Home Buying Tips

• Big Mistakes Every Homeowner Should Avoid
  In 1996, Zarmina Azadozy purchased her property at a mortgage lender's foreclosure sale. But she failed to record her deed. Continue article...
• What are the benefits of piggyback financing?
  When a buyer puts 10 percent or less cash down, most lenders require mortgage insurance, known as PMI, which is paid for by the buyer. The cost of PMI is about 1/2 percent of the loan amount annually. So, on a $250,000 mortgage, PMI will run about $1,250 per year. Continue article...
• How would a truly flexible mortgage work?
  Lat week I had little good to say about Fannie Mae's new Payment Power Program (PPP), which allows a borrower to skip up to two mortgage payments in any 12-month period, and up to 10 over the life of a loan. A skipped payment results in an additional loan, equal to the payment plus a healthy access fee, tacked on to the balance. As an emergency source of funds, it is much more costly than accessing a home-equity line of credit (HELOC). Continue article...
• Tips and tricks for refinancing your home mortgage
  Thanks to today's ultra-low interest rates, the home mortgage business is booming at a record pace. Continue article...
• Should You Buy A Home Through A Real Estate Agent?
  One of the first things many people do when beginning their search for a new home is enlist the help of a real estate agent. It is the realtor's job, after all, to help you find the home that is perfect for you. Continue article...
• House Inspectors: Choosing The Right One...
  A qualified house inspector is the surest way to discover a house's not-so-obvious problems. Most professional inspectors are from some type of construction background, such as engineering, architecture or contracting. Their responsibility is to crawl beneath the floors, squeeze through the attic and generally comb the house's structure and mechanical systems for shortcomings. They give the buyer a complete report; with this, the buyer can decide whether or not the house is a good deal, or at least put together a "punch list" of items that must be fixed (it isn't unusual for this report to contain about 50 items). The fee for this service generally runs from about $300 to $500 and up. Continue article...