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 [...]

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, [...]

I am frequently asked about bi-weekly mortgage programs and whether or not they are a good choice.  As my readers know, I always like to give the short and sweet answer first which is NO, they are not.  But for those looking for an explanation I offer an in depth look at why they aren’t [...]

Although the President’s “Housing and Affordability Plan” was announced on February 17th, it wasn’t until yesterday that we got the details of what it actually means to homeowners.  We are finally seeing some changes in guidelines, starting today with a major announcement by Fannie Mae.  It was announced that over the next two months, significant [...]

As the Real Estate and financial markets continue to move up and down, mortgage rates can also be affected. Since mortgage rates are more closely tied to the bond markets, an up or down move in the stock market may not have the result in mortgage rates that one might expects. In fact, many times [...]