Posts with tag mortgage

Refinance Without Closing Costs

With the housing market on the slow path to recovery, many brokers continue to offer low-cost refinances -- a mortgage payment revamping that covers closing costs -- to sweeten the deal for homeowners. According to mortgage broker Kirk Tatom of Dallas-based Tatom Lending, a low-cost refinance also referred to as a... Continue Reading »

Maintaining a Stable Credit Score

These days maintaining a stable credit score is more important than ever. So you try to do everything right. You pay off credit card debt, avoid new loans, close unused credit card accounts, and make sure that you pay all your bills on time. Then you check your credit score, only to find that it fluctuates by as much as... Continue Reading »

Loan Modifications: What You Need to Know

Last year was difficult for Adline Peck and her husband. Peck, who lives in Inkster, Mich. was battling medical issues, and her husband had been laid off from work. Though they struggled to make their monthly mortgage payments, they continued to try their best, even if it meant sending in payments a week or two late.... Continue Reading »

Mortgage Rates: Stimulus to Hold Them Low

Interest rates can't stay low forever -- but mortgage watchers now expect rates under 5 percent for the next year, thanks in part to "quantitative easing," the latest scheme from the Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was just 4.23 percent with a 0.8 percent... Continue Reading »

Credit Score: Why It's Constantly Changing

Successfully obtaining a mortgage requires meeting certain numbers. There's the amount of the down payment that you must have in your bank account. The amount of annual earnings you must show to prove you can manage the mortgage. And then there is your credit score. Right now, that credit score needs to be in the mid... Continue Reading »

New Obama Housing Fix: $50K Bridge Loans

There's a new federal program to help delinquent homeowners keep their homes as they grapple with loss of income: Up to $50,000 in an interest-free "bridge" loan for lower-to-middle-income mortgagers to cover past-due and future mortgage payments. With so many homeowners disheartened by the lack of acceptance into... Continue Reading »

Mortgage Jargon in Simple Terms

Obtaining a mortgage loan means dealing with a lot of paperwork, from the documents you have to submit to documents you have to read and sign. More often than not, you're dealing with terms and conditions on various mortgage types that may be so difficult to understand that you just want to pull out your hair. But not... Continue Reading »

How to Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

Stories abound about people who couldn't qualify for a mortgage. The problem, say experts, is that people aren't providing the bank with all the documents that they need to prove that they will be able to manage a mortgage. "You hear it all the time, 'Oh, nobody can get a loan,'" said Todd Huettner, principal of Huettner... Continue Reading »

Is Renting the New American Dream?

Today's homeowners aspire to ... rent? That's what the majority of respondents to a Harris Interactive poll said when asked about attitudes toward renting. Seventy-six percent of those who responded to the May survey said that they believe that renting is a better option that buying a home in the current real estate... Continue Reading »

Mortgage 'Vultures' Keep Defaulting Owners in Homes

You might think a vulture is the least likely creature to help you save your home. But there's a group of vultures who are doing just that -- in fact, they're being more of a friend, to many homeowners in trouble, than banks are. One of them, mortgage-bond trader Lewis Ranieri, has developed a method to keep troubled... Continue Reading »

Frustrated Sellers Turn Homes Into Vacation Rentals

In the winter of 2009, Linda Powers was ready to retire and move with her husband from her bucolic community in the Colorado resort area of Crested Butte to Denver, closer to her children and grandchildren. But her retirement plan was based on her selling her 8-year-old home, once assessed for $1.2 million. She wanted to... Continue Reading »

How Being Pregnant May Impact Your Mortgage

Job losses, a cutback in hours, and a bonus gone bye-bye are all unfortunate financial woes that are impacting borrowers' ability to close a loan. And now, you can add another one to the list: pregnancy. Prospective homebuyers who experience a dip in income while applying for a loan -- including a parent who decides to... Continue Reading »

Good Credit Alone Isn't Always Enough to Get a Mortgage --SPONSORSHIP

Bills have been paid on time without ever paying a late fee. Check. No outstanding credit card debt. Check. A two-income family with investment income. Check. It sounds like this couple will pass the smell test for a mortgage without any problem. And that's a problem, says Todd Huettner, a mortgage broker based in Denver.... Continue Reading »

When to Refinance

A woman in her seventies called Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions because she could no longer afford her mortgage at a 6.75 percent rate and her house was underwater. The woman wanted to take advantage of the lower interest rates but couldn't refinance because she had no equity in the home. Karen Metoyer, a housing... Continue Reading »

#postcontentcontainer, #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-0{width:600px;height:400px;background:black url(http://pthumbnails.5min.com/3114706/155735263_3_600_400.jpg) no-repeat center center;display:block} Eddie Kim's parents made savvy residential real estate purchases in New Jersey 15 years before the housing bubble burst, so... Continue Reading »

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