Mortgages Payments

The Trials, Tribulations, and Struggles of a First-Time Landlord

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How To Evaluate The Rate Of Return On Rental Property

Last year, my wife and I joined the league of accidental landlords. We were upside down in our home and couldn’t sell it without taking a big loss. So after relocating for work, we decided to rent our house out. I thought it would be a simple endeavor to charge enough rent in order to cover our mortgage payment each month. But that was hardly the case when the rubber met the road. There were several important factors I neglected to take into consideration that hampered my return. I was struggling just to break even. With a mortgage payment of $1,400 a month, there are many things that took a bite out of my renter’s payment. Forget making a profit; I … Read more

Buying a Home with Private Mortgage Insurance and Pay PMI Off Early

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12 Things You Should Know Before Buying A House

If you are new to home buying, you will soon find out that most lending institutions require that loan applicants put 20% down when applying for a mortgage, or you will need private mortgage insurance. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, of course, as some financial institutions will accept applications even in this turbulent home buying market with 10% down. Go online first and contact a couple of brokers or several lenders through a service like LendingTree.com which will find you four mortgage loan offers. Buying a Home With Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) If you do not have the 20% down payment, then you will be required in almost every instance to buy private mortgage insurance which is also … Read more

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step 6 – Pay Off Your Mortgage Early

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Baby Step 6 with Dave Ramsey

I wrote an overview of Dave Ramsey’s baby steps system from his book, The Total Money Makeover, and I have been dissecting each of his individual baby steps as well. Today, we’ll talk about baby step 6, paying off your mortgage early. The Total Money Makeover is a personal finance book that I highly recommend and one of the greatest personal finance books to read. Today, we will look at Baby Step 4 in more detail which is to invest 15% of your income for retirement. There are seven Dave Ramsey baby steps that you should follow in order that will lead you to financial peace. Dave Ramsey’s baby steps are… Baby Step 1 – $1,000 Emergency FundBaby Step 2 – Pay Off All Of Your Debt With … Read more

How to Save to Buy a Home While Barely Make Ends Meet

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How to save to buy a home

Buying a home is a smart investment in your own future, and it’s an aim everyone should start with as early as possible. Nevertheless, in some cases, it does make sense to put off such an investment — such as when you are unsure of the future of your job, or your marriage, or when home values appear volatile. Saving to buy a home even when you live paycheck to paycheck is possible. Most people who put off the decision to buy a home, though, have none of these reasons in mind. They simply choose to delay the day they buy, because they cannot figure out how they might ever put together enough each month for mortgage payments, leave alone a … Read more