A couple of years ago we published a piece about how to get a mortgage even if you have student loans. Back then the mortgage industry was different and eventually the information aged on us. It happens, we can’t possibly predict how things will change, all we can do is try to stay on top… Continue Reading
It wasn’t that long ago that the LA Times wrote a scathing article about the widespread effect that student loan debt is having on the housing market. One report they cited estimated that 414,000 home sales, or eight percent of the average number of annual home sales, would disappear because of this excess debt. The… Continue Reading
A home is more than brick and stone and wood and nails and cement — there’s a spirit to the place that’s unique to each and every property you’ll visit as you shop for the right one. As I’ve told you many, many times before, buying a home is part brain — planning a purchase… Continue Reading
In the first part of this series, we covered the problems you might encounter because of the public record, and in the second, we discussed fixing issues with your credit file — part three is all about the “other” stuff that didn’t quite fit into the first two. There are countless miscellaneous issues you might… Continue Reading
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 That little time capsule was in great shape, but it was super outdated — it didn’t even have central heat and air, which… Continue Reading
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
I know I sometimes harp on those good old days before the Great Recession came and crushed the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans, but when I read this news story in the Boston Herald, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Apparently, the difficult loan qualifications of years past are over and those of you… Continue Reading
If you’re in the housing market for the first time, the mounting cost of everything can get pretty overwhelming, even if you’ve been saving carefully. After all, everybody knows to save five to 10 percent of our dream home’s cost for a down payment, but fewer people know that we need to be saving another… Continue Reading