Apr
29
Good question, with lots of answers. The fact is that—aside from the price of a home—owning a home comes with a number of responsibilities and choices, all of which have price tags associated with them. Most people know the about the obvious costs: the cost of purchasing the home and the cost of financing the …
Mar
31
Second in a 4-part series. The buyer should be concerned with four main things that happen prior to and at closing. Primarily, the buyer has to be able to pay for the property. This means that the buyer must show up with the required down payment and that the mortgage loan must be ready. The …
Mar
31
First in a 4-part series. The closing of a real estate transaction is both an occurrence that happens at a point in time and the culmination of multiple processes that result in the ownership of the property passing from the seller to the buyer. The “occurrence” aspect is simple: the seller conveys title to the …
Mar
29
2010 is the last year in which you can claim a deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. Enter your qualifying mortgage insurance premiums on line 13 of Schedule A; enter the total of your allowable deductions from Schedule A on line 40 of Form 1040. If your adjusted gross income (AGI) is greater than $100,000, you cannot …
Mar
21
Mortgage insurance insures a lender—not the borrower—against a borrower defaulting on a mortgage. If the borrower fails to pay the loan as agreed, the lender can seek payment from the mortgage insurance company. Most mortgage insurance is private mortgage insurance (PMI), but there are some government-sponsored mortgage insurance programs, such as the programs provided by …
Mar
19
The down payment is the difference between the purchase price of a home and the amount of the mortgage loan used to buy the home. For example, if the purchase price is $100,000 and the mortgage is $80,000, then the down payment is $20,000 ($100,000 – $80,000).