by Eliot | Jul 16, 2018 | Mortgages:
Measuring your existing debts against your existing income is one part of a lender’s required assessment of your ability to repay a loan. Like the video says: debts are existing financial commitments; a car payment is a debt a grocery bill is not. To calculate your...
by Eliot | Jul 16, 2018 | Mortgages:
What are the “Ability to repay” rules about? In a nutshell, as this video shows, new laws require lenders to make a good-faith assessment of a borrower’s capacity to pay back their loan over time. It’s a longer-term view that goes beyond immediate income, debt and...
by Eliot | Jul 16, 2018 | Mortgages:
As this video explains, Federal laws put into effect in 2014 and supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau define lending practices and loan terms for a new category called “Qualified Mortgages.” They provide stable loan features for consumers and...
by Eliot | Apr 4, 2014 | Mortgages:
Equity is the value YOU own in property such as a house. It’s the difference between what’s OWED and what the property is WORTH in the current market. The example this video shows – you have a house worth $300,000 today and you owe the bank $200,000. Your...
by Eliot | Apr 4, 2014 | Mortgages:
The Prime Lending Rate – sometimes just called “Prime” – is the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans. Some consumer rates – like ARMs – are set in relation to Prime. In the US, Prime is affected by the Federal Reserve...
by Eliot | Jan 13, 2014 | Mortgages:
Discount points allow you to lower your interest rate. While this video simplifies things to help you remember, “points” are essentially prepaid interest with each point equaling 1% of the total loan amount. Generally, for each point paid on a 30-year mortgage the...