Before you get a mortgage, be sure you understand your personal financial situation. The amount of money a banker is willing to lend you isn't necessarily the amount you can "afford" to borrow given your financial goals and current situation. Maximize your chances for getting the mortgage you want the first time you apply by understanding how lenders evaluate your creditworthiness.

If you talk with others or read articles or books about prepaying your mortgage, you’ll come across those who think that paying off your mortgage early is the world’s greatest money-saving device. You’ll also find that some people consider it the most colossal mistake a mortgage holder can make. The reality is often somewhere between these two extremes.

You've probably heard a lot about reverse mortgages, as they are a popular, safe, simple way to supplement seniors' retirement incomes. Before you get started, you need to understand the benefits and disadvantages of getting a reverse mortgage. If you decide a reverse mortgage may be the right answer for you, follow some planning tips to help make the loan process easier.

If you own or want to own real estate, you need to understand mortgages. Unfortunately, for most of us, the mortgage field is jammed with jargon and fraught with fiscal pitfalls. For typical homeowners, the monthly mortgage payment is either their largest or, after income taxes, second-largest expense item.When you’re shopping for a mortgage, you could easily waste many hours and suffer financial losses by not getting the best loan possible.

The FICO score evaluates five main categories of information. Some, as you’d expect, are more important than others. It’s important to note the following about your fico score: A score considers all these categories of information, not just one or two. The importance of any factor depends on the overall information in your credit report.

What is a reverse mortgage? A reverse mortgage is a loan against your home that you don’t have to repay as long as you live there. In a regular, or so-called forward mortgage, your monthly loan repayments make your debt go down over time until you’ve paid it all off. Meanwhile, your equity is rising as you repay your mortgage and as your property value appreciates.

What is a fixed mortgage? As you may have surmised from the name, fixed-rate mortgages have interest rates that are fixed (that is, the rate doesn’t change) for the entire life of the loan, which is typically 15 or 30 years. With a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest rate stays the same, and the amount of your monthly mortgage payment doesn’t change.

If you believe you want to choose mortgage payoff faster than is required, this information is for you. If you’re certain that you want to pay down your mortgage balance quicker, it can be as simple. Here’s a few tips that show how to pay off your mortgage faster: Making an extra mortgage payment: If the stars align or you find yourself with extra funds, you can make an extra mortgage payment.

Is mortgage insurance tax deductible? If you’re a high-income earner, are subject to the Federal Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), or have low levels of itemized deductions, be warned that some of the itemized deductions from your mortgage interest may not effectively be tax deductible and may result in less tax savings than you think.