How Long Does It Take to Improve Your Credit Score Enough to Buy a Home? My credit score is what??!!! Credit scores are so important for so many things these days beyond just your mortgage that it behooves one to make sure it's always in the best shape possible. You can generally get [...]
Cash is King......but perhaps sometimes it shouldn't be. Deciding whether to pay cash for a property is a fairly nuanced process that requires thoughtful analysis. When it comes to your principle residence in particular there are some non financial factors that you need to attempt to quantify. This article does a great job [...]
Who knew mortgages were such a personal thing? This article does a great job of breaking down the somewhat out dated ideas that one size fits all in the mortgage world. Some of the "truisms" are couched in seeming prudence and some are flat out wrong (ie. that you need 20% down to [...]
Handle with Care! With the recent rise in home equity with the improving market and the continued easing in the mortgage market people all across the fruited plain are starting to eye their home equity longingly. I'm here to tell you beware. Do to the fact that most mortgages are either 30 or 15 year [...]
Having trouble getting a mortgage? Don't give up without talking to me! If this is you perhaps you can attest to the veracity of this article. The good news is that many of the road blocks to getting a mortgage can be overcome with some directed action and planning. Today might not work but [...]
In short no, but in certain circumstances, say maybe 10% to 20% of the time they could be. From a market solvency standpoint appraisals are hugely important to maintaining the stability of the secondary and broader mortgage market. However on an individual level it represents an opportunity to save money. In almost 30 [...]
With rates rising it's time to get off the fence! For the last 5 or 6 years each Spring everyone with a microphone and an opinion would come out and warn of rising interest rates (not this guy though if you've been following me). The Fed wanted to see higher rates so that they could [...]
Tread carefully Many homeowners now have a goodly amount of equity in their homes. Is it a good idea to tap that equity? It kind of depends but there are a number of factors to consider and be wary of. I posted about this previously in some detail here which I encourage you to [...]
You've decided to do that remodeling project! Now, how to pay for it? Cash is of course king. If you can just write a check there is no doubt that is almost always the way to go. If not here is a great article discussing your options as well as some of the pros [...]
Credit Scores: You gotta deal with them. Regrettably credit scores have taken on a dramatically inflated role in our world but until you reach the Holy Grail of paying cash for homes and being self insured rendering your score irrelevant it behooves you to keep it in shape. What increases or decreases your score is often counter [...]