Mortgage

A good read on HELOCS from The Mortgage Professor Jack M. Guttentag.

Simple steps to refinancing your mortgage.

No matter how bad your credit is, you can take steps that will make it better.

And what to ask when considering one.

A couple of good questions on refinancing. Will it make sense to refinance if I'm planning to sell the property soon? Probably not faced by most homeowners but definitely worth to read.

What is the loan modification and how you can use this government program to help the mortgage payment.

The lowest interest rate shouldn't be the only factor to consider for the mortgage or loan package that you want to get.

Appraisal of your home is crucial in determining whether or not you can refinance successfully.

With a traditional mortgage, each monthly payment comprises principal plus interest. In the early years of the loan, most of the payment goes for interest. Gradually, more and more of the monthly payments go toward principal. At the end of the term, the loan is completely repaid. This process of paying principal and interest until the loan is paid off is called amortization.

Maybe you found better credit terms or you got cold feet. A provision of the Truth in Lending Act gives you the right to cancel certain real estate loans within three business days without penalty. It is called the right of rescission.

Homeowners who make a down payment of less than 20 percent are usually required to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI), because they are considered to be at higher risk of default. PMI premiums are typically around half a percent of the interest rate, which is about $83 a month on a $200,000 mortgage.