Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is insurance for the mortgage lender in the event of homeowner default.

PMI helps the lender recover its costs and losses after foreclosing and selling a repossessed home.

PMI rates vary by loan type, loan size, and loan characteristics. The higher the risk to the bank, the higher the [...]

The headlines say that home prices are down 6.7 percent from a year earlier. It’s important to recognize that this is a national figure.

“National” has nothing to do with real estate. Real estate is local.

The chart above is from the latest S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index and — averaged out — shows that home prices [...]

During the Holiday Season, economists watch consumer spending intently because it makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

When spending is stronger-than-expected, it can lead to inflation which pushes mortgage rates higher.

So far this season, mortgage shoppers should be in good spirits. Sales have fallen four weeks in a row and the outlook [...]

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is notoriously slow in a lot of industries. Many Americans take vacations or time off from work.

Those that do go to work are often less productive.

On Wall Street, fewer “workers” means that liquidity leaves the market. With fewer buyers and fewer sellers of a [...]

After Thursday’s passage of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, foreclosed homeowners have one less worry: taxes.

When a homeowner defaults on a home loan, a mortgage lender will sometimes “forgive” the debt owed.

One example is when a foreclosed home sells for less money than is owed on it. [...]

The resurgence of private mortgage insurance continues — if only because it’s aided by Congress.

For eligible homeowners, lawmakers voted to extend the tax-deductibility of PMI through 2010. The law was previously scheduled to expire at the end of 2007.

For all loans originated prior to December 31, 2010, and within those years, private [...]

Even if you’ve been recently pre-qualified (or pre-approved) for a mortgage, it may be prudent to get “re-approved”.

The mortgage industry is changing quickly; being prepared beats the alternative.

Recently, mortgage lenders have made adjustments in what they will lend, and to whom. This shrinks the pool of eligible mortgage borrowers.

Some of these [...]

For most Americans (but not all), mortgage interest is tax-deductible in the year in which it was paid.

With some advance planning, therefore, a homeowner can increase his 2007 tax deductions by paying additional mortgage interest while the calendar still reads 2007.

The key is to make the mortgage payment due January 2008 [...]

While holiday shopping, stores bombard us with offers to save “10% or more”, just for opening a new credit card account.

Saving money is good thing, but if you’re planning to buy (or remortgage) your home in the next six months, be wary of how that new credit card can come back to bite you.

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It is common practice for single homebuyers to pool their assets and incomes in order to buy a larger home than either buyer could afford on their own, separately.

In this video clip from The Today Show, Barbara Corcoran makes strong recommendations on how to co-purchase a home “the right way”:

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