Mortgages for Dummies, 2nd Edition

Mortgages for Dummies, 2nd Edition

Product Description

With updated information on new types of loans

From adjustable-rate mortgages to balloon loans, this friendly, easy-to-understand guide helps you find your way through the home-financing jungle. Bestselling real estate authors Eric Tyson and Ray Brown cover everything you need to know about the mortgage game and show you step-by-step how to get the best possible deal.

Read by Brett Barry

Product Details

• Binding: Audio Download

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
For many of us, the single biggest financial transaction is buying a house. Even more significant than the hefty down payment we fork over is the 15- to 30-year mortgage that needs feeding every month. If you have this much at stake, a little knowledge can go a long way, which is where Eric Tyson and Ray Brown come in. In Mortgages for Dummies, Tyson and Brown (who also wrote Home Buying for Dummies and House Selling for Dummies) provide a comprehensive introduction for anyone who is contemplating a mortgage. The book tells you how to evaluate your creditworthiness, determine your borrowing power, and shop for a lender, as well as covering the various types of loans. The authors also devote a section to refinancing and discuss what you should consider when prepaying a loan. They include amortization and remaining-balance tables, and a useful glossary. Whether you're a first-time home buyer or are just looking to refinance, you'll find this a valuable, easy-to-use guide. --Harry C. Edwards

Review
"Fun-to-read... Deciphers mortgage mumbo-jumbo." --San Jose Mercury News "A favorite... Fun reading and informative." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "Objective, down-to-earth... A book I wish I'd read before purchasing my first lemon-of-a-home." --Wilmington News Journal "Invaluable information, especially for the first time home buyer." --Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Fun-to-read.... Deciphers mortgage mumbo-jumbo." —San Jose Mercury News

"A favorite.... Fun reading and informative." —Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Objective, down-to-earth.... A book I wish I'd read before purchasing my first lemon-of-a-home." —Wilmington News Journal

"Invaluable information, especially for the first time home buyer." —Fort Worth Star-Telegram

From the Back Cover

The proven guide to getting the best mortgage — and surviving today's lending crisis

Need a mortgage, but worried about the hostile market? Bestselling authors Eric Tyson and Ray Brown give you proven solutions for obtaining a mortgage, whether you want to buy your first home, refinance, or tap into your equity. You get the latest on subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages, finding the best lender, avoiding fiscal pitfalls and foreclosure, and much, much more!

• Why this book is different — two real estate experts give you objective, jargon-free advice that takes into account your financial goals

• Fine-tune your finances — evaluate your expenses, calculate what you can afford, and improve your credit score

• Find the right loan for you — from fixed- and adjustable-rate to 15- to 30-year to conforming and jumbo, weigh all your options

• Choose the best lender/broker — interview and work with the cream of the crop, compare programs, and negotiate loan terms

• Consider special situation loans — from home equity to co-op to balloon loans, understand the tax consequences and legalities

• Handle refinancing and reverse mortgages — decide if you should explore these options, crunch the numbers, and save money

• Get helpful resources — recommended mortgage Web sites, loan amortization tables and comparison worksheets, and more

Open the book and find:

• How to qualify for a mortgage

• Ways to lower your interest rate

• Updated worksheets and tools for calculating mortgage costs and payments

• New information on foreclosures

• Tips for saving tax dollars

• Interview questions to ask lenders/brokers

• Expert guidance in completing all paperwork

• The dos and don'ts of using the Internet

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Mortgages and Refinancing: Get the Best Rates (Entrepreneur Pocket Guides)

Mortgages and Refinancing: Get the Best Rates (Entrepreneur Pocket Guides)

Product Description

Save Thousands on Your Mortgage!

What type of mortgage is best for you? How can you ensure a broker isn't scamming you? Are you getting the best rate? What happens if rates go up again?

When dealing with the complex world of mortgages and refinancing, it's all too easy to commit to a deal that you realize too late is too good to be true. But with this must-read guide, you'll learn in as little as three hours the ins and outs of mortgages and how to protect yourself from bad deals and scams.

