I just moved into a rental house with an option to buy. I figure I can probably save up around $40-45k for a down payment in three years. how should i save? The Roth IRA tax loophole for first time home buyers maxes out at $10k and takes 5 years anyway. It sounds dumb, but …
Continue reading “What is the Best Way To Save For A Down Payment?”
Every so often, someone who thinks they’re a wit sends me a copy of The Rules For Relationships According To Women. Unlike those rules, which might have been funny around the time Nefertiti was a debutante, these rules are real and they are not based upon caprice. Very recently, I was walking through a grocery …
We have several rental properties that we own (more than 10). When we were younger, before we got married, we both moved around a lot and bought houses, moved, stayed a year or so and did it again. I of course don’t have to mention why we did this (no money down, low fixed rates, …
If a home for sale has a refrigerator included on the listing report, and the buyer’s agent does not write that it goes to the seller in a contract, is the buyer actually entitled to the refrigerator. I am actually going through this right now. The listing does not matter. What does the purchase contract …
One of the things I’m seeing a lot of these days is blanket advice on bridge loans. A bridge loan is a loan that you take out with the explicit intention of having it be short term. The most common situation is a loan against property A, which you own but plan to sell, so …
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 to do so. My credit score is over 800 and I have no back-end debt – …
Most people tend to shop for a mortgage based upon the payment. They figure the lowest payment will be the cheapest loan. This is the way most people make banks rich. Because they are looking for the loan with the lowest rate and the lowest payment, they choose the loan with two or three points …
Continue reading “Payment, Interest Rate and Up Front Costs: Choosing a loan intelligently”
This is intended as one of those occasional posts that gets expanded and reposted from time to time. This list is not exhaustive, although over time it is intended to become closer. If you have one, send it to me (dm at) Any of these is sufficient reason, all by itself, not to do business …
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 Mortgage?” Reputation has a certain value of course, but in my experience, these people are …
Continue reading “Relying Upon Reputation: There Are No Silver Bullets”
One of the standard arguments I hear about negative amortization and Option ARM loans is that they “give the client the option to make a smaller payment if they need to.” This so-called “Pick A Pay” benefit is a real benefit, but it’s an expensive benefit, one that the client will pay for many times …
