Mortgage Professor

First of two parts: Most consumers need to borrow some of the money needed to purchase a home, but lenders will seldom provide it all…. Read more »

Mortgage borrowers having to choose between the different types of mortgages face a puzzle, which may be particularly perplexing today. Interest rates remain low by… Read more »

With millions of mortgage loans originated every year, it is not surprising that now and then lenders make a mistake in calculating the monthly mortgage… Read more »

Home buyers who need a purchase mortgage are less likely to use the Internet to find one than are existing owners looking to refinance, yet… Read more »

Seniors who accumulate a nest-egg during their working years, which they then use to maintain their lifestyle during retirement, risk running out of money if… Read more »

Providing small mortgage loans at non-subsidized prices affordable to the borrower has always been a challenge. The core problem is that the high cost of… Read more »

You have identified the mortgage lender with whom you wish to work, based in part on a price quote. You probably know the price quote… Read more »

Senior homeowners looking to shop the HECM reverse mortgage market for the best price, meaning the lowest interest rate and origination fee, have a major… Read more »

Mortgage referral fees: Last of three parts The first two articles in this series on referral fees dealt with situations where mortgage lenders were the… Read more »

Second of three parts The Real Estate Settlements Procedures Act, or RESPA, was aimed at reducing settlement costs paid by mortgage borrowers by eliminating referral… Read more »

First of three parts Markets don’t work well when one party to transactions has much more information than the other party, especially when the party… Read more »

A frequently asked question: What are mortgage points? They are an upfront payment to the lender, expressed as a percent of the loan amount. For… Read more »

Q: I have read statements by you regarding “live mortgage pricing,” but I am not sure what it means, or why it is important? A: A live… Read more »

Publication date: March 7, 2014 Perhaps the most important decision a mortgage borrower makes is the type of mortgage: whether fixed-rate (or FRM), or adjustable-rate… Read more »

Publication Date: February 14, 2015  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau deplores the fact that almost half of the home buyers it recently surveyed did not shop… Read more »

Publication Date: February 21, 2015 Recently, I have been getting a lot of mail from mortgage borrowers asking about amortization. Most are considering whether to pay… Read more »

Publication Date: February 28, 2015   Homeowners buy their second or third homes for a variety of reasons. They may be trading up to get more… Read more »

Is converting a standard mortgage into a reverse mortgage a good idea?… Read more »

The seeds of this article were planted in my brain some 30 odd years ago, when I did a consulting project for the U.S. Department… Read more »

For most seniors, waiting until age 70 before collecting social security, as opposed to taking a smaller amount earlier, is an excellent investment. A typical… Read more »