Wrap your head around mortgages, down payments, credit, and the real cost of owning a home.
"How much house can I afford?" sounds like a simple question with a simple answer. Plug your income into a calculator, get a number, and...
After your credit score, your debt-to-income ratio is probably the most important number in your mortgage application. It's the metric lenders use to…
When people talk about their mortgage payment, they usually mean the total amount that leaves their bank account every month. But that number is actually…
Pre-qualification and pre-approval sound like two ways of saying the same thing. They're not. Confusing them can cost you a home you want, create…
For decades, conventional wisdom held that you needed 20% down to buy a home. That number is so deeply embedded in the cultural understanding of…
One of the most common things homebuying coaches hear from first-time buyers is: "I didn't know that existed."
For most first-time buyers, the choice of loan type comes down to two options: an FHA loan or a conventional loan. Both can get you into a home, but they…
Your mortgage interest rate is one of the most consequential numbers in your home purchase. A difference of half a percentage point might sound trivial,…
PMI is one of those homebuying terms that buyers encounter quickly and often misunderstand. It sounds like it might be protecting you. It isn't. And while…
For a lot of first-time buyers, the down payment is the biggest obstacle between where they are and homeownership. Saving tens of thousands of dollars…
Closing costs are one of the most consistently surprising parts of buying a home for first-time buyers. You've been focused on saving for the down…
New homeowners are often surprised. Not by the mortgage payment, which they planned for carefully, but by everything else. The utility bills that are…
