In the past, we’ve written about the governments Making Home Affordable program and how it can help people refinance their homes when they are upside down / underwater in their mortgage loans. The original requirement was that you could not be upside down by more than 5%, which means your home’s value could not exceed [...]
Mortgage Refinancing | Brandon | 
July 31, 2009 8:22 am | 
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The popular Cash for Clunkers program may be suspended indefinitely. I know, it’s not a real estate topic. But it’s within the realm of personal finance, and it’s an interesting subject. So here’s what you need to know about it:
In June of this year, the government launched a program commonly known as Cash for Clunkers [...]
Economy | Brandon | 7:20 am | Comments (0)
In this lesson, I’d like to talk to you about current mortgage refinance rates and how to find them online. More importantly, I’d like to explain how the refinance rate affects you as the borrower. The interest rate is one of the most important concepts of mortgage refinancing, because it’s largely what determines whether or [...]
Mortgage Refinancing | Brandon | July 30, 2009 8:37 am | Comments (0)
What is the adjustable rate mortgage and how does it work? When should a first-time home buyer consider using an adjustable rate mortgage, and when should it be avoided? These are the questions I would like to address in today’s lesson.
A Definition to Start With
But first, let’s start things off with a basic definition of [...]
Mortgage Loans | Brandon | 8:33 am | Comments (0)
When does it make sense for me to refinance my mortgage loan? That’s the question I’d like to talk to you about today. This is something a lot of homeowners are thinking about right now, mainly because they’ve heard how low interest rates are today.
While it’s true that interest rates on mortgages are the lowest [...]
Mortgage Refinancing | Brandon | July 29, 2009 4:20 pm | Comments (0)
In May of 2009, home prices in the United States rose for the first time in nearly three years. This is based on an index of 20 major cities in the United States. As you might imagine, this has the real estate world and all of the news circuits buzzing like bees. But what does [...]
Economy | Brandon | 3:44 pm | Comments (0)
Cheap means different things to different people. So let me start by clarifying what I mean by cheap houses, in the context of this article. When I say “cheap” in this lesson, I’m referring to houses that are priced below current market value. In other words, properties that are priced to sell quickly — for [...]
Foreclosure | Brandon | July 25, 2009 6:43 am | Comments (0)
Every few years, a new country becomes the hottest trend for American expatriates buying abroad. Costa Rica has held that title for a couple years now. Today, it is one of the most popular foreign destinations for American home buyers.
Some are buying real estate in Costa Rica for investment and/or vacation homes. Others are relocating [...]
International | Brandon | July 22, 2009 6:50 pm | Comments (0)
Can you really get instant quotes for homeowners insurance online? Yes and no. You can certainly get quotes from insurance companies online (and I’ll offer some helpful links in just a moment). But they’re not really instant. You can get offers the very same day in most cases, which is great. But there really is [...]
Home Insurance | Brandon | July 21, 2009 6:59 pm | Comments (0)
“I’m in the military and I’ll be up for new orders soon. This means I have to move to a new state. I’m having trouble selling my house because I owe more on the loan than the house is currently worth. What are my options in this kind of situation?”
Lately, this has been a pretty [...]
Selling a Home | Brandon | 7:56 am | Comments (0)