PMI Content Index - Page 1

PMI, or private mortgage insurance, reimburses lenders for the balance above 80 percent of the mortgage, if a home becomes a foreclosure. If you didn't put down 20 percent in cash on your home, you're probably paying private mortgage insurance. Learn more here about PMI -- who needs it, what it does and how to use it.

Senior's Home Equity may be at risk from reverse mortgage lending abusers, according to a report from the National Consumer Law Center. Reverse mortgages are being used by abusers of the subprime mortgage market as “tools” to profit from seniors. The National Consumer Law Center thinks that if protections aren’t put in place soon, not only will the life savings of senior citizens become depleted, but so will our tax dollars and economy. Read the full story on reverse mortgage abuse below from the National Consumer Law Center.

**Home Buying Risks, Pitfalls and Tips For New Construction Homes** Home buying has risks associated with it, particularly the purchase of a new construction home in a new development. There are pitfall all along the way. What should you do to protect yourself? How do you handle the uncertainty of buying a new construction home in a new development? One reader suggests that the buyer should share any risks in that new construction purchase with the lender that give the buyer the loan. Would you agree? Leave your comment below.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) And Piggyback Loans. There are less and less piggyback loans these days but in prior years, home owners avoided private mortgage insurance by obtaining a piggyback loan. Now with the housing crisis and credit crisis, lenders rarely give piggyback loans and more borrowers will have to rely on private mortgage insurance (PMI) if they can't put down 20% towards the purchase of a home.

Saving to buy a home? How much should you save? What will your housing expenses be? When deciding to buy a home or a house, you need to answer these questions to have a better idea and know how much you will be able to afford. You might be saving money monthly now to buy a home in the future. And, now is the right time to plan for those initial costs to buy a home and then have savings for housing expenses that will come later.

Home equity line of Credit is now more difficult to get. The credit crisis has caused lenders to become more cautious and in some cases withdraw from the second home loan mortgage market, including home equity lines of credit or any type of home equity credit line. Why? Lenders have been burned with these home equity lines of credit, or any type of second home loan or home equity line of credit. Now lenders are pulling back and getting out of the equity line of credit market.

Since Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Company shut its doors on August 5, 2009, hundreds of thousands of customers have not understood what is happening. We have information for those customers whose loans were not picked up by Bank of America but by CENLAR. This information is from the CENLAR website as well as from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Check back frequently, as we will be updating the information as often as possible.

Ilyce Glink Show Consumer Advice and Notes: Thanks to our WSB listeners for their generous contributions to the 2009 Careathon: We raised $1.3 million to cure cancer in kids. Our Taylor Bean & Whitaker updates have generated a ton of comments. Here's the link with the latest and we'll be updating that story again this week. Stock market dropped a little, we'll tell you why. Housing numbers looked great. Will it last? FREE BOOK OFFER and FREE EBOOK OFFER. How to find a financial planner.

Home improvements on a budget are on a rise. With the housing crisis and the downward pressure on home prices, more people may opt to stay put and renovate their homes. But these home renovations and repairs will be smaller and give home owners more bang for the buck. Closet organizers are one way to improve a home and make a home more livable. The home improvement doesn't have to cost too much. The home repair needs to suit your needs and a closet organizer can unclutter a space you use daily and make your life easier. It doesn't have to cost too much. It can be on a budget and you might be able to do it yourself. Best of all, if you are planning to sell your home in the near future, a small home improvement project and a well organized closet with a well installed closet organizer can help your home look better and sell faster in this real estate market.

Renovation costs have soared out of control - even in the current recession. You'd think that renovation costs would be less because fewer home improvement contractors are employed. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Consumers, mindful of renovation costs are staging their home improvement projects. Doing home improvement projects in phases lowers renovation costs.

Today on the Clark Howard Show, Ilyce discusses unemployment and the economy. Scams are all the rage (ThinkGlink.com has published 10 scam stories in the past two weeks.), and we'll discuss the new IRS scams you'll want to watch out for. Is there a better way to estimate closing costs? Ilyce thinks so. Also, sign up for her Ilyce Glink Fan Page on Facebook and get a free ebook. You'll also want to check out the ThinkGlink Store. And today, Ilyce opens the doors for her latest event: HOW TO PROFIT FROM FORECLOSURES, on October 24, 2009. Early bird special starts now and WILL NOT BE REPEATED. Find out more on today's Clark Howard Show.