Find out how to:

• Choose the best mortgage type for your financial situation
• Protect yourself from unscrupulous brokers and banks
• Get the best rates and save thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage
• Discover the benefits of refinancing to lower your payments, consolidate your bills or make home improvements

Whether you're a first-time homeowner or you're looking to refinance, don't sign a deal without this expert advice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1663240 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 220 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

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Kickback: Confessions of a Mortgage Salesman

Kickback: Confessions of a Mortgage Salesman

Product Description

Author Ted Janusz discloses the Top 10 Mistakes Mortgage Borrowers Make and dozens of real-world (even humorous) examples from his experience as a senior loan officer in which uneducated consumers cost themselves thousands of extra dollars. Spending an hour with this book, written in plain English with no legal jargon, can help you feel more confident before you meet with your loan officer, can save you thousands of dollars and can also help you avoid a possible foreclosure and years of regret

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162104 in eBooks
• Published on: 2005-12-31
• Format: Kindle Book

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Ted Janusz, experienced mortgage broker and creator of one of the most informative home-buying educational seminars in America, gives readers an eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look into the complex world of home mortgages and refinancing. Perfect for the first-time buyer or the seasoned real estate trader. Ted Janusz earned his BS in accounting from Slippery Rock University and MBA in marketing from the University of Pittsburgh. Armed with these credentials, he went on to become a senior loan officer with a regional mortgage bank. Ted now speaks and trains nationally through his own company, Janus Presentations LLC. A humorous, dynamic, down-to-earth and in-demand speaker, Ted is a member of the National Speakers Association and the International Speakers Network. He is also a featured contributor to Real World Career Development Strategies That Work, also from Insight Publishing.

Customer Reviews

Great book
I received this within a reasonable amount of time. I appreciated Ted's personalized note. Very classy.

Janusz's Essential Resource for Mortgage Buyers
Ted Janusz has written a great resource for those who rent or buy. It helped me understand the difference between Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, why there's a separate closing agent at a sale, how to use the good faith estimate to compare to actual mortgage costs, and how to reduce costs with mortgages. I wish I had owned this book when I bought my home. I am buying multiple copies to give to friends and family.

An eye-opening look at why closing costs are so high
In the mortgage application process, we're disoriented by mountains of paper we're compelled to read and sign. Somewhere in the back of our minds, we probably know that most of it is meant to protect someone else--not us. Ted Janusz's book "Kickback" makes it easy to understand traps in the mortgage and home buying process, and shows us how industry insiders use hard-to-penetrate terminology to disguise extra compensation paid for by the borrower. Don't wait until you're asked to sign mortgage papers. This is an easy and quick read that you must put on your list as soon as you start house hunting. Knowledge is power--be informed!

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Mortgage - A Guide

Mortgage - A Guide

Product Description

So, as you begin your journey through one of the most successful and complex processes known to exist, you should remember that we live in a country where homeownership is believed to be a right, and a mark of our advance as a nation. No where else in the world is home ownership as prevalent as here, in these United States.
Individual’s seeking to secure a home with the funds secured from a mortgage loan should take a moment to educate, and evaluate all the varied products available through the numerous lending institutions. The following articles will begin with an overview of the more popular mortgage programs,
and advance you through a maze of situations, scenarios, and complex relationships.

Product Details

• Published on: 2009-01-11
• Format: Kindle Book

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Mortgage Reduction Techniques

Mortgage Reduction Techniques

Product Description

Discover the 100% Legal, 100% Ethical...Yet So Universally UNKNOWN... Secrets To Effectively Reducing Your Mortgage Today! Break FREE From The Vicious Debt Cycle By Learning The Sneaky Controversial Techniques Used By Major Banks To Claim Every Last Penny Of Your Money. The Media Continues To HIDE THIS From Your TV Screens. Discover How To Plan And Prepare For A Stress-Free And Harmonious Retirement -Plus, How You Can Avoid The Many Financial and Emotional Pit-Falls Along The Way! Dear friend, Allow me to ask you a quick question: If I possessed within my knowledge, some certain secret information, that would enable you to: a) Quickly and sharply reduce your interest payments b) Slash $1000's off your mortgage and credit card debts, and/or c) Hunt around for the best deal knowing exactly what you should be looking for then you'd be interested right? Of Course You Would! And if I just so happened to extract all of this knowledge; De-code it into simple terminology and plain English; And then jam-pack all of this valuable information (which is not available anywhere else on the net) into an instantly-downloadable resource... ...Then you'd definitely want to know how YOU can get started and download your very own copy today, wouldn't you? I mean, who in their right minds wouldn't? Let me introduce you to my revolutionary new eBook, called Mortgage Reduction, designed to give you the fighting edge against the banks.

Product Details

• Published on: 2008-12-21
• Format: Kindle Book

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American Mortgage: Everything U Need to Know About Purchasing and Refinancing a Home (American Real Estate)

American Mortgage: Everything U Need to Know About Purchasing and Refinancing a Home (American Real Estate)

Product Description

The Expert Guide to Finding the Right Mortgage at the Right Price

Whether you're buying your first home, a new home, or refinancing, it's crucial to get the right mortgage at terms you can afford over the long run. Backed by decades of real estate experience, American Mortgage lays out all the issues you need to know--your rights, the questions you need to ask, what to expect, and how to apply. Drawn from years of experience helping thousands of clients, American Mortgage delivers everything you need to know to get a good deal and improve your investment.

Everything U Need to Know About:
Financing a Home

• A complete breakdown of all mortgage options
• Explanations of the changes in the market
• Ways to figure out your income requirements
• Making sense of the paperwork

BONUS CD-ROM FEATURES: Ready-to-print documents you'll need to refinance your home, including real estate forms, income requirements, credit profiles, and more!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1452207 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 444 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Trevor Rhodes is founder and CEO of AmerUSA, the nation's trusted partners in real estate to both homeowners and investors, and is a nationally recognized leading authority in real estate.

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Keys to Mortgage Financing and Refinancing (Barron's Business Keys)

Keys to Mortgage Financing & Refinancing (Barron's Business Keys)

Product Description

Updated to account for current low interest rates and historically high real estate prices, this book advises on the details of getting a mortgage for a home purchase, dealing with banks and other lenders, and getting the best deal available. All titles in Barron’s Business Keys series are written with a minimum of financial jargon and are directed at ordinary consumers and nonprofessionals in the business world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1097382 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap
(back cover)
Titles in Barron’s Business Keys series present easy-to-understand advice on prudent financial planning, saving, investing, getting loans and mortgages, buying and selling real estate, and dealing with other aspects of money and investment. Updated to account for current interest rates and new mortgage types such as interest-only loans and new adjustable rate mortgages as they apply to historically high real estate prices, this book advises on the details of financing a home purchase, dealing with banks and other lenders, and knowing how to shop for the best available deal.

About the Author
Updated to account for current low interest rates and historically high real estate prices, this book advises on the details of getting a mortgage for a home purchase, dealing with banks and other lenders, and getting the best deal available. All titles in Barron's Business Keys series are written with a minimum of financial jargon and are directed at ordinary consumers and nonprofessionals in the business world.

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Understanding Mortgages: A Beginners Guide to Mortgages and Refinancing for the First Time Homebuyers

Understanding Mortgages: A Beginners Guide to Mortgages and Refinancing for the First Time Homebuyers

Product Description

A simple, no-nonsense book that explains mortgages and different types of loans that you can acquire to purchace a loan. This is a great book for the first time home buyer. Written in a conversational manner, this book will help understand the house buying process.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1300327 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-18
• Released on: 2008-12-18
• Binding: Paperback
• 46 pages

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive read about mortgages
This is a comprehensive, easy and entertaining read about different kinds of mortgages for home buyers. It provides important and reasonable judgement about how to select a mortgage and negotiate a good deal. Wrong moves can cost dearly, which is why this book is a wonderful guidance for many home buyers in these trying times of real estate.

Joyce Åkesson writer of Love's Thrilling Dimensions
and Arabic Morphology and Phonology: Based on the Marah Al-Arwah by Ahmad B. Ali B. Masud (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics)

Easy read
This is a simple, easy to read..straight talk about mortgages and the various types available. There are many homebuyers who need a book like this before they sign on the dotted-line and accept a mortgage payment.

As the book points out, it's important to understand that a mortgage should benefit the home buyer and not just the bank or financial institution. There are many home buyers now in foreclosure who greatly needed the guidance this book provides.

Understanding Mortgages Great Information
Understanding Mortgages: A Beginners Guide to Mortgages is easy to understand and is packed with current information. This little paperback gives you the straight dope on what you need to know to comprehend the different aspects of mortgages..it prepares you with knowledge and the lingo so you're speaking the lender's language. This scoop will keep you from going into a mortgage blindly. It's a handy book for these trying times of real estate that can help you stay on top of the situation.

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Keys to Mortgage Financing and Refinancing (Barron's Business Keys)

Keys to Mortgage Financing and Refinancing (Barron's Business Keys)

Product Description

How to take full advantage of changing interest rates, the details of getting a mortgage to purchase a home, dealing with banks and other mortgage holders, and much more. Here's a reliable guide for home buyers. Titles in the easy-to-understand Business Keys series are directed at consumers and non-professionals, with advice on saving, investing, protecting assets, and increasing wealth through prudent money management. The books define terms, cut through business jargon, speak in plain language, and take the mystery out of business.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #777125 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

mortgage financing
author could have spend more time detailing his example

The layman's guide to learning the mortgage industry
This book is an excellent source for obtaining a comprehensive knowledge of the mortgage industry. Whether you are a prospective home buyer seeking to save money on a mortgage, or seeking knowledge and training for a job in the mortgage industry, this book tells just about all there is to know about the important points of financing a home. This book is written in language that just about anyone can understand, and if it is followed with relative care from beginning to end, a strong foundation of mortgage industry knowledge can be obtained. This book is written from the standpoint of empowering home-buyers with valuable, unbiased knowedge of the industry, and I highly recommend it for this purpose as I use the knowledge contained in it every day.

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So You Want to Refinance: An Insiders Guide to Refinancing Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Home Loans

So You Want to Refinance: An Insiders Guide to Refinancing Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Home Loans

Product Description

Are you paying more than you need to?

In this book a mortgage lending insider reveals her answer to this question - and more - in her best selling So You Want to Refinance. If you are baffled by the dizzying array of mortgage companies, sales pitches, and loan products, this book is for you. The book walks you through each step of the loan process in easy-to-understand language to help you make an informed decision that's good for YOU-not for your loan officer. The book explains how to asses and rebuild your credit score, accurately calculate the equity in your home, and how to make sure that you present your situation in the best possible light. More than just an introduction to getting a home loan - this book will show you how to get the best deal possible. This book is a must-have for any current or potential homeowner thinking of refinancing.

Key topics include:

-Refinancing Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMS)
-Understanding Broker Incentives
-Getting the Best Appraisal -Processing and Underwriting
-Cleaning up your Credit Report
-Signing Tips, Tricks, and Negotiation Strategies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #731835 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 124 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
"A must-have for any home owner looking to refinance" -
Terri Williams, Homeowner

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An Insider's Guide to Refinancing Your Mortgage: Money-Saving Secrets You Need to Know

An Insider's Guide to Refinancing Your Mortgage: Money-Saving Secrets You Need to Know

Product Description

For many homeowners, refinancing a mortgage can save them significant money, considerably reducing their monthly payments. It can also give them breathing space to pay off debts or allow them to make other investments, pay for college, or finance home improvements. An Insider’s Guide to Refinancing Your Mortgage is dedicated to an often-misunderstood aspect of mortgage lending: refinancing a mortgage loan. Readers will learn why to refinance, when to finance, as well as how to find the best lender, loan officer, and rate. Mortgage expert David Reed takes readers step bystep through the refinance process and shows them how to evaluate their current loan program and compare it with other options. By following Reed’s invaluable advice, homeowners will learn:

when a refinance is right for them • how to lock in the absolute lowest rate at the lowest cost • how the mortgage process works from the inside • how loan officers get paid • how to identify and avoid predatory lenders • how to negotiate closing costs

An Insider’s Guide to Refinancing Your Mortgage will save readers money and heartache when negotiating a loan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #265292 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-15
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

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Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance

Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance

Product Description

Carolyn Warren better get a bodyguard. Her new tell-all on the mortgage industry exposes so many of the lending industry's favorite frauds, every loan officer from Seattle to Miami is going to be gunning for her! Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers is like a map that guides you around the carefully camouflaged landmines laid by lenders. And it gives you simple, step-by-step directions for saving tens of thousands of dollars. If you're looking for ways to save a king's ransom on your mortgage and monthly payments, you simply must read this book. -- Clayton Makepeace, founder and president, The Profit Center

Topics include:
* Why calling around for the best interest rate is a BAD idea (and what to do instead).
* How to force lenders to disclose their hidden fees.
* The Dirty Dozen: Junk fees You should not pay.
* How to get the lowest possible rate.
* Uncover the best-kept secret of the mortgage industry.
* Avoid the five most common unpleasant closing surprises.
* Turning a denied loan into an approved loan.
* and much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13957 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
There are many excellent "how to get a mortgage" books, but this one is vastly different, because it reveals the insider secrets even many mortgage professionals don't know. Warren reveals what really goes on in the home-loan business to get mortgages approved, and dhow borrowers can avoid becoming victims of their lenders. On my scale of one to 10, this superb new book rates an off-the-chart 12. -- Robert J. Bruss, Inman News, July 10, 2007

From the Publisher
Mortgage Rip-offs and Money Savers reveals how the mortgage industry cheats borrowers out of billions in extra costs every year. Mortgage industry insider Carolyn Warren taps her decade of experience with lenders to expose the tricks, lies, and dirty little secrets they don't want you to know. With her expert guidance, borrowers will save tens of thousands when they avoid the traps so many consumers fall into. Having this inside information is the only way borrowers can truly get the best possible deal. This book presents that knowledge in an interesting and easy format that anyone can understand. Readers won't be victims of the mortgage industry with this invaluable resource in hand. Instead, they'll get the best possible rates, avoid bogus fees, and get the great deal they deserve.

From the Author
Thank you to the many readers who email me every day telling me how many thousands of dollars my book has saved them. You are the reason I wrote this.

Sad to say, the rip-offs are increasing! This week I received an email from a national mortgage trainer bragging how he was teaching loan officers to use deceptive pricing tactics and increase commissions on a per-loan basis.

What's happening right now is outrageous! The public has the right to know what's going on behind closed doors. So to those who have asked if I regret exposing the secrets, my answer is no, not at all. Keep your emails coming; I appreciate your response and heart-felt support.

Customer Reviews

Quick read, arm yourself before buying/refinancing
The most valuable contribution that this book has made is a good dissection of the mortgage or refinancing process. Carolyn Warren will educate you, giving you a reasonable "how to" guide for working with lenders when buying or refinancing property. For what should be a straight forward process, loan documents appear to be intentionally confusing. Some inside the lending business have learned how to capitalize upon the confusion and make you give away your money.

Everyone always wants to know what the closing costs will be, and this book reveals that the amount of closing costs should not be an uncertainty, and the loan officer should know a rough number up front. If the loan officer does not know, then somebody is padding somebody's wallet, and the book explains how. Warren also describes why knowing the rate isn't important. The rate itself is yet another way for a lender to potentially steal from you. "Buying down" the interest rate is just another way to put money in somebody's pocket (not yours). Quoting you one rate doesn't necessarily mean that it is the going rate for the day - it is the rate the lender thinks you'll take.

The book explains a number of ways how you can get robbed while buying house. In this market, however, a lot of the questionable practices identified in this book are either gone or reconfigured to look more reputable. You might look over your previous loan documents and find "junk" fees that, had you been better informed, you could have negotiated. Or not. It appears that finding a reputable lender is more than half the battle. Applying for a loan in person may give a person more security than a phone call or an online application. When buying a house, you should understand how interest works - if you don't, then you are in danger of not understanding when someone is hoodwinking you.

If the fees are in question, one thing to consider is that negotiating fees or rates is likely easier said than done. When it comes down to saying "I don't like this fee" it is a battle of the wills, just like it is at a car dealership or the poker table. The loan officer and his or her manager might just stare you down until you buckle or walk out. Warren's recommendation to bring several estimates to the table is likely a good one, because then you've got something to work with and walking away is a real threat. It also depends on whether or not the officer/company you are working with is based on a commission structure. It appears that the commissions are the source of predatory lending evils, which is no surprise. Direct greed is often the source of many problems.

The housing market looks much different than it did when this book was written just a year or two ago. Hopefully a lot of the scum involved in questionable lending practices have fallen away by now (good riddance). Over time this book may serve more value as a historical document explaining how bad it was. Future economists looking for the "why" behind this market slump might get a unique insider's peak from this book, but we can only hope that it gets better from here.

Great Book
I'm no expert when it comes to buying a home, especially the mortgage process. Being that my wife and I will be purchasing our first home in hopefully about six months or so, I decided to become a bit more educated on the subject. This book just happens to be one of four I selected, and it is the one I chose to read first. Simply put, this book is easy to read, entertaining, and gets right to the point. Warren really seems to have a passion for her chosen career. In my opinion, the vast majority of this book simply translates a lot of issues one may be faced with when securing a mortgage for a home purchase/refinance. Regardless of whether or not this advice is 'perfect' or not really doesn't matter much - I feel more confident and informed - able to make good choices in my financing decisions. I highly recommend this book.

If you're getting a mortgage or refi, get this book
She doesn't tell you everything there is to know, but she definitely alerts you to some of the most commonly used tricks. Would you pay an industry insider $15 to give you a thorough list of mortgage tricks that could cost you tens of thousand of dollars? That's a pretty smart investment.

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