Financing a condo-tel property
Updated Feb. 10, 2014
Financing a condo-tel purchase can be challenging. Many buyers in resort areas buy their property intending to generate some cash flow by short terming the property out when they are not here. Some properties have front desks and operate as full blown hotels, providing maid service and other hotel like services....

New rules help retirees qualify for mortgages
Updated Oct. 24, 2014
New lending rule helps retirees qualify for a mortgage.. For the last few years the mortgage industry has been slammed with new rules, hundreds of them. For the most part these rules come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and have restrained the availability of credit at every turn (although loans are still closing...

How to roll in closing costs
Updated Feb. 10, 2014
How can you roll in your closing costs to your purchase mortgage?. One question I often get from buyers is "can we roll our closing costs into the loan". This often will make or break a deal, particularly when one is facing a 1-2% transfer tax on top of typical loan closing costs.. The answer is, it depends and if you can,...

How can you manage your credit score?
Updated Nov. 17, 2014
There are many companies who will offer you a free look at your credit score. Unfortunately, most of these scores are what I call "cotton candy scores", which means they might look cool, taste sweet but don't have much value when it comes to determining your credit worthiness. There are even more companies...

Watch for ID theft on your taxes
Updated Dec. 18, 2014
The latest scam: ID theft of your tax return.. When traveling cyber space it is impossible not to leave a trail of breadcrumbs along the way, and if you are not careful you might just leave your pin codes, social security number and passwords out there as well.. Identity thieves used to be content with getting their...

Did you know you can purchase a home with a reverse mortgage?
Updated Dec. 18, 2014
Most financial advisors would agree getting a mortgage is the most complex financial decision most people make in their lives. Actually a reverse mortgage is in many ways even a more complex decision, but one that can be hugely beneficial to many older Americans (at least one spouse must be over 62 to qualify).. A...

How to qualify to buy an investment property
Updated Dec. 29, 2014
Many people think it would be great to own more real estate but think they can't qualify for a mortgage loan for a rental property on top of their mortgage on their primary residence. In some cases that is certainly true, and no one should take on mortgage debt that they can't comfortably handle.....

What does it take to buy a home?
Updated Jan. 5, 2015
What does it take to buy a home?. Buying a home anyplace is a challenge for most people and sorting out the myths from reality as to what is required can be a challenge.. One of the questions I hear most often is :how much do I have to put down". The answer is "it depends:. The type of property, your financial situation, you...

Dropping rates might mean its time to refinance
Updated Jan. 16, 2015
Is it time to refinance again?. Believe it or not, it might be time to check your mortgage rate and see if it's time to refinance. The recent plunge in gas prices and the resulting economic uncertainty for oil producing nations along with a few other garden variety economic meltdowns in various stages of...

Time To Refinance Your ARM?
Updated Apr. 28, 2015
The turmoil of the world's economy has had one little heralded beneficiary. While governments have teetered on collapse, gold soared and plunged, and oil prices collapsed, the one group who benefited were borrowers whose interest rates were tied to the demand for US Treasury Bills.. The largest single...

Congress trying to pass secret tax on homeownership
Updated Jul. 24, 2015
It is the duty of Congress to try and make the country function, and to levy taxes and fees to fund the Government. In general, they are a desperate crowd who try desperate measures and seldom accomplish much more than mucking up what was not already broken. Politically to call a new tax a tax is something few...