. These mortgages are affordable, flexible and available. In fact, terms are so attractive that some may ask why all home buyers don't use FHA mortgages.
Since the housing bust began, FHA lending has soared to account for 20% of the [...]
April 2, 2009
- Foreclosure Prevention: Don't Get Scammed
Foreclosure Prevention: Don't Get Scammed
When mortgage borrowers fall behind on payments and run the risk of losing their homes, they sometimes grab the first lifeline tossed their direction. Often that lifeline is a TV or Internet advertisement making grand promises - and has more than one string attached.
There are many rescue scams that are after [...]
March 19, 2009
- Mortgage Scams - Don't Get Taken
Mortgage Scams - Don't Get Taken
The economic recession has caused a lot of homeowners to find themselves in danger of losing their homes. There are many situations that have cropped up because of it — on one side are the homeowners who are doing everything they can to stop foreclosure. On the other side are [...]
February 19, 2009
- Mortgage Lending: The NEW Rules
Mortgage Lending: The NEW Rules
If you're shopping for a mortgage these days, it's a whole new world out there.
many of the subprime loans that helped fuel the housing boom - those that didn't require borrowers to show any proof of income, or that let homeowners make minimum payments - are are simply no longer available.
But [...]
January 29, 2009
- Mortgage Rates: If You Can't Qualify
Mortgage Rates: If You Can't Qualify
The truth is not everyone can take advantage of either the home buying or refinancing market today, despite rates being at historic record lows right now. There are people who would love to lower their payment or buy a home at the record low prices some areas are seeing, but [...]
January 21, 2009
- Mortgages: 2009 Advice
Mortgages: 2009 Advice
With all the doom and gloom over housing, you might be surprised to know that this is a fantastic time to get a mortgage. Not if you have poor credit, to be sure. But you can get a great deal on a 30-year, fixed-rate, conforming loan these days if you have a solid [...]
January 12, 2009
- How the Fed Rate Affects Mortgage Rates
How the Fed Rate Affects Mortgage Rates
Fixed-rate mortgage rates, though not directly tied to the Fed Funds Rate, have been responding positively to market rate cuts over the past few months.
Just as an overview, the Fed Funds Rate has a strong (if not direct) affect on the following:credit card rates
adjustable-rate mortgages
interest on savings accounts
Prime Rate [...]
December 30, 2008
- Low Credit Score Home Loans
Low Credit Score Home Loans
For the most part, you can obtain a home loan with fair credit. In some cases, you may even be able to get a low rate. Unfortunately, if your credit score falls below 500, homeownership may be impossible. Even with a credit score below 600, your loan options are limited. It's [...]
