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5 Major Mortgage Mistakes to Avoid

walter — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:50:45 +0000

Buying a home remains one of the largest financial transactions that anyone will make in their life. We often tend to pay a significant amount of attention to negotiating the best possible home price, but we don’t always pay enough attention to the terms of the mortgage that we get to actually buy the home. The mortgage process itself can be a little stressful, even under the best of circumstances. In order to make sure that the process goes as smoothly as possible, and that you wind up with the best deal for your budget there are several mistakes that...

Borrowing Advice on How Much House Can You Afford

walter — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:38:25 +0000

One of the first steps in buying a new home is to figure out your price range. Unless you know how much house you can afford, you won’t know which homes to look at or consider. Because buying a home is such a large transaction, it’s important to have the good idea of what’s an appropriate price range for you. Calculating home affordability takes into account a number of different factors relating to your personal finances. You’ll need to consider not only your income, but also your other expenses and financial obligations. You also need to consider whether you...

What are the Consequences of Bankruptcy?

walter — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:09:40 +0000

From time to time you may see ads on television or on Internet websites that promise to help you eliminate all of your debts by declaring personal bankruptcy. The ad pitch often makes it sound as if going through the bankruptcy process is easy, and that you’ll wind up coming out of bankruptcy in great financial shape. It’s true that for some individuals it might become necessary to declare bankruptcy, but it should generally be considered as an option of last resort. There are a number of financial consequences to bankruptcy, and some of them can impact your financial situation...

How Should You Organize Your Finances Once You’ve Bought a House?

walter — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:46:04 +0000

Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you’ll ever make in your life. In order to come up with a large enough down payment (and to cover the closing costs on the transaction), you’ll have to get a good handle on your finances and map out a plan for saving up the amount you need. But owning a home also requires you to organize your finances in order to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of your new house on an ongoing basis. Home ownership has an entirely different set of financial responsibilities as compared to...

The Importance of Doing a Home Inspection Before You Buy

walter — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:08:12 +0000

Buying a new home is an exciting – though sometimes a little overwhelming – process. For a first time home buyer, the transaction is likely to be even more emotionally charged. Owning a home represents a big part of the American dream, and has the potential to provide homeowners with a stable path to financial independence. Despite the emotional weight of buying a new home, it’s important that you also approach the process with a businesslike demeanor. This means conducting appropriate due diligence into the home to make sure that it’s everything it looks to be. Perhaps the most significant...

How Does A Mortgage Rate Lock-In Work?

walter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:16:22 +0000

There are many different steps to getting a mortgage. Even after you find a lender you feel comfortable working with, you’ll have to decide what type of mortgage product best fits your needs. The two most important aspects of your mortgage will be the term of your loan and its interest rate. But interest rates on home mortgage products are always changing, and it can sometimes take several months or more from the time when you find the home and when you actually close on the transaction. Many borrowers find this degree of uncertainty to be unsatisfactory. If the rates...

Understanding Amortization and How Mortgages are Paid Down

walter — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:21:05 +0000

The process of buying a house or a condominium is different than buying just about anything else. It’s possible to save up and pay cash for new home appliances, a new car or just about anything else, but it’s usually not possible to buy a home with cash. Instead, home buyers generally need to take out a mortgage. Unfortunately, the process by which a home mortgage gets paid down may not be entirely clear to first-time buyers (or even to those who have purchased a home before). While there are a variety of home mortgage types, a common element of...

Advice on How to Get a Jumbo Mortgage

walter — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:02:23 +0000

There’s a good chance that you probably already know a little bit about the process of obtaining a mortgage loan to purchase a home. Perhaps you’ve even gone through it a few times yourself, so you know about what to expect with regard to down payments, fees and other closing costs. But so-called “jumbo” mortgages are somewhat different. Jumbo mortgages are mortgages that exceed the maximum value set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for so-called “conforming” loans. For homes in most parts of the United States, the current threshold is $417,000, although the number is higher in more...

Advice on How to Shop for a Mortgage Online

walter — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:35:56 +0000

In years past, the getting a mortgage to buy a new home would involve going to your local bank and meeting with a loan officer who, chances are, you might have already known personally. Today, there are many other options for getting a home loan, and it’s actually possible to apply for a mortgage online without ever having to visit a bank or meet with a loan officer. Even though the mortgage application process can occur online, the structure of the transaction, and the documentation that you’ll need to provide, is fairly similar to the traditional process. The differences arise...

Borrowing Advice Money Saving Strategies for 2012

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:19:17 +0000

While achieving your financial goals won’t always correspond to precise dates on a calendar, it’s common to use the beginning of each new year as an opportunity to plan major actions relating to your finances and your budget. One big financial step that many people will be taking in 2012 is borrowing money. You might be considering borrowing money in 2012 for any number of reasons; perhaps to purchase a new home (or refinance your mortgage), to buy a new car, for significant home improvement expenses or perhaps to finance or expand your businesses. Below are some borrowing advice strategies...