Mortgages Archives

NEW YORK (sbup) — A new report on the financial stability of first-time homebuyers says 87% of them can “easily” handle their mortgage payments; at the same time about 66% of Americans say now is the time to buy a home. Read more»

NEW YORK (sbup) — A few minutes with any mortgage calculator will produce a monthly payment figure right down to the penny, but it always seems that after you get the loan, your payment sometimes ends up hundreds of dollars higher. The culprit? The oft-misunderstood escrow payment. Read more»

NEW YORK (sbup) — Still reeling from indications that the property market is taking a double dip, there is some good news from the housing sector: In its quarterly report the Federal Reserve reports that some Read more»

Disabled military veterans have enough on their plates without worrying about losing their homes, and Citibank (Stock Quote: C) has stepped up to ease the burden. The bank will now offer disabled soldiers reduced mortgage payments for two years, cutting 2.5% off their mortgage payments. It may not be much, but it could prove to be enough to keep some soldiers in their homes. Read more»

NEW YORK (sbup) — As a way to invest in your home, prepaying a mortgage has its critics as well as proponents. But homeowners who spurn this strategy in their 30s and 40s should consider it when they’re nearing (or actually in) retirement, because at that point a modest return from a prepay could look pretty attractive. Read more»

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — The Department of the Treasury is giving troubled homeowners a new tool to see if they’ll actually qualify for a home loan modification deal. Read more»

NEW YORK (sbup) — Hunt for a house in the Northeast and you’ll overdose on center-hall colonials. In Arizona, you’ll find a lot of contemporaries, and in other areas you might see street after street of ranch houses. Read more»

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Long known for its credit card brand, Discover (StockQuote: DFS) is making new inroads into the U.S. banking market with its purchase of online mortgage servicer LendingTree Loans. The move brings the financial giant to the U.S. Read more»

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — U.S. mortgage rates are sliding again, which wasn’t supposed to happen in an improving economy. But several factors, including the unemployment rate, are sending mortgage interest rates back down. Read more»