Has this happened to you? You decide to refinance your home and you contact your local broker whom you have known and trusted for years. He pulls your credit report as part of the mortgage process....
The real estate market has been changing dramatically over the last year. Foreclosures are increasing, interest rates are rising, many homeowners are not able to sell their homes, prices are falling...
For several years, the value of homes skyrocketed. Two major factors that fueled this growth were historically low interest rates and very aggressive mortgage lending practices.
This trend has now...
Home prices are dropping, the inventory of unsold homes is growing, interest rates are rising, and foreclosures are going through the roof. To top it off, many economists are now speculating that the...
Seller-paid concessions (when properly used) can mean the difference between closing a home sale and losing one. A concession is defined as "anything of value added to the transaction by the seller,...
Your Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO) credit scores play a very important role in determining the pricing for a mortgage loan.
They are important for good to strong borrowers who need a higher score to get...
The inventory of unsold homes has been growing as real estate values have been flattening out. This has left many sellers in a quandary.
They need to refinance their homes because of rising short-term...
A mortgage is a method of using property (real or personal) as security for the payment of a debt. Most of us are familiar with the mortgages that we might get on our home. However, there is an alternative...
Most of us are familiar with the phrase, "Got a second?" Meaning, do you have time to talk about something. As it relates to mortgages though, got a second means do you have a second mortgage...
We are still seeing a lot of activity from borrowers who are interested in obtaining construction financing for building their homes.
In most cases, the client plans on using a contractor to do the...
Many consumers age 62 or older are "house-rich and cash-poor" - their mortgages are paid off, but they are living on fixed or limited incomes.
A reverse mortgage may allow some consumers...
From time to time we receive phone calls from readers asking us how to become a mortgage broker. It's easier than you might think.
Also, there is a substantial amount of training materials, seminars,...
In most cases, your home mortgage is the biggest investment you will ever make. In addition to being the largest expenditure for a single item, your home mortgage usually affects your entire financial...
Credit scoring is one of the most important factors that affect the interest rate on a home mortgage.
The sometimes dreaded credit report can be a source of confusion. Even though many consumers are...
An impound account is a reserve maintained by a lender for paying property taxes and insurance premiums on behalf of the homeowner. The borrower makes regular deposits into the account, and the property...
