In an effort to reduce the inventory of foreclosures that they have on their books, Fannie Mae has introduced a program called HomePath.  The program offers homes that Fannie Mae was an investor that have gone into foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or forfeiture.  If you buy a home through HomePath, in addition to a great buy, there [...]

Unfortunately, you won’t like my answer but don’t shoot the messenger.  According to well-known financial publishing house HSH Associates, “It’s going to be a long time coming.”  Before we can make any assumptions, we have to look at how far we’ve really fallen.  According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the popular measurement that tracks changes in [...]

In a rare intra-meeting move, the Federal Reserve increased the Discount rate .25% to .75% late yesterday afternoon.  The Discount rate is the rate the Fed charges a bank for an emergency loan.  This move was done to wean the banking system off of government credit and encourages them to borrow from private sources.  The governing [...]

If you have ever taken out a mortgage, you probably already know of the tax advantage provided by deducting your mortgage interest payments. But many homeowners overlook another tax break available for points paid to get a home loan. In some cases, points also could shave tax bills for folks who refinanced or got an [...]

First-Time Home Buyers The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where [...]

If you have been shopping for a mortgage, chances are you have found the process to be overwhelming and confusing.  Besides the multitude of loan programs available, it can still be confusing even if you are only looking for a 30 year fixed due to the way each mortgage company quotes their rates and fees.  Unfortunately, there [...]

Although most folks choose to escrow their real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance monthly, I am often asked whether or not this is wise.  As long as you have a minimum of 20% equity in your property, you actually have the choice of “waiving escrows” or paying the taxes and insurance on your own when [...]

One of the worst ways to compare loans, in my opinion, is to shop the “APR” or Annual Percentage Rate.  The APR is an expression of the effective interest rate that will be paid on a loan, taking into account certain one-time fees and standardizing the way the rate is expressed.  While the formula can be complicated, [...]

Ever wonder why there is such a disparity from lender to lender when it comes to rates and fees?  It really comes down to two things, marketing and their compensation.  You see, most lenders are compensated by the companies they sell the loans to and therefore the higher the rate, the more compensation they receive.  [...]

Ever wonder why you can get a better deal going through a mortgage broker than you can if you go directly to a lender?  After all, the mortgage broker just turns around and sells it to a major national lender anyway?  So logic dictates that cutting out the “middle man” should yield you a better deal, [...]