Mortgage Articles and Advice
How Much House Can You Afford?
Debt-to-income Ratios
Your Monthly Income - How Lenders Figure it
Your Maximum Monthly Mortgage Payment
The Rest is Easy - Sort of
Your Down Payment Affects Everything Else
Analyzing Your Savings - the First Step
Mortgage Program Choices
Shopping for Interest Rates
Writing Your Offer
Conclusion - Look at Your Savings First
Documenting Your Assets & Verifying Your Down Payment
You can't just "come up" with the money
Checking, Savings, & Money Market Accounts
Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, etc.
Gifts from Family Member
401K or Retirement Accounts
Selling Personal Property
Help from Employers
Savings Bonds
Borrowing to Come up with a Down Payment
Where Does Mortgage Money Come From?
The Olden Days
How it works now
Mortgage Backed Securities
Different Types of Lenders
Mortgage Bankers
Mortgage Brokers
Wholesale Lenders
Portfolio Lenders
Direct Lenders
Correspondents
Banks
Savings & Loans
Credit Unions
Advantages of Different Types of Lenders
What kind of Lender is Best?
Portfolio Lenders
Banks and Savings & Loans
Mortgage Bankers
Mortgage Brokers
Wholesale Lenders
When Realtors or Builders Recommend a Lender
What You Need to You Apply for a Home Loan
"Alternate" Documention versus Full Traditional Documentation
The Actual List of things you need to get a quick loan approval
Closing Costs When Buying or Refinancing a Home
Introduction
Lender Associated Costs - the "normal" ones
Lender Associated Costs - the "other" ones
Items Paid in Advance
Impounds or Reserves
Costs not Associated with the Lender
Refinancing Associated Costs
Asking the Seller to Pay Closing Costs?
Mortgage Interest Rates - How it Works
A Loan Officer's Rate Sheet
Pricing the Loan
Quoting Rates to You
Locking in Your Rate
Shopping for Rates
Getting Reliable Quotes |  Credit articles and Advice
Contact Information for the Credit Bureaus
Cleaning Up Your Credit
Introduction - Lenders Check Your Credit
Get a Copy of Your Credit Report
What to Say When You Call Your Creditors
How to Get Written Confirmation of Agreements
Disputing the Credit Report When Creditors Won't Cooperate
Mistakes on Your Credit Report
Bankruptcies
Conclusion
How FICO Credit Scoring Affects Your Home Loan
Odds of a delinquent mortgage for different levels of FICO Scores.
What makes up a FICO score, and how lenders look at them.
FICO scores and mortgage underwriting decisions.
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