home loan: Can You Buy a House With Low Income - 07/22/23 01:10 PM
If you don’t have substantial earnings, it could still be possible to buy a house.
Buying a home can be challenging if you have low income, but it's an important step toward building assets and growing your net worth. Loans for low-income borrowers can make homeownership more achievable.
What Is a Low-Income Home Loan?
A low-income home loan is a mortgage that homebuyers can qualify for even if they don't have substantial earnings.
Some types of home loans set income limits. Others are open to people with higher incomes but don't exclude low-income borrowers.
Private lenders issue low-income home loans that are insured by government agencies … (2 comments)

home loan: Complete Checklist of Documents Needed for a Mortgage - 07/19/23 05:11 PM
Ready to apply for a mortgage? This document checklist will help you find what you need.
When you're buying a home, gathering the paperwork for your mortgage before you apply can be a big task. Tracking down documents can take time but doing it before you need them could help you get to the closing table faster.
You will owe your lender a stack of documents once you apply – and during underwriting – that show you can repay the loan. A mortgage application typically requires a paper trail to verify:
Income and employment. Assets and debts. Credit history. Identity. Rental history. Other information, such … (2 comments)

home loan: How to Decide What Types of Mortgage Loans are Right for You - 07/13/23 10:29 AM
Your financial history and housing plans can determine your ideal mortgage type.
Your life and finances are different from every other home buyer, and your mortgage should be tailored to fit. There are several different types of mortgage loans. Finding the type of mortgage that meets your unique needs can save you money and help make you a homeowner sooner.
These types of mortgage loans may fit you, if……Your credit is great, and you have good savings
Conventional mortgage: This is a traditional type of mortgage loan. The mortgage lender assumes more risk than they do with a government-backed loan. Conventional loans can be fixed-rate or adjustable-rate. … (3 comments)

home loan: What a $250,000 Home Looks Like in 25 Major Cities - 07/10/23 09:18 AM
Find out what $250K buys you across the nation.
Whether you’re simply browsing or looking to relocate, we’ve scoped out a home for sale for $250,000 in 25 major cities across the country. Revealing just how much house you can get for your money, these homes range from a 500-square-feet coop in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood to a 3,052-square-feet single-family home in El Paso’s Northwest neighborhood.
For more information on what a $250,000 home looks visit the Scoop Blog
… (5 comments)

home loan: Home Equity Loan or HELOC vs Reverse: Mortgage Which is Right for You? - 04/10/23 10:59 PM
If you’ve owned your residence for a while, you’ve probably built up a valuable amount of home equity you can tap into and use as cash. Three popular ways to draw equity from your home include a reverse mortgage, a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC).
All three of these financial instruments help homeowners access the equity in their homes, but they do so in different ways. Each allows homeowners to use the funds for any purpose, ranging from paying off their high-interest credit cards to remodeling a bathroom.
However, each financing option works differently and one of these options may … (4 comments)

home loan: Your Stress-Free Guide to Shopping for Home Loans - 04/21/22 11:38 AM
With this super-simple breakdown of loan types, you won’t get overwhelmed — you’ll find the right mortgage.
When it comes to buying a house, most people know what they prefer: a bungalow or a condo, a hot neighborhood or a sleepy street.
Mortgages, too, come in many styles — and recognizing which type you should choose is just slightly more involved than, say, knowing that you prefer hardwood floors over wall-to-wall carpeting.
First things first: To pick the best loan for your situation, you need to know what your situation is exactly. Will you be staying in this home for years? Decades? Are you … (1 comments)

home loan: 6 Simple Ways to Save Energy and Water in Your Home - 04/04/22 05:44 PM
There are many ways to make your home more energy- and water-efficient — and you don’t always have to hire a professional to get the job done. Here are six easy home improvement projects that can save you money while reducing your energy and water consumption.
1   Seal Gaps
Your HVAC system works hard to keep the temperature inside your home consistent — but hot air is always trying to move from warm spaces to cooler ones. Walls, windows, doors and the roof are all places where heat is likely to enter or escape.
Applying caulk around the windows casings and weather stripping around … (1 comments)

home loan: Higher Mortgage Loan Limits Set for 2022 - 12/02/21 10:35 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that conforming loan limits for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will jump in most of the country to $647,200, an increase of $98,950 from 2021’s limit of $548,250. The higher levels are in response to rising home prices over the past year.
The FHFA’s House Price Index shows that home prices rose 18.05%, on average, between the third quarters of 2020 and 2021. The 2022 conforming loan limits are increasing by the same percentage, the FHFA reports.
However, in areas where the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit, the … (0 comments)

