Mortgage Confidential

I got this email today (a good one) from a reader wanting to know who we should hold responsible for the mortgage "crisis." Q: David: Can we hold our political leaders responsible for the financial crisis comprising misrepresented mortgage-based financial vehicles, like CDOs, derivatives, and other...

The old adage, if 10 years ago makes for an adage, was to monitor your credit and close down any unused credit accounts. Before the advent of "instant" mortgage approvals and automated underwriting systems, loans were actually evaluated completely by a living, breathing human being: an...

Many moons ago, we in the mortgage business would sometimes hear the phrase, "I've got terrible credit but my Uncle said he would co-sign for me" and we would put together a financing package that would allow the nice Uncle to appear on the loan with the person who had the bad credit. Lenders...

Late last year, the Fed approved some new mortgage guidelines as part of a broad effort to fix the housing woes. These guidelines, aimed at the sub prime mortgage industry: Requires lenders to determine the borrower's ability to repay a mortgage loan by using the highest potential mortgage...

Mortgage expert David Reed invites WalletPop readers to ask him questions about real estate financing. Leave your questions in the comment section of this post. Who cares that you got rid of that old, beer-drinking, half-shaven unemployed couch potato five years ago? And why exactly would a lender...

Mortgage expert David Reed invites Walletpop readers to ask him questions about real estate financing. leave your questions in the comment section of this post. The Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, is perhaps one of the most abused and misunderstood numbers when applying for a mortgage loan. Enacted...

Mortgage expert David Reed invites Walletpop readers to ask him questions about real estate financing. leave your questions in the comment section of this post. Which is the better choice, a mortgage broker or a mortgage banker? First, let's dig a little deeper and find out exactly what each of...

Mortgage expert David Reed invites Walletpop readers to ask him questions about real estate financing. leave your questions in the comment section of this post. Rates over the past few months have been volatile, to say the least. I recall one day where mortgage rates on a 30-year fixed rate loan...

Mortgage expert David Reed invites Walletpop readers to ask him questions about real estate financing. leave your questions in the comment section of this post. Okay, I admit. There are those who will vehemently disagree with the premise of not paying down debt, I'm among them, but there are times...

Mortgage expert David Reed invites Walletpop readers to ask him questions about real estate financing. leave your questions in the comment section of this post. Q: David- I have a 3-1 arm. Every 6 months the payment goes up. I need to refi and lock in lower payment but I now live in a "decreasing"...