For the past few years, homeowners refinanced simply to lower their rate and their payments. With rates inching up, those prospects are no longer available but interest rate is not the only reason to refinance. I am seeing more homeowners refinance at present rates but including other debts, which offers significant monthly savings. In addition,…
Tax-free savings accounts help Americans stow away money for health care and college tuition. Why not a tax-exempt account for yet another major expense: the down payment on a mortgage? A coalition that includes real estate developers and investors has been floating the idea as part of a package of reforms intended to overhaul federally…
Thank you to my family, friends and community supporters! I’ve spent the past 12 years building a company that I am completely proud of. My company, Cornerstone First Financial, helps families achieve their dreams of home ownership and it’s my pride and joy to help the community in this way. If you have worked with…
On Friday, several U.S. representatives announced the introduction of the bill titled “Homeownership Opportunities Act” (H.R. 2929), for the purpose of bringing a pre-tax savings program to help prospective home buyers save for a down payment more efficiently. Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV) expressed in a statement that as many young home buyers and even families…
Credit scores and other credit worthiness instruments are more important than ever before. Our American way of life, which includes borrowing on and paying with credit, has come to depend on it. There exist consumers who have had their reputations and credit histories severely damaged by identity theft and credit card scams, or simply due…
Metrostudy, a real estate consulting firm based in Houston, analyzes the health of the residential market in metropolitan areas across the U.S. and issued prescient warnings about the coming housing bust as early as 2004. One of its main analytical tools is what makes Metrostudy interesting: drive-bys. Employees drive through newly built—or still being built—home…
In mid-July, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke attempted to soothe the markets’ fears about home loan rate increases. As a result, Bond prices bounced higher from lows not seen in two years, and Stocks traded at all-time highs. Indeed home loan rates have certainly moved up a little, down a little. Bernanke also repeated that…
When Los Angeles resident Jung Lim went shopping for a bigger house for his expanding family, his lender offered him an adjustable-rate mortgage with an interest rate about a percentage point cheaper than a fixed loan. The professor of dentistry figures the money he’ll save makes up for the extra risk. At the height of…
The last full week of July has been a quiet one for mortgage-related news, but next week could be a very different story. In terms of macro-economic developments which could affect mortgage rates, the last one of any significance came on July 16 with the announcement of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase for June.…
While rates have increased in the past month, it has caused a number of fence sitters to jump into the mortgage market. While many are prospective homebuyers, some looking to refinance are also exploring their options. First, jumping into the responsibility of home buying should be based on the merits of homeownership not on trying…
Home prices in the 20 biggest cities rose 2.4 percent from April to May, according to the monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, with a 2 percent monthly gain in the Washington market. Compared with May 2012, prices in those same 20 cities rose an average of 12.2 percent, nearly double the 6.5 percent annual gain…