Mortgage

Average closing costs of a mortgage are anywhere from 2-to-6% of the total loan amount. A no-closing-cost mortgage refinance rolls those costs into the overall mortgage amount, or trades them for higher interest rates. No-closing-cost refinances almost always cost you more money in the long run, but can be a good short-term solution when money […]

About every three months, our mortgage lender sends us a letter. It’s to encourage us to pay our mortgage bi-weekly, instead of monthly. The pitch is simple. We would send off half of our normal mortgage payment every other week. That would make 26 annual payments, instead of 24 (12 months x 2). So we […]

Owning a house is an accomplishment that takes quite a while to achieve. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can make that dream come true, especially nowadays. Purchasing a house with an FHA loan is one of them. You may have previously heard about FHA loans. However, did you know you can use this […]

If you’re tired of renting, but don’t have great credit, don’t give up hope! Yes, it is actually possible to obtain a home loan with poor credit. Lenders know that not everyone has perfect finances. Life happens! Having a low credit score shouldn’t keep you from owning your dream home. Rest assured, there are options […]

When buying an investment property, deciding where to buy is the first thing to do. But how do you sort through all 50 states to choose the right real estate market to invest in? There are a few things to consider, including property taxes, landlord-tenant laws, and whether rent prices are increasing. To help get […]

There are plenty of factors to consider when it comes time to decide where you want to live. You don’t want to just choose a city that is the cheapest, since those locations often come with other negative aspects — poor healthcare systems, lower paying jobs, and crumbling public education and infrastructure. On the other […]

While many associate the gig economy with younger generations, it isn’t exclusive to young adults. Retired seniors have more time and freedom to pick up multiple side hustles. In fact, a 2019 report from Wonolo, a platform to find gigs, found that 31 percent of seniors aged 55 to 73 were doing more than three […]

Retirement is an ultimate life goal for most of us. And unless you won a lottery (the birth lottery or the literal cash lottery), you’re likely going to have to spend the majority of working years preparing to retire. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to prepare that go a long way […]

If you’re thinking about moving to a new state, then you might want to look at its taxes. Since individual income, property, and sales/excise taxes vary from state to state, your total tax burden can vary significantly. So, where do residents pay the most taxes? To figure that out, a recent WalletHub report compares every […]

The economical downturn due to recent events has led to a big strain on low-income households, including seniors. One place where these households are seeing great strain is on their energy bill. Two-thirds of low-income households spend more than six percent of their income on energy costs, according to a 2020 report. Furthermore, two out […]

About every three months, our mortgage lender sends us a letter. It’s to encourage us to pay our mortgage bi-weekly, instead of monthly. The pitch is simple. We would send off half of our normal mortgage payment every other week. That would make 26 annual payments, instead of 24 (12 months x 2). So we […]

Buying a house can be complicated — especially if you’ve never done it before. You have to figure in a ton of different numbers. There’s the down payment, the mortgage term, the interest rate, the property taxes, and house insurance. And then there’s also potentially land transfer taxes, legal fees, appraisal fees, or inspection fees. […]

These days, getting creative with your money puts you ahead of the game. One way you can consolidate debt is refinancing your home to pay off your student loan debt. That said, refinancing your home may not be the smartest option for everyone. To help guide you towards that decision, we’ve put together the following […]

Buying your first home can be a daunting task. It’s not only a major life milestone but a financial one too. Making matters worse, soaring prices and stagnant wages have made it more difficult for millennials to enter the real estate market. Much harder than it was for their parents’ generation, at least. However, that […]