By ANYA MARTIN To buy a house, some people are going through double the trouble—getting two conventional loans instead of one jumbo mortgage. Called “piggybacking,” the practice helps buyers avoid the higher interest rates and larger down payments that typically come with jumbo loans, defined as above $417,000 in most parts of the country and $625,000
Read more %1$s‘Sell and Buy’ Sustained low interest rates and rising prices have energized the marketplace.
By Tim Peterson The local real estate market is thriving, with Realtors reporting multiple offers on homes in some areas and dwindling inventory of homes for sale. At least two things are contributing to this change in the market. First, interest rates have been in the basement: Freddie Mac reported a 30-year fixed-rate of 3.57
Read more %1$sBigger Loans Mean Tougher Requirements
By ANYA MARTIN Jumbo loans often come in three sizes: small, medium and large. The bigger the loan size, the tougher the lending requirements. At national lender EverBank, a jumbo loan up to $1.5 million requires a 20% down payment and 12 months of reserves, or enough money in liquid accounts to pay the mortgage
Read more %1$sHow to Fix a Credit-Report Error—Before It Bites Back
By Karen Blumenthal at [email protected] What you don’t know might hurt you. That is a key conclusion that jumps out from a recent Federal Trade Commission study on errors in credit reports, those all-important records that determine whether we get credit, what interest rates we pay and sometimes whether we get a job. In the
Read more %1$sPare Down the House Payments
Borrowers are turning to interest-only mortgages so they can invest the cash elsewhere By ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS Affluent borrowers are signing up for the same type of mortgage that pushed many homeowners into foreclosure just a few years ago. Interest-only mortgages, in which borrowers pay interest but no principal during the first few years of the loan,
Read more %1$sThe Tax Benefits of Home Ownership
Explains the tax benefits of having a mortgage
Read more %1$sWhy Some People Like to Keep Their Mortgages Into Retirement
by Jonathan Langsdorf, Demand Media …An important question before paying off your mortgage is to determine what type of money will be used to pay off the loan. If your cash assets are mostly in qualified retirement plans, you could incur a big tax bill if you take money out of your IRA or 401(k)
Read more %1$sHow Do You Buy a Home When You Already Own One?
SOURCE RealtyPin.com …Be prepared to answer some additional questions If you’re going to be paying two mortgages (even if it’s just for a couple of months), the lender on your new mortgage is going to want to make sure you can swing it before they sign off on everything. After all, you’re going to be
Read more %1$sFee increases are making FHA mortgages more expensive
Bottom line for you: Make sure your loan officer runs the numbers comparing FHA loans with privately insured conventional alternatives. You may not want to be saddled indefinitely with higher payments — and no right to cancel.
Read more %1$s6 tips on buying, renting a home for extra income
By Alex Veiga Low mortgage rates have made buying a home more affordable and turned rentals into an attractive option for investors. Throughout the downturn in the housing market, average investors, sometimes pooling their money, have bought foreclosed properties at a sharp discount and turned them into rentals. And many homeowners have purchased a second
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