How Your Credit Score is Calculated Might Seem Mysterious - But Building it is Straightforward Your credit score is incredibly important. It affects the interest rate on multiple consumer loans, whether or not you have access to certain financial products, and sometimes even job offers. A credit rating is, in short, the confidence that those who lend you money - in the form of credit - have Continue Reading
What Consolidating Your Debt Does for You
Save money, eliminate stress, and even improve your credit with a debt consolidation loan. Everyone has some amount of debt, whether it’s credit cards, a car loan, or a mortgage, and having debt is nothing to be ashamed of. But sometimes debt can get out of control, leaving you with too many payments to keep track of and out of control interest payments. This is where a debt consolidation Continue Reading
What Does All the Jargon Mean?
Getting a mortgage can be confusing enough as a home buyer without the complex language getting in the way - we break down some of the most common things for you. Getting a mortgage is a complicated process, with a lot of terminology that many people don’t understand when they first start searching for a home. To make things a little bit easier, we have a list of common mortgage terms that new Continue Reading
Why a Mortgage Broker is the Only Way to Get a Mortgage
Getting a mortgage through big banks is a thing of the past - or at least it should be. We all know how it’s supposed to go: you put a down payment on a house you love that’s - hopefully - in your budget, you go to your bank and apply for a mortgage, and you’re essentially stuck with that bank for the next 15 - 30 years. Most people do it this way, and it works fine enough. But Continue Reading
WEEKLY MORTGAGE REFINANCE APPLICATIONS RISE, EVEN AS HOME PURCHASE DEMAND FALLS
Key Points • Mortgage interest rates rose last week, but that didn't throw any cold water on the mini-refinance boom that's been going on for the last month. • Applications to refinance a home loan rose 4% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. • But mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 4% for the week. Mortgage interest rates rose last week, but that Continue Reading
New plunge in mortgage rates could save borrowers thousands of dollars
• The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage was at 3.75% last Friday. By Thursday, it had dropped to 3.62%, according to Mortgage News Daily. • Rates are now about 1.25 percentage point lower than they were at this time last year. • For the average borrower taking out a $300,000 mortgage, that is a savings of about $225 on the monthly payment, or $2,700 per year. Fall homebuyers Continue Reading
More Americans are house-rich, but they’re leaving that cash in the house
•Today's mortgage holders saw their home equity increase by 4.8% annually at the end of the second quarter. This is a collective gain of nearly $428 billion, according to CoreLogic. •Break it down by borrower, and the average homeowner with a mortgage gained $4,900 in home equity in just one year. •From the first to the second quarters of this year, the number of mortgaged residential properties Continue Reading
This was the worst week for mortgage rates in 3 years – and it may be just the beginning
KEY POINTS • The average rate on the 30-year fixed is now 20 basis points higher than it was on Monday and 36 basis points higher than its last low on Sept. 4, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the biggest short-term jump since the week following the election of President Trump. • When rates dipped to their recent low, the number of borrowers with good credit scores and at least 20% Continue Reading
Mortgage Market Reopens to Risky Borrowers
The risky mortgage is making a comeback. More than a decade after home loans triggered the worst financial crisis in a generation, the strict lending requirements put in place during its aftermath are starting to erode. Home buyers with low credit scores or high debt levels as well as those lacking traditional employment are finding it easier to get credit. The loans have been rebranded. Largely Continue Reading
FHA to make financing easier for condo owners
Announces long-awaited changes to eligibility requirements that include individual unit approval The Federal Housing Administration has finally issued a long-awaited update to its condominium rules, announcing Wednesday that it will now allow individual unit approval and is taking other steps to loosen requirements that make these properties eligible for FHA financing. Under Continue Reading
