Blog

How to Save on Your Mortgage With These Easy Tips

When shopping for your home, you always look for the best price for the best house you can afford. That means visiting multiple properties, comparing neighborhood sales, and making sure that the home fits yours needs as much as your budget. You wouldn’t make a decision on a house without trying to save as much money on the purchase price as possible. The same goes for your mortgage.   Before taking out a mortgage to purchase your home, you should go through the same due diligence that you do when shopping for the…continue reading →

What is Streamlined Refinancing?

Refinancing is a popular way for homeowners to free up some cash for other purposes, or just to lower their monthly payments through a new interest rate. Refinancing is a common process and most lenders will be able to refinance a home for you. However, in 2008 when the recession spurred by the mortgage crisis hit, lenders came under a little more scrutiny than usual, which includes their refinancing practices. They ultimately had to tighten their lending practices.   Now, with interest rates at all-time lows and lenders open to refinancing more than…continue reading →

How Does a Reverse Mortgage Work?

People who are retired or about to retire may have prepared all their lives to live a quiet life in their old age. However, with the high costs of living in general, this may be more difficult than they thought. In this case, people over 62 have the option of taking out a reverse mortgage, but what is a reverse mortgage? How does a reverse mortgage work? For whom can this type of mortgage be useful? In this post, we will give answers to all your questions.   What is a Reverse Mortgage?…continue reading →

InstaMortgage Announces $625,000 Conforming Loan Limit for all Counties

  While all the other mortgage lenders are offering a base conforming limit of only $548,250 for 1-unit, InstaMortgage announced that they will allow conforming loans up to $625,000 for all the counties where the conforming loan limit is only $548,250. How does this work? If you are buying or refinancing a home in a county where the conforming loan limit is only $548,250, you can now qualify for up to a $625,000 loan amount following the same guidelines. The loans will still be backed by the same government agencies - Fannie Mae…continue reading →

What are Mortgage Points and How Do They Work?

One of the most expensive and profitable things a person can do in life is to buy a house. There are some strategies that we can make use of to reduce the interest on a mortgage. This is the case with mortgage points. What are Mortgage Points? Mortgage points are a fee that a borrower pays to a lender to reduce the interest rate on the loan. They also be called discount points. For each point the borrower purchases, it costs 1% of the mortgage amount. Or, $1,000 for every $100,000. In short,…continue reading →

Rent Payment History to Help Increase Homeownership

To help increase homeownership opportunities for borrowers, Fannie Mae is enhancing its underwriting guideline to consider a borrower’s positive rent payment history in the credit risk assessment. Effective immediately, when the borrower is currently paying rent of $300 or more, and a 12-month Verification of Asset (VOA) report is obtained by the lender, Fannie Mae, a government agency, will improve the credit risk profile of a borrower helping them to qualify for a mortgage which they might not have otherwise. The borrower and the property must meet the following guideline: The borrower must…continue reading →

What Kind of Mortgage Can I Afford?

Buying a home is one of the most important steps in anyone's life. Determining what kind of mortgage you can afford is a key factor in making a smart decision. Taking care of your and your family's finances should be a priority. That's why in this post we share with you the key elements so you know what type of mortgage you can afford without putting your money at risk. Crunching the Numbers The first step to follow is to know your budget. Take into account all sources of income you have. From…continue reading →

Fixed Rate vs Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)

Whether you are buying a new home or planning to refinance, you may be asking the question - Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) or Fixed mortgage rate - which one is better? When you are trying to make a decision on whether to take an Adjustable Rate Mortgage or a Fixed Rate, you should consider two factors: How long do you plan to stay in the property? What is the difference in the interest rate between an ARM & a Fixed? Let me elaborate this: Rates on ARMs are usually lower than fixed-rate loans.…continue reading →

Buying a Home: 3 Things That Will Assist You In The Process

Homeownership is one of the most ambitious things you can achieve in your life. The first time you buy a home is undoubtedly a really big event.  Maybe you are looking to leave an estate to pass on to your children, or you want to have a long-term investment to enjoy when you retire, or maybe you want to acquire a rental property. No matter what your goals are for buying a home, there are a few steps you need to take from the moment you decide to buy a home to the…continue reading →

15 Year Mortgages: Are They Worth It?

For most buyers, a 30-year mortgage is a first and only option when it comes to borrowing to buy a home. However, whenever it is possible, a 15-year mortgage is the ideal choice for some homebuyers who are able to afford higher monthly payments. As suggested by the timeline in the name, this mortgage gives those homeowners the ability to pay it off in half the usual amount of time. That can be a big burden off of their shoulders and can save thousands, or possibly tens of thousands of dollars of interest…continue reading →

Get Mortgage blog Delivered To You

res-mobile