4 Money Mistakes People Make Before Buying a Home
Everyone knows that buying a home is a significant commitment and investment, and preparing to purchase a home requires some financial discipline and smart decisions to get approved for a loan at the lowest possible interest rate. Some money decisions that you may be tempted to make right before you close on your home could seriously hinder your ability to [...]
To Lock In or Not? How to Decide if a Mortgage Rate Lock is a Good Idea
If you are thinking about buying a home in the near future, you’re probably paying really close attention to what happens with mortgage interest rates. In recent months they have gone down, which is great for homebuyers who are able to get a lower rate, since even a small difference in your interest rate can dramatically reduce the amount of [...]
Understanding How Underwriters Calculate What You Can Borrow for a Home Loan
Before you can get a loan for your mortgage, your request for the loan has to go through underwriting. The underwriting process is fairly straightforward—your lender takes the information you provide about your income, assets, property, and debts to determine whether they should give you a loan. You won’t be involved in the process except to provide any necessary information [...]
Should You Consider Postponing Your Mortgage Payments Using Forbearance?
Refinancing may be a better option than forbearance to save money. You may have heard of the CARES Act that has been making headlines offering relief to those affected by COVID-19, and you may also be wondering how this applies to your mortgage. This law allows borrowers, with federally backed mortgages, to request a payment reprieve in the form of [...]
Does it Pay to Compare Mortgage Rates from Different Lenders?
When you are thinking about getting a home loan, one of the first things most borrowers do is look at the current mortgage interest rates. These rates play a significant role in what your payment will be, which can affect how much money you can borrow and what home you can buy. It is a good idea to shop around, [...]
4 Questions People are Asking About COVID-19 and Mortgages
As more and more of our lives are disrupted by local, state, and federal policies around mortgages, there are several questions that many people have about how these policies and the COVID-19 virus are affecting mortgages. Here are four questions that many people have around mortgage loan rates, new mortgage loans, refinancing, and home values. 1: Are mortgage rates going [...]