Mortgage Advice Column

[...] A real estate agent can help you understand everything you need to know about buying a home. The process of [...]

[...] every day, you want someone who knows their job inside and out from years of experience. A real estate agent that has several years of first-hand experience has been there, done that before and [...]

[...] the Internet makes some aspects of finding homes easier than it was 20 years ago, a good real estate agent has access to lots of market information not available to the public, including the [...]

[...] time to independently evaluate each professional you'll need on your team, from lender to real estate agent to home inspector to title agent. Choose client-focused, experienced pros…preferably [...]

[...] purchasing a home with less than 20% down? In this article, we will explain Borrower Paid Mortgage Insurance (BPMI) and Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance (LPMI) to help you determine which type of [...]

[...] There are two basic types of coverage. The first type is private mortgage insurance (PMI) policies, which are applied to conventional home loans. The federal government does [...]

[...] loans for 2010. The loans were commonly used by borrowers who wanted to avoid paying for mortgage insurance but didn’t have enough money for a 20% down payment. Some of these loans were taken out to [...]

[...] it? Would having this cash allow you to have a larger down payment and therefore not need mortgage insurance? Would this in turn save you money? If you feel comfortable with your answers to the above [...]

[...] of their highest personal priorities, up from 42 percent to 51 percent. Attitudes toward the housing market have also improved over recent years. Nearly four in 10 Americans (38 percent) identified an [...]

[...] the number of home sales (new and existing homes) over the next (2) years. As you can see the housing market is back- all (3) entities show that in 2015 and 2016 home sales are increasing. All three [...]

[...] these current housing trends: Home prices cool off. The summer sizzled, and so did the housing market. It's likely we will see it cool down just a bit over the upcoming months. The upside is that [...]

[...] about to start the house hunting process to find a home. We haven’t yet been approved for a mortgage loan. A friend recommended that I get pre-approved by a lender before I start house hunting. But [...]

[...] with your total debt load. How much is too much you ask? That depends on the type of mortgage loan you’re trying to obtain. Suffice it to say that if your combined debts eat up more [...]

[...] in relation to your monthly income, that you can hurt your chances of getting approved for a mortgage loan. Mortgage lenders use credit scores and debt-to-income (DTI) ratios to measure the potential [...]

[...] a debt ratio. To do so, the loan originator will take your gross monthly income, estimate a mortgage payment then add any other regular credit obligations such as a car loan, credit card payments, or [...]

[...] idea of what your monthly payment will be. Keep in mind, depending on your home market, your mortgage payment will increase once your taxes and insurance escrow are added. 5. Be Realistic Before you [...]

[...] of this discrepancy is the “forced savings” generated by the consistency of a mortgage payment. The Times explains: “Homeownership requires potential buyers to save for a down [...]

[...] appreciation in a short amount of time. With LPMI, it may be advantageous to have a lower mortgage payment, while taking a slightly higher interest rate. LPMI may be the better choice, especially in [...]