RESPA: The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is a consumer protection statute, first passed in 1974. One of its purposes is to help consumers become better shoppers for settlement services. Another purpose is to eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that increase unnecessarily the costs of ... more...

Mortgage Glossary - A Glossary of Mortgage Terms You Should Know
Acceleration Clause A clause in a mortgage defining that the entire outstanding balance can become due and payable should mortgage default occur. If the entire balance is not paid, the property will be foreclosed.Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Mortgage with interest rates that may be adjusted by ... more...

Escrow Accounts Are You Paying Too Much?
Money in escrow is "dead money". It doesnt earn interest for you and it doesnt reduce your mortgage interest payments. Therefore every cent in your escrow account is costing you money. Make sure there is no more tied up in escrow than there needs to be!Here is a brief summary of what lenders can ... more...

What is a Current Account Mortgage?
Current account mortgages are fairly new to the sector. They are quite different to other types of mortgage as they enable you to set off all your savings and debts in one single account.Several lenders offer this type of flexible mortgage that is linked to a current account, and is called a ... more...

What is an Offset Mortgage?
An offset mortgage is very similar to a current account mortgage - but instead of having everything all in one account, all accounts are held separately.The offset mortgage concept treats your money as one giant pot, with each element (mortgage, savings, current account etc) separate to the rest. ... more...

Mortgage Loans
A mortgage is a device used to create a lien on real estate by contract. The mortgage is an instrument that the borrower (called the mortgagor) uses to pledge real property to the lender (called the mortgagee) as security for a debt, also called hypothecation. The mortgage, as a rule, consists of ... more...

The Red Flags of Getting a Home Loan
Red flags are indicators that there may be a current or future problem with the borrower or transaction. They help Underwriters isolate pertinent issues that are part of the overall loan evaluation. They are questionable items, and when there are several, they usually indicate that something is ... more...

UK Mortages: A Guide Through The Maze
Types of UK MortgagesYou may be wasting your money with the wrong type of mortgage. Knowledge is power.There are essentially two different types of mortgage:Repayment only, (capital and interest mortgage)Interest only, (ISA, pension or endowment mortgage)Repayment onlyYour monthly repayments ... more...

Stock Market, Bonds, Deposit Account, Cash, Equities, Unit Trusts - Few, Just Few of the Ways of Sav
Man has been known for continually simplifying things in his own interest. First he devised mortgages then several sub categories under it like buy to let mortgage, council right to buy, reverse mortgage. Then we devised remortgage. Then as the intricacies increased and the payment of interest and ... more...

Real Estate Tip: Escrow Accounts -- Do You Really Need Them?
If you have a mortgage on your property, whether it's for your personal residence or a real estate investment, chances are you have an escrow account. But if you are working on building wealth through real estate, you may want to take a hard look at your escrow account (or accounts, if you own more ... more...