Reverse mortgage loans are like traditional mortgages that permits homeowners to borrow money using their home as collateral while retaining title to the property.  Reverse mortgage loans don’t require monthly payments. The loan is due and payable when the borrower no longer lives in the home or dies, whichever comes first.  Since no payments are […]

A mortgage lock-in is a lender’s agreement to hold a specific interest rate for a stated period for a loan at the prevailing market interest rate.  This provides the borrower some protection against the interest rates going up during the lock period. If you think the rates are going down, the advantage would be to […]

Imagine having an emergency in your home and needing to find something that will solve the problem.  You need to be able to put your hands on it quickly.  A fire extinguisher hung in a conspicuous place, easy to reach, is a prudent precaution.  Everyone in the house should know where it is and how […]

Approximately 52 million or 16% of Americans are age 65 and over.  It is easy to understand that some of them are thinking of downsizing their home because they don’t need the same space they did in the past. It can be liberating to divest yourself of “things” that have been accumulated over the years […]

Deciding between a fixed-rate mortgage and an adjustable-rate is one of the choices buyers make when getting a loan to purchase a home.  While the rate remains constant for the term of the mortgage on a fixed-rate loan, it does not mean that the payment will remain the same. Most lenders require borrowers to include […]

The trend in homeowners successfully selling their own home has declined from 15% in 1981 to only 8% in 2019.  In the 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, six out of ten sellers knew the buyers who were predominantly a friend, relative or a neighbor.  The fact that these sellers knew the buyer was […]

Equity in a home is the difference between what the home is worth and what is owed on the home.  As the property goes up in value, the unpaid balance is going down with each payment being made.  These dynamics are working in different directions to make the equity grow. Leverage, the use of borrowed […]