About a month ago, the vacant house two lots north of me finally sold after being on the market for six months and sitting empty for (my neighbor estimates) about 20 years. That little time capsule was in great shape, but it was super outdated — it didn’t even have central heat and air, which… Continue Reading
Last time we had a long talk about the public record and how you can deal with public record items on your credit report. You’re armed to handle things like bankruptcies and judgments, but not everyone actually has to deal with those. These are extreme results of issues in the other main part of your… Continue Reading
It’s a story I’ve heard a thousand times, “I want to get a mortgage, but….” and then the person tells me a tragic story of a credit problem they believe to be insurmountable. Even though I’m not a Realtor anymore, I still hear it from friends and family members who know I write this blog.… Continue Reading
Since I read this article by Maggie McGrath over at Forbes in early January, I’ve been turning it over and over. If you didn’t see it when it exploded onto social media, the gist is that most of America doesn’t have $1,000 in liquid cash at any given time. By the majority, I mean, 56… Continue Reading
The news is abuzz with the quarter percent interest increase that came from the Federal Reserve back in mid December, causing all sorts of panic and riots in the street. Well, maybe not riots — but a lot of people are wondering if they need to refinance now or if they’ve already missed their opportunity.… Continue Reading
There are few dirtier words to the average home buyer than “mortgage insurance.” Article after article has been written on ways to avoid mortgage insurance and on why it’s an awful, terrible thing, but I’m here to tell you something new. Mortgage insurance isn’t always a horrifying scar on your mortgage paperwork. In fact, mortgage… Continue Reading
When you think of the word “conventional,” I know it brings to mind images of things that are considered “normal” or “standard” in our culture. That kind of thinking has caused a great deal of confusion among mortgage-seekers for a very long time because a Conventional mortgage isn’t the default choice for many buyers. For… Continue Reading
There are few steps in the real estate process that both Buyers and Sellers dread so equally as the appraisal. Not only does it represent the next to last step (and thus, an urgency is added to packing and making repairs), but it can literally make or break a deal that both parties have already… Continue Reading
As you go about your mortgage shopping, checking out deals and offers here and there, you may notice a peculiarity of the people you deal with. Some of them are bankers, others are brokers. Maybe they’ve even got some other invented title, but they do seem to offer some very different kinds of products. If… Continue Reading
It’s been a few weeks since I checked in with you guys, and I apologize for the delay. When I wrote the piece on Closing Nightmares, I never imagined I’d have one of my own. Our home purchase was subject to one of the problems that we discussed in that piece and another that I… Continue Reading