by: Kenneth R. Harney

Should home buyers with solid credit histories subsidize borrowers who pay their bills late? Should loan applicants be separated into categories according to how likely they are to default, with the lowest-risk borrowers charged the lowest rates and fees?
(Read the Full Article)

source: The Washington Post, February 18, 2006.
via: HighBeam™ Research

by Kenneth R. Harney

Did your loan officer sit you down and walk you through all the key operational details of your most recent mortgage before you signed?

Did you see a copy of the appraisal and have a chance to review it carefully?

Did you understand when, if ever, a prepayment penalty might take effect to discourage you from refinancing? Or was that whole subject left a little fuzzy?

Did you receive a copy of your loan and settlement cost good-faith estimates within three business days of application?

These may sound like the most basic of questions and you may well answer: Duh! Of course I understood everything I needed to, and yes, my loan officer
was an absolute font of useful information. (Read Full Article )

source: The Washington Post, February 4, 2006.
via: HighBeam™ Research

by Kenneth R. Harney

Whether you’re a first-time home buyer, an investor, vacation-property seeker, historic preservation buff — or even looking for a boat to live on — you are not shopping the entire market unless you check out the federal government’s best real estate resources: the combined property disposition program inventories of 10 agencies, all rolled into one online access point.
(Read the full article )

source: The Washington Post, February 11, 2006.
via: HighBeam™ Research

by: Lim Lay Ying
YOU don’t need to be rich to invest in properties. In fact, you don’t even need much money and it doesn’t matter if the price is many times more than what you have in the bank.

You only need to remember that banks are ever willing to extend you a loan to make your intention a reality. And once that happens; once you see the capital gains and rental income generated from your acquisition come pouring in, get ready and brace yourself for the adrenaline rush.
Real estate investment is really not as difficult as you might think. It’s like a game of musical chairs - everybody can play. Just grab the opportunity early and you won’t be left out. Anxiety only starts to set in when “chairs” are removed.
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source: New Straits Times, August 7, 2004.
via: HighBeam™ Research

by Kenneth R. Harney

It’s a distressingly familiar scenario for home buyers and refinancers, and it was one of the major mortgage-related consumer complaints to federal agencies in 2005: “good-faith estimates” of settlement costs that turn out to be hundreds, even thousands, of dollars off the mark.

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source: The Washington Post, January 28, 2006.
via: HighBeam Research