If you've been around the financial planning business any length of time, you've likely run into the saying "The biggest risk is not taking one." It is endemic to all financial instruments, indeed, all investments, that return is the reward...
This is a nationwide program for first time home buyers that helps them qualify for the loan by saving them even more money on their tax bill. With that said, however, the state of California accounts for more than 50...
At any given time, I will usually have at least one set of clients who really need to consider a condo or townhome who nonetheless have their hearts set on a single family residence. I agree to include single...
(This was originally written February 16, 2006, but it's relevant still) One of the occasional questions I get from people has to do with why the housing bubble got so big (or if you're one of those still in denial...
It has become a trend for real estate agents who think they're being "smart" to require an automated underwriting approval. These are automated underwriting programs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saying that Fannie or Freddie will buy the...
Can I qualify for first time home buyer financing if I buy a duplex and live in one and rent out the other? I thought if I bought a duplex, lived in one side and rented out the other would...
I had the idea for this article some time ago. It took me a long time to decide to share it publicly, because quite frankly, knowing what I know now, I was an idiot. I was still young enough to...
Scapegoating mortgage brokers or anyone else is not the answer, nor is prohibiting yield spread. We've been here before (in the early 1990s), congress did something remarkably similar except a little bit more sane. It didn't work then. Why would...
This comment was left on another entry I got behind 5 months, in months of 01/2010 to 05/2010. Home was paid cash for in 11/2000,took out a first mortgage in amount of 75thou.House went into default, I sent in 3...
The phrasing in parallel with Animal Farm is intentional. Sellers need to understand this, and so do buyers, especially in a hot real estate market. Some offers are more equal than others, and knowing how to choose between competing...
What is a good interest rate for a house that is for someone with low income? Well, if you make enough to afford the property, your income isn't a factor on the interest rate you get! You either qualify or...
Thanks again for the terrific posts. I've learned more about mortgages in the past two months than I ever dreamed I might. I am looking to buy my first home soon, and have myself in a good credit position...
Here are the facts of the situation, whether you're talking about San Diego or Manhattan, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, or any of the other densely packed, high cost areas where all the employment and career opportunities are. Fact 1:...
On a regular basis, I get emails that ask me what I think of a particular company. When I check out public forums, I see questions about particular companies every time. "What do you think of X Realty, or Y...
When things went south in the real estate market, I saw more changes in the lending industry in a few months than the previous five years. But those changes mostly restored us to the place we were a few years...
My aunt is going to move to a new condo and wants to sell her old one. I would like to buy her old condo as an investment and rent it out (as I am already a home-owner). This...
This is one of those things that trips up people to buy a house or refinance it: student loans. First off, Form 1003, the Federal Uniform Residential Loan Application has the following relevant questions on page 4, among the...
And I don't know why people expect it to be. Cancel that. I do know why. Popular media. It's not all that common in popular media, but on those occasions I see someone buying a house in the movies...
This is a warning to those who purchase restricted sale property. I've gotten a couple of calls for refinancing these in the past couple months, and I've never covered this subject. A restricted sale property is one where the...
Hi, Dan! I just came across your website and you strike me as the type of guy who has answers for our situation: My husband and I built our home 2.5 years ago. We took out a second mortgage...
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