If you are planning on buying a new home, try to save as much money as possible for the down payment. Ideally you will be able to put down at least twenty percent of the purchase price. If your down payment is less than twenty percent of the sale price, you’ll be required to [...]
When shopping around for a mortgage, keep a close eye on interest rates. The interest rate on your loan will have a major impact on your monthly payment. Even small differences in rates can have a large impact over the life of the loan. Obviously you want to keep your interest rate as [...]
More consumers than ever before are choosing to work with mortgage brokers instead going through their local bank or an online lender. But do you know what a mortgage broker does? Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of using one? Mortgage brokers acquire loan money from lenders, mark it up a [...]
Interest only mortgages have soared in popularity in recent years. As housing prices skyrocketed, many buyers found that the only way they could afford to get into the house of their dreams was to choose an interest only mortgage. This was especially true in regions of California and the Northeast US, where housing prices are [...]
HELOC stands for a home equity line of credit. A HELOC is a special type of loan that allows you to tap into the equity you have built up in your home without refinancing your entire mortgage. In other words, it’s basically a second mortgage. How much money you can borrow through a HELOC [...]
Picture this: you and your honey have been looking for a house to call your own for a few months now. You’ve seen dozens of houses all over town. But none of them are right. You’re losing patience and you’re starting to think you’ll never find your dream home. But then one day when you’re [...]
When you are applying for a mortgage, one of the decisions you’ll have to make is whether you want
a fixed rate mortgage or one with an adjustable interest rate. A fixed rate mortgage is exactly what it says. The interest rate on the mortgage is fixed through the life of the loan. No matter how [...]