The financial crisis of 2008 started with shoddy mortgage-lending practices. Congress answered this problem with the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which was designed, among other things, to tighten mortgage lending standards and disclosures, keeping consumers better...
If you haven’t bought a home in recent years, the paperwork you’ll be confronted with will look a little different this time around. That’s because of new regulations put in place following the 2008 financial...
The financial world hangs on the mere hint of a possible interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. But what about rank-and-file consumers? What does the Federal Reserve do, and how does it affect what...
How much is a home worth? That’s the crucial question asked by home buyers and their lenders in a sales transaction. It’s up to a professional real estate appraiser to analyze the property and market...
Homeownership is the dream of millions of Americans, and should never be denied because of an applicant’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, marital status or age. In 1974, Congress sought to remove such discriminatory...
In the often-confusing world of finance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a valuable source of free information for homebuyers and others making a major purchase or investment. Created by Congress following the 2008...
When you buy a home, your mortgage is sold to you by a banker or broker on the primary mortgage market. When that first lender sells your mortgage to another firm, your mortgage enters the...
It seemed like the ink was barely dry on your closing papers when you received notice that your mortgage had been sold to another company. While startling, it won’t change the terms of your loan....
If you received an unusually high property tax bill, don’t be afraid to fight back. Here’s how to effectively question your tax appraisal and file an appeal. Taxing authorities have two ways to boost tax...
If you own your own home, your property tax assessment is responsible for one of the biggest ticket items in your annual budget — your property tax bill, which pays for local services such as...
