Blog – Page 697 of 756

10 Jan 2014

Build A Home Gym For Your New Year’s Resolution

Around The Home

While many people claim every January that they are going to exercise more, a lot of them give up after the first couple of months. It takes a great deal of effort to make it to the gym before work or have the energy to go afterward. So don’t make a New Year’s resolution you know you won’t keep. Set yourself up for success by bringing the workout to you. Build your own home gym. Designate A Space The ideal situation would be to dedicate an entire room to your new home gym. That way you can close the door,…

09 Jan 2014

By Mark Feder

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Dodd-Frank’s Latest Gift: The Qualified Mortgage Rule

Home Buyer Tips

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act's latest provision - the Qualified Mortgage rule - is going to effect on January 10, 2014. While, like many of Dodd-Frank's other features, its ability to protect customers remains to be seen, one of its impacts is already clear. Taking out a home loan just got harder. The QM rule contains a set of provisions that, if followed, may protect lenders from lawsuits. They will also make it harder for customers to qualify to borrow money to buy a house. Verifying Incomes Lenders now have to follow stringent procedures to verify that borrowers…

08 Jan 2014

By Mark Feder

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3 Considerations When Making A Down Payment

Home Buyer Tips

One of the challenges you will face when deciding how much money to put down on your new home is whether to put down a larger down payment or to take a bit of money from your down payment and use it to pay "discount points" to lower your interest rate. There are pros and cons to doing both and each borrower's situation will be different so it's important to understand which option is best for your individual need. Some Factors You Should Consider Include: Cost Of Borrowing - generally speaking, to lower your interest rate will mean you pay a…

07 Jan 2014

By Mark Feder

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Case Shiller Price Index Shows Highest Year-Over-Year Gains Since 2006

Housing Analysis

The Case-Shiller 10 and 20-City Home Price Indices for October were released on December 31. Although home prices in most cities continued to show year-over-year gains, the pace of home price appreciation is expected to slow in 2014. Year-over-year increases have been in double digit territory since March 2013, but month-to-month readings suggest that the rate of increasing home prices is slowing. According to David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, "...the monthly numbers show that we are living on borrowed time and the boom is fading." The 10 and 20 city indices are showing…