Posts from ‘September, 2007’

Back in August I had suggested that borrowers re-think the use of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) as they consider different home financing options. I pointed out that since PMI is tax-deductible for all purchases made in 2007 it is worth the consideration. Also with the demise of the 2nd lien market those fancy 80/20 [...]

Very few lenders hold on to a mortgage loan. Most lenders sell the servicing rights to the mortgage to a third party loan servicing company within a relatively short period of time.  A lot can happen during this transfer and you as a borrower need to pay attention when you receive notification that your loan [...]

If a mortgage lender forgives debt as part of a short sale or foreclosure or what have you, they send the IRS a 1099 with the amount forgiven. At tax time you are obligated to report this forgiven mortgage debt as 1099 income. This amount is then taxed as ordinary income. So, not only are [...]

Suze Orman describes herself as a personal finance expert. Most of the time I agree with the advice she dispenses. However, there are times when I scratch my head and wonder where she gets her information. What worries me about a recent article she wrote is the confidence with which she dispenses advice based on [...]

There is a lot of confusion regarding interest rates. I received a few e-mails and some phone calls asking if it was now a good time to buy real estate since the Fed cut interest rates. I replied that the Fed rate doesn’t affect home mortgage rates. The two are completely different animals. In fact [...]

Blogging is an emotional business and I just got hit by an emotional brick today. In a short few months I’ve become friends with Lani Anglin over at RE Revealed Blog. She works with her husband at Single Point Realty. The funny thing is Lani is in Austin, Texas and I’m in Gilbert, Arizona.  I’ve [...]

The East Vally Tribune published a very informative article yesterday on the top five credit (and debt) misconceptions. According to the EVT (citing Transunion), the top five credit misconceptions are:

Co-signing a loan doesn’t make you responsible for the account.
Paying off a negative record will get it removed from your credit report.
Paying off a debt will [...]

For the first time since Jimmy Carter was President, the US dollar equals the Canadian dollar. Most people know that space and time are relative, but the recent interest rate cuts show why interest rates are relative too. Finally,  despite what they all say, Big Ten football will see a comeback soon and Wisconsin (my alma mater) will lead the way.
And now the full [...]

When I check credit as part of the mortgage application process I always review the report with the client. I do this because I have found credit reports to be notoriously inaccurate.  I know Congress passed a bill a few years ago to address this issue. However, I’m still not convinced the system is accurate [...]

Recently, we sent out postcards to all of our past customers offering free private reports. I want to offer these reports to all the readers of this blog as well. I’ve covered quite a bit of this stuff on this blog, but the reports are a condensed version of what I’ve gone over. The [...]