3 Ways To Avoid Mortgage Insurance

When you are buying a home, you may run into a number of hurdles to complete the purchase. One of the items that you may be asked to purchase is called private mortgage insurance, often shortened to PMI. This is a unique insurance policy that your lender, such as the credit union or bank, may ask you to buy in order to protect themselves. In this insurance policy, the bank protects themselves against losing money if you end up defaulting on your loan. Unfortunately, if you are asked to purchase PMI, this will increase your monthly mortgage payment. Therefore, most…
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How To Get Your Free Annual Credit Report And Why You Need It

Your credit report influences whether or not you'll qualify for a mortgage and what kind of interest you'll pay on that loan. This isn't something you can safely ignore. Smart homebuyers understand the importance of monitoring credit scores and credit reports. Here is some information about how to get your credit report. Free Credit Report Available You're entitled to free credit report, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can get one free report each year from each of the three major credit bureaus; Experian, Equifax and Transunion. The easiest way to get your free report is to go…
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What Exactly Is Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?

PMI, which is also called private mortgage insurance, is protect that the lender may ask the buyer to purchase. In the event that the buyer defaults on their home loan and the home enters foreclosure, the lender has a way to recoup their losses. While the lender may not ask everyone to purchase PMI, there are some situations where the lender may ask the buyer to purchase this insurance policy to qualify for the loan. Every lender is a little bit different; however, there are some trends throughout the industry. Most lenders ask the buyer to place a down payment…
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More Home Loan Options Now Available For Borrowers With Bad Credit

For a long time after the real estate housing crisis in 2008, buyers with a poor credit history had a difficult time finding mortgage financing. It was a problem that trapped those seeking to buy a home because so many lost their homes from the inability to pay their mortgages. Some suffered damage to their credit history that was severe. Millions filed for bankruptcy. Not only did mortgage lending requirements get stricter for home buyers, but the funds available for home loans were also severely reduced. Even those with a good credit history found it more difficult to qualify for…
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Expanding Opportunities For Home-Buying In ‘Opportunity Zones’

Opportunity Zones were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to encourage investors with capital gains on other investments to invest that money in low-income and undercapitalized communities. They get a reward of deferring capital gains tax. They avoid a portion of it altogether if they keep the investment for five years or longer.  What started with a trickle of a few Opportunity Zones scattered around the country is now a deluge with over 3,000 approved Opportunity Zones approved in just about every part of America. 4,700 more areas may also qualify. Opportunity Zones Expanded Dramatically The very…
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