Interest Rates Content Index - Page 1

Interest rates affect a wide variety of financial transactions from mortgage lending to investments to basic savings accounts. Learn more here about interest rates and what they mean for your financial planning.

**The Fannie Mae Rental Program will allow homeowners to avoid foreclosure for a year.** This rental program or "Deed to Lease" program will allow homeowners who haven't qualified for a home loan modification or for the Making Home Affordable Act to avoid foreclosure for a year. The Fannie Mae Rental Program has specific criteria that the homeowners must qualify for, including they must live in the home as their primary residence and they can't be more than 12 months past due. Read the full article below fore more information on the Fannie Mae Rental Program.

**Divorce Decree vs. Quit Claim Deed** You get divorced. You refinance your home. Your ex-spouse gives you a quit claim deed. End of story? Not so, says this reader whose ex-spouse wants half of the proceeds from the sale of the home 13 years after the quit claim deed and and 14 years after the divorce. Does the divorce decree trump the quit claim deed? Does the quit claim deed trump the divorce decree? What should the ex-spouse get in this real estate problem.

**Low Appraisal Caused By Declining Home Values Results In Change To Loan Refinance Terms** If you apply to refinance your loan and get quoted terms, can you force the lender to abide by those terms? What if your property received a low appraisal? What if declining home values caused your home value to drop below what you owe on your current mortgage? And what if you decide not to go forward with the loan refinance, can you get your application money back?

Winterize Your Home And Get a Tax Credit. The IRS has advised taxpayers that the Expanded Recovery Act Tax Credit will help homeowners winterize their homes so they can save energy and save money at the same time. But the IRS cautions homeowners to check the tax credit certification before they buy winterizing tools.

$8,000 Tax Credit: Administration Calls on Congress To Pass $8,000 Tax Credit And Other Pro-Housing Measures. The White House supports three pro-housing measures including the extension and expansion of the $8,000 tax credit, continuing an expansion of the loan limits, and support for the Housing Trust Fund. These pro-housing measures were announced by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan at a press conference Thursday morning.

**Loan Modification Help: Why Lenders Are Slow To Provide Loan Modifications** Millions of Americans have applied with their banks to obtain a loan modification. They desperately need loan modification help. The loan modification process is taking an extremely long time. Now homeowners want to know how they can get a loan modification -- whether under the Obama Making Home Affordable Plan or not -- and why the lenders are slow to provide loan modifications. A new study is revealing some answers.

**Contractor's Liens and Foreclosures** Worried about contractor's liens? When you buy a foreclosure, check to see if there are any contractor's liens against the property that have survived the foreclosure. Often, the lender will wipe out all other subordinate liens, including contractor's liens, in the foreclosure process. But in some cases, those liens may still exist and be valid. If you suspect there might be other liens that will be filed against the property even after you close, be sure to purchase a title insurance policy with coverage over contractor's liens. You will want to have this insurance in place to have a title company cover the costs of litigation and the costs to remove the contractor's liens with the purchase of the title insurance even if you bought the property after a foreclosure.

Ilyce Glink Show notes - October 18, 2009 FDIC shuts down the 99th bank this year; FREE BOOKS and EBOOK DEAL; How to Profit from Foreclosures; Herman Cain show.

**Why Buy Title Insurance On a House When You Pay Cash For the Home** If you are making the largest investment of your life, wouldn't you want to make sure you are protected by obtaining and buying title insurance? When you buy title insurance on a house, a title company gives you certain guarantees that you are the rightful owner of the home and certain other title protections. Title insurance does not protect you against future title problems that might develop nor does it protect you from fire or other casualties. But if you are paying cash to a seller are you certain the seller will give you good title to the home?

**Refinancing An Interest Only Loan** If you have an interest only loan, it may be a good time to refinance the mortgage loan. You will owe the same amount today on your Interest only loan as you will in ten years. On an interest only loan you never pay down the principal balance. If the interest on your loan is high, you should consider refinancing the interest only loan. If you plan to live in a home a short period of time, refinancing an interest only loan may not be right for you.