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What Is A Rate Lock?

Mortgage rates change constantly through an unpredictable combination of government policies and economic conditions. This video explains the common term ‘rate lock.’ A “Rate Lock” is a guarantee that a lender will honor a specific combination...

What Is A Qualified Mortgage?

As this video explains,  Federal laws put into effect in 2014 and  supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau define lending practices and loan terms for a new category called “Qualified Mortgages.” They provide stable loan...

What Does Ability To Repay Mean?

What are the “Ability to repay” rules about? In a nutshell, as this video shows, new laws require lenders to make a good-faith assessment of a borrower’s capacity to pay back their loan over time. It’s a longer-term view that goes...

What Is The Debt-To-Income Ratio (DTI)?

Measuring your existing debts against your existing income is one part of a lender’s required assessment of your ability to repay a loan. Like the video says:  debts are existing financial commitments; a car payment is a debt a...

How Should I Prepare The Inside For An Open House?

For many homes and markets, professional help from someone in “staging” makes good financial sense.  Like this video say, check your staging options first. If you are doing it yourself, here are 5 key tips. One – Depersonalize. You...