According to Fannie Mae President and CEO Michael Williams, Fannie Mae is funding lenders on the loans guaranteed by the mortgage giant faster than ever before. This is in an effort to ensure that the lenders have the cash they need to continue funding loans. It’s Fannie’s own way of helping to stimulate the economy—specifically [...]

With all of the home-improvement and real estate flipping shows on television, it’s easy to succumb to the allure of buying a fixer-upper, making some changes to the house and then cashing in on an amazing profit. Unfortunately, renovations turn out to be a disaster at least as often as they’re successful, if not more [...]

The deadline for the First Time Home Buyers $8,000 tax credit is looming, which has many people scrambling to buy a home quickly to cash in on their free money. Realtors, mortgage lenders, the federal government and lots of other people believe the tax credit incentive has helped stimulate the housing market. Some Realtors even [...]

You’ve narrowed your search down to a few homes in neighborhoods you like. They have comparable amenities and the features you want. How do you choose the right house? You use of the principle of progression to buy the home that’s going to provide the best value for you. What is the principle of progression? [...]

Getting pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage when looking for a house says a lot about you as a prospective buyer. However, not everyone chooses that before going home shopping. As a potential buyer, what does your status – as prequalified or not – say to sellers and lenders? Your seriousness about buying shows. When [...]

When you’re looking for a mortgage,  everyone advises to “Shop around.” No one tells you to take the first loan, savings account or financial instrument you see. How can you make an informed decision until you’ve evaluated what’s available, and compared what you’re offered with what you could get elsewhere? Does the same generalization hold [...]

Today is September 11, 2009. It’s been eight years since one of the most-memorable events of my lifetime occurred–the airplane bombing of the World Trade Center.  I awoke from a morning nap to images on the television so incredible I telephoned a friend to see if they were real or whether I had lost touch [...]

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Begin now and save up to 66 percent on your mortgage …is the subhead of an article by Andrew Waite entitled “Paying off your mortgage: The Ultimate Payoff.” The 3-page article, served up with a full-page ad from UFirst touting its Money Merge Account, appeared in the May-June issue of “Personal Real Estate Investing Magazine.” [...]

I readily admit I’m no financier or prognosticator such as the likes of Wall Street or Chairman Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve (neither federal, nor reserved – but that’s another story!). I’m a nature lover and a writer with some common sense about money. I like it. I seek more of it. If money [...]