The FHA Loan explained
One of the biggest hurdles that first time homebuyers face is saving up for a sizable down payment on a home. Even experienced homeowners may need to plan for a long time for a new home purchase. Fortunately, FHA loans…
Qualifying for a Mortgage When You Work for Yourself
If you are a freelance employee or entrepreneur, you may wonder how your income stream will impact getting approved for a home loan, or mortgage. While the process can be slightly different, with additional paperwork needed, working for yourself doesn’t…
Benefits and Challenges of Selling Your Own Home
There are a lot of projects that a savvy homeowner can tackle without professional assistance—painting walls, backyard landscaping, even more ambitious projects like tiling or wallpaper. When it comes time to sell your home, you may be considering going the…
Buying a Home with No Down Payment Using the VA Loan
Are you a military service member or veteran looking to buy a home? As a benefit of your service, the Department of Veterans Affairs offers unique resources to help those with military experience purchase a home with a low or…
What is Private Mortgage Insurance?
There are various ways to finance the purchase of a new home. The one that many new homeowners use is to get a loan from a traditional bank or credit union, called a mortgage. But what if you aren’t ready…
What Does My Mortgage Interest Rate Mean?
If you follow the news, you’ve probably heard talk of “historic lows” and “raising rates” for real estate transactions. What does all of this rate talk mean? How is the interest rate determined? Mortgage interest rates are set based on…
What am I Paying in My Mortgage Payment Each Month?
Many property owners purchase their new home using a loan called a mortgage. Using a mortgage, an individual can get a loan for a home purchase, usually financed over 15 or 30 years. Every month, the borrower makes a…
Buying a Home: How to Get from Offer to Closing
If you’re new to the home-buying game, you have probably been bombarded with new terms. Escrow, home warranty, inspection contingency—one of the most important terms to know and understand is “closing.” What is closing? Closing is an appointment, most often…
How to Buy a House When You Don’t Have Money for a Down Payment
Many aspire to homeownership as the ultimate sign of adulthood. First-time buyers may be intimidated by the amount of money needed for a down payment. Typically, most lenders require 20% of the home purchase price as a down payment. Lenders…
15 versus 30 Year Fixed Mortgage
A loan for the purpose of purchasing a home, called a mortgage, is an agreement between a borrow and a lender for a specific amount of money. To be borrowed at a specific interest rate and for a specified length…
