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
Redfin Direct: Buy a Redfin-Listed Home Without a Real Estate Agent
First Redfin brought us the 1% listing fee, which disrupted the traditional 2.5% to 3% listing agents charge(d) to sell a home. But that still meant the home seller was on the hook for 3.5% or so if they elected ... Read More »
What Credit Score Do I Need to Get a Mortgage?
Mortgage Q&A: “What credit score do I need to get a mortgage?” If you’re thinking about purchasing a new home or refinancing an existing mortgage, you should know that your credit score is going to be a big factor. In ... Read More »
Why You Might Want to Skip the Starter Home
Some 45 million Americans are expected to reach the typical first-time home buyer age in the next decade, which is a fresh 34 years old. This is 7.4% more than the 41.8 million individuals currently aged 35-44, per a new ... Read More »
Study: Open Houses Result in Faster, More Expensive Home Sales
Aside from tracking mud through your beautiful home, it turns out open houses actually lead to higher sales prices and less time on market, per a new analysis from Redfin. The real estate brokerage, which studied 2018 for-sale listings, noted ... Read More »
Do Mortgage Rates Change Daily?
It’s that time again folks, where I answer your burning mortgage questions. The latest mortgage Q&A: “Do mortgage rates change daily?” Mortgage rates are hot news right now, what with them hovering around all-time lows yet again but beginning to ... Read More »
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 »
