How to Decide Whether to Refinance a Fixed-Rate Mortgage
If you have a fixed-rate mortgage and interest rates drop, you may want to refinance the same mortgage loan to reduce your monthly payments. The following table shows monthly payments for 15- and 30-year [more…]
Tax Rules for Selling Your Home
Until recently, if you purchased a home, you were required to keep track of the original cost and the cost of improvements to the home for tax purposes. Then, when you sold the home, if you made a profit [more…]
Buying an Owner-Occupied HUD Home
First-time buyers often finance their homes through the federal government, primarily by way of FHA-insured loans. When the property owner fails to make mortgage payments on the property, FHA initiates [more…]
Investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Properties
One of the ways the federal government promotes homeownership is by providing financing through Fannie Mae (FNMA or Federal National Mortgage Association), Ginnie Mae [more…]
Working with a Real Estate Closing Team
Most sellers and buyers think of the agreement as the tricky part of the transaction and the closing as the part they can take pretty much for granted. Agents know otherwise. As an agent, your work isn't [more…]
Considering Disadvantages to Paying Cash for Your Second Home
When considering paying cash for your second home, you need to think about more than just whether you have the money to cover all the related costs. You also need to keep in mind long-term tax strategies [more…]
Flipping Strategy: Buying into a Hot Market
When most people think of flipping houses, they immediately envision a process of buying a ramshackle house on the cheap, fixing it up, and then reselling it for more than they've invested in it. That's [more…]
Flipping Houses: Making Money in Any Market
The housing market, like the stock market, fluctuates. Home values can steam ahead, stay put, or spiral down out of control. You make your money when you buy a house at less than market value. By adjusting [more…]
Pinpointing House Flipping Hot Spots
Whether you're an average home buyer or a seasoned real estate investor, every search for the right home begins with a search for the right neighborhood. After all, location is everything. [more…]
Flipping Houses: Lining Up a Home Inspector
Whenever you make an offer on a house, make the offer contingent upon the house passing inspection. Then, have the home professionally inspected. This contingency ensures that you don't get stuck holding [more…]
The Pros and Cons of Owning Your Own Home
If you’re considering buying a house, use the Pros and Cons of Homeownership worksheet provided here to guide your decision as to whether home ownership is right for you. Put a check mark in one box on [more…]
How Much Home Can You Afford?
Just because you qualify for a mortgage doesn’t mean you can actually afford the house; consider how much you can actually pay for a home. It's a good idea to buy something with slightly lower payments [more…]
Choosing between a Fixed- and Adjusted-Rate Mortgage
How do you choose between a fixed-rate mortgage and an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)? Conventional wisdom has been that if you can obtain a fixed-rate mortgage at about 6 percent or less, you should lock [more…]
Choosing the Term of a Fixed-Rate Mortgage
Assume that you plan to stay in your new home indefinitely and are most comfortable selecting a fixed-term mortgage. You may be wondering whether you should take out a 15-, 20-, 30-, or one of those new [more…]
Tips for Comparing Mortgage Lenders
Even if you elect to get quotes from various mortgage providers online, you can also check local mortgage providers. Your local newspaper most likely provides quotes for some of the most competitive mortgage [more…]
How and Why to Get Preapproved for a Mortgage
Before you get serious about making an offer on a new home, obtain from your mortgage lender a prequalification letter at minimum, or better yet, a preapproval letter. A preapproval letter from a lender [more…]
Beginning Your Search for the Right Home
After you have invested time determining the amount of money you can afford to spend on a new home, examining the type of mortgage that may be most appropriate for you, and getting a preapproval letter [more…]
Should You Refinance Your Mortgage?
You might want to refinance to lower your mortgage payment or to access equity you have in your home for an important expense. When you’re considering refinancing a mortgage, you look at many of the same [more…]
Loan Modification Questions to Ask Your Mortgage Lender
When seeking a loan modification, you first contact your mortgage lender or servicer (who collects and processes your monthly mortgage payments). To increase your chances of modifying your mortgage, ask [more…]
Applying for a Mortgage Loan Modification: Documentation Checklist
If you’re worried about home foreclosure, obtain a loan modification application packet from your mortgage lender and provide everything your lender requests. Most lenders require the following before [more…]
Questions to Ask a Mortgage Loan Modification Expert
When facing home foreclosure, you may want to discuss your options with a loan modification expert. Screen candidates carefully to make sure they have what it takes to successfully modify your mortgage [more…]
Five Traps to Avoid When Modifying Your Mortgage Loan
When your mortgage lender presents an offer in response to your request for a loan modification, step carefully through the minefield to avoid these common traps: [more…]
Loan Modification For Dummies Cheat Sheet
When you receive a home foreclosure notice, your first instinct may be to panic. Instead, take a deep breath and contact your mortgage lender to discuss modifying your loan. Ask for a loan modification [more…]
Types of Real Estate Ownership
If you’re studying to take a real estate license exam, brushing up on the ways people can own real estate, individually and together, is a given. The following list goes through some of the most common [more…]
Real Estate Terms and Definitions
As you prepare to take a real estate license exam, real estate terms and definitions are probably foremost in your mind. Terms that mean one thing in the real world take on a whole new meaning in the real [more…]
