Author Archive
How Reverse Mortgages Work
Reverse mortgages were created in order to help ease the financial burden on aging seniors. A reverse mortgage is a type of financial instrument that permits home owners over the age of 62 to gain access to the money they have accumulated as home equity.
How a reverse mortgage works is that the lender […]
Why Choose an FHA Loan
The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) insures loans against default, protecting both lenders and borrowers. It neither makes loans directly nor sets the interest rates on loans it insures. FHA insured loans can be used to purchase new or refinance existing 1-4 family homes, condominiums, or mobile or manufactured homes on a permanent foundation.
Many excellent […]
How to Prequalify for a Home Loan
To be pre-qualified for a loan means that a lender has done a preliminary review of your basic information and, without confirming any of it for validity nor checking to see if there’s any significant information you’ve withheld that could further affect your creditworthiness, has determined that, based on their standards, you would qualify for […]
Reasons to Refinance Now
To refinance is to pay off an existing mortgage with funds obtained from a new mortgage loan. There are numerous great reasons to refinance your mortgage, among them the following:
Lower Interest Rates: A prime time for many people to choose to refinance is when interest rates drop lower than the rate they’re currently paying. […]
How Conventional Home Loans Work
A conventional loan is essentially any type of lender agreement that is not fully protected by the FHA (the Federal Housing Administration) or fully backed by the Veterans Administration. Potential homebuyers who have at least 3% of the purchase price available to make as a down payment may be eligible for this most popular type […]
How Much Mortgage Can I Afford?
To establish how much mortgage you can realistically afford, you can use one of two main formulas - called “Qualifying Ratios”. Qualifying ratios examine a person’s income and expenses in order to estimate how much money can reasonably be spent on monthly mortgage payments.
Buying the Home: Down Payment and Closing Costs
This is the […]
How to Apply for a Mortgage
Once you select a lender and a mortgage suitable to your needs and abilities, it’s time to officially apply for that mortgage. Submitting an application for a mortgage can seem intimidating at first, but it need not be difficult.
Before sitting down to fill out a mortgage application, be sure you have the following information […]
How FHA Loans Work
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) does not directly make loans to borrowers but rather provides insurance on loans made by approved lenders. FHA-insured mortgages can be obtained for single-family, multi-family, manufactured and mobile homes, and hospitals.
The FHA was created in 1934 by congress to help Americans to obtain a mortgage and purchase a home. […]
Home Equity Loan vs Home Equity Line of Credit
There are advantages and disadvantages to both home equity loans (HELs) and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), making the choice between the two dependent on your unique needs and circumstances.
Amount You Can Borrow
Both home equity loans and lines of credit allow you to borrow up to 100% of the equity in your […]
How Downpayment Assistance Works
Potential home buyers often discover that while they’ll have no trouble making their monthly mortgage payments, they nonetheless can’t buy a home because they lack the funds to make the necessary down payment and closing costs. Fortunately, a number of solutions to this problem exist, one of the most common being: down payment assistance […]
