You'll often hear people ask whether they should prepay their mortgages, and for many it makes sense to prepay. Q: I hear and see so many financial advisors and experts recommending that people pay off their mortgages by making an extra mortgage payment each year. The reality is that it would be easier for the [...]
When you pay off your mortgage loan in full, your lender is required to return any tax and insurance mortgage escrow money back to you. Q: I hope you can help me with this question. I have been searching the Internet and reading as much as I can on The Dodd-Frank Act and cannot find [...]
As we start fresh every year, I try to share my list of resolutions to get your finances in order and help you buy a house. The real estate market hasn’t had much good news for the past few years, and mortgage lenders have gotten even tighter with their lending regulations. This isn’t a particularly [...]
It's better to inherit property from your parents or family members rather than receiving it through a quit claim deed. The tax implications of receiving a property through a quit claim deed are much greater than inheriting a property. When estate planning, it's better to put the property in a will or trust, rather than transfer the property through a quit claim deed.
Beware of paying subordination fees in a mortgage refinance. Refinance your mortgage twice and you might be paying subordination fees during the mortgage refinance. If you refinance your home mortgage with two lenders, you may be responsible for paying subordination fees. Paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance marks one lender as the primary mortgage lender and one as the secondary mortgage lender. Paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance allows the primary mortgage lender to grant your mortgage refinance. Make sure you understand paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance when refinancing your home mortgage a second time.
Last year, I found myself shopping at a major retailer. The store was having a great sale, and I found a fair number of clothes that fit me, all at an excellent price. When I was checking out, the cashier offered me a big discount if I opened up a major credit card co-branded with [...]
Decide to payoff an investment property or pay down the mortgage. Don't pay off an investment property and pay down the mortgage at the same time. Consider interest rates on loans before paying off mortgage loans on an investment property or primary home mortgage. Refinance mortgage loans before you pay down a primary home mortgage or investment property mortgage loan.
Everybody is looking for a quick sale of their property. If a homeowner can't sell using normal real estate channels, then maybe non-conventional sales can be effective. You can try to use a real estate broker to sell your property, but if you have tenants in the property, you might try to see if they are willing buyers of your home. If they are, you can sell them the home outright or you can decide if you want to sell it to them by other means. One way to entice a tenant to buy the home is to offer them a lease with an option to buy the home. Another way to sell the home to current tenant is to offer them seller financing. The financing can be either by using a mortgage or by selling them the home on an installment basis.
How does the death of your spouse affect your mortgage? When your spouse dies, if you are also listed on the mortgage, you are still the borrower and continue to own the home. Your spouse's death should not affect your mortgage if you are listed as a borrower or held title jointly. If you want to change the mortgage to be in your name only, you can refinance your mortgage. In the case of the death of your spouse, as long as you continue to make the mortgage payments, your mortgage should not be affected.
Transferring home ownership between family members can be problematic. Often, family members help each other out with a signature or by putting their name on the mortgage. However, you need to consider more than just a quit claim deed to transfer a title. Who is responsible for mortgage payments? Whose credit score will be affected by thy home loan? What happens if someone passes away? Who will inherit the property?
