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 informed decision about buying, I …
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Manufactured, Modular, and Site-Built Homes: How Lending Practices Drive the Sales Market
Many people are unaware how profoundly lending policies influence the market for residential property. So I am going to go over the various gradations in available loans for various types of property. Pretty much everyone is familiar with the standard house, built on site, mostly by hand, from basic materials. Called “stick built” to differentiate …
Making Certain You Shop Your Mortgage – Whether You Want To Or Not
Ken Harney had some welcome news on Move afoot to end uninvited mortgage pitches To a certain extent, these are a good thing for consumers. However, it gets way overdone. What happens is this. Let’s sat I get a client into my office, they apply for a mortgage, and I run their credit. The three …
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Undisclosed Short Sales
What happens if a home you signed to purchase goes into foreclosure before the closing date? We were supposed to close on a home four months ago. On the day of closing we get a call from the seller’s realtor that the sellers owe 22K and need time to figure out negotiations w/the mortgage company. …
Impound Accounts Facts and FAQs
I’ve seen a fair number of questions on impound accounts in the last several months. An impound account, also known by the confusing term escrow account because the lender is holding it in escrow, is money that you give the lender in order to pay the property taxes and homeowner’s insurance on the property when …
Dual Agency: Using the Seller’s Agent as Your Buyer’s Agent
Is it unwise to use the listing realtor as your purchase realtor? A house I’m interested in purchasing is being sold by the realtor selling my house. Although she’s done a decent job selling my house, I fear she won’t negotiate well on my behalf if she has to divide her loyalties between these listers …
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Book Review: The Geek Gap By Bill Pfleging and Minda Zetlin
A while ago, I had two publishers ask me if I would read books for review purposes on my site. I said that I would be glad to. One of the publishers included this little book on communicating between “suits” (businessfolk) and “geeks” (technical folk). Having a background on both sides of the fence (math, …
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Life Insurance – Proper Prior Planning Prevents…
Life Insurance is something that nearly every adult should have, and almost every adult who buys goes about purchasing it the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons, and buys the wrong policy. Is that an indictment of the system or what? Let’s start with what life insurance is. Life insurance is …
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Lenders and Insurance Proceeds
The question that inspired this was can a mortgage company use the flood insurance claim money towards homeowners mortgage loans? This is equally applicable to every other form of insurance on your home – earthquake, regular homeowner’s insurance, and any others that you may have or require. The short answer is yes. The reason that …
If Your Loan Falls Through
“What do I do when the loan falls through” That depends upon when it falls through and what situation you’re in. If you’re in a refinance situation, you generally keep making payments on your old loan until and unless you can find a refinance that is better that you qualify for. There is one exception …