I was looking around for information about home loans yesterday and was reminded of a great resource: The Mortgage Professor website, run by Jack Guttentag, Professor Finance Emeritus at Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania. It’s one of those old-school-looking sites with a ton of information that’s very easy to sort through, from tutorials on how to… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: home loans
Changes Coming to FHA Loan Program in 2010
Click ‘Play’ to hear me summarize proposed FHA loan program changes in 2010. A few years ago FHA loans made up only around 3 percent of the home loan market. Now they make up closer to 50 percent, due to their lower down payment requirements (3.5.%) and less stringent qualification standards, combined with the virtual disappearance… Continue Reading
Free Mortgage Refinance Guide from the Federal Reserve Board
Are you thinking about refinancing your existing home mortgage? If so, there’s a handy guide to home loan refinancing from the Federal Reserve Board that covers some important topics, such as: Comparing home loan refinance options Understanding ‘no cost’ refinances Calculating when you will recoup the expense of refinancing your mortgage Home mortgage prepayment penalties… Continue Reading
Duped Homeowner Asked to Pay Fraudulent Debt
The New York Times posted a pretty hair-raising article today about a homeowner who is being asked by the FDIC to pay $150,000 of debt racked up by the company that allegedly deceived her. For the record, this is not someone who used her house as a credit card. She’s more of a salt-of-the-earth type of… Continue Reading
Foreclosure Rescue Scams on the Rise
At a recent office meeting our broker pointed out that he’s hearing more and more about scams involving people preying on homeowners in foreclosure. One of the methods is for someone to approach a homeowner who is facing foreclosure, and make an arrangement in which the owner signs their home over to them via a… Continue Reading