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
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 »
How to Pay Off the Mortgage Early
Timeless mortgage Q&A: “How to pay off the mortgage early?” If you’re looking to pay off your mortgage quickly, now might be an easy time to do so because mortgage interest rates are very attractive. Assuming you’ve had your existing ... Read More »
PITI: What Does a Mortgage Payment Consist Of?
More fun and exciting mortgage Q&A: “What does a monthly mortgage payment consist of?” Have you ever been curious what you’re paying each month to live in your shiny new (or possibly dingy old) home or condo? Or how much ... Read More »
loanDepot’s Mello Smartloan Can Shorten Mortgage Closing to Just 8 Days
In yet another effort to push mortgage lending firmly into the 21st century, loanDepot has debuted its proprietary “mello smartloan” technology, an end-to-end digital mortgage loan intended to cut out the paperwork and lengthy turn times. It should also make ... Read More »
Is the 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Going Extinct?
It’s that time again when we fret about the viability of the 30-year fixed mortgage. This last occurred in 2014 when Dick Bove warned that the Fed’s tapering of mortgage purchases would mean curtains for the popular loan program. Say ... Read More »
Is the Real Estate Market Going to Crash in 2019?
There have been a lot of unpleasant headlines regarding the state of the real estate market lately. Earlier this week, Redfin noted that only 1 in 8 offers written by their agents faced competition from other prospective home buyers in ... Read More »
