Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or moving on up the property ladder, home buying can be tricky. How do you draw the line between a money pit and a diamond in the rough? Here are three things to keep in mind. Depending on the circumstances, these might be reasons not to buy. Neighborhood. Unlike the [...]

Reuters reports that the average U.S. interest rate on 30-year mortgages rose to a level seen in mid-August, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac (FRE) said Thursday. U.S. 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.80 percent this week, a level reached in the Aug. 18 week, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 5.37 percent, [...]

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their August report on housing permits and starts on Tuesday. The New Residential Construction report showed housing starts down 1.3 percent from the July figure which was itself adjusted downward from preliminary estimates released in late August. Housing starts for August [...]

Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Alan Greenspan, commented best when he stated “Homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held Adjustable-Rate mortgages rather than Fixed rate mortgages during the past decade”. If you own a 30year fixed mortgage, the first 10years of your payments will be applied towards paying down your mortgage [...]

If you are a newcomer to the buy to let market; it’s easy to feel that everybody’s speaking a foreign language. Follow our straight-talking guide for a jargon-free look at UK buy to let mortgage rates: Standard Variable Rate Buy to Let Mortgages: The interest on a SVR mortgage is set by the lender and [...]

The Federal Reserve raised a key short-term interest rate Tuesday and suggested more rate hikes are on the way, saying it believes the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the economy would be temporary. The central bank’s policy-makers boosted their target for the federal funds rate a quarter-percentage point to 3.75 percent, the highest level in [...]

(Reuters) – The U.S. credit-card industry is heading into a “perfect storm” as challenges loom that could trigger a radical reshaping of the business, a group of industry heavyweights told a conference on Tuesday. Competition from mortgage lenders, lawsuits over transaction fees, growing regulatory scrutiny about consumer disclosures and the almost universal elimination of annual [...]

Its been a while since our last best of post, but with some really, really big changes on the way what better time to celebrate some of the excellent content from across the network. The Gadget Blog: Alternative Uses for an Apple Nano takes a different spin on the new offering from Apple, Korean Portable [...]

Stop! Before you look up mortgage companies up in your phone book, check out the offers online. Getting a mortgage online can save you some serious money. When you lookup mortgage companies only in your area, you’re greatly restricting the competetive pool of companies to offer you a good loan. It’s easy to get quotes [...]

Hurricane Katrina has taken it’s toll up in a 4 State region along the Gulf Coast. Many homeowners have been left at with huge repair and little or no insurance money to help with the fix-ups. A New Millennium Home might just be the solution for Future Katrina Like Disaster Many People are stuck in [...]