Articles – Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997
For every 15 people banks approve for mortgage loans, one applicant gets turned away. That one person is likely to be a member of a minority group. And the barrier could be a credit score.
But at least some good news is on the horizon: a credit scoring system designed to recognize the real-life financial activities of regular people.
Continue reading “Light at the End of the Tunnel? New Credit Score Models Are Coming”
The red-hot real estate market might have cooled somewhat. But with housing in relatively short supply, affordability is hard to come by. The major hurdles for buyers right now? Down payments, mortgage payments, and interest.
There are no simple hacks to work around these hurdles. But there are a few indicators worth watching closely.
Continue reading “Will the Cost of Borrowing a 30-Year Mortgage Ever Come Back Down? Are There Better Alternatives?”
Are you thinking of buying a home that could use some energy upgrades? Maybe the HVAC, water heater, or windows are old and inefficient.
A “green mortgage” — known to lenders as an energy-efficient mortgage, or EEM, — allows buyers to finance energy upgrades through a mortgage that allows a little extra borrowing to cover these features.
Why would a lender approve an EEM borrower for extra money? Two main reasons: Eco-friendly homes are more desirable, making the lender’s collateral more valuable. And the expected energy savings will support the homeowner’s ability to cover housing payments.
Continue reading “What’s a Green Mortgage? Energy-Efficient Mortgage Lets a Borrower Ask for More”
Let’s start with the good news. This month, the government cut the amount of private mortgage insurance needed by people with FHA-backed home loans. This will benefit hundreds of thousands of people. Most will be modest-income mortgage applicants, primarily first-time home buyers.
Here’s the scoop on this — plus a few other things relevant to anyone applying for an FHA home loan this year.
Continue reading “Thinking About an FHA Mortgage in 2023? Here’s What You Need to Know”
This year, Maine will become the 40th state to allow remote online notarization (RON). The new state standards take effect in July 2023.
The American Land Title Association (ALTA) supports this move. ALTA is backing remote online notary legislation at the national level, too. It’s pressing for the SECURE Notarization Act, which would establish an interstate and nationwide RON norm. The goal? To empower people and businesses to sign, witness, and notarize legal documents using computers and audiovisual communication software.
Wherever RON is not adopted, people must still sign with a notary physically present. Could this practice be obsolete soon? Having a standardized, digital process for every mortgage closing would support security, transparency, and efficiency, ALTA believes.
Continue reading “Maine Legalized Remote Online Notaries. Are We One Step Closer to Fully Digital Mortgages?”
The chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, calls the shots for U.S. monetary policies. And yes, we could say the recent change in the real estate market has a lot to do with the Fed.
Chair Powell, concerned about a sudden rise in inflation, announced a series of interest rate hikes in 2022. By raising interest rates for banks, the Federal Reserve indirectly dampened the seller’s market of 2020-2021.
What’s next? And what does it all mean for people who own homes — or want to? Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “What Jerome Powell’s Up To (And Why Home Buyers Care)”
A mortgage loan is an ordinary part of financing today’s home purchase. It transfers a lien — a legal claim on a piece of real estate — to the lender, to secure the home loan. This lien is there to ensure the repayment of the loan.
It’s an age-old concept. As explained by H. W. Chaplin in the Harvard Law Review back in 1890:
When this country was colonized, about A.D. 1600, the law of mortgage was perfectly well settled in England. Theoretically our ancestors brought this law to America with them, and during the one hundred and fifty years from the first settlement to the Revolution, the English rules of law governed all these transactions…
In this time-tested fashion, a mortgage borrower pledges the home as loan collateral. Then, the borrower repays the lender over time until the final mortgage payoff.
Continue reading “Your Mortgage and the Law: An Overview”
Homes are pricey. Mortgage rates are up. Borrowers are concerned, and mortgage companies have good reasons to work hard for new customers’ business. So, isn’t it time borrowers researched our mortgages before signing up?
Yet so few of us do. Zillow® says this could be costing homeowners hundreds of dollars each month. Let’s unpack this.
Continue reading “We Compare Streaming TV Services Before Subscribing. What About Our Mortgages?”
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the well-known conventional home mortgage companies. They’re classified as government-sponsored enterprises — GSEs.
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are creatures of Congress. Both are investors in the mortgage market. Both are in the business of offering guarantees to banks and brokers nationwide. And both, as they exist today, back conventional (as opposed to government-insured) loans.
So, why are there two? What’s the difference? And if you are going with a conventional loan, which will be the best pick for your mortgage? Let’s see.
Continue reading “The Best Conventional Mortgage: Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac?”
What Should I Do Now?
When the mortgage company rep says your credit check went well and your loan application is pre-approved, it’s a great day. You can go out into the world knowing just how much house you can buy. You can make offers a seller will take seriously.
As hopeful buyers are sometimes startled to learn, though, a final approval isn’t a sure thing yet. In the process of underwriting your loan, a number of things can come up to derail the closing.
Final approval doesn’t occur until you’ve found a specific home to buy. When a seller accepts your offer, you apply for a specific loan, and the underwriter gets to work.
Continue reading “I Think My Mortgage Is Falling Through”