The Pocket Mortgage Guide: 60 of the Most Important Questions and Answers About Your Home Loan - Plus Interest Amortization Tab

The "Mortgage Professor" answers critical homemortgage questions This value-packed consumer reference by a nationally syndicated mortgage columnist is indispensable for anyone looking to secure a home mortgage. The Pocket Mortgage Guide answers 50 of the most commonly asked mortgage questions, including: How can I find the lowest-cost lender? Should I choose a 15-year loan or a 30-year loan? What is PMI and how can I cancel it? How large a mortgage will I be able to afford? What will my monthly mortgage payment be? What is a "debt ratio" used for and how is it calculated? What is a home equity line of credit and what should it be used for? The book also provides valuable interest amortization tables and is the perfect resource for home buyers. Terms of Use......Page 5 Want to learn more?......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 1. How much can I afford to pay?......Page 11 2. How do lenders decide how much I can borrow?......Page 13 3. What are the requirements for documenting income and assets?......Page 18 4. Can I improve my credit score by paying off delinquent credit cards?......Page 20 5. Will my credit score fall if I shop many loan providers?......Page 21 7. Is it difficult for the self-employed to qualify?......Page 23 8. What is a mortgage interest rate?......Page 25 10. What are points and why should I pay them?......Page 26 11. Are points tax deductible?......Page 27 13. If a house is appraised for more than the sale price, can the difference be counted as part of the down payment?......Page 28 14. Can the seller help with the down payment?......Page 29 15. What is the real cost of mortgage insurance?......Page 30 16. How can I avoid private mortgage insurance?......Page 32 18. Does title insurance protect me or the lender?......Page 34 20. Does it pay to shop around?......Page 35 21. Which is preferable, a 30-year term or a 15-year term?......Page 37 22. How are interest rates determined on an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)?......Page 38 23. Can you have peace of mind with an ARM?......Page 40 24. How do balloon loans compare with ARMs?......Page 41 25. Should I get a biweekly mortgage to pay off the loan early?......Page 42 26. Who should take a Federal Housing Adminstration (FHA) loan?......Page 44 27. What is the price of a mortgage loan?......Page 46 28. What market niche are you in?......Page 48 29. Can I rely on price quotes in the printed media?......Page 50 30. Can I rely on price quotes received directly from a loan provider?......Page 51 31. How do I shop for the lowest-cost mortgage?......Page 54 33. What is an "upfront mortgage lender"?......Page 59 34. What is an "upfront mortgage broker"?......Page 62 35. Who is most likely to refer me to a good lender?......Page 63 36. What's the difference between a mortgage broker and a lender—and what's the advantage of using a broker?......Page 64 37. How do mortgage brokers make money?......Page 65 40. Are brokers more likely to take advantage of me than lenders?......Page 66 42. What is the downside of using a brand-name lender?......Page 67 43. What should I know about mortgage auction sites like Lendingtree.com?......Page 68 44. Should I respond to solicitations?......Page 72 45. When should you lock in an interest rate?......Page 73 46. When should you let your interest rate float?......Page 74 47. What happens if the lock expires before the loan closes?......Page 75 49. Does a lock commit the borrower as well as the lender?......Page 76 50. When does refinancing really pay?......Page 78 51. What should enter the refinance decision?......Page 79 52. Should I consolidate credit card debt in a second mortgage?......Page 82 53. Does it ever make sense to refinance at a higher rate?......Page 84 54. When is no-cost refinance a good deal?......Page 86 55. Should you refinance with your current lender?......Page 88 56. Why must I buy a new title insurance policy when I refinance?......Page 90 57. Is paying down my loan early a good investment?......Page 91 58. What should you do when you can't pay your mortgage?......Page 92 59. How do I cancel private mortgage insurance?......Page 94 60. Is there recourse against bad servicing?......Page 97 What is the monthly payment?......Page 101 Appendix B Finding Your Loan Balance......Page 152 Notes......Page 156

everything You Need To Know To Make Getting A Mortgage Simple And Trouble-free

how Large A House Will You Be Able To Afford? What Is Pmi, And Why Do You Have To Pay It?

how Can You Be Sure You're Not Being Taken Advantage Of?

the Pocket Mortgage Guide gives You The Authoritative Answers You Need To Simplify The Entire Mortgage Process. This Pocket-sized, Value-packed Guide Features:

• painless Techniques For Trimming Years Off The Life Of Your Mortgage
• strategies For Including Fix-up Money In Your Mortgage
• guidelines For Getting The Best Deal When Shopping For A Refinancing Loan
• handy Tables For Looking Up What Your Monthly Payment Would Be At Different Interest Rates

your Mortgage Is The Biggest Financial Commitment You'll Ever Make, And It's Up To You To Understand How It Works. Learn The Facts You Need To Know To Get The House—and Mortgage—at The Lowest Possible Cost, In the Pocket Mortgage Guide.

jack M. Guttentag (www.mtgprofessor.com) is Professor Emeritus Of Finance At The Wharton School. His Nationally Syndicated Weekly Column, Ask The Mortgage Professor, Appears In The L.a. Times, And Other Major Newspapers.

Borrowers often begin their home search with only the foggiest idea about how much they can afford to pay, which can result in wasted time and frustration.