Gregory Erich Phillips

Mortgage credit certificates (MCCs) can help with your tax bill in relation to your mortgage payments. MCCs come from originating mortgage lenders, and they turn the mortgage interest you pay… Read more

You may find the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on a mortgage loan a confusing aspect of the home financing. You can find the loan APR listed on the Truth in Lending (TIL) disclosure. The disclosure… Read more

The months of April through July generally account for more than 40% of a year’s housing transactions. This is when people think about whether to keep renting or if it’s time to buy a home. Read more

Before buying a home, you will need to choose who you’re going to work with through the homebuying process. This starts with your real estate agent, though your mortgage loan officer can be almost as… Read more

So you’ve found your dream home. You’re ready to make an offer. But what is a fair price? Will there be competing offers? You don’t want to lose this house, yet you also don’t want to pay too much on… Read more

If you buy a house with less than a 20% down payment, and finance it with a conventional loan, you are going to have to pay private mortgage insurance. PMI protects the lender against the possibility… Read more

The most common way to finance a home purchase for first time buyers is with a loan through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The 3.5% down payment required by FHA is the lowest down payment… Read more

Most people have to borrow money in order to afford a house. No matter how big your mortgage is, though, you generally need to have at least some cash on hand for the down payment. Historically the… Read more

If you have a mortgage loan, you are well aware of the tax deduction you get each year for the interest. Once per year, all that interest you pay to your bank gives you a benefit as well. By… Read more

The days are long gone when you could buy a house without spending any money out of pocket. Lenders and regulators have determined that potential home buyers need to demonstrate some savings ability… Read more

Despite the extreme ups and downs of the last decade, savvy investors know that real estate can be one of the best ways to put your money to work for you. Investors were the first buyers to return in… Read more

With shrinking savings, and retirement incomes failing to keep pace with inflation, older Americans are looking for alternative ways to save money and increase their cash flow. In many cases, they… Read more

Five years after the Great Recession and resulting financial crisis, the economy still has not recovered to the degree that economists and policy makers had hoped. Unemployment is on the decline, the… Read more

Let’s start with the good news: your house has most likely increased in value over the last couple of years. While the recession knocked most property values down to early 2000s levels, most of the… Read more

Wondering where to get the money to make a down payment on a new home? As home prices quickly increase, the amount to make an optimal 20 percent down payment also increases. Meanwhile, you may… Read more

You could be wondering, what is an assumable mortgage loan? Essentially, it lets you take over an owner’s loan on a property. All the terms of the original loan, including the rate, remain the same.… Read more

The home appraisal plays a key role in the home buying process, both for a purchase and for a refinance. That’s why it’s important to understand the ins and outs of the home appraisal process. In a… Read more

If you are thinking about buying a home, one of the first steps you should take is to find out your credit score. Your credit score is one of the primary metrics used to determine whether you will… Read more

Establishing a good credit rating is one of the most important things you can do to get ahead financially. If you intend to buy a car or home, the financing will be both easier and considerably… Read more

The Department of Veteran Affairs created the VA loan program to help veterans and their families buy homes. One of the advantages for the veteran is that the VA limits the number of fees the lender… Read more

There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to buy a home or continue to rent. Many prospective buyers also wonder how the numbers of renters vs. buyers breaks down by age group.… Read more