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Underwater without a Drop to Drink

Over the past few months, talk of the US debt crisis has got me thinking: how does all this effect me? As it turns out, more than you might think. Here’s how my little brain traveled from the hell-in-a-handbasket news from the US government to me trying my hand at refinancing my condo: Clearly, US (more&hellip)

15 vs 30 Year Mortgages: Which is Better?

I’m sure you’re still reveling in my big mortgage primer post from earlier this week. So many mortgages options, so much to learn! A reader asked me about 15 vs 30 year mortgage terms. When you start looking at fixed rate mortgages, these are the most common loan terms available. Here is a nifty little (more&hellip)

A Mortgage Primer: Understanding Loan Types, Benefits, and Pitfalls

Fixed, variable, jumbo, reverse, subprime–there seems to be a mortgage for every color of the rainbow. But what’s the difference between these mortgages, and which one is best for you? The mortgage market has gotten complicated with the advent of new loans and fancy financing options. Over the past decade, with the housing bubble growing (more&hellip)

Financing My Condo, Grandma Style (part 2 of 2)

This is last of a two-part miniseries about my adventures in condo financing. If you haven’t read it yet, check out Part 1. When we left off, I’d just left the mortgage broker’s office in San Francisco, flying high with aspirations of wheeling and dealing in real estate. There was just one fly in the (more&hellip)

All About Ratios: Why Your Bank Thinks You’re Richer Than You Are

Several ratios come into play when it comes to figuring out what you can afford. To make things more complicated, you and your bank have different ways of figuring out what you can afford. Let’s first talk about the bank’s method. Banks are interested primarily in two things: your debt and your income. Sometimes they (more&hellip)

Financing My Condo, Grandma Style (part 1 of 2)

I nearly have a panic attack every time I think about the process I underwent to finance my condo. I very nearly got myself into the situation in which many Americans are finding themselves–in an oversized adjustable rate mortgage with no equity in their properties. After I found my dream condo by accident, I took (more&hellip)

Don’t Go to An Open House Until….

I command you: do not go to an open house until you’ve got an ironclad handle on your finances. In other words, don’t let yourself fall in love with the home of your dreams until you’ve figured out the financial nitty gritty of what exactly you can afford. What the heck am I talking about? (more&hellip)

Amortization Factor Table

The table below is a Mortgage Interest Amortization Factor Table. The way to use it is simple. Find your interest rate in the first column on the left. Then find your loan length along the top. The number in the middle of the table where the row and column meet is your loan Factor–that is, (more&hellip)