Mortgages
« Previous EntriesDoing the ‘Right’ Thing – A Topic That Will Not Die
Monday, November 16th, 2009Just watched this video clip on Larry Winget’s facebook page:
Regardless of what the guy does, he’s in deep doo doo. He paid $340,000 (financing $272,000) for a house that is now worth between $120,000 and $140,000. He can afford the payment but is still thinking about walking away since the purchase is no [...]
Addressing a Dave Ramsey Fan’s Comment
Monday, November 16th, 2009My old Dave Ramsey posts regarding comparisons between the 15-year and 30-year mortgage still receive comments from time to time. This afternoon I noticed the following comment (on this post) that I want to address:
In the comparison above the amount in savings is only listed for the 30 year mortgage. Where does this number [...]
Ignoring Your FICO Score Can Cost You Dearly
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009Check out this graphic I found on the myFICO website:
I took the information found in that chart and made another graphic showing just how much interest a person would pay over a 30-year mortgage depending on their credit score:
As you can see, the difference is significant. Just moving from the second highest to the [...]
Where Would We Be if All States Followed Vermont’s Example?
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009There was a very interesting article in today’s WSJ about how Vermont’s mortgage laws helped prevent the bulk of the real estate bust in their state.
I wanted to point out one of the stories in the article:
Insurance adjustor Ginger Shields says she tried for years to qualify for a home loan. After a decade and [...]
Follow-up on the Lady Who Baked Her Way Out of Foreclosure
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Call me a sucker but I like this kind of stuff (I mentioned this last week):
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I know not everyone can do this but you have to applaud the effort of this woman.
A Look At Mortgage Interest
Monday, July 20th, 2009Long time readers of AFM know that I like to look at things differently through the use of spreadsheets. I have kind of gotten away from such posts in recent months. But, after reading comments from various readers I have decided to try to do more spreadsheet posts. They are fun to [...]
A Different Take on “Government Housing”
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009Check out what I just saw on Reuters:
NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) – U.S. government officials are weighing a plan that would let borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments avoid eviction by renting their homes instead, sources familiar with the administration’s thinking said on Tuesday.
Under one idea being discussed, delinquent homeowners would [...]
If Mortgage Fraud Occurred, Why Don’t We Prosecute the Offenders?
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009During the subprime boom, lenders were using “stated-income” loans, which meant the borrower could state their income but no income verification was used. Basically, this type of loan allowed for the borrower to inflate their income and no one would know the difference. Doing so allowed for the buyer to “qualify” for a [...]
I Was Right!
Monday, June 22nd, 2009If you want to read a short book that will give you a pretty good idea of what went on with subprime mortgages, check out David Faber’s And Then the Roof Caved In*. It’s a very good read.
As my regular readers know, I have blogged a lot about the subprime mortgage crisis. In [...]
Flawed Thinking (Part 2)
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009After posting Flawed Thinking a couple of days ago, I got to thinking about it. I left out one very important part of the story.
Re-read the commenter’s first sentence and you’ll see what I mean:
Two years ago we stopped investing in our 401k and we began paying thousands against the principal on our home.
The [...]