12 Mar 2019
By noelkelman

Is Now a Good Time to Cash Out Your Home Equity?

Mortgage, ,
For many Americans, their home is their primary investment. The equity stored in your residence can be a source of available cash for home repairs, upgrades, or for financing the purchase of investment properties. However, few homeowners really understand the process that results in home equity.  What Is Home Equity? Your monthly mortgage payment goes towards two different amounts. The first is the interest that you pay for the loan. The other is your principal payment or the amount that counts against the initial amount that you borrowed for the purchase. Depending on the details of your loan contract, each…
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08 Mar 2019
By noelkelman

5 Options To Consider When Your Appraisal Comes In Low

Mortgage, ,
Yikes! You are set on buying the home that you picked out and the appraisal comes back at a lower amount than the amount needed for the home loan to be approved. What do you do? After you calm down your significant other and then take three deep breaths, here are some options to consider. Request A New Appraisal Appraisals are only one person's professional opinion. There are rules that must be followed when making an appraisal; however, there is still some flexibility in how to apply the rules. Check the comparables (also called "comps") that the appraiser used as…
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28 Feb 2019
By noelkelman

8 Ways To Maintain A Great Credit Score

Mortgage, ,
Having an excellent credit score is very useful. The following are some tips on how to maintain a superb credit score. Open Credit Accounts When You Do Not Need Them If you don't have any credit accounts, you will have a low score. The best time to open them is when you do not need them. Keep a small balance on them and pay it all off at the end of each month to avoid paying interest. Charge Up To Half The Credit Limit Then Pay It All Back Within A Few Months If you must use a credit line,…
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30 Jan 2019
By noelkelman

Is a Hard Money Loan the Right Strategy for You?

Mortgage, ,
When used as a part of an effective real estate investment strategy, hard money loans are an excellent tool to quickly increase holdings without risking existing properties. However, these loans aren't for everyone. What investors get the most value from hard money loans? Investors With Less-Than-Stellar Credit Investors with credit challenges can qualify more easily for hard money loans. That's because these loans aren't based on the borrower. While you will have to prove a measure of creditworthiness, hard money lenders are more interested in the property you plan to buy. If you default on your payments, the lending bank…
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10 Jan 2019
By noelkelman

3 Tips To Save For A Down Payment

Mortgage, ,
Saving up for a down payment can feel overwhelming. Most people have never saved up the kind of money it takes for a down payment. It can be done, though. The goal is to put 20% down on a house. This is what it takes if you don't want to have to pay private mortgage insurance every month. However, you don't have to absolutely put 20% down. Some mortgage programs, such as VA and FHA loans, let borrowers put down as little as zero down or about 3.5% down. There are extra requirements with any kind of mortgage you get,…
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30 Nov 2018
By noelkelman

Home Buying Power Remains In Motion Depsite Rising Mortgage Rates

Mortgage, ,
The real estate market does not occupy a space outside the laws of physics. As Sir Isaac Newton so aptly theorized, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." When applying the English physicist's Third Law to today's rising mortgage rates, anticipating the reaction can be valuable information if you are planning to buy or sell a home or commercial property. At first blush, residential home buyers and commercial property investors might expect the "opposite" reaction to impact buying power negatively. The initial data might lead many to believe that premise. How Home Buyers Reacted To Rate Hikes…
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28 Nov 2018
By noelkelman

Mortgage Challenges For Self-Employed Home Buyers

Mortgage, ,
It's no secret that mortgage lending institutions look favorably on steady paychecks and positive debt-to-income ratios. That can leave many self-employed prospective home buyers feeling anxious about getting approved for a mortgage. But just like the 9-to-5ers who get regular paychecks, self-employed people earning a good living can get approved with a little due diligence. The primary concern of mortgage lenders is not necessarily where your revenue comes from, it's confidence that you can meet the monthly obligations. A lender probably wouldn't see a significant difference between someone who was paid every two weeks and another paid monthly. Why should…
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30 Oct 2018
By noelkelman

Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Is Trending

Mortgage, ,
Although the real estate market is currently booming, the last housing bubble burst remains relatively fresh in investors' minds and that has many taking a long look at crowdfunding. One of the lessons that came out of the burst and ensuing Great Recession was that investors were blind to where their money went. If you watched the Academy Award-winning film "The Big Short," then you at least understand Hollywood's hyperbolic explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis. You may be asking: what does this have to do with real estate crowdfunding real investing? Well, everything. Among the key reasons that the…
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