"I’M GETTING READY TO BUY MY FIRST HOME AND MY PARENTS HAVE OFFERED TO HELP BY GIVING ME MONEY FOR PART OF THE DOWN PAYMENT. WILL I NEED TO DISCLOSE THIS MONEY?" Yes, you’ll need to disclose any large cash gifts that you receive or else your loan may be denied. You can disclose the money by having your parents write what is called a gift letter. The gift letter will need to have the amount of the gift, the relationship of the gifter to the giftee, the address of the property

"I RECEIVED A NOTICE STATING THAT MY ESCROW ACCOUNT IS PROJECTED TO HAVE A SHORTAGE AND I NEED TO MAKE A PAYMENT TO MY LOAN PROVIDER. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?” When you started with your new mortgage, an escrow account was set up to manage payments of property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Since the amount paid on taxes and insurance can fluctuate from year to year (or quarter to quarter, in some cases), the account may fall short of the required amount

Much like buying a home in the fall, selling a home in the fall is similar to selling at any other time of year. However, the current season and market conditions for sellers in the fall often have more of an impact on sellers than buyers. With that in mind, let’s look at what it takes to sell your home in the fall months: First and foremost, there are several tasks you’ll need to complete to get your home ready to sell. These tasks are the same tasks you’d need to complete i

For a lot of people, the number one excuse for not buying a home is that it’s not affordable. However, when all of the costs of buying and owning a home are broken down, you can see that it’s much more manageable—and much more affordable. Your Down Payment: Although your down payment may be one of the largest expenses in the homebuying process, getting a loan with a low down payment requirement is easier today than it’s ever been. Of course, the amount you’ll need to put down

At the tail end of last year, a positive economic outlook prompted the Federal Reserve to raise the federal funds rate for the first time since 2008. Since the federal funds rate is closely tied to mortgage rates, everyone began bracing themselves for the rise in interest rates which was sure to follow. However, that expected spike never materialized. In fact, interest rates have defied expectations by falling to levels we haven’t seen in over a year. Initially, the rates did

"I WENT THROUGH A BANKRUPTCY SIX YEARS AGO. I’VE BEEN WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE MY CREDIT SINCE THEN, BUT WILL IT BE DIFFICULT FOR ME TO BUY A HOME AND GET A MORTGAGE NOW?" Although each situation is certainly different, getting a mortgage after a bankruptcy will depend on the type of bankruptcy you filed, the type of loan you’re looking for and how you’ve been able to re-strengthen your credit and financial situation. Each type of loan has a mandatory waiting period after a ba

"I’M TRYING TO DECIDE IF I SHOULD MAKE UPGRADES TO MY HOME BEFORE I PUT IT ON THE MARKET. ARE THERE ANY GUIDELINES TO WHETHER OR NOT IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO REMODEL BEFORE SELLING?" Although just about every home could be upgraded in at least some small way, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Whether or not you should remodel—and what upgrades you should make—will depend on several different factors and you’ll need to consider a few other questions first: Does

If you haven’t heard much about interest rates lately, you’re not alone. Interest rates haven’t been front-page news lately because they’ve remained fairly steady since the beginning of the year. But why? And will this trend continue or will the rates fluctuate in the coming months? To see if we can get a better understanding of the rates, let’s look at the interest rate trends over the past year and a half, as reported by Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Rates Survey. Following record