Mortgages

Just Locked In a 3.75% Fixed Rate 30-Year Mortgage

September 24, 2011

My wife and I refinanced our mortgage earlier this year. We had a 30-year fixed rate loan at 5.625%. We refinanced with no points to a 30-year fixed rate at 4.875%. I was convinced at the time that we would never refi our mortgage again. Boy was I wrong. In fact, just last week we [...]

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How To Lower the Closing Costs on a Home Purchase or Refinance

August 20, 2011

If you’re new to the home buying process, you may be a little surprised at the fees and costs you pay over and above the cost of the home. Unbeknownst to ill-prepared home-buyers, there’s actually a good amount of money that will be due when you’ve finally “closed” on the home. These fees are aptly [...]

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Which Mortgage is Right for You?

August 10, 2011

Recently, I’ve been spending more time than I care to admit with mortgage brokers. First my wife and I refinanced our home to take advantage of the low mortgage rates (we got 4.825% fixed for 30 years on a super conforming loan). And then I refinanced one of my investment properties. During this refi bonanza, [...]

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How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early (for FREE!)

June 27, 2011

Now that my wife and I have paid off all our non-mortgage debt, it’s time to turn our attention to the mortgage. We currently owe over $500,000 on our home (gulp!). No, we don’t live in a mansion; we live in Northern Virginia. And even with the downturn in the housing market, real estate prices [...]

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The Real Cost of Using a Real Estate Agent

June 20, 2011

I knew something was amiss when my wife and I bought our first home way back in 1993. We had a “buyer’s agent” represent us. That means in theory that the agent was representing us, not the sellers. But when a problem with the inspection surfaced, our agent wanted us to eat the cost of [...]

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Fannie Mae Offers Incentives for Homebuyers

June 15, 2011

Fannie Mae just announced new incentives for homebuyers (and realtors) that I thought was worth passing on. Fannie Mae is what’s known as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) that adds liquidity to the mortgage market by buying certain home loans. By buying up loans, Fannie Mae puts money back into the mortgage market so banks can [...]

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Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early?

May 17, 2011

Having recently paid off all of our non-mortgage debt, we now confront another financial decision–should we begin to pay off our mortgage early? Admittedly this is a good problem to have. But it does raise an important financial decision. We want to use our money in a way that produces the highest return with the [...]

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How to Qualify for an FHA Mortgage

April 7, 2011

My sister recently purchased a home. She was able to get a low mortgage rate and a great deal on the home such that her mortgage payment is less than the rent she was paying. And the home loan was an FHA mortgage. So I thought it would be a good time to cover FHA [...]

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Where to Find the Best Refinance Mortgage Rates

March 31, 2011

Refinancing your mortgage could be the best decision you’ll ever make.  But in order for the refinance to be beneficial, a lot of homework needs to be done to secure the best refinance rate possible.  Let’s first discuss some of the reasons you may want to refinance your mortgage, then show you where to go, [...]

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