With interest rates at twice what most Americans currently have on their home loan after refinancing over the last few years, those looking to use their home equity when needed are in a bit of a pickle. Refinancing to take cash out would mean doubling their current mortgage rate. Yet, there are pressing needs of… Continue Reading
Think you may have missed the opportunity to refinance your home mortgage? Think again! You may still benefit from refinancing even though rates have recently gone up. While conventional loans make up the large majority of home mortgages, there are millions of borrowers who have other types of loans. Those loans are usually taken out… Continue Reading
Let’s say you’ve done your research, you want to consolidate debt, a personal loan isn’t for you, and you are comfortable using the equity in your home to pay off debt. You shop around for rates on a cash out refinance and you choose a lender. Half-way through the application process, the loan officer asks… Continue Reading
Let’s say you’re buying a house or refinancing and you need PMI. What are your options (besides putting down 20%)? Take Two Mortgages to Avoid PMI That’s right. If you take two mortgages that add up to 90% or 95% (remaining 5-10% is your down payment), you can avoid paying PMI. How? Because your first… Continue Reading
If the last time you shopped for a mortgage was over a decade ago, then you might be surprised by how much the menu of loan offerings has changed. Immediately following the housing crash, mortgage meltdown, and economic recession of the late 2000s, loan programs began to disappear and an overhaul of industry guidelines and… Continue Reading
As housing values increase across the country, more people are thinking about tapping into that hidden potential in their homes. Home equity is becoming a thing again, guys, and there’s no denying that it’s a great solution for life’s problems, both big and small. If you plan on staying in your home for the long… Continue Reading
Home equity — it’s a dream so many Americans gave up on after the real estate crash in 2006, but now, nine years later, we’re starting see equity rising once again. In fact, over 80 percent of all mortgaged homes currently have at least 20 percent of their value in equity, with the average loan… Continue Reading
Interest rates are constantly in the news: they’re rising, they’re falling, they’re flat — whatever they’re doing, they keep the thought of refinancing in the forefront of the minds of many homeowners. These folks wonder if they should refinance now, or if they’d be better off to wait a little while longer. Choosing to refinance… Continue Reading
There’s a certain fantasy that penetrates the American psyche, we like to call it The American Dream. It varies slightly between regions, but basically, it involves the triad of homeownership, stable employment and a marriage with 2.3 kids. Maybe that white picket fence was ideal in 1950, but times have changed dramatically since the American… Continue Reading
After another rise in FHA mortgage insurance rates during the last year and the announcement that borrowers may be locked into those payments for the life of their loans, a lot of people are taking a second look at second mortgages. Piggyback seconds, those small mortgages used in conjunction with a Conventional mortgage at the… Continue Reading