1. They Passed the Stimulus Bill: Do I Have to Pay Back My $7,500 Tax Credit?!?

Many taxpayers - regardless of credit history - jumped last year to take advantage of a  $7,500 tax credit for first time home buyers. The advantage of this credit was that it was refundable–even if you didn’t owe $7,500 in taxes you got the...

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2. Can You Be Punished for Having Good Credit? Yes!

You’d think having good credit and being careful with your spending would make your creditors like you. But your credit card company might not. According to a Feb 12th Smartmoney.com article, creditors have been reviewing the accounts of their...

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3. Put It In Reverse: Your Mortgage, That Is

If you are 62 or over, have a lot of equity in your home, and need money, you are in luck–even if you have bad credit. Reverse mortgages, also called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) are the only mortgages where people with bad credit pay...

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4. Pay Your Mortgage with a Payday Loan?!

Saw this article today, entitled Payday Loans Can Help You Save Your Mortgage from Foreclosure. Could not believe someone would write something so irresponsible. Let’s see, you can’t make the payments on the bills you have now, so of course the...

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5. Bad Credit? Fannie Mae Is Not Handing You the “Keys”

At first glance Fannie Mae’s “Keys to Recovery” plan seams too good to be true. It is. One provision touts itself as a rescue effort designed to help borrowers underwater on their mortgages–with loans up to 120% of the current value of the...

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6. The Unofficial Mortgage Rescue Guide

Who would have thought “mortgage” would be everyone’s favorite cocktail party topic?! And listening to the misconceptions flying around you’d have to conclude that everyone at the party was drunk. So here’s a quick course on mortgage...

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7. Buy and Bail? Probably Not a Good Idea

Those who read the Wall Street Journal recently made acquaintence with a new real estate term - “Buy and Bail.” It involves taking advantage of an underwriting loophole long-used to help homeowners get a new home (for example if they were...

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8. Do You Need a Bad Credit or Subprime Mortgage?

Some of those studying the mortgage crisis have concluded that unscrupulous lenders often put borrowers with fair or good credit into expensive subprime products, jeopardizing their homes and costing them money. Undoubtedly this happened, but...

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9. Declined for a Home Loan? What’s Next?

You’ve probably heard; it’s harder to get approval for a home loan than it used to be. And if you’re a first-timer, chances are you have the deck stacked against you–a short or spotty credit history, less time at your job, and a smaller bank...

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10. Help for NINJAs: No Income, No Job, or Assets

It’s about to hit the fan, your job is history, and you know it. And your “emergency fund” just funded an emergency jaunt to Vegas. This is exactly the point at which some sort of financial suicide instinct kicks in. For many people, anxiety...

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