| 391. | Predatory Lenders Target Seniors
Some companies specialize in doing business with senior citizens. Then there are those who specialize in giving them the business...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, August 15, 2000 |
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| 392. | A Land Contract Can Be an Option
A scary dream is called a nightmare, a frightening movie is called a horror flick, and a terrifying way to buy a home is often called a land contract. With a land contract you can have all of the obligations of a mortgage with virtually none of the guarantees, rights or protections that a standard mortgage provides...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, August 08, 2000 |
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| 393. | Refinance to Lower Your Total Mortgage Costs and Build Equity Faster
When most of us refinance our mortgages, we do so to lower our monthly payments. This gives us both immediate savings on our monthly mortgage payments and savings on the total amount of interest we`ll pay...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, August 01, 2000 |
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| 394. | Check Your Credit Report before Applying for a Mortgage
One of the first things that any lender does before giving you a mortgage is check your credit report. Since your credit report is probably the single biggest factor not only in your getting your mortgage but also in determining how much you`ll be paying for it, it makes sense to know exactly what the lender will find...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, July 25, 2000 |
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| 395. | Bankruptcy Makes Getting a Mortgage Difficult - but Not Impossible
As you might or might not know, Congress is in the middle of debating changes to the bankruptcy laws. Regardless of what Congress does or does not do, those changes will deal with filing bankruptcy...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, July 18, 2000 |
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| 396. | Getting a Mortgage for a Vacation Home is Harder than for a Primary Residence
As far as the IRS is concerned, there is no real difference between the mortgage on a primary residence and the one on a vacation home, and according to the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) there are more than 7.5 million vacation homes in the U.S. today...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, July 11, 2000 |
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| 397. | Mortgage Broker or Mortgage Lender: Which One is Right for You?
Mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders do the same thingÑget financing for those want to buy homes. If you talk to a broker you`ll be told why it is best to use a broker to get your home loan...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, July 04, 2000 |
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| 398. | Use Your Mortgage to Improve Your Home
If you are like most of us, your home is your single biggest investment as well as your largest debt. In some situations, by increasing that debt‹your mortgage‹you can increase the value of that investment...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 27, 2000 |
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| 399. | Subprime Mortgages Do Not Have to Be Predatory
There is a great deal of well-deserved media attention being paid to predatory lending nowadays. While most talk about it in general terms, few define exactly what a predatory mortgage is, or how it is different from a subprime mortgage...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 20, 2000 |
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| 400. | Mortgage Closing Costs are Too Big to be Ignored
One of the problems with buying a home is that no matter what the purchase price is, the home actually costs more. That "more" is usually referred to as "closing costs," and they can leave a first-time homebuyer with a major case of "sticker shock...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 13, 2000 |
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| 401. | FHA Simplifies Down Payment Program
Mortgages are complex financial documents based on complicated combinations of mathematical formulas, state and federal rules, and a wide variety of bureaucratic and regulatory agency regulations. The FHA (Federal Housing Administration), which insures the lender against loss if the borrower should be unable to meet the payments on the mortgage, has taken steps to simplify the down payment process--and reduced its size...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 06, 2000 |
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| 402. | Disaster Mortgages Help Homeowners Recover
April brought a major winter storm to Alaska and tornadoes to Florida, Illinois, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Maine was buried by a series of snowstorms in March and then hit with "extreme winter weather" conditions in May...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 30, 2000 |
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| 403. | Reverse Mortgages are Not a Trick, but They Are Tricky
At first glance a reverse mortgage almost appears to be some sort of trick, a bit of financial sleight of hand. You own your home, then you "sell it," but you still have it...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 23, 2000 |
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| 404. | Once Confusion is Cleared, VA Mortgages are Hard to Beat
Even though the VA home loan program (a mortgage guaranteed by the Department of Veterans` Affairs) has been around since the end of WWII, there are still a number of things that confuse people. One of the most common misconceptions is that you have to be a veteran to use it...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 16, 2000 |
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| 405. | Prepayment Penalties: Know What the Rules Are
As the mortgage world becomes more competitive, lenders are looking for different ways to give themselves an edge over their competition. Some of them have actually found a way to make prepayment penalties tempting, and if you are looking for a mortgage, you are looking for the best rate available...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 09, 2000 |
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| 406. | Title Insurance is Required for a Mortgage
My dictionary lists 12 different meanings for the word "title." Some include what you call a book, how you address a member of a royal family, or what boxers and other athletes compete for in championship matches...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 02, 2000 |
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| 407. | Prepayment Penalties: Know What the Rules Are
As the mortgage world becomes more competitive, lenders are looking for different ways to give themselves an edge over their competition. Some of them have actually found a way to make prepayment penalties tempting, and if you are looking for a mortgage, you are looking for the best rate available...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 25, 2000 |
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| 408. | The Interest Rate on Your Mortgage Can Determine the Home You Can Buy
While your income, debts and living expenses determine how big a monthly mortgage payment you can afford to make, it`s the interest rate that will spell out how much house you can actually get for that monthly payment. That`s because, after the down payment, the most important figure you have to deal with when it comes time to buying a house is your monthly mortgage payment...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 18, 2000 |
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| 409. | You Can Get a Construction Loan to Build the Perfect Home
Some people spend years searching for the "perfect home." Others simply have it built...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 11, 2000 |
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| 410. | The Escrow Process: What is It and How Does It Work?
