Home Equity

Debt consolidation loan is simply a type of loan obtained to pay off multiple loans. The good thing about this debt management tool is, it helps lower interest rates and allows you the freedom to pay a monthly lump sum instead of multiple payments. Put differently, a debt consolidation loan lets you rearrange your numerous [...]

Ah … Fall and Spring cleaning — a fresh desk, a clean home, a new perspective with the changing of the seasons. Why is this such a good idea, especially when it comes to your financial documents? It’s simple. Clutter can be dangerous – especially when it involves your finances. When your financial documents are [...]

Everyone knows that healthy personal finances requires debt reduction. However, paying down debt can become discouraging when you have a great deal of it, from a variety of sources. Paying a little bit extra every month on each of your debts doesn’t seem to make a dent, thanks to high interest charges. Instead, you can [...]

Due to the credit crisis and recession, there are a lot of houses for sale. Homeowners who are trying to avoid foreclosure are selling many of these homes. Needless to say, it’s a buyer’s market and homeowners need to know all the tricks to help them sell their homes quickly. Fortunately, there are proven techniques [...]

The mortgage market was in doldrums following the subprime mortgage crisis. More and more borrowers were defaulting on their mortgage payments due to the liquidity crunch. Such was the condition of the mortgage market in United States that the government had to intervene and rescue the mortgage market from further upheavals. To address the needs [...]

I came across “Chase Hiked My Minimum Payment To 5 Percent!” on The Consumerist today. This is bad news for Greg and his wife, because this hike increase their minimum payment $558 to $930 — which causes them significant financial stress. Although I sympathized with the dilemma that Greg and his wife are facing, I [...]

In this Ask the Expert with Larry Swedroe article, Lynnae from Being Frugal wants to know if people that are in debt should be thinking about investing, or is it best to focus on getting out of debt first. Here’s the question from Lynnae:
Is it best to get out of debt before you start investing?
Answer [...]

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps is a financial plan designed to help you get your finances in order, get out of debt, and achieve financial freedom. Dave Ramsey has taught these Baby Steps to millions via radio, The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace University, and on DaveRamsey.com. In this article, I’d like to walk you through [...]

In this  Ask the M-Network article, PJ shared information about his home and his desire to buy a house that just came on the market. Should he refinance is current home, or sell it to buy the new one? Should he buy the new home and rent out the old one? Here’s the question from [...]

The other day, I wrote about getting cash through reverse mortgages.  Today, I want to explore refinancing to access money locked up in your home equity. I think it’s a good idea to learn about these options in face of the economic crisis and record high unemployment rate.  You never know when your home equity [...]