Before accumulating unsustainable debt, it’s important to use a Mortgage Calculator like the one below to help you determine your monthly mortgage payment and the time it would take to pay off your debt.
| Year | Interest | Ending Balance |
|---|---|---|
Making smaller payments every two weeks instead of once a month saves you interest and pays down your loan faster. How? By making payments every two weeks you actually end up paying more per year (the equivalent of one extra monthly payment).
As one of the biggest financial transactions of our lives, the purchase of a home requires careful assessment of our finances as well as the potential impact of a mortgage. For advice on both buying and owning a home, we asked a panel of experts to weigh in with their thoughts on the following key questions:
Is now a good time to buy a home?
What are the most common financial mistakes people make when buying a home, and which are most costly in the long-term?
If someone is currently overleveraged and has trouble affording their mortgage payments, what steps should they take?
Is there any way for an individual to tell if his or her local housing market is overpriced?
Are there certain housing markets or circumstances in which it is acceptable to be overleveraged in mortgage debt? If so, how much is too much?
Del Wright
Associate Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Robert Stoll
Certified Financial Planner and Founder of Honey Lake Advisors
Mark H. Goldman
Residential Loan Officer at C2 Financial Corporation & Lecturer in the Finance Department at San Diego State University
Sheridan Titman
Professor in the Department of Finance and Walter W. McAllister Centennial Chair in Financial Services in the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin
Emil E. Malizia
Professor in the Department of City & Regional Planning and Director of the Institute for Economic Development at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Norman Miller
Professor of Real Estate and Hahn Chair of Real Estate Finance at the University of San Diego School of Business
People keep on telling me I should buy a home. With my credit score going way up in the last 4 years but still low I am discouraged. I currently am paying 1600.00 mo in rent and am tired of “throwing my money away” per-say”. I only make about 38,000.00 . I have very few bills and no credit cards. Most of my extra money goes to taking care of my 4 kids. Any suggestions would help!?
Should I sell my house and use some of the money to pay off bills and raise my credit score before purchasing another home?
My wife and I are both retired, with an income of $50,000/year. Our credit scores are 750 and 796. We would like to borrow $60,000 on our home. The approximate value of our home is $320,000 and we owe $185,000. Our mortgage rate is 3.5%. We are wondering if we should get a credit-line loan or refinance our 1st mortgage. There are no other loans on our home.
How high does your credit have to be to buy a home?
There is no pre-set minimum credit score to buy a house -- that is determined by each lender, and different lenders set different criteria. That being said, a score that is at least good (above 660) will almost certainly qualify you. Anything below that brings a bit of uncertainty into the equation. You still might qualify for a mortgage, but the interest rates will certainly be higher, and lenders will rely on other criteria to make their decision, such as a reliable source of income and assets. Whenever you are considering applying for something major, such as a mortgage, it is a good idea to check your credit report and score several months in advance. This way, you have time to improve your credit standing, if needed. Some guidelines that will help you improve your score include bringing any past due debts current, making all payments on time, every time, and reducing your credit utilization ratio. Hope this helps!
i was overcharged on a income green card check for morgage payments called yellow line how was the original amount due stated to be less and if so how much to cover the damages?
When you write a check that taps into a credit card account’s credit line, it’s actually considered a cash advance – this is the reason you were charged a costly fee and a high interest rate. The exact fee and rate differs from card to card, so make sure you check your credit card’s terms and conditions to see how much you’re liable for. Hope this helps!
I am cleaning up my credit score and have about 600 now can I get 100% mortgage?
How much is a good rate?
4.5%
Do you accept mobile homes as down payments?
Not looking for a home that cost that I'm Looking for rent to own.
I missed four months of my mortgage due to decrease in income so my bank was either going to foreclose or I could do a loan modification. I made my three good faith payments. They forced me to start an escrow account to cover my insurance and taxes but did not state that my loan which was 17 years into a 30 year fixed loan at 7.125% would restart again at 30 years and they did not lower the interest rate to the current rate. They told me that the months I was behind would be tacked onto the end of the original loan. I had always paid my taxes and insurance on my own. Then they told me over the phone that the escrow the first year they paid it would be spread over 4 years but now they have increased my escrow to catch up by the Escrow Department with the bank. I kept my part of the bargain and agreed to what they told me would happen but they have went back on their word. My payment was $402.00 a month and now it is $505.00 and my loan was restarted again to a new 30 year term. Is there anything I can do to make them change the terms that they told me during the remodification process? It was supposed to make it more affordable but it went up $103.00 a month. I've tried talking to the bank and they won't budge, is there an agency I can file a complaint with regarding truth in lending issue? Thanks for any input into my deliemma. I will be 76 when my new mortgage is paid off with them under their new terms I was not told about.