Every holiday season when you get out the decorations, there always seems to be a period of organization where you need to untangle lights, sort out the broken ornaments and just get all of the trimmings in order. Next year, skip the hassle of sifting through everything. The year-to-year holiday storage strategies below will help make next December's decorating easy. Hide Paper Up High Utilize a space that is always vacant — the ceiling of your closet. Attach two strings of wire from the front wall above your closet door to the back wall. Make them parallel to each other and about two feet apart. Then you can slide your wrapping paper tubes across the two wires. No more crinkled or … [Continue Reading...]
Last week’s economic reporting included readings on U.S. housing markets, pending home sales, and weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims. S&P Case Shiller Home Price Indices: Month-to-moth home prices fall in October U.S. home prices fell in October for the fourth consecutive month. Wavering demand for homes was caused by rising mortgage rates and high home prices in many regional markets. The 20-City home price index showed the top three cities with the highest month-to-month home price declines were Miami. Florida with a -1.0 percent decline, Tampa, Florida where home prices declined by -0,8 percent, and Charlotte, North Carolina where home prices dropped by … [Continue Reading...]
Home ownership may be one of the most familiar goals of adulthood, but there's more than one reason why so many people flock towards this type of investment and leave the rental market behind. If you're trying to decide if you should make the big plunge towards buying, here are some benefits of saving up for a down payment and finding the right place to settle in. It's More Economical Many people eschew home ownership simply because it can be hard to wrangle together the funds for a down payment. However, while a monthly rental is money you'll never see again, the money you put down on a mortgage is being invested back into your home, making for a solid investment you can capitalize on … [Continue Reading...]
Are you thinking about buying a new home using a mortgage loan? If you've just graduated from college, you're probably wondering how your student loans will impact a mortgage and what your options are. In today's post we'll share three things that you need to know about mortgages if you're still working on paying off your student loan debt. #1: Yes, Your Student Loan Will Affect Your Application You might as well embrace the fact that your outstanding student loan is going to cause some questions to be asked during the mortgage application process. Mortgage lenders have a responsibility to understand the risk involved in lending a significant amount of money to you. And because of this, any … [Continue Reading...]
If you are thinking about purchasing a house today, you have probably realized that mortgage rates have increased significantly. This has made it much harder for people to afford home loans, and these higher rates have had an impact on the lender’s business as well. In an effort to make it easier for people to afford a home, you might be able to access something called a buy-down loan or a buy-down mortgage. It could help you save a significant amount of money during the first few months or years of your loan. How A Buydown Mortgage Works If you decide to go with a buydown mortgage, your interest rate will be lower for a temporary period of time. For example, it might be two percent … [Continue Reading...]
So you've been pre-approved for a mortgage – great! You've taken the first step toward becoming a homeowner. But before you start picking out china patterns, you'll want to keep in mind that a pre-approval isn't the same thing as a mortgage agreement. There's still no guarantee that you'll actually get a mortgage. But why would a lender deny a mortgage after pre-approving a borrower? Here's what you need to know. Sudden Changes In Income Or Employment History A number of mortgages will require borrowers to have consistent employment for a certain length of time. If you apply for an FHA mortgage, for instance, you'll be obligated to have an employment history dating back at least two … [Continue Reading...]
