Lenders provide a great deal of guidance, but you make the final decision about whether you're getting the best loan you can get. Part of taking that responsibility involves comparing interest rates. Mortgage interest rates change daily based on a number of national and international economic fac
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12/02/2007
Mortgage Types Basically, there are two categories of mortgages: the fixed-rate and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Within these categories, there are many variations. However, in nearly all mortgages two factors are usually at odds: how predictable the payments are and how low, or affordable
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12/02/2007
VA loan A VA loan is a mortgage loan in the United States guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The loan may be issued by qualified lenders.The VA loan was designed to offer long-term financing to American veterans or their surviving spouses (provided they do not remarry).The VA
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12/02/2007
FHA loan is a federal assistance mortgage loan in the United States insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The loan may be issued by federally qualified lenders.FHA loans have historically allowed lower income Americans to borrow money for the purchase of a home that they would not otherw
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12/02/2007
A credit score is a rating for people who borrow money. Your credit score rates how responsible you are about borrowing and repaying money. Just like high test scores can help a student get accepted into more colleges, a high credit score can help you get approved by more lenders. Also, the highe
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12/02/2007
The appraisal process often baffles consumers. They may feel that their home is worth a higher dollar amount, and so the appraised value doesn't always make sense to them. It is important to know that the appraiser is completely independent from lenders, buyers, sellers, and Real Estate Agents, a
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12/02/2007
I always advise my clients to lock in their interest rate at the earliest opportunity. Gambling with a client's interest rate is never advisable. In my business, I have a standardized system in place that we adhere to for all of our clientele.A mortgage loan cannot be closed without locking in a
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12/02/2007
Countrywide Leads the Way H.O.M.E.Countrywide's H.O.M.E. (Home Ownership Mortgage Education) is a comprehensive consumer financial education program designed to help individuals make more informed financial decisions, and to arm them with the knowledge they need to achieve home ownership. H.O.M.E
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12/02/2007
The issue of being able to cancel mortgage insurance comes down to one issue: when was the loan originated? As mentioned in previous sections, loans written on July 29, 1999 or later are covered by the Homeowner's Protection Act of 1997. Loans originated prior to that date are dependent upon t
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12/02/2007
In a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday night, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Fed, acknowledged that "the combination of higher gas prices, the weak housing market, tighter credit conditions, and declines in stock prices seems likely to create some headwinds for the consumer in t
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12/02/2007
