What are the “Ability to repay” rules about? In a nutshell, as this video shows, new laws require lenders to make a good-faith assessment of a borrower’s capacity to pay back their loan over time. It’s a longer-term view that goes...
As this video explains, Federal laws put into effect in 2014 and supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau define lending practices and loan terms for a new category called “Qualified Mortgages.” They provide stable loan...
Equity is the value YOU own in property such as a house. It’s the difference between what’s OWED and what the property is WORTH in the current market. The example this video shows – you have a house worth $300,000 today and you owe the bank $200,000....
The Prime Lending Rate – sometimes just called “Prime” - is the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans. Some consumer rates – like ARMs – are set in relation to Prime. In the US, Prime is affected by the...
Discount points allow you to lower your interest rate. While this video simplifies things to help you remember, “points” are essentially prepaid interest with each point equaling 1% of the total loan amount. Generally, for each point paid on a 30-year...
The original phrase “mort gage” translates as “death pledge”! But as this video explains, a mortgage is a loan obtained to purchase real estate. The “mortgage” itself is a lien – a legal claim on the home or property that...
