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How to Find a Good Realtor When Buying a Home

April 29, 2010 By

You’ve seen the “For Sale” signs and you’re anxious to buy a home. But, how do you navigate all the various kinds of home loans and figure out how much house you can really afford? Plus, how will find out the inside scoop on each home and how … [Read more...]

Lower Your Rent: How to Get More Bang for Your Rental Buck

April 26, 2010 By

If you’re just coming out of college or moving out on your own for the first time, you may be looking to rent an apartment rather than buy a home. And that's A-OK. Unless you have been investing in well-performing mutual funds since your fifth … [Read more...]

Home Loans: The Good, the So-So, and the Stupid

April 22, 2010 By

Time may be up on the home buyer tax credits, but you may hear “it’s still a great time to buy a home”. Why? Because interest rates on home loans are low and, most likely, have nowhere to go but up. Smug home owners love to extol the … [Read more...]

How Much House Can You Afford?

March 5, 2010 By

We first published "How Much House Can You Afford" over a year ago, but we've been getting a lot of questions about the subject recently. In fact, we've also been getting a lot of people asking why they haven't been approved for a mortgage. In many … [Read more...]

Home Mortgage Interest Deduction: What You Need to Know

March 5, 2010 By

Want to save thousands on your taxes? Consider buying a home. Without a doubt, the home mortgage interest deduction is a major perk of home ownership: the mortgage interest you pay on your home reduces your taxable income. The first-year interest … [Read more...]

Should You Use a Mortgage Broker or a Bank Loan Officer?

February 26, 2010 By

Shopping for a mortgage can be intimidating. There are thousands of mortgage lenders and hundreds of ways lenders can tweak home loans to distort their real costs. You’re also facing the excitement of buying a new home and you may feel vulnerable … [Read more...]

Should You Save First for Retirement or a Down Payment on a House?

February 22, 2010 By

Last week, a long-time reader e-mailed a superb question: If you must choose, should you save first for retirement or save for a down payment on your first home? Obviously, both are important. The younger you are when you start contributing to a … [Read more...]

Five Poor Reasons to Buy a Home

January 21, 2010 By

Buying your first home is a serious and exciting event. It takes patience, money and responsibility to be ready to buy a home, but buying the property is only half the battle. The transition between depending on a landlord and being your own landlord … [Read more...]

FHA Mortgage Loans: A Good Idea for First-Time Buyers?

November 25, 2009 By

FHA mortgage loans are mortgages that are guaranteed by the U.S. Government's Federal Housing Administration. Thanks to this guarantee, FHA mortgage loans are often available to home buyers who do not qualify for "traditional" mortgages. … [Read more...]

$6,500 Home Buyer Tax Credit

November 5, 2009 By

Good news for prospective home-buyers: It looks like Congress will extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that was slated to end this month and add a $6,500 tax credit for those that have already owned a home. The Senate voted 98-0 … [Read more...]

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