Some people feel like homeownership is a dream that they can’t achieve. If you are stuck in simply renting an apartment or a home without, it can be a vicious cycle to get out of and into a home of your own. Although the Hero Home Program is focused on community heroes, they are committed
Buying a home can be stressful, especially if you juggle a schedule that is as constant as a hometown hero. Our teachers, healthcare officials, police officers, first responders, military, and/or firemen — their schedules may not lend themselves to be super great when it comes to buying a home. Not to mention, these heroes often
Being a community hero can be stressful enough. Add on buying a home and it may feel like you’re completely alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of programs available for our local firefighters as a way of saying thank you. We know how hard being a firefighter can be, and we know you do important
Home buying is a beast of a process, and sometimes it can be hard to find assistance programs that actually care. If you are a community hero, it can feel like there is no one looking out for you like you do for others. Thankfully, there is. The Hero Home Program is here to serve
If you make less than a 20% down payment on a home loan, you may have to take out Private Mortgage Insurance before being approved for the loan. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is conditional protection that benefits lending institutions from the risk of defaulting on the loan or foreclosure of a house. It adds an
People buy and sell homes on a daily basis — and sometimes to and from their own family members. There are a variety of reasons and different ways that family members can ‘gift’ or sell a house. Whether it be a gift of equity, covering the down payment, or a discounted price, there are many
Sometimes, it’s nice to know your loved ones have your back. And when it comes to one of the largest expenses of your life—buying a house—it can be doubly sweet. When a family member or close associate sells you their home at a discounted rate, that is called a gift of equity. A gift of
Sometimes, if you had just a bit more space, everything would be so much easier. When you need an upgrade, there are times where a major overhaul of space can be necessary. And what qualifies as a ‘big’ house is rather relative, depending on your current space and what you consider to be spacious. So
Buying a home is stressful, especially when you’re trying to buy a home when money is tight. When life hands you lemons, it can be hard to secure conventional home loans from banks, credit unions, or other lending institutions due to one factor or another. Thankfully, there is another option. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Buying a home is a huge accomplishment—and a huge amount of stress. But it does not have to be if you have the right loan officer that will work with you and your financial needs to get you set up with a home loan. A loan officer is a representative from a financial institution or
Home buying is stressful, but to add falling short of a down payment can be something akin to a disaster. When you don’t have enough money to cover a down payment, that throws a wrench into the whole home buying operation. Thankfully, there is help in the form of down payment assistance (DPA). What
The housing and financial industries are an ever-changing world and the rise in cryptocurrency has started a purchasing trend like no other. Professional athletes, like NFL tight end Sean Culkin, have converted entire salaries into bitcoin. This demonstrates the growing popularity of cryptocurrency and the new money trend of the 21st century. With the rise
Do you owe more to your house than it’s worth? Having negative equity in your home can be disheartening. After all, you have worked so hard to have a place of your own, and then you feel like your payments aren’t even going anywhere. Oftentimes, people end up in these situations due to high-interest rates
Making your first offer on the house can be intimidating and even a little bit scary. The process doesn’t have to be either of those things, though. Making an offer on a house can be boiled down to a few easy steps. Let’s examine them. The process of making an offer Before ever making
Every time a potential home buyer decides they are ready to purchase a new home, they must go through the process of qualifying for a loan. The qualification process can be complex and difficult to understand. To understand these complex terms, let’s discuss what automated approval is and why it’s so important. The “Automated
When it comes time to purchase a home, finding a lender that gives you the best options is important. Having good credit simplifies the process and allows you to buy a home with a good interest rate, leading to less cost in the long term. However, having bad credit is not necessarily a hindrance to
When you’re looking for a home loan, the options available can feel overwhelming and sometimes even confusing. Many people aren’t even aware of all of the different options available to them. The USDA is a government department that most people don’t associate with home loans, yet they are just as invested in rural development as
When you apply for a home loan, you find yourself combing through a lot of financial documentation—tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, and the like. But why all the scrutiny? The short answer is that mortgage lenders have strict standards for lending money because they aren’t out to lose money. They want to be sure
A bank statement mortgage, also known by the names self-employed mortgage or alternative documentation loan, is a mortgage that enables an applicant to secure a loan from a lender without using traditional documentation such as W-2s or tax returns. Instead, the applicant submits 1-2 years’ worth of bank statements and a few other qualifying criteria
BAH, or Basic Allowance for Housing, is an allotment of money offered by all military branches to active duty members to cover housing costs for those who do not reside in government housing or barracks. Administered by the Defense Travel Management Office, BAH pay rate will vary on several factors. Still, the amount is calculated
