| 241. | Bad Credit Isn`t a Roadblock to Home Ownership, It`s a Detour
Once upon a time not too many years ago, having bad or even slightly damaged credit could block you from getting a home loan. Today it just makes it more expensive...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, July 01, 2003 |
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| 242. | Who`s Buying Homes in America? Just about Everyone
High consumer confidence and a strong economy led to a fourth year of record-setting home sales, according to Who`s Buying Homes in America, the 24th annual survey of recent home buyers conducted by Chicago Title. The survey, based on a sample of 1,800 homebuyers in 20 major metropolitan markets, shows married buyers leading the charge among homebuyers...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 24, 2003 |
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| 243. | Balloon Mortgage Loans Are Not Toys
Sometimes a bursting balloon can be a surprise, and quite a nasty one at that. Actually, sometimes it can be downright disastrous...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 17, 2003 |
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| 244. | Turning the Almost-Perfect into the Perfect Home
When you`re shopping for a house you are looking for that special one the house that will be the family home for decades to come. However, that dream house is often elusive...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 10, 2003 |
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| 245. | Zero Down: It Could Make Buying Cheaper than Renting
Just because you can`t afford to rent doesn`t mean you can`t afford to buy. At first glance that statement might not appear to make much sense, but stick with me for a few minutes and you`ll see how and when this can actually be true...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, June 03, 2003 |
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| 246. | A Good Deal from the Government? In this Case, Yes!
You don`t have to be a teacher or a police officer to get a good deal on a Federal Housing Authority (FHA)-insured loan for a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) home. HUD`s new łTeacher Next Door˛ program allows schoolteachers to buy HUD-owned homes for half-price in economically distressed neighborhoods in the school districts where they work...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 27, 2003 |
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| 247. | How Much House Can You Afford?
Qualifying for a loan is usually first and foremost in the minds of people when they decide to start looking for a home to purchase. The question of how much one can borrow must be answered before considering making an offer on an attractive property...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 20, 2003 |
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| 248. | Promises Are Nice. . . But Get It in Writing
A verbal agreement, someone once said, is not worth the paper it`s printed on. Sad to say, the same must also be said about a handshake and a promise...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 13, 2003 |
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| 249. | A Lease-Purchase Agreement Could Be a Risk Worth Taking
There are few things more frustrating than finding the home you want and not being able to buy it because of credit problems, such as an old bankruptcy, or not having enough cash for the down payment. However, with a little bit of creativity and some give and take on both sides, you might be able to get that house with a lease-purchase (or lease-option) agreement...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, May 06, 2003 |
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| 250. | How Big SHOULD Your Down Payment Be?
Most of us tend to think in terms of how much money we "have" to shell out for a down payment when purchasing a home. However, we should be looking at how much we "should" put down...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 29, 2003 |
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| 251. | Cosigning: Loving Gesture, Risky Business
Many people seem to think that nothing says, "I love you" like giving flowers or jewelry. If you really want to show someone how deep your love is, cosign a mortgage for him or her...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 22, 2003 |
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| 252. | There Is More to the Right Mortgage Loan than Just the Rate
Besides finding the "right" house, you need to look for the "right" mortgage loan. There`s a world of difference between shopping for the best mortgage rate and shopping for the best mortgage loan...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 15, 2003 |
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| 253. | Getting a Mortgage When You`re Self-Employed
There are a lot of benefits to being self-employed and running your own business. However, getting a conventional mortgage isn`t always one of them...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 08, 2003 |
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| 254. | Sweetening the Pot: Making Your Home Financially Attractive
There are three basic ways to accelerate the sale of your house. You can add some financial incentives to help the sale along, take some measures to make the property as appealing as possible and then subtract yourself from the deal...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, April 01, 2003 |
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| 255. | Home Sweet Home! It`s Where the Deductions Are
So many beautiful things are said about the home: "Home is where the heart is." "There`s no place like home...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 25, 2003 |
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| 256. | Supplying a Second Mortgage: Don`t Ignore the Risks
There`s a lot to be said for carrying a second mortgage for the person who buys your home. There`s a lot that can be said against it, too...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 18, 2003 |
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| 257. | Buying a Home Isn`t as Scary as It Used to Be
The home-buying process is not easy. Don`t let anyone fool you about that...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 11, 2003 |
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| 258. | It`s Easier to Avoid Being Bitten by Capital Gains Taxes
When President Clinton signed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, millions of homeowners sighed with relief. They knew that now they would be able to keep all of the profit they made from selling their homes...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, March 04, 2003 |
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| 259. | Saving Money with That Extra Payment
How would you like to be able to reduce the effective interest rate on your mortgage by up to a full point, without refinancing or even renegotiating your current loan? You can, if you change the way you pay your mortgage and make one additional payment a year. What you have to do, according to Greg Frost of New Mexico`s Frost Mortgage, is make biweekly payments of one half of your mortgage payment...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 25, 2003 |
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| 260. | Some People Look For Dream Homes. Others Build Them.
Some people spend years searching for the home of their dreams. Other people build them...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 18, 2003 |
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| 261. | What`s the Point of Points?
Understanding the ins and outs of mortgages is tricky. One of the biggest problems is the terminology...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 11, 2003 |
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| 262. | Canceling Your Private Mortgage Insurance
Private mortgage insurance is one of the most important, beneficial, unwanted, and misunderstood types of insurance you`ll ever get. It can also be a pain to get rid of...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, February 04, 2003 |
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| 263. | Have You Done Your Mortgage Homework?
In many high schools and colleges, you can take home economics classes to learn how to take care of a house. You can also take shop, woodworking, or other courses to learn how to repair or even build one...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, January 28, 2003 |
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| 264. | Closing! It Doesn`t Have to be Difficult
Closing on a new home is sometimes approached with anxiety, especially if you are a first-time homebuyer. However, most closings go smoothly and if you and your lender have gone over the Good Faith Estimate of closing costs and the entire costs of the loan that your lender must provide, you should be mentally and financially prepared...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, January 21, 2003 |
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| 265. | Make Sure that You Have a Good ARM
When getting a mortgage loan, most people look at the conventional fixed-rate mortgages, such as the 30-year mortgage. It seems that most people feel more comfortable with a fixed-rate loan because they know exactly what their monthly loan payments will be for the entire period of the loan...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, January 14, 2003 |
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| 266. | Insurance Policies You Need to Purchase with Your Home Loan
Most people rely on insurance as a safety net for protection from surprises. When it comes to financing the purchase of a home, insurance not only gives you peace of mind, but it is required to close the transaction...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, January 07, 2003 |
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| 267. | Mortgages and Marriages: Guess Which Tends to Last Longer?
Getting out of the "I do!" you say at your wedding is easy compared to getting out of your financial obligation when you sign a mortgage. A divorce will end a marriage, but it will not end the mortgage agreement you both signed...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, December 31, 2002 |
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| 268. | Don`t Get Flipped! Outsmart the Scammers
The economy is in great shape right now. There are more people working, making money and buying homes than there have been in years, which means there are more people trying to cheat them...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, December 24, 2002 |
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| 269. | Let`s Put Predatory Lenders on the Endangered List
When it comes to home equity loans, there are good loans and there are bad loans, and then there are those that should be treated as criminal. The subject is predatory lending, and unless Congress votes to act on proposed legislation curtailing it, it will remain as a form of legalized loan sharking...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, December 17, 2002 |
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| 270. | Have You Ever Considered Becoming a Landlord?
I don`t know about you, but there have been times over the years, as I sat writing out a monthly rent or mortgage check, that I couldn`t help but wonder what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a monthly check like that. What would it be like to be a landlord? Before any of us can become landlords, we have to have something to rent...
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| Article XML Feed | | - Tuesday, December 10, 2002 |
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