If you were to compare the process of buying a house to going on a long drive, the time you spend in escrow could be looked at as the time you spend sitting in a repair shop halfway to your destination while the mechanic repairs your car. You realize that the repairs are required if you are going to finish the trip, but you can`t help but look at your watch from time to time and wonder why they are taking so long...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 04, 2000 |
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| 411. | Even in Short Term, Mortgage Payments are a Good Investment
One of the most common arguments people use against buying a home is that they plan to be living in it for only a few years, and that it wouldn`t be worth the time, money or aggravation involved in buying a home and getting a mortgage. They figure that renting would be easier, cheaper and a better use for their money...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 28, 2000 |
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| 412. | Five Steps to Better Credit and a Lower Mortgage Rate
If you are one of those rare individuals who has a perfect credit rating, there are five steps you have to take to keep it that way. If, however, your credit rating is less than perfect‹even if it`s downright abysmal‹there are five steps you can take to improve it...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 21, 2000 |
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| 413. | Mortgage Underwriters and Review Appraisers Can Add to Mortgage Anxiety
Buying a home is an emotional experience. The excitement, anxiety, anticipation and stress levels that the process produces can wreak as much havoc on your sanity as an earthquake or tornado can inflict on your home...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 14, 2000 |
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| 414. | Think Outside the 30-Year-Mortgage Box
Even though mortgage rates have risen recently, if you have a mortgage in the vicinity of 7.5 percent you should still consider refinancing...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 07, 2000 |
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| 415. | Insurance Policies that May Be Required to Get a Mortgage Loan
When applying for a mortgage loan, many consumers discover that there are several types of insurance that need to be purchased. Here are the answers to some of the more common questions that borrowers ask about insurance policies...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 29, 2000 |
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| 416. | Mortgage Education Key to Finding "Flexible Financing"
"Flexible financing" is a term that can be applied to a growing number of mortgage loans that make it easier for people to get home loans. Most of these are aimed at first-time buyers...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 22, 2000 |
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| 417. | Even in a Down Economy You Can Avoid Foreclosure
Statistics from both the federal government and from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), the industry trade group, show that the national foreclosure rate is climbing. Even though experts do not see the rate dropping again in the near future, they do have some advice on how to help make sure that your home isn`t one of those that gets foreclosed‹even if you run into financial problems...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 15, 2000 |
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| 418. | Getting a Zero-Down Mortgage Does Not Require Money-Just Education
Being able to buy a home with no down payment can be a wonderful deal, or a dangerous trap. It all depends upon the mortgage itself, the house, the economy, and you...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 08, 2000 |
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| 419. | When It Comes to a Mortgage, Lenders Want the Entire Credit Score Story
The difference between a credit report and a credit score is the difference between a chapter and the entire novel. The novel tells the complete story, and when it comes time to get a mortgage, you definitely want to tell your lender as complete a story as possible...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 01, 2000 |
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| 420. | ARMs Offer Mortgage Flexibility
Interest rates don`t really need to be high to make an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) attractive. All you need is a good idea of how long it will be until you sell your house...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, January 25, 2000 |
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