home loan: Who Qualifies for an FHA Home Loan? - 10/19/21 02:32 PM
A mortgage the Federal Housing Administration backs is known as an FHA loan. FHA loans are unique from other mortgages and home loans. They’re often helpful for first-time homeowners because they offer a combination of a lower down payment requirement and lower credit score standards.
The following are some of the critical factors when it comes to qualifying for an FHA loan.
Credit Score Requirements
The minimum credit score for an FHA loan approval is 500. That’s lower and often significantly lower than lender requirements for traditional mortgages. The lower credit score requirements are a big reason this is an appealing program for first-time … (2 comments)

home loan: Fannie Mae vs. Freddie Mac: What's the difference? - 10/17/21 10:08 PM
You’re likely to come across Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as you explore your mortgage options. Although you won’t directly obtain a home loan through either, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are key players in the mortgage market. Let’s take a closer look at these government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Overview
In 1938, the government created Fannie Mae, or the Federal National Mortgage Association, amid the struggles of the Great Depression. The goal of Fannie Mae was to create a more reliable source of funding for homebuyers, opening doors for more Americans, figuratively and literally.
Freddie Mac, short for the Federal Home … (0 comments)

home loan: The Secret Bias Hidden in Mortgage-Approval Algorithms - 08/28/21 01:46 PM
 
The new four-bedroom house in Charlotte, N.C., was Crystal Marie and Eskias McDaniels’s personal American dream, the reason they had moved to this Southern town from pricey Los Angeles a few years ago. A lush, long lawn, 2,700 square feet of living space, a neighborhood pool and playground for their son, Nazret. All for $375,000.
Prequalifying for the mortgage was a breeze. They said they had saved much more than they would need for the down payment, had very good credit—scores of 805 and 725—and earned roughly six figures each, she in marketing at a utility company and Eskias representing a pharmaceutical … (1 comments)

home loan: It Ain't Over 'Til the 'Funding Lady' Sings - 08/21/21 09:09 PM
 
If you think your new mortgage loan is official once you’ve signed your closing papers, you might want to rethink that. Sure, you’re pretty darn close to a brand-new loan, but you’re not completely there. When your loan is officially approved by the lender and closing documents are ordered, there were several stages your application went through before papers could be ordered.
When your loan officer contacts you and lets you know your loan has been approved, it’s very possible there are still some outstanding conditions attached to your approval. Your loan could be conditionally approved. This simply means there are some … (3 comments)

home loan: Why Warren Buffett Wants You to Refinance Your Mortgage Now - 07/03/21 09:26 PM
With 30-year fixed mortgage rates hovering around 3%, homeowners who haven’t refinanced loans in the past year or two might be missing out on big savings.
Ninety-year-old investing sage Warren Buffett would wonder what you are waiting for.
He told attendees at Berkshire Hathaway company's May annual meeting in Los Angeles that 2021 holds great opportunities for borrowers, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s commitment to keeping its key interest rate near zero.
"The economy went off a cliff in March [2020],” Buffett said. “It was resurrected in an extraordinarily effective way by Federal Reserve actions."
To learn more read our helpful guide the SCOOP!
… (5 comments)

home loan: New Refi Program Aims to Help Lower-income Owners Save - 06/01/21 09:27 PM
Fannie Mae will launch RefiNow this week, which could help lower-income homeowners save hundreds of dollars a month on their mortgage payments.
The program, which begins June 5, aims to help about 2 million homeowners lower the interest rates on their mortgages. Eligible homeowners could save an estimated $100 to $250 a month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae’s regulator.
Among the eligibility requirements, homeowners must earn 80% or less of their area’s median income to apply. Borrowers also must have a Fannie Mae–backed mortgage (use the loan lookup tool to find out). Borrowers must be current on their mortgage and … (0 comments)

home loan: FHA, VA or USDA: Which One Is Better? - 05/09/21 09:57 AM
There are two basic types of mortgage loan programs, conventional and government backed. A conventional loan is one where the issuing lender assumes the risk of making the mortgage. Should the loan ever go into default and the lender is forced to foreclose, the lender is on the hook for the entire loss. There is in fact private mortgage insurance used for low down payment conventional loans, but the insurance policy only covers the difference between 80% of the value of the property and the actual down payment. With a 5% down payment, 15% of the loan amount will be covered.
Not … (0 comments)