Mortgage Rates & Trends

Find out if changing jobs could hurt your ability to get a mortgage. Home buyers considering a job change should follow basic guidelines to make sure that they can still get approved for a loan when they buy a home. If home buyers have a job now, use that job to qualify and keep that job until af...

What is the most cash you can get out of your home in today's mortgage market? Refinancing your mortgage to pay off your existing mortgage and also get cash from the equity in your home is called a cash-out refinance mortgage. Proceeds from these loans that are available to the borrower after pay...

Find out what flood coverage you do and do not need when you are buying a home. First time home buyers will find out during the mortgage application process whether or not they will be required to get flood insurance. Even if not required, home buyers may want to consider flood insurance coverage...

Closing costs are often confusing, but Total Mortgage makes closing costs simple. About Closing Costs Closing costs for refinancing home owners are often a black box of fees that are confusing to understand. Closing costs often end up substantially different at closing than from the initial discl...

Learn how to refinance your mortgage if you live in the state of Massachusetts Refinancing in Massachusetts is easier and costs less than in many states The refinance process in Massachusetts is relatively simple: For an exact refinance rate quote for your New Jersey mortgage refinance, please em...

They waited until the very last minute, but last night the Senate passed the stand alone bill from the House of Representatives that would extend the closing date to claim the first time home buyer tax credit from June 30th until September 30th.  The measure passed the Senate unanimously and Pres...

While refinance closings are less stressful than purchase closings because there is no seller and no moving involved, following a few simple rules can help make your refinance closing successful and hassle free. The primary goal of refinancing is to obtain a new mortgage to lower your rate, take ...

We have learned that the House of Representatives is due to vote on the Homebuyers Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 and the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act. (Hat tip to commenter David B. who alerted us to this in the comments today). It appears as though these are tw...

Today the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index came out, and it showed a small improvement in home prices in April 2010. The data showed a seasonally unadjusted 0.8 percent rise over March 2010, coming in ahead of expectations. From the report: “Home price levels remain close to the April 2009 lows ...

Last week’s financial regulatory reform bill was passed with much fanfare in Congress*. Many observers in the press felt that the bill was diluted and would be weak and ineffectual. It did not seem to adequately address many of the issues that caused the financial crisis (it is especially weak in...