All About Real Estate, Finance & Mortgages

Obtaining a home loan is arguably the most expensive transaction you’ll experience in your lifetime. Therefore, getting the best home at the greatest value is an endeavor worth pursuing. Whether you’re trying to squeeze in to a higher priced home or just trying to shave a couple bucks off of the closing costs, this article will help you explore your options. Here’s a list of our top 7 things you can do to cut corners and save money on your mortgage Shop Rate! Shop Fees! ARMs Balloons Interest Only Incentives PMI 1. Shop Rate! Sometimes the obvious just needs to be stated out loud: Lenders do not charge the same rate. Some charge more, and some charge less. Obtain several loan offers for consideration, and compare the rate. If a lender offers you an unusually low rate, check for fees, points, and additional charges or changes in terms. Don’t fall into the trap of just going with the largest bank on the block. Do your homework and check your lender’s background and reputation, but open y...

Did you know that when you take out a fixed-rate mortgage, you're paying a big "safety premium"? That's because banks usually set their fixed rates at considerably higher levels than their variable rates. They do so to ensure that a fixed-rate mortgage will still be profitable for them if interest rates rise. If you're a potential homeowner, you should ask yourself if that premium is worth paying. It may protect you if interest rates spike up suddenly. But if they don't, you may end up paying thousands of dollars in extra interest. That's an expensive insurance policy. Historically, variable-rate mortgages have proven to be cheaper than those with fixed rates over the long term. Even if you feel that interest rates will rise in the near future, you should take a long-term perspective. With a variable rate mortgage, you are usually starting out at a lower rate to begin with, and you wi%ll benefit from any decreases in interest rates that occur in the future...

"If football taught me anything about business, it is that you win the game one play at a time." Fran TarkentonFootball Player, Businessman and Author

"When we can begin to take our failures seriously, it means we are ceasing to be afraid of them. It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves." Katherine Mansfield1888-1923, Author

"The last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Viktor Frankl1905-1997, Neurologist, Psychiatrist and Author