Tuesday, March 1st, 2016
It takes two to make a marriage work, the saying goes. But sometimes it’s better when only one of them applies for a mortgage. There are a number of reasons why one spouse stays off a home loan. That person’s high debts, low income or poor credit history could be deal-killers or trigger a higher interest rate. When a mortgage qualification involves co-borrowers, lenders use the lowest credit score among them to determine the rate. The threshold for the best mortgage rates usually is a score of 740, but some lenders may want 760 or higher, depending on the down […]
Read moreMonday, February 1st, 2016
You want to buy the house—but only if it comes with the boat out back. The seller may agree to the deal, but your lender probably won’t include it in the mortgage. If the house is purchased with cash, the extra items can be wrapped directly into the purchase price. But if the house is financed, the extras are broken out of the mortgage. In most cases, lenders prefer a buyer make a separate purchase deal for the personal property with the seller. When personal property is wrapped into the sales contract, the lender will subtract that value from the purchase price […]
Read moreWednesday, December 30th, 2015
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Philadelphia has an apartment shortage—and big developers are starting to fill the void. A 322-apartment tower planned at 1213 Walnut St. in the hip Midtown Village section of Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood is slated for completion in 2017. The $125 million project, which broke ground Dec. 8, is set to rise 26 stories above a bustling streetscape of restaurants, pubs and other businesses. The partners say they are pursuing a rare opportunity to build modern multifamily housing in a market where apartment construction still lags behind rapidly growing demand. The Walnut Street […]
Read moreTuesday, December 1st, 2015
The U.S. Federal Reserve isn’t exactly poised to crash the house party. Low interest rates, steady job gains and improving household finances have helped bolster the housing recovery. And even as 2015’s strong first half has given way to some wobbly months of late, housing fundamentals appear primed to withstand a looming U.S. rate increase. Minutes released from the October FOMC meeting stated “most participants” agreed conditions would be right—or already were right—to consider an increase to the benchmark Fed Funds Rate at their meeting December 15 and 16. This rate, which is the rate banks use to lend money […]
Read moreMonday, November 2nd, 2015
Mortgage borrowers will find it easier to compare different loan products and understand the total cost of their loan under the new mortgage rules that took effect last month. The changes are part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “know before you owe” initiative. Here’s a breakdown of the changes to the mortgage forms. First, four documents are reduced to two. The Loan Estimate or “LE”, will replace two documents, the Good Faith Estimate and the initial Truth-In-Lending disclosure. The Closing Disclosure or “CD” will replace the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and the final Truth-In-Lending disclosure. Borrowers can now more easily check […]
Read moreThursday, October 1st, 2015
Mortgage lenders and real-estate agents are bracing for Saturday’s implementation of a five-year-old law that has forced them to overhaul the way they process sales. The changes, prompted by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, are meant to help consumers better understand the terms of their mortgages before they sign the dotted line. But some in the real-estate industry worry that the rest of the year could be marked by delayed closings, frustrated borrowers and confused real-estate professionals as they adjust to the new rules. At heart, the changes simplify forms long required by the federal government that disclose loan terms, […]
Read moreTuesday, September 1st, 2015
If your home equity line of credit is approaching its 10th birthday and you owe money on it, you might soon see a spike in the minimum monthly payments. There are ways to delay the payment increase by refinancing the loan. A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, has two stages. First is the draw period, which usually lasts 10 years but can be as long as 20 years. Monthly payments are applied only to the interest during the draw period. After the draw period ends, the second stage begins: The HELOC goes into the amortization period when you […]
Read moreMonday, August 3rd, 2015
Does it make sense for a homeowner to insure a home for more than they paid for it? Sometimes, yes. Mortgage lenders require all borrowers to get homeowners insurance before the deal closes. The mandated coverage is usually the lesser of two things: the loan amount or the insurer’s appraisal of the home value. What you need to do is insure for the replacement value of home, not the value of the mortgage. Standard homeowners-insurance policies lock their replacement coverage at a set dollar amount based on industry estimates to rebuild, repair or replace the insured item. Some specialized policies, […]
Read moreWednesday, July 1st, 2015
Before a sale is complete, both the bank and the borrower want to be sure that the title—the formal document that shows proof of ownership—is free and clear. That means there are no delinquent taxes, unpaid liens, undisclosed heirs or other disputes that must be resolved before the house can be sold. A title search and title insurance protect both lenders and borrowers. After a house goes into contract, a title company searches public records, typically going back a number of years, to look for any problems with the home’s title. More than a third of all title searches reveal […]
Read moreMonday, June 1st, 2015
When applying for a mortgage, potential borrowers may consider two terms interchangeable: the interest rate and the annual percentage rate. They sound like the same thing but are, in fact, much different. The interest rate reflects the base cost of borrowing money and is a percentage of the principal loan amount. For example, the interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.75% the week ending May 15. In this case, a borrower with a $250,000.00 mortgage would have a $1,157.79 monthly payment. (Payment is amortized using the loan amount and term, but doesn’t include escrow for property taxes or […]
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Keegan Mortgage Corporation
1504 Walnut Ave., Oreland, PA 19075
Toll Free: (800) 342-8632
Office: (215) 885-5311
Fax: (215) 885-5426
[email protected]
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