A few months ago all the so-called mortgage experts and real estate pundits were convinced that interest rates for mortgage loans were going to start increasing in 2016, signaling the end of years of abnormally depressed borrowing costs. They predicted homebuyers were about to experience significantly increasing interest rates for the first time in years.
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Topics:
Mortgages 101,
Mortgage Rates & News
A real estate appraisal, sometimes referred to as a home appraisal, is an estimate of a property’s value. Property value is based on such factors as location, amenities, structural condition, square footage, number or bedrooms, number of bathrooms and recent sales of similar nearby properties.
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101,
Real Estate Misc.
A Closing Disclosure is a five-page form that provides the final details about the mortgage loan you have selected. It includes the loan terms, your projected monthly payments, and how much you will pay in fees and other costs to get your mortgage (closing costs).
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101
Average U.S. mortgage interest rates declined for the fifth straight week, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage market survey on February 4, 2016.
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Topics:
Mortgages 101,
Mortgage Rates & News
After the lender's real estate attorney, also known as the closing attorney, explains at closing to the homebuyer that by signing the "note" he or she is promising to pay the loan amount back, homebuyers are sometimes surprised when the attorney then presents the mortgage document to be signed.
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101
The new Truth-in-lending RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules, which went into effect in October, came with some new real estate industry jargon, as well as a new tool for homebuyers to compare home loans offered by competing lenders.
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101,
Mortgage Rates & News
Despite concerns among potential Massachusetts first-time home buyers over the Federal Reserve raising short-term interest rates and how that might eventually affect mortgage interest rates, 30-year, fixed-rate interest rates for home loans have declined and remain low.
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Topics:
Mortgages 101,
Mortgage Rates & News
Not since Y2K have so many predicted such great disruption and chaos in our lives.
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101,
Mortgage Rates & News,
Real Estate Law
MassHousing launched Operation Welcome Home last month, a new conventional loan product for eligible Veterans that combines a traditional 97 percent loan-to-value first mortgage with a zero-interest second mortgage of up to 3 percent to create a 100 percent financing product that offers essentially the same attributes of a traditional VA loan.
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Topics:
Mortgages 101,
Real Estate Misc.,
Mortgage Rates & News
In addition to the down payment, homebuyers need to pay closing costs. Closing costs are the collection of fees, expenses, and charges associated with purchasing a home with a mortgage loan.
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101,
Real Estate Misc.,
Massachusetts Relocation
Boston has happy home buyers, while Las Vegas lacks reliable residents, according to a new study by WalletHub, a consumer finance website. The study looked at how the housing recovery affected consumers across the country. Having the right type of financing could set home buyers up for happy home ownership while risky mortgages could set families up for failure down the road. Metro areas with high equity values, low interest rates and strict lending practices show promise for a stable housing market recovery. The following 1:24-minute video is from USA Today.
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Topics:
Mortgages 101,
Mortgage Rates & News,
Video,
Boston
Some potential Massachusetts home buyers may be sitting on the real estate sidelines because of misconceptions about what it takes to secure a home loan, according to a recent survey by Wells Fargo and Ipsos Public Affairs.
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Topics:
Home-buying Tips,
Mortgages 101