A survey from ProPrivacy shows that many people (99% of those surveyed) fail to read the fine print when agreeing to terms for a product or service. However, understanding the key terms of a financial product, including a home equity agreement (HEA), can help in responsible management of financial affairs. A HEA provides an alternative … Read more
What happens when a property is being sold as-is and the seller will not do repairs but the home doesn’t meet FHA minimum property standards (MPS)? How does the buyer qualify for an FHA loan? It’s a great question and a situation that happens quite often. It’s worth mentioning that the seller is limiting his … Read more
Reviewed Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors opinions or evaluations. While people take out personal loans for a wide variety of reasons, they do share one common goal—minimizing their borrowing costs. One way to reduce costs is to find personal loans with no … Read more
When you take out a mortgage loan to finance a home purchase, ownership of the loan may change hands multiple times over its lifespan. While you make payments to your loan servicer, they are not necessarily the current owner of the mortgage. It’s important to know who actually owns your home loan in case you … Read more
Purchasing a home comes with myriad upfront costs – inspection fees, appraisal charges, title insurance, and more. These expenses, collectively called closing costs, can range from 2-5% of the total loan amount. For a $300,000 mortgage, you could pay $6,000-$15,000 in closing fees alone. As a buyer, covering these substantial charges can be a major … Read more
You don’t have much choice when it comes to paying taxes. However, you do have options on how to pay them. Writing a check is certainly one way, but in some cases, it may not be the best financial strategy. You may be in a situation where borrowing the money may be a better choice. … Read more
Boat financing is not terribly different from financing a car, a home, or other major purchases, but people often wonder just how long you can finance a boat for. There are different variables (like the size of your down payment and the interest rate), that will affect just how much your monthly payment boils down … Read more
Federal Housing Administration loans, or FHA loans for short, are government-backed loans overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA loans are available to borrowers with a less-than-ideal credit score and not a lot of cash on hand, and these loans give home buyers on a tight budget a chance to … Read more
An FHA loan, a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, is a popular choice for many home buyers because of its low down payment and modest credit score requirements. If you want to buy a condo and benefit from the low down payment that comes with an FHA loan, youâll need to either buy … Read more
The number of mortgages you can have depends on a few factors, ranging from your individual circumstances to general lending rules and industry standards. Let’s look at how mortgages work and how many you might be able to secure. Before we get started, it might be worth recapping some mortgage basics. A mortgage is a … Read more