Everyone has things they want to improve about their financial lives -- and we at DailyFinance are no exceptions. So we asked money expert Jean Chatzky for advice on how to reach our goals. Today: An editor who wants to get the best deal on refinancing.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is laying out the nation's first rules aimed at ensuring that mortgage borrowers can afford the loans they take out. Among the new regulations are bans on the risky "interest-only" and "no documentation" loans that helped inflate the housing bubble.
Interest rates are at historic lows, and the housing market is showing signs of rebounding. Still, many people who want to are unable to get in on the action. But what if that's actually good for them? Here are five reasons why people with damaged credit maybe shouldn't buy a house right now.
Good news: The housing market is looking up. Bad news: Nearly 11 million mortgages are still underwater. More good news: Real help for those homeowners is finally available. More bad news: Getting that help can be baffling. Extra good news: Jean Chatzky's here to help.
It might not be the right method for everyone seeking a home loan, but it worked for one Georgia couple: A music video that went viral got Bank of America to close on Ken and Meredith Williams' long-delayed mortgage.
Attitudes toward mortgage default are shifting in America. People who've never missed a payment on anything in their lives are walking away from underwater homes, even when they can afford their monthly payments, because staying doesn't make financial sense. But how good a business decision is a strategic default?
Mortgage rates have hit an all-time low according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The drop has done little to help new home sales, but it did cause a surge in refinancings.
With interest rates dipping to historic lows, many homeowners are refinancing their mortgages to shorten either the terms of their loans or their monthly payments. Here's what you need to know to decide whether refinancing now is right for you.
The housing market crash has made millions of people reassess their choice of whether to rent or own their home. If you're trying to decide which course is right for you, DailyFinance breaks down the major factors you should consider in our new series, Is It Worth It?
It's a can't-win situation: The very process of shopping around for a low interest rate on a mortgage can adversely impact your credit score and cost you the cheaper loan you're seeking. That's because each time a lender pulls your credit report, it shaves a few points off your score.
Will homeowners see a penny of the reimbursements that the government has ordered 16 mortgage lenders to pay? Not likely, foreclosure victims and housing activists say, because the independent review ordered by regulators is too weak.
A federal law that goes into effect Friday is about to change the way mortgage brokers earn their pay. Advocates say the rule prevents mark-ups on loans that pad brokers' incomes, but critics argue the law hurts consumers by funneling more customers to fewer lenders.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both narrowed their losses in the fourth quarter of 2010. But they aren't out of the woods yet: Both of the government-sponsored home-mortgage buyers have requested higher amounts of new federal aid than they did in the previous quarter.
Mortgage applications slowed down in the week before Christmas and increased the week after, while interest rates rose to a seven-month high, then retreated again, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Shifts in refinancing were the key factor.
