Learn what the lending pros know and be in control of your home financing.
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
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
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:
Whether you're a first-time homeowner or you're looking to refinance, don't sign a deal without this expert advice.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
A highly accessible history of Republican tax policy.
From the Back Cover
"A fascinating account of the long history of antitax sentiments within the Republican party, Refinancing America looks at how opposition to income and wealth taxation became the dominant factor influencing the party's political agenda. The countless proposals for tax cuts introduced by Republicans in Congress during the 1990s, as well as the Bush administration's $1.6 trillion tax cut in May 2001, were not aberrations, but rather the continuation of a long tradition of hostility to taxation. Nevertheless, the rhetoric and devotion to the antitax cause in the 1990s was more pronounced than in the past, and this book explains how this more extreme strain of antitax politics came to dominate the GOP."
About the Author
Sheldon D. Pollack is Associate Professor of Business Law at the University of Delaware. He is the author of The Failure of U.S. Tax Policy: Revenue and Politics.
Of Divine Economy expands upon the economic connotations of the theological doctrine of redemption. The term redemption refers to a process of 'buying back' slaves from conditions of oppression, and thus compares the crux of Christian dogma to an economic exchange involving human emancipation. The phrase 'miraculous exchanges' refers to the problem of redemptive divine and human agency in an economic context in which many who desire justice and equity feel powerless and hopeless. The originality of Divine Economy lies not only in its theological reading of redemption as an economic metaphor, but also in its focus on the economic subtexts of Christian tradition and how they form and are formed by society's economic constructions. Grau's unique project merges together economic, historical, and psycho-social analysis with theological critique and construction.
About the Author
Marion Grau is the Assistant Professor of Theology at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, a member of the Graduate Theological Union. She is the co-editor with Rosemary Radford Ruether of Interpreting Post-Modernity: Responses to Radical Orthodoxy. Her essays have appeared in Strike Terror No More: Theology, Ethics, and the New War, Postcolonialism and Theology, and Crosscurrents.
During the 1990s, rising tuition costs and inadequate federal grant aid prevented more than a million otherwise qualified, low-income students from continuing their education past high school. Education policy expert Edward P. St. John is troubled by this situation and argues that equal access to higher education is both feasible and just. In Refinancing the College Dream, he examines recent trends in public funding of education and explores alternatives to financing which would provide equal access to postsecondary education for all Americans.
The growing gap in the rate of participation in higher education for low-income groups compared to upper-income groups over the past three decades, St. John finds, has been a direct result of the decreased availability of federal grants, even after taking into account such factors as an increased emphasis on strengthening high school graduation requirements. To reverse this trend, he suggests that policymakers refocus the debate over the public financing of higher education from taxpayer costs to principles of social responsibility and justice, along with economic theories of human capital. He then shows how improved coordination between state and federal agencies, expanded use of loans, and better targeting of grant aid can maximize access for low-income students while minimizing increases in taxes.
Making higher education accessible to low-income students is one of the crucial challenges for citizens and policymakers in the early twenty-first century. Refinancing the College Dream offers a theoretical and practical foundation for boldly rethinking the financial strategies used by colleges and universities, states, and the federal government to accomplish this essential goal.
Review
"A thorough critique of the past four decades of higher education assistance programs... A brave attempt to reconcile the progressive zeal for access and the conservative pressure for academic accountability." -- Joseph M. Cronin, Connection
"Compelling arguments about how changes in the federal student aid programs since the 1970s have restricted access to higher education because of the tilt towards assisting the middle class." -- David R. Smedley, Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Administrators Newsletter
"Makes an important contribution to the struggle for fairness and justice in providing access to higher education. It is a very sophisticated and thoughtful piece of public policy work." -- Richard Fossey, University of Houston
"This book stands out from others like it by uniquely adopting and utilizing a useful conceptual framework -- Rawls' theory of justice -- to understand student financial aid policy. With its attention to equity, opportunity, and efficiency, this framework will be especially compelling to those interested in using research to influence public policy." -- Laura W. Perna, University of Maryland at College Park
About the Author
Edward P. St. John is a professor of educational leadership and chair of the department of policy studies, and is Higher Education and Student Affairs Program Director of the Indiana Education Policy Center, at Indiana University.
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
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!
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.
more detail
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
From the Publisher
"A must-have for any home owner looking to refinance" -
Terri Williams, Homeowner
Use your home to finance your retirement
Forgot to save for retirement, but bought a house? Saved a lot and also bought a house? Whatever your situation, Retire on the House can show you how to best use your home equity for a long and prosperous retirement.
Focusing on both retirement and real estate, Retire on the House is designed for retiree homeowners who want to use their home equity to finance their retirement. Filled with valuable insights and practical advice, this unique guide illustrates a number of ways this can be done, including:
* Selling your current home at the top of the market, moving to a less expensive residence, and retiring on your profits
* Obtaining rental income from your current home by renting to boarders
* Remodeling your home into units for much higher rental income
* Three options for obtaining cash from your home without selling, remodeling, or renting it
* Reducing or eliminating retirement expenses such as taxes
* Balancing your real estate portfolio by diversifying with other asset classes
Many of today's homes have tremendous value, and with Retire on the House as your guide, you'll discover how to use this value to achieve the retirement you deserve.
From the Back Cover
Use your home to finance your retirement
Forgot to save for retirement, but bought a house? Saved a lot and also bought a house? Whatever your situation, Retire on the House can show you how to best use your home equity for a long and prosperous retirement.
Focusing on both retirement and real estate, Retire on the House is designed for retiree homeowners who want to use their home equity to finance their retirement. Filled with valuable insights and practical advice, this unique guide illustrates a number of ways this can be done, including:
Many of today's homes have tremendous value, and with Retire on the House as your guide, you'll discover how to use this value to achieve the retirement you deserve.
About the Author
Gillette Edmunds, a leading expert on investing during retirement, has more than tripled his net worth during retirement. He served as the SmartMoney expert on early retirement for the weekly SmartMoney primetime chatroom on AOL and has been a guest on many local radio programs. He currently writes a regular column for SimpleLiving.com, has appeared on NBC Nightly News, and has been quoted in Barron's, Fidelity Outlook, New Choices, ThirdAge.com, MyPrimeTime.com, and WomensFinance.com. He is also the author of three other books on retirement and investing.
Jim Keene, CFA, CFP, is a regional manager for Wells Fargo Private Client Services, who leads teams investing more than $2 billion in real estate, stocks, and other investments for high-net-worth individuals. A money manager for twenty-five years, he specialized in commercial and residential real estate and other alternative investments. Keene is also a California-licensed real estate broker, teacher of CFA review classes, and on the faculty of the University of San Francisco.
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.
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.
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.
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.
