From the category archives:

Home Buying

Mortgage Rates This Week

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates rose for the first time in 5 weeks last week, pulling mortgage pricing off its best levels of the year.

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ARMs and Interest Only Loans aren’t for Everyone

For the first time this year, Fannie Mae announced significant updates to its mortgage underwriting guidelines. The changes include newer, harsher ARM qualification standards, the elimination of a once-popular loan product, and tighter rules for interest only mortgages.

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The New Normal, Like it or Not

Your first economic priority needs to be liquid cash. There are two reasons to have  a ready stash: something good happens or something bad happens. Good things that require cash: Your child is accepted to a terrific (but more expensive than planned) school You have an opportunity to invest in a vehicle that will enable [...]

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Zillow says Charlotte home prices are dropping

According to the real estate website Zillow.com, the home prices in Charlotte, NC are off by 3.7% compared to Feb 2009 and only 0.4% from Jan, 2010.  Statistically, I am not sure if these numbers really show a decline or not. The true value of any house is what a reasonable buyer and reasonable seller [...]

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Will Inflation Lead to Higher Mortgage Rates?

If you’re trying to gauge whether rates will be rising or falling, one keyword for which to listen is “inflation”. Mortgage rates are highly responsive to inflation.

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