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How to Shop Settlement Costs
March 5, 1999, Rewritten February 15, 2003 Settlement costs are one of the most confusing and irritating features of home mortgages in the US.  Confusion arises out of the many different types of costs involved, which can vary from ... more...

No-Cost Mortgages
July 19, 2004 "Why wouldn?t anyone in his right mind take a no-cost mortgage if he could find one?" Because no-cost mortgages don?t eliminate costs, they convert them from costs paid upfront to costs paid over time. No-cost mortgages carry higher interest rates, ... more...

settlement costs related definitions

RESPA
Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA) A federal law passed in 1974 that requires lenders to provide home mortgage borrowers in advance with information of known or estimated settlement costs. RESPA also limits the amount lenders may require to be held in escrow for ... more...

Settlement Statement, HUD-1
Settlement Statement, HUD 1 Document used by the settlement agent to itemize all charges for a real estate transaction, detailing the final financial settlement and costs paid by both buyer and seller of a property. Settlement Statement or closing document required by HUD ... more...

More about settlement costs

Life After Divorce- Surviving Financially
In the first few years after divorce, more often than not, the standard of living of both spouses drops. Why, because the same cumulative income and pool of assets now has to support two households instead of one. Unfortunately, most people don't prepare themselves financially or emotionally for ... more...

Real Estate Development Feasibility Study (Income) - $1.2 Billion Developer Tells You How To Do One
There are two sides to a feasibility study and in an earlier article I discussed the cost side of the format and:Now Let's Discuss The Income SideWithout the Sales Income, All Youve Done Is Spend Money, And Anyone Can Do That.So that we are clear in what I am going to define for you, let me say ... more...

9 Home Buyer Traps and How to Avoid Them
No matter which way you look at it buying a home is a major investment. But for many homebuyers, it can be an even more expensive process than it needs to be because many fall prey to at least a few of the many common and costly mistakes which trap them into either:-paying too much for the home ... more...

Construction Loan Basics
It might not be too big of an exaggeration to say that the construction loan is one of the more daunting aspects of building your custom home. Before we started our project, I had nightmares about trying to pay two full mortgages at the same time (our existing mortgage and the construction loan), ... more...

Structured Settlements 101: How Structured Settlements Work
You have probably heard the term Structured Settlement on a television or print ad and wondered what it meant. After all, the term is not a part of our everyday lexicon.A structured settlement is a contract under which an insurance company undertakes to make periodic payments to an injured party as ... more...

Where Does Your Real Estate Commission Fee Go - Why is The Commission so HIGH?
Many who have bought and sold properties through Realtors numerous times; even many real estate agents themselves, don't know where the commission money goes. After all, when a property sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the commission is tens of thousands of dollars, it seems like ... more...

Top Tips for First Time Home Buyers
Advice to Help When You're Buying a HomeFirst time home buyers might feel better to know that they're not the only ones who feel confused about the process of buying a home. Nearly all home buyers feel the same way, even if they've bought a house in the past, because it's easy to forget the home ... more...

Budgeting -- The Critical Flaw That Causes Most Budgets to Fail
Budgeting. It's a word we're all familiar with. Everyone knows what a budget is, right? Yet how many of us actually make and stick to a solid monthly budget? The truth is that most of us start out with the best of intentions, but an unexpected expense comes up and busts our budget. Then we give up ... more...

Home Equity Loans in Texas
A few notes of importance: This only applies to a homestead property, that is the customers primary residence LTV refers to Loan to Value, meaning the loan amount as compared to the value of the home. As an example, a loan of $75,000 on a home valued at $100,000 would be a loan at 75% LTV. These ... more...

How to Finance and Build Your Dream Home
If you have always dreamed of building and living in the home youve helped design, its time to seriously consider putting your dream into action. In todays mortgage market, a specially designed loan for just such a homeowner, the construction to perm loan, includes the construction loan to ... more...

How to Convert Your Real Estate Notes into Quick Cash
If youre a real estate investor needing quick cash, selling your notes could offer a fast, easy solution. It can happen to anyone. You find yourself in a situation where you need a chunk of cashinstantly. Maybe you have to handle an emergency or simply want to free up funds to invest elsewhere. ... more...

Understanding How to Get Easy Home Loans for the Self Employed
There are three specific criteria that make any loan work. They are:1. Collateral - What you have of value (assets) to place at risk if you should default on the loan.2. Capacity - Your ability to pay back the loan over time. This includes income reporting such as IRS Form W-2 or 1099. Capacity ... more...


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