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There are multiple schools of thought on this question and most of the time the answer will depend on the person buying the house. How much discipline does the buyer have with money? Do they need help making payments or are they able to make extra payments easily? There are lots of variables that are specific to each situation but here are some things to consider.

Would you rather have a bigger monthly payment for a shorter amount of time? With a 15 year mortgage you have to make big payments each month, no exceptions. If you buy a cheap enough house this could be easy for you. The biggest advantage is saving a ton of money on interest, the biggest disadvantage is the much larger payment that reduces your cash flow.

If you choose the 30 year mortgage and pay only the minimum each month you are looking at twice the purchase price of your home just in interest payments. Do you really want the bank to make that much money off of you? If you are able you should may additional payments in order to whack away at the total interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan.

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This just in from BusinessWeek: “Nouriel Roubini, the NYU economist who accurately predicted the financial meltdown, writes an important commentary in The Globe and Mail about two disparate American economies: “There is a smaller one that is slowly recovering and a larger one that is still in a deep and persistent downturn,” he says.”

Roubini goes on to outline two separate Economies emerging within the United States — a smaller economy driven by large corporations that has slowly begun to emerge from recession, and the larger economy that is still in a deep and persistent downturn.

Echoing what I have been discussing in recent months with small business owners and in my Twitter postings @marketyoursite, small business owners continue reading…

Mortgage refinance provides borrowers with the option to reduce home loan payments or obtain cash from accrued home equity. Prior to refinancing mortgage notes, homeowners should become informed of the various options and compare interest rates and closing costs of various lenders.

The first step of mortgage refinance requires borrowers to review their current home loan documents. The majority of housing loans include prepayment penalties when loans are repaid before the contract expires. Homeowners carrying a first and second mortgage could incur substantial costs which negate savings obtained through refinancing.

Borrowers should conduct research to compare current home refinancing interest rates. Mortgage lenders recommend entering into mortgage continue reading…

It is a very probable reality that in these times of economic uncertainty, your financial capability is strong enough to face the many pressures of daily life. One of those pressures is the likely chance of losing your house. This is where a compelling loan modification hardship letter comes into play. It is a legal letter in which you describe your current financial hardships to your lender and state the steps that you have are taking in order to solve your financial problems.

A poorly written hardship letter can result in the rejection of a loan modification and can also cause the immediate foreclosure of your house. It must be borne in mind that lenders are very busy and back logged, especially during the current economic crisis. A strong persuasive hardship letter allows you to stand out from the rest of the crowd and turns your desire to keep your house into a reality. You have to keep your letter concise and as honest as possible. Most importantly, you have to convince your lender that you will not default on your modified loan payments. continue reading…

In this day and age where time and money well spent is of utmost importance, the advances in technology have made kit homes a very good option for first home buyers. With the designs and number of types of these houses growing, it is no surprise that a lot of Australians are opting to buy more of them.

A new kit home design is that made of steel. These look just like any other house, and it will be hard to identify it as a kit home. The steel kit houses are light and easy to construct.

Because they are made of steel, they are also termite resistant. Termites cannot chew through steel, so your houses foundations are safe from their onslaught. continue reading…