Mark Feder, Author at Mark Feder

25 Feb 2025

Understanding Mortgage Escrow Accounts and Why They Are Important

Home Mortgage Tips

A mortgage escrow account is a financial tool used by lenders to manage and disburse payments for property-related expenses, like property taxes and homeowners insurance. Rather than paying these expenses separately, a portion of your monthly mortgage payment is set aside in the escrow account. When taxes or insurance premiums are due, the lender pays them on your behalf. How Does It Work? Initial Deposit: When you close on your home, your lender typically requires an initial deposit to fund your escrow account. This ensures there are sufficient funds for upcoming tax and insurance payments. Monthly Contributions: Each month, a…

24 Feb 2025

By Mark Feder

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – February 24th, 2025

Financial Reports

The most impactful report released last week was the regular Consumer Sentiment reports, which have indicated the more recent concerns rising food costs have soured the view on the current state of the economy for the U.S. The talks between the Federal Reserve members have also slanted in a negative direction as they feel they still do not have a strong grip on inflation. With the Trump administration also shaking things up in the office with their views on Tariffs, the land lending and broader markets have seen a lot of turmoil and uncertainty about the future. There should be…

21 Feb 2025

By Mark Feder

How Do Mortgage Lenders Decide How Much You Can Borrow?

Home Mortgages

When buying a home, one of the most critical factors is determining how much you can borrow through a mortgage. Lenders evaluate multiple financial aspects to assess your borrowing capacity. Here’s what they consider: 1. Income and Debt-to-Income (DTI) RatioLenders assess your income to ensure you can afford monthly mortgage payments. A common guideline is that your total housing costs (including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Additionally, your total debt-to-income (DTI) ratio—including credit cards, student loans, car loans, and other debts—typically should not exceed 43% for most conventional loans. A lower…

20 Feb 2025

By Mark Feder

To Finance Or Not To Finance

Home Buying Tips

Deciding to finance a new home can be exciting, and because of that buyers tend to want to jump right in. Not so fast! Before you start searching for your dream home, you need to get pre-approved and that means applying for a loan. You will need to get things in order by deciding how much home you can afford, mapping out your expenses, gathering all of your documents and then start looking for a lender that can help you decide what loan is best for you. Some Pros of financing a home are: ? Buyer builds equity in the…