Q: I was trying to do a streamline refinance of my mortgage and was told that the lender can’t decrease the interest rate on my loan without changing the number of years left on my loan. I have never refinanced since I bought my home in 2004. My interest rate is 5.37 percent. Can you [...]
Q: I’m in loan modification hell. We supposedly "qualified" for the Making Home Affordable program, and our lender, Bank of America, gave us a new, modified payment. We supplied all the required documentation, etc, to our lender, and from what I have read everywhere, once you "qualify" and are given this new monthly payment, the [...]
It’s always worthwhile to plan for saving money, even when the stock market is tanking. The fact is that you don’t need to put your money into anything risky—there are always savings accounts and certificates of deposit, for example. You may not earn much with these options, but you won’t lose anything either. Folks who [...]
If you’re getting a mortgage, you will first need to understand the term private mortgage insurance, also known as PMI. PMI, which nearly became extinct during the real estate boom years, is an insurance product created solely for the benefit of a lender, although the borrower usually pays it. It gives limited protection to a [...]
I know the last thing you want is yet another health insurance plan, but it might be time to think about sports insurance for kids. For the most part, your regular health insurance plan will cover injuries and physicals, but you might want to check your plan for sports insurance coverage for kids. When I [...]
If you've wondered how to catch up on your mortgage payments, this reader wants to know and wants to avoid foreclosure. Q: Unbeknownst to me my husband stopped paying our mortgage payments. When I found out, I called to find out how much of a payment I had to make to get caught up on [...]
Q: I know that you are used to people having problems with loan modifications, where the banks lose stuff. We have that problem with two different banks on the house that my sister and I inherited, although we’re not having trouble making the payments. The house has been put in our names and we notified [...]
Q: I heard you on WSB radio in Atlanta a couple of days ago speaking about qualifying for mortgage loan refinance programs. I have a mortgage with a six percent interest rate and a loan balance of about $200,000. I believe that my home will appraise at about around 400,000. Would I qualify for the [...]
Q: Is it worth refinancing my mortgage? Last September I tried to refinance my home with my lender. I had lost my current job and started running a small landscape business I previously had. The agent working with my lender told me about a loan product with no income verification. There was a problem with [...]
Q: Thank you very much for your recent story on the six ways to reduce your property taxes. You mentioned that there are individuals and companies that specialize in appealing property taxes for homeowners. Some of them will charge you a percentage of whatever savings you obtain in the process. Can you recommend a company [...]
