My mortgage lender informed me that my escrow account, used to pay my homeowner’s insurance and property taxes, was underfunded recently. I could either send them a lump sum, or they could raise my monthly mortgage payment. The funny thing was that I received a check from my lender because my account was overfunded just […]
California Housing Financing Agency (CalHFA) wants to spread the word out on its new assistance program to help first time homebuyers. I’m compensated for this piece, though the opinions are completely mine. Living in Southern California, I am under no illusion that the cost of owning a home here is anywhere close to average house […]
A few months ago, my wife and I refinanced our mortgage. During the process, our bank informed us that our interest rate would be increased by an eighth of a percentage point, because my credit score was just under the 710 required for their best rate. It’s well known that people with less than sparkling […]
My wife and I built our home in 2004, at the height of the housing boom. We built as large of a house as we possibly could using creative financing, which included an adjustable rate first mortgage, and an interest-only second mortgage. This wasn’t an ideal situation, but we planned to refinance within a few […]
Right now, with mortgage rates at historic lows, it’s unlikely that you’ll hear of anyone choosing to float their mortgage rate. After all, most people will want to lock in the low rate now to protect themselves against the market recovery that will certainly mean higher interest rates. However, this begs the question: when is […]
Now might be just the right time to refinance your mortgage. Even if you already have a low interest rate mortgage, you could still benefit, thanks to the record-low rates that are present right now. Indeed, even someone with a 5% interest rate on a mortgage could save money, since rates on 30-year fixed mortgages […]
