19
Nov
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

Three Key Tips to Help Ensure Your Mortgage Pre-Approval Isn’t Declined

If you're thinking about buying a new home and using a mortgage to help cover some of the purchase costs, it's a good idea to get an initial pre-approval from your lender before putting in an offer. In today's blog post we'll share three quick tips that can help to ensure that your mortgage pre-approval isn't declined. Demonstrate Your Income and Good Credit A mortgage is a major financial transaction and one that carries a certain amount of risk for the lender. It's your goal to help them see that you have the ability to make your monthly payments and…
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18
Nov
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

The Down Payment: Everything You Need to Know About Your Down Payment on a New Home

Whether you're just starting to shop for a new home or you've found the perfect house and are crafting your offer, if you're taking out a mortgage to help cover your real estate purchase you've likely given some thought to your down payment. In today's blog post we'll explore the topic of down payments and share how the amount you put down on your home will affect your mortgage. How Your Down Payment Affects Your Mortgage As you know, your mortgage is essentially a large long-term loan that is paid back with interest over a set time period. If you…
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13
Nov
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

Refinancing Your Mortgage: Understanding the Various Types of Refinancing

Whether you've been thinking about ways that you can draw on your home equity to fund a renovation project or you want to take advantage of low interest rates before they rise again, refinancing your mortgage is an excellent option. In today's blog post we'll introduce mortgage refinancing and discuss a few of the ways that you can use this tool to help accomplish your financial goals. Cash-In and Cash-Out Refinancing Many homeowners refinance their mortgage in order to take some of the home equity out for other purposes. In a "cash-out" refinancing, you take out a new mortgage loan…
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12
Nov
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

How to Use a Mortgage Calculator to Determine Your Monthly Payments, Interest and More

Are you thinking about using a mortgage to buy a new home? Buying your own piece of local real estate is a major financial investment and one that can require some pretty complex math to fully understand. In this blog post we'll discuss mortgage calculators and how to use one of these tools to determine your monthly mortgage payments, interest charges, amortization periods and more. Determining Your Principal and Down Payment Amounts To get started with a mortgage calculator you'll need to know how the price of the home and how much you intend to contribute as a down payment.…
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06
Nov
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

Did You Know That Your FICO Score Can Drastically Affect Your Mortgage? Here’s Why

Are you about to apply for a mortgage loan in order to buy a home? If so, you may be curious about your credit score and how this might impact your financing. Let's take a quick look at how FICO credit scores can affect your mortgage and share a couple of ways that you can boost your score to ensure your application is approved. What is a FICO Score? The Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) is the country's leading producer of credit scoring information and is the primary source that most lenders will check to assess how much risk you present.…
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05
Nov
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

You Ask, We Answer: What is a “Reverse Mortgage”?

If you've recently considered your options for taking some of the equity out of your home you may have heard about reverse mortgage loans. If you meet the requirements for a reverse mortgage it can be an excellent way to tap into the value of your home, freeing up that cash to be reinvested or used for other purposes. In today's blog post we'll explore reverse mortgage loans, explaining how they work and whether or not you're qualified to receive one. How Does a Reverse Mortgage Work? As the name implies, a reverse mortgage is the opposite of a traditional…
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