Flexible College Plan – The State Run 529

Of all the investments out there available to be made, the 529 is neither best or second-best, but it is right up there near the top. Back when I was actively working in the financial planning business, it was one of the easiest to sell, as well. It holds one of the best sets of …

Facts Of Life On Buying and Selling “Without an Agent”

I saw your article on on Searchlight Crusade about exclusive buyers agents and I have a couple follow up questions pertaining to my own situation that I am hoping you could shed some light on. I don’t have any buyers agent (currently). However I have spotted 2 houses in an area that I think I …

100% Financing: Buying A Home With Zero Down Payment

Is there any program that i can qualify for a home with no down payment? Lots of them. We may not be talking number of grains of sand on the beach or drops of water in the ocean, but there are more ways to get get into a property with no down payment than most …

Multiple Mortgage Inquiries Do Not Drop Your Credit Score

>broker incurred 19 inquires in 1 week dropping my score. B.S. I’d go the full Penn and Teller on this one if I wasn’t trying to stay family friendly. The law is clear on this one, and practice is fully compliant with the law. I’ve seen thousands of credit reports, sometimes with dozens of recent …

Straw Buyer Fraud

I’ve gotten several emails to articles recently having to do with straw buyers, and more search hits. Red flags preceded home-fraud lawsuit and Fraud case hits home seem to cover one of these weasels particularly well. A “straw buyer” is someone whose credit is used to purchase a property and secure financing. Sometimes they cooperate …

Looking For Loans In All The Wrong Places

No, I’m not turning into a country western singer (nor is this a joke despite the publication date). Just got a search for “no closing costs no points loan cheapest rates loan”. The visit (to this article) lasted less than a full second. The obvious implication was that it wasn’t what that person was looking …

Should Negative Amortization Loans Be Banned?

Having written several articles on Negative Amortization Loans, telling of the details of what is wrong with them, and even destroying the myth of Option ARM cash flow, I sometimes get asked if I would like to see them banned completely. Well, given the pandemically misleading marketing that surrounds these loans, and pandemically poor disclosure …

Should I Buy A Home? Part 3: Consequences

Continued from Part 1: Preparation and Part 2: Process This is about the long term consequences of the decision to buy or not to buy a home, and economic benefits analysis into whether you should want to buy. In order to answer the question of whether it’s better to buy or rent and invest the …

Should I Buy A Home? Part 2: Process

Continued from Part 1: Preparation I am considering buying a home, although I have not made up my mind on the subject. This is not due to indecision, but rather due to a lack of necessary information. There are many factors to be considered in my case, and in order for me to make an …