If you are thinking about buying a home, one of the terms that you may have heard discussed is PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance. Sometimes it may also be referred to as LMI, or Lender’s Mortgage Insurance. So what is PMI? PMI is insurance paid for by you that will cover any losses sustained by […]
It is a common scenario. Your parents are retired. Perhaps their health is starting to fade a bit, and they know they have more years behind them than they have ahead of them. So they decide in order to make life easier they will transfer ownership of their home or perhaps some of their investments […]
I just heard this past week that January was Financial Wellness month. That’s not surprising since this is the month of New Year’s Resolutions. While January may be nearly over, this is still a good time to consider your overall financial well-being. Dust off the budget Are you doing a regular monthly budget that is […]
The last few years we have seen historically low interest rates. The Federal Reserve has worked hard to keep rates low in an effort to stimulate the economy as we continue to recover from the great recession. This has been great news for many home buyers as they have been able to get interest rates […]
Can someone really pay cash for a house? That’s a pipe dream, right? I mean sure, if your daddy’s name is Hilton or Gates perhaps, but the average person can’t really do that. Or can you? I encourage you to take 5 minutes to check out this video. There are several things that really […]
Thinking about buying a house? Perhaps you have a house already but are thinking about refinancing to get a lower interest rate. But if you get a mortgage what kind should you get? A 30 year mortgage means a lower payment, so that’s better right? But a 15 year mortgage means you’ll pay a lot […]
Interest rates are at historic lows. Many people wonder if they should consider refinancing their home. How do you know how much the lower interest rate saves you? How much do you have to lower your rate to make it worthwhile? What kind of mortgage should you be looking at? If you currently have a home mortgage […]
Is it ever a good idea to rent as opposed to buying a home? Isn’t renting kind of like just throwing your money away? Here are 7 good reasons why sometimes it’s ok to rent at least for a little while. 1. Rental expenses are much more predictable. You know what your rental expenses will be […]
In honor of tax day I wanted to take a couple minutes to talk about one of the most popular of all tax deductions. That tax deduction is your mortgage interest. First let me say if you have an existing mortgage with eligible interest payments and you qualify to itemize your deductions, then by all means you […]
Do bi-weekly mortgage payment programs really allow you to pay off your mortgage early or is this just a scam? Well, the answer is yes and no. Making bi-weekly mortgage payments will in fact enable you to pay off your mortgage quicker. However, some mortgage companies charge several hundred dollars for setting up this “special” […]