Dear Experian, Is it better to pay off the entire balance on a credit card each month, or to leave a small balance to carry over? – OHR Dear OHR, Paying your credit card balance in full each month can help your credit scores. There is a common myth that carrying a balance on your…
Competitive rates could save homeowners thousands, experts say For many middle-aged and older homeowners with several years of equity on their homes, 2021 could be a prime time to refinance from a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage into a 15-year mortgage. The three primary reasons homeowners refinance to shorter-term loans are to save money on interest, to pay…
First-time homebuyers with an above-average tolerance for risk (and the wherewithal to do some fixing up) may be able to nab a major bargain by buying a foreclosed home. Foreclosures typically sell below market value, but there are complications to consider. How Does Buying a Foreclosed Home Work? Foreclosure occurs when a mortgage borrower fails to…
For many, the homeownership journey logically begins by trying to figure out how much house you can afford. But there’s an even better question you should ask yourself first. Instead, start by answering the question, “What do I need from my future home and why?” It’s your answer to that question that really dictates why…
Here’s exactly how much money you need for a down payment There’s a common misconception that you need a 20% down payment to purchase a home. But the truth is, your down payment depends on your lender, credit score and the type of mortgage you qualify for. For example, some loans require as little as 3%…
Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 5% for the week but were 26% higher than the same week one year ago. Low rates continue to fuel refinance volume, which rose 4% for the week and was a stunning 124% higher than a year ago. What was expected to be a mundane year in the…
The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.33% this week, according to Freddie Mac, as the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program created demand for securities backed by home loans. Together with the prior week’s drop, it was the largest two-week decline since December 2008 when the Fed shocked the financial world with its first-ever…
Many small-business owners are completing their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and are running into common questions and roadblocks. The immediate question right now revolves around two issues: First, how do I work with my bank or find a bank to get it submitted? And second, how do I properly calculate the loan amount on the…
Give each other at-home massages. You can massage each other at home. Dave & Les Jacobs/Getty Images You can’t get a professional massage right now, but that doesn’t mean you and your partner can’t help each other relax. Light candles to set the mood and use lotions to make the massages feel legit. You’ll both feel…
SAN FRANCISCO — While the worsening coronavirus pandemic has shuttered most businesses nationwide to promote social distancing, grocery stores have remained open, putting their employees on the frontlines in a public health emergency. A worker at Steve’s C-Town in Park Slope, Brooklyn, who spoke to Yahoo News on the condition of anonymity, said he doesn’t…
Millions more borrowers can now save big on a mortgage finance as rates have hit the lowest level in more than three years. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage just hit 3.49%, according to a survey by Mortgage News Daily, matching the lowest level since October 2016. That is down from 3.8% at…
The IRS officially opened the 2020 income tax season on Monday, January 27, when it started accepting tax returns. For millions of taxpayers, there’s no reason to get refund loans or other such services, which often come with steep fees, since most Americans can get their 2020 income tax refund in as little as 10…
Your FICO credit score may soon be changing, but if you see a dip in the next year, it’s probably not because of an existing mortgage or a high student loan balance. It’s more likely based on your payment habits. Fair Isaac Corp., the company behind the popular FICO credit score said Thursday that its newest…
It’s a question every savvy borrower thinks about: Should I pay off my mortgage and be done with it? Or should I take the mortgage company’s money and try to get a better return in the stock market? To answer that question, we analyzed historical mortgage rates as reported by Freddie Mac and the S&P…
Anyone out shopping for an entry-level home knows the prices are high and the pickings are slim. Now, the same is holding true for rentals. As more Americans find it harder to afford a home, rental demand is soaring, especially for single-family homes. The supply of rental homes is shrinking, and that continues to push…
First-time homebuyers are making a comeback this year as they made up 39% of all buyers in the single-family housing market during the third quarter, according to the third quarter First-Time Homebuyer Market Report from Genworth Financial. First-time homebuyers also made up 55% of all purchase mortgages. This is significantly higher than their historical average, which,…
Mortgage rates will remain low in 2020, affordable homes for sale will remain scarce, and boomers will remain in their homes and build equity that they won’t borrow from. But not everything in 2020 will be a continuation of 2019: People shopping for FHA loans might find more lenders competing for their business, and change…
While the majority of both single- and multifamily home construction is in millennial-dense counties, it actually lags the rest of the nation when it comes to meeting demand. Millennial counties, defined as geographic areas where at least a quarter of the population consists of this demographic group, account for 62% of the entire U.S. population,…
Anyone out shopping for an entry-level home knows the prices are high and the pickings are slim. Now, the same is holding true for rentals. As more Americans find it harder to afford a home, rental demand is soaring, especially for single-family homes. The supply of rental homes is shrinking, and that continues to push…
U.S. mortgage rates declined again, and have ended the year lower, according to Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.55 percent for the week ending Dec. 27, down from 4.62 percent the previous week. A year ago, mortgage rates stood at 3.99 percent. Low mortgage rates had been helping propel U.S. home sales and…
Many economists say mortgage rates will continue to trend upward this year and peak around 5 percent at most, which is still below average. Mortgage rates averaged consistently above 10 percent every year between 1979 and 1990 and then eased down to a range from 6 to 8 percent between 1992 and 1998, according to…
For millions of Americans, it might soon be easier to get a mortgage loan — or any type of loan, for that matter — especially if they fall in the 500 to 600 FICO score range or have little to no credit history at all. The change comes by way of the UltraFICO — a…
Mortgage rates dropped slightly during the week ending Nov. 1, falling back after increases in the previous period, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac. The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.83%, with an average 0.5 point, from 4.86%. The mortgage averaged 3.94% in the same period in…
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