Three Ways to Avoid Mortgage Anxiety
You don’t need statistics to tell you that Americans are anxious about their finances. Keep the worry out of mortgages by following these three suggestions. |
The Home Equity Savings Plan
American cartoonist Kin Hubbard said “the safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.” The truth is, Americans have a hard time making money, and an even harder time saving it. |
Home Equity for Technology Upgrades
In this market, your home may sit unsold for months. If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest in home technology, you may be looking at years instead of months, or be forced to drop your asking price. |
Tap Your Home Equity for Energy Efficiency
What do Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, Leo DiCaprio, and Rachel McAdams have in common? Besides being famous Hollywood personalities, all of them are dedicated environmentalists. And believe it or not, the Federal Housing... |
A Short History of Home Equity
What does movie meteorologist Todd Gross say when weather patterns foreshadow an unlikely set of circumstances in The Perfect Storm? “It would be a disaster of epic proportions. It would be...the perfect storm.... |
Using Home Equity for Small Business Loan
Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. According to the October 2010 “Facts and Trends,” which is published by the... |
San Francisco: A Mecca for Mortgage Fraud
San Francisco has a lot to boast about. In addition to its 3,480 acres of parks, 2,870 bars, and a bridge of renowned beauty, it’s one of the most expensive housing markets in America, and one of the top five cities with... |
Four Popular Reasons to Tap Your Home Equity
According to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, total mortgage debt for the second quarter of 2010 was $14,019,735,000,000.... |
Five Ways to Preserve Your Home Equity
Home equity is an endangered species. According to Bloomberg, housing prices have dropped 26 percent since 2006. A report earlier this year claimed that 11.3 million homeowners -- almost a quarter of all U.S. mortgage... |
Four Ways Home Equity can Help Fund Retirement
It was soon after ’64 when the Beatles imagined what life would be like when they were 64. They saw a simple life -- knitting a sweater by the fireside, mending a fuse when the lights were gone, and renting a... |
Quell Financial Insecurity with Home Equity
Have you been feeling nervous about your financial situation lately? If so, you’re not alone. According to a recent report from the Rockefeller Foundation and Prof. Jacob Hacker of Yale University, economic insecurity in... |
Home Improvement: Eight Tips for Finding a Contractor
Have you been contemplating a serious home improvement project lately? Then you may be hearing the words of Voltaire resonating in your head: “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of... |
Four Reasons to use Home Equity to Buy a Car
Back in 1909, you could purchase the first car, the Ford Model T, for $850. That’s such a bargain, you could probably afford that out of your pocket! Unfortunately, that number doesn’t take inflation into account,... |
How Much Is Your Home Worth Today?
What’s your home worth today? That’s a key question if you’re looking to refinance your mortgage or take out a home equity loan. |
Family Matters: Discussing Home Equity with your Spouse
Homer Simpson once made a huge financial decision -- taking out a home mortgage -- without consulting his wife, Marge. This scenario parallels the lives of many non-cartoon couples, as well. A recent survey by American Express... |
Increasing Your Home Equity
Anyone who’s ever started a business knows that you start small, with the ultimate goal of making it as successful as possible. Your home is similar to a small business. When you buy it, you share ownership with a... |
Conventional Thinking About Strategic Defaults May be Wrong
Why do homeowners choose to deliberately default on a mortgage? The common wisdom is that it’s a purely calculated choice, made by carefully weighing the financial pros and cons. But much of that common wisdom is wrong,... |
Forgiven Mortgage Debt May Still Be Taxable
Did you go through a foreclosure or obtain a loan modification in the past year? Do you expect to do so in the near future? You could wind up with an unexpected and unwelcome tax bill. |
What’s Better? Cash-out refinance or home equity loan?
You don’t hear a lot about people taking out home equity loans these days. With all the millions of homeowners who got in financial trouble by using their homes as “ATM machines” to support their lifestyle... |