30 Year vs. 15 Year Mortgages
Discussions of mortgages often focus on interest rates, but there is a much more basic decision to make. Should you go with a 30 year mortgage term or a 15 year mortgage term?30 Year vs. 15 Year MortgagesAny discussion of mortgages tends to turn on two points. How can you qualify for the most money ... more...

Reasons to Refinance Your Home
Many people will take whatever mortgage they can get when trying to purchase a home. Sooner or later, you will start wondering if you can get a better deal. Welcome to the world of refinance.Reasons to Refinance Your HomeTraditional mortgages are like any other loan in one important respect. You ... more...

Understanding Prepayment Penalties on Home Loans
Mortgage lenders prefer certainty to chaos. Some lenders take this concept to its logical conclusion in mortgages by inserting prepayment penalty clauses.Understanding Prepayment Penalties on Home LoansWhen a mortgage lender evaluates a loan application, it performs a number of analyses to ... more...

Tax Reform Limit of Mortgage Tax Deduction
A committee appointed by President Bush has come up with an alarming recommendation. They want to limit the tax deduction for mortgage interest!ReformFollowing his re-election, President Bush set up an aggressive agenda in which he hoped to reform social security and the tax code amongst other ... more...

Mortgage Loan Understanding FICO Scores
Apply for a mortgage loan and youll soon become familiar with FICO scores. Heres a primer on the infamous FICO scoring process.FICO scores are merely a mathematical representation of your credit record. Credit records are simply a recording of your debts and assets. Credit card balances, for ... more...

Using Points To Cut Your Interest Rate
The general mantra in the real estate world is you want to avoid paying points when obtaining a mortgage. As with most assumptions, this is not always true.Using Points To Cut Your Interest RateWhen discussing mortgages, it is important to understand what points are. Points are essentially an ... more...

Reverse Mortgages and Government Benefits
Reverse mortgages are increasing in popularity as a way to turn home equity into a liquid asset. Before you jump on a reverse mortgage, you need to understand the impact it can have on government benefits.Reverse Mortgages and Government BenefitsThe beauty of home ownership is found in the value of ... more...

Honey, I Shrunk The Mortgage Interest Deduction Plan 1
The political landscape this year has been nothing but ugly. It promises to come to full boil with the proposed tax reform eliminating or reducing the mortgage interest deduction.Tax Reform or Raising TaxesThere is an old saying about the two political parties. Democrats raise taxes while ... more...

Home Loans
Buying a home remains the great American dream. Home ownership rates have been exploding in recent years, spurred on by the historically low interest rates in the home mortgage market. Home prices have been rising at far faster than inflation, especially in major urban areas such as San Francisco, ... more...