The Truth About Mortgage Blog
A warm, friendly, and most importantly unbiased place to learn about mortgages, ideally before you make contact with a real estate agent or lender. The more you know, the better you’ll feel, and hopefully all that hard work will help you snag a lower mortgage rate too! So what are you waiting for? Let's go! View all mortgage help topics to get started or check out the latest mortgage tips and news below.
Latest Posts
Zillow Home Loans Is Now Live
Following the announcement made last summer to acquire Mortgage Lenders of America, “Zillow Home Loans” is now officially open for business. The new division of Zillow, which is 300 employees strong and operating out of Overland, Kansas, complements the company’s ... Read More »
Mortgage Lingo: 23 Terms You Should Know Before You Apply
Applying for a mortgage can be stressful, what with all the money that’s on the line. Oh, and the possibility that you could be denied entirely, perhaps while starting a family or attempting to relocate to a new state. Making ... Read More »
Mortgage Rates Just Had Their Best Week In Over a Decade
If you thought the low mortgage rates were gone forever, think again. Per Freddie Mac, mortgage rates just had their best week in over a decade, thanks in part to the latest Fed policy meeting. The popular 30-year fixed averaged ... Read More »
11 Ways to Build Home Equity
These days, home equity is booming. At last glance, total equity on mortgaged properties was around $10 trillion, with about $6 trillion of it tappable, per recent figures from Black Knight. Yes, that’s a “T” not a “B.” But you ... Read More »
Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit Score?
Mortgage Q&A: “Does refinancing hurt your credit score?” Consumers seem to be obsessed with their credit scores and what impact certain actions may have on them. Perhaps the credit bureaus and credit score distributors are to blame, as they’re constantly ... Read More »
What Is the Loan-to-Value Ratio? (LTV)
Let’s talk mortgage basics: “What is the loan-to-value ratio?” If you’re currently shopping for a home or already going through the mortgage process, chances are you’ve heard the phrase loan-to-value ratio get thrown around on more than one occasion. You ... Read More »
Renting vs. Buying a Home: 55 Pros and Cons
It’s time for yet another mortgage match-up, so without further ado, here’s a biggie: “Renting vs. buying a home.” Or a townhouse for that matter… This is certainly an intimidating question, and one that’s difficult to sum up in one ... Read More »
Do I Qualify for a Mortgage?
Sometimes I tend to skip past the seemingly basic mortgage questions, assuming everyone already knows the simple stuff. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and what may appear basic isn’t really so straightforward. So let’s talk about qualifying for a mortgage. ... Read More »
Mortgage Rates vs. Home Prices
Mortgage Q&A: “Mortgage rates vs. home prices.” Today, we’ll take a look at the impact of both home prices and mortgage rates on your decision to buy a piece of property, along with the relationship they share. Obviously, both are ... Read More »
The Return of Refis, Falling Home Prices, and Negative Equity?
The real estate market is kind of strange at the moment. Everyone expected mortgage rates to jump in 2019, but so far they’ve done the exact opposite. At the same time, home price appreciation has slowed in much of the ... Read More »
