mortgage

CitiMortgage Told Me to Default on My Loan

Only in the completely screwed-up world of the lending industry would this be a logical and serious piece of advice. But that’s basically what I was told after calling CitiMortg

Why I Didn't Pay My Mortgage Off In Full

Getting out of credit card debt, paying off all student loans, and paying off their mortgage in full ASAP is the #1 goal of almost every personal finance blogger on the Wise Bread

Book Review: Complicit - How Greed and Collusion Made the Credit Crisis Unstoppable

This week a government committee is investigating the cause of the financial crisis by interrogating bank titans what exactly went wrong. Complicit: How Greed and Collusion Made th

Home Loans

Getting a home loan is a necessary part of the process of buying a home for most people. It can take extra work to get a good loan, but if you're familiar with the process and know

You did WHAT with my SSN?

My bank thinks I should feel comfortable with one of their employees toting around a personal notebook containing my social security number. Should I?

5 Reasons Not to Apply for a Loan Modification in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) rolled out last year currently has over 700,000 people in trial modifications and a little over 30,000 in "permanent" modifications.

3 Ways Technology Makes Personal Finances Easier

From saving money to staying on budget, technology has made it easier than ever to stay on top of my personal finances. Here are 3 ways technology has helped me save money and time

Buying a Home Without the Money

This writer gives his reasons for buying a home now instead of waiting for a 20% down payment.

You Trade-In Your Car…Why Not Your Home?

Here’s a question for you that has been bugging me for years; why can’t home-builders follow the auto dealer’s classic model of old for new, and let people trade-in their old homes

New Home Loan Rules Will Take Effect on July 30, 2009

If you are in the process of buying a new primary residence or second home, or considering refinancing a loan, a new set of federal consumer protection rules taking effect on July

Mortgage bailout redux: new incentives for modifying second mortgages in the Second Lien Program

The United States government launched the "Hope for Homeowners" program back in October, 2008, and so far only one loan has received final approval to refinance under this program.

Should you skip a mortgage payment to get a bank's attention?

The Obama administration announced a foreclosure prevention and mortgage reduction program about two months ago, and as of April less than 1000 loans have been refinanced under th

Details of Obama's mortgage plan released - Will you benefit?

Today the Obama administration officially released the final details of the mortgage plan that was announced a few weeks ago. Here is a quick summary on what is in the plan and h

Countrywide tried to steal my parents' money - How you can avoid being a victim of mortgage servicing fraud

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about checking your mortgage statement, and interestingly enough my family was recently confronted with an erroneous mortgage statement. This is

How to check if your mortgage statement is correct

This week the Federal Trade Commission sent out around $28 million in redress checks to more than 86,000 customers of Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage Corporation. Apparently EMC Mor

Three bad ways to fund mortgage lending (and maybe a good way)

Any institution that wants to fund mortgages has a problem. They want to lend the money out for thirty years, but the money they have to lend comes from deposits that can be withdr

Rethinking The Early Mortgage Payoff

The borrow-at-a-low-interest-rate-and-invest-to-get-greater-returns mentality was so embedded in our belief system that there almost seemed to be a stigma attached to not carrying

Is your credit score suffering without your knowledge?

Credit card companies are tricky little jerks during the best of times. But now, with a lousy economic forecast and limited access to funds that can be loaned to consumers, banks a

Should We All Just Stop Paying the Mortgage?

Should you take advantage of the $700 billion bailout plan to help struggling homeowners and stop paying your mortgage?

Manage your fixed expenses

When you think of people ruining their lives with foolish spending, it's easy to focus on the little things that add up--the meals out, the hefty bar tab, the daily Starbucks habit