With Bank of America and Citi both announcing layoffs in October, you might think the mortgage industry is moving into another slump. Think again. There are several signs that 2015 could be a good year for mortgage lenders, and for the economy in general. Here is our 2015 mortgage industry... read more →
Oct
30
Sep
18
Reader question: "I read about some new rule that requires borrowers to put down 20 percent on home loans. QM or QRM or something to that affect. Please say it isn't so. This seems like a very rigid requirement that will hurt a lot of responsible borrowers like myself. Is... read more →
Aug
26
Reader question: "My husband and I are hoping to buy a house later this year. We are 'newbies' when it comes to mortgage loans. How should we go about choosing the best mortgage product or program for us? We make pretty good money between the two of us, if that... read more →
Aug
14
There is a lot of information on this website, but it's spread over hundreds of pages. So we thought it might be helpful to create a series of short but informative checklists for first-time home buyers. You'll find them below, along with links to additional information. 8 Home Buying Checklists... read more →
Aug
07
Reader question: "I am trying to figure out how much house I can qualify for with my current salary of around $75,000 per year. I have been reading up on the different ways to calculate this, but everyone says something different. I guess what I really need to know is... read more →
Aug
04
Most home buyers use mortgage loans when buying a house. That means most home buyers will have to go through the appraisal process at some point. There's no way around it. It's a standard requirement imposed by lenders. In this article, we will answer three of the most frequently asked... read more →
Aug
02
When shopping for a mortgage loan, you will likely encounter the term back-end debt-to-income ratio, or "back-end DTI" for short. This seemingly harmless number actually has the power to stop your mortgage loan in its tracks -- all by itself. As a result, all borrowers should know what DTI ratios... read more →
Jul
30
Reader question: "A friend who recently purchased a home using the FHA program said it took him nearly four months to get approved. I find that to be unbelievable. Is it always that slow? How long does the FHA mortgage approval process take these days (in 2014), on average? And... read more →
Jul
28
When shopping for a mortgage loan, you will eventually have to choose between a fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) and an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Both products have certain pros and cons associated with them. Additionally, there are different sub-categories within these two top-level categories. This article focuses on the 5/1 ARM loan... read more →
Jul
27
Reader question: "We just made an offer to buy a house, and our lender then had the property appraised. They said the house appraised for less than the purchase price. What should we do? What options do we have?" It's a common scenario for home buyers: You find a house... read more →