Home Mortgage Rates – 6 Key Factors
August 17, 2010
Home mortgage rates offered by your bank can vary from person to person; what determines the interest rate you’re eligible for? While the interest rates on 10 year Treasury notes have a major impact on whether mortgage rates rise or fall, there are many individual factors that go into determining your interest rate. Those individual […]
Buy or Rent – Which is Better For You?
August 5, 2010
Renting vs buying is a major decision; whether you rent vs own a home can have an impact on your family’s life for years down the road. With some of the best mortgage rates in years and deals to be had on homes in a down real estate market; if you’re renting you might be […]
Home Buying Tips From Our Big Purchase
August 2, 2010
Home buyers are definitely in the drivers seat in the current real estate market. We know this because we bought a house for a great deal last week! Our realtor helped us find a good deal on a short sale that was about to go into foreclosure; so the whole home buying process had to be expedited […]
Home Loan Closing Costs
July 13, 2010
The closing costs for a home loan are something that won’t show up in in the results of a mortgage calculator. When you enter the loan amount, the term, and interest rate a loan calculator gives you back your projected monthly home mortgage payment and sometimes an amortization schedule. Don’t Forget Closing Costs Although the mortgage […]
Reverse Mortgage Lenders Cut Loan Fees
April 19, 2010
One of the main reverse mortgage disadvantages we covered last year was the high upfront cost charged by lenders. Although they’re not doing away with them altogether, companies like Genworth Financial, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and MetLife are reducing their origination or servicing fees on reverse mortgages according to the Wall Street Journal. Reverse […]
Missed Mortgage Payment
April 1, 2010
We missed our mortgage payment last month and I’m glad to say the bank didn’t foreclose on our house. I mentioned previously how our mortgage was bought and how it caused some troubles when setting up my credit card payment since both debts are through the same company. After negotiating payment for some late fees, […]
Chase Credit Card Payment Scare
February 16, 2010
What would you do if the amount you owed on your mortgage suddenly showed up on your credit card bill? Chase Bank Here’s a little background. I’ve had a Chase credit card for years and have been paying the bill with our online bill pay service for most of that time. A while back, Chase Bank […]
Reverse Mortgage Disadvantages
November 28, 2009
Reverse mortgages were the topic of a post several weeks ago in which we promised to take a look at the downsides of seniors using a reverse mortgage in retirement. Here are some of the disadvantages of using a reverse mortgage to borrow against the equity in a home. Builds up Debt Traditional mortgages allow […]
House Hunting Tips for Busy Parents
November 16, 2009
After several nights of weighing the pros and cons of buying a house one thing we realized is that we simply didn’t have enough information to make a good decision. We haven’t been in the real estate market for years now so we don’t really know what our house will sell for or what we […]
Reverse Mortgages for Seniors
November 11, 2009
If you or your parents have lived in your home for many years and have built up a lot of equity in the property you may have heard about or considered a reverse mortgage as a potential source of income during retirement. There seems to be a wide divide in opinions on whether reverse mortgages […]
