The Myths and Truths about your Mortgage

Mortgages are tricky and often hard to understand. Because most people only purchase a home every five to seven years, prospective home buyers understandably don’t spend a lot of time in the interim educating Read more

Tips to Keep Your Home from Foreclosure

In early 2011, you may remember there was a lull in foreclosure activity – a lull that was prompted by nationwide scrutiny into lenders’ home-seizure practices. Read more

Foreclosure Trends VERY Different in Different Markets

Last week, RealtyTrac released their Year-End 2012 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™. The report revealed foreclosure trends over the past few years. Here are a few of the key findings: Read more

A Guide to Taxes as a Homeowner

Hey there, homeowner! We’re happy you’ve got a slice of the American dream, and you’ll get the tax breaks that go along with it. In fact, some of these tax incentives apply to even a second home. Ooh la la!

Whether you bought, sold or just happily lived in your home this year, we’ll walk you through all the tax stuff you need to know.

Just skim the “If you …” headers to find the sections that affect you.

If You Paid Interest on Your Mortgage … Read more

Short Sales – 10 Common Myths Busted

It’s likely you’ve heard the term “short sale” thrown around quite a bit. What exactly is a short sale?

A short sale is when a bank agrees to accept less than the total amount owed on a mortgage to avoid having to foreclose on the property. Read more

Illegal Foreclosure (Taken from DaveRamsey.com)

“Illegal Foreclosure” taken from DaveRamsey.com. See original article here.

QUESTION: Brian in Indiana lost his home a few years ago after a foreclosure. Their foreclosure was found to be illegal because the foreclosure itself was not notarized or witnessed. He wants to know what steps he can take to get it removed from his credit score. Dave walks him through the process.

ANSWER: There is a lot of stuff going on out there about illegal foreclosure, and a lot of talk about it. You owed the money and didn’t pay it, so to say that this is a technicality is an understatement. You may be able to use it to get the foreclosure off of your credit, and you may have to explain it several times in the future. Read more

S.C. foreclosure rate drops in October

South Carolina’s foreclosure rate is the ninth highest in the nation, but down from 2011 levels, according to a monthly report issued by RealtyTrac.

In the state, 3,557 homes, or one in every 601, were under some form of foreclosure in October, down 2% from last year. Read more

Will the Mortgage Forgiveness Act Be Extended?

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 is set to expire at the end of the year. The act allows taxpayers to be excluded from paying taxes on forgiven debt in certain situations. As their website explains: Read more

7 Reasons to Start an Emergency Fund

Saving up your hard-earned cash to stash away an emergency fund?

Well, it can be a hard sell. Spare cash can be hard to come by, and, after all, taking a vacation is a heck of a lot more fun. Read more

Short Sales – 10 Common Myths Busted

by Brandon Brittingham

It’s likely you’ve heard the term “short sale” thrown around quite a bit. What exactly is a short sale?

A short sale is when a bank agrees to accept less than the total amount owed on a mortgage to avoid having to foreclose on the property. This is not a new practice; banks have been doing short sales for years. Only recently, due to the current state of the housing market and economy, has this process become a part of the public consciousness. Read more

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