Preventing And Clearing Clogs In Your Home

You’re brushing your teeth and you turn on the faucet. It’s not draining and starts to back up. Here’s the dilemma; do you spit and let it sit or run to the kitchen? One thing is for sure; having a clogged drain can be a major annoyance. Clogs not only frustrate a homeowner but they can be hard on your plumbing. The added pressure they create puts stress on your pipes and can shorten their lifespan. So end the issue by following the guidelines below. You’ll learn how to prevent clogging and clear the ones you already have. No Food Down The Drain Even if you have a disposal, it’s not good for your pipes to have sticky, mushy food shoved through them. Peel vegetables and scrape plates into the trashcan. Also, avoid pouring grease down the drain. Animal fat can congeal into a solid and form a blockage. Instead, store it in a sealable container in the freezer. Once it’s full, trash it! Only TP In The Toilets All feminine hygiene products should be thrown away, because most don

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Fed Meeting Minutes Reflect Support For Reducing QE Program

The minutes of last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting show significant support for tapering the Fed’s current amount of monthly securities purchases. These purchases, known as quantitative easing (QE), are an effort to maintain lower long-term interest rates including mortgage rates. The Fed has been buying $85 billion per month in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve and FOMC has hinted at “tapering” the Fed’s securities purchases by year-end in recent statements. The FOMC minutes released Wednesday further suggest that tapering based on strengthening economic trends is likely. FOMC Members Express Mixed Views The minutes for the last FOMC meeting, which took place on July 30 and 31, states that many members are “broadly comfortable” with tapering QE securities purchases later this year if the economy continues to improve. At the same time, many FOMC members indicated that it “isn’

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Follow These Steps When Using Gift Funds For Your Down Payment

As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for home buyers, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing. Several years ago, you could finance a home with nothing down. Today, most conventional mortgages require at least 5 – 10 percent. Incidentally, these guideline changes have led to an increase in the number of home buyers accepting cash gifts from family. Gifts are allowed in most cases but the problem is, if you don’t accept the gift in a “lender-friendly” way, the mortgage underwriter could reject it, and negate it. Three Steps To Success With Your Down Payment Gift Funds You can’t just deposit a cash gift into your bank account. You have to follow a series of steps and keep records. Provide an acceptable gift letter signed by all parties Provide documentation of the gifter’s withdrawal of funds via teller receipts Provide documentation of the giftee’s deposit of funds via teller receipts Lenders require these 3 steps for two basic reasons. First, they want to make

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Home Builder Confidence Highest Level In Nearly 8 Years

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Thursday that its Housing Market Index rose three points to a reading of 59 for August. Confidence among builders is likely growing in connection with stronger housing markets and high demand for homes. These conditions are being driven by short supplies of homes for sale in many markets. Builder confidence in current market conditions rose by three points to a reading of 62, while builder confidence in market conditions within the next six months rose by one point to a reading of 68. Confidence in buyer foot traffic was unchanged from July’s reading of 45. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders surveyed view housing market conditions as positive rather than negative; there was some concern that the high builders’ confidence reading could trigger the Fed to announce the tapering of its $85 billion monthly purchase of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities. Housing Starts Driven By Apartment Construction H

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – August 26, 2013

Last week brought mixed economic news, but Leading Indicators released Thursday suggest that the U.S. economy is growing at a moderate rate. Mortgage rates for fixed rate loans were higher, but the average rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage was unchanged from the prior week. Weekly jobless claims were also higher. The National Association of REALTORS released its Existing Home Sales report for July and reported existing home sales came in at 5.39 million on an annualized basis. This reading surpassed expectations of 5.21 existing homes sold as well as June’s reading of 5.06 million existing homes sold on an annualized basis. FOMC Minutes Released, Mortgage Rates Rise The minutes for the July 31 FOMC meeting were released, and emphasized the likely “tapering” of the Fed’s quantitative easing program possibly as early as September, though no dates have been set. Many of the FOMC members support reducing the $85 billion in monthly securities purchases made by the Fed; fewer

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Tips For Helping Your Kids Adjust To A New School

August means it’s time to get your children ready for school once more. Picking out backpacks, going clothes shopping and finding all the right school supplies can be hectic enough. However, when you’ve moved and your children have to start all over in a new district, there’s even more to worry about! Summer fun can make the sunny months fly by. It’s easy to forget that with the beginning of school comes excitement and anxiety for your little ones — especially if they’re starting out somewhere new. So help them get adjusted with the back-to-a-new-school strategies below. Explain Why You’ll Be Moving Whether you’re moving states or just school districts, it’s best to give your children as much notice as possible and explain to them the reason for the change. They’ll need time to get used to the idea and say goodbye to friends. Be Positive As the first day draws near, be positive about what they’ll experience. School will be a place where they’ll learn new things

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These Overlooked Issues Can Become Deal-Killers For Your Mortgage Application

A mortgage loan approval is never final until it’s funded. And that means after you’ve signed the final paperwork and the bank has wired funds to escrow. Mortgages are made up of many moving parts, any of which might “go wrong” while your home loan is underway. Some are in your control, like deciding to purchase new items on credit during the mortgage process, many more are not. These “not in your control” items are the ones that you may not be thinking of. Just being aware of some potential pitfalls could help save your loan down the road, and your peace of mind today. What Many Mortgage Articles Don’t Say Many mortgage related articles offer similar things like buying a car before closing, or opening a bunch of new credit cards, but there are more uncommon factors that can lead to a similar loan turndown. For example, a home not be able to get approved if it’s unsuitable, or unsafe, for human habitation — a condition you may not discover until after a thorough home

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Whatever You Do, Don’t Make These Common Mortgage Mistakes

Are you applying for a mortgage on your home? Keep in mind that a mortgage is a major financial decision and choosing one will have a significant impact on the rest of your life. Many people go into this decision without understanding all of the essential mortgage information they need to know. This means that they may not make the best choices which could result in paying much more than they need to. If you want to save yourself from throwing away your hard earned money, here are a few common mistakes to avoid: Trying To Time The Mortgage Interest Rate Market Many people will wait too long to make a decision to lock in their mortgage rate, trying to wait until they think that the rates have hit bottom. However, unfortunately most of the time this leads them to wait too long and end up with a higher interest rate. If you are waiting things out, keep a very close eye on the economic indicators. Better yet, your trusted mortgage professional would be a good source of information about t

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How To Choose The Right Neighborhood When Buