Home Equity Loan IRS Tax Deduction

Note: This is general tax information, not advice. We always try to be accurate in the information we provide, but you should contact a certified tax accountant for assistance with your situation. This article does not cover all situations and nuances. With tax season just around the corner, I figure a review of some of the home-based tax deductions and credits are in order. Up first, IRS tax treatment... 

How Long Should You Wait Before Refinancing?

It’s been about 7 months since we last refinanced, and we’re at it again. Last March we locked in at 5.00% on a 30 year mortgage. Back then you could get a 15 year loan for about 4.75%. While we could afford the 15 year payments, we didn’t think it was worth it to lock into the higher payment for a reduction of only .25%. About 2 weeks ago, loans were again at multi-year lows (I... 

Loan To Value Ratios, Refinancing, and New Loans (Mortgage Basics)

Most of us who have owned our own home for a while have had plenty of exposure to mortgage loans. But every year there are millions of new entrants into the housing market who have little knowledge of the mechanics of mortgages and the vernacular employed. So, I’ll be writing some posts on the basics of mortgages, with the intention of tying all these concepts together over the next 4-5 months... 

Making Home Affordable Program Explained

President Obama has rolled out a new plan called Making Home Affordable. The plan is designed to help up to 9 million homeowners refinance or modify their mortgage by providing incentives to borrowers, servicers, and mortgage investors. Additionally, the government will also subsidize interest rate reductions. Two great personal finance blogs we follow had a recent post about the making home affordable... 

Paying Off a Wells Fargo Mortgage Loan

We’ve been with Wells Fargo for years and have closed nearly a dozen loans with them. Our rental property is the first loan we’ve paid off straight from our checking account, as opposed to at the closing table when we refinanced a property or moved to a new one.   Where’d we get the cash? We refinanced our primary residence and rolled both the rental and primary loans into one.   This... 

Refinance with High Combined LTV Ratio

In keeping with the refinance theme…. I’m still trying to refinance my mortgage. My most recent obstacle is a poor Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio. With the failing economy, my home is worth about 10K – 15K less than when we purchased. That ups my combined LTV ratio to about 90%! But, I spoke with a different loan officer today and am optimistic about still being able to take advantage... 

We Locked in at 5% on a Cash-out Refinance and Lost $55,000

Yep, that’s right.  We locked in a 5% mortgage rate on a 30 year cash-out refinance on our home.   Our goal: to get a lower rate on our home mortgage and pay off as much of our rental property mortgage as possible. So how’d we lose $55,000?  We just got back our home appraisal for the new loan… it came in at $370,000, or $30,000 lower than the $400,000 purchase price from November,... 

Refinancing My Mortgage: Starting the Process

I’m still going through the process of refinancing my mortgage. At this point, I’m hunting around trying to find a good rate, without huge closing costs. As this is my first home and first mortgage, I’m also learning about the whole refinance process. Necessary Information to Refinance My first question about refinancing was what kind of information do I need. Here is what I’ve... 

Paying Down a Mortgage Early: Pros and Cons

As Kim and I look forward to our future, we regularly consider a variety of investment and savings options to help us achieve our financial goals. Earlier this year, we decided to make paying down our mortgage balance ahead of schedule a component of our overall investment strategy.  After weighing the pros and cons of the decision, we’re still feeling good about it and will likely continue... 

Should We Refinance Our House?

We’ve been in our house about 2 years.  We bought just at the end of 2005 and locked in a decent 5.75% interest rate on a $250,000 fixed 30-year loan.  Just after we locked in, rates started to climb, ultimately rising into the high sixes about 12 months later.  We timed the market pretty well with respect to rates.  In fact, when we closed on the house about 45 days after lock-in, the...