What is Mortgage Lending?

Mortgage lending is the practice of giving people loans to buy a home. Many different types of financial institutions are engaged in the process of mortgage lending, including banks and credit unions. How Does Mortgage Lending Work When a bank decides to loan someone money for a mortgage, they have an underwriting process that the loan goes through in order to make sure that the loan is a good risk and that the...

What is a Mortgage Rate?

A mortgage rate is the amount of interest that your lender charges you when you take a home loan. Interest is essentially the cost of borrowing money. A lender is not going to give you cash for free but is instead going to charge you a percentage of the total amount borrowed in interest. The mortgage rate defines what that percentage is. How is a Mortgage Rate Determined? A mortgage rate is determined by both your...

Are You Ready to Refinance?

Refinancing refers to the practice of taking out a new mortgage to pay off your your existing mortgage.  The term refinancing is most often used to describe mortgage loans, although you can technically refinance any kind of debt you have. Why Refinance? When you have a mortgage on your home, you make monthly payments to a lender and there is a specific total amount that you would have to pay back on the mortgage...

How do I Get a Home Mortgage Today?

A home mortgage, also called a home loan, is a loan to pay a house, condo, apartment or other property. A home mortgage is very different from other types of loans because it is secured (the house is collateral or an asset that the lender can take if you do not pay). It is also a unique loan because you pay it back over a long period of time (sometimes as long as 30 years) and because it has a lower interest rate...

How Do I Estimate a Mortgage Payment?

Your mortgage payment is the amount of money you have to pay each month to the lender who issued your home loan. It is important to know what your monthly mortgage payment will be and to make sure that you are comfortable paying that amount before you buy a home so you can avoid foreclosure. Estimating a Mortgage Payment There are several different costs that go into a mortgage payment. Two of the costs you will...

What is a Mortgage?

Mortgages are in the news everyday.  But really, what is a mortgage?  A mortgage is a special type of loan that you can obtain if you want to buy a home. Since most people cannot afford to pay cash in full for the price of a loan, a mortgage makes it possible for people to buy a house and pay for it over time. Special Features of a Mortgage A mortgage is different from other types of loans that you might get, such...

What is APR?

APR stands for annual percentage rate. The term refers to the actual effective cost of borrowing money, factoring in both the interest rate (the amount you pay annually to borrow the money) as well as any other costs. While most homeowners can tell you their mortgage interest rate, they surprisingly stumble when asked what is the APR on their mortgage. Unfortunately APR is a much better measure of what you actually...

Dallas Mortgage Rates Survey – Week of May 07, 2012

According to a recent Primerates.com survey of Dallas mortgage rates offered by the largest area banks & credit unions, six Dallas institutions offered rates above 4.00% on 30-year fixed-rate conforming loans in the Dallas area for well-qualified borrowers. Wells Fargo (www.wellsfargo.com) offered rates at 3.63%, JP Morgan Chase (www.jpmorganchase.com) and Compass Bank (www.bbvacompass.com) offered rates at...

Pittsburgh CD Rates Survey for the week April 30, 2012

According to a recent Primerates.com survey conducted on April 30, 2012 of Pittsburgh CD rates offered by the area banks & credit unions, Pittsburgh’s largest financial institutions offered short-term savers 6 month CD’s between rates of 0.12% at Fidelity Savings Bank (www.fidelitybank-pa.com), and 0.15% at Dollar Bank (www.dollarbank.com). Washington Financial Bank (www.mywashingtonfinancial.com) has the...

Houston Home Sales Increase for 10th Consecutive Month

Houston’s Real Estate Recovery Recent statistics from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) shows home sales on the increase for the tenth consecutive month. In March 2012, with 4,996 Houston home sales closed, sales grew by 7.8 percent over 2011. Home prices also increased by the same percentage, from a median sale price of $150,000 in March 2011 to $161,740 in March 2012. HAR reports the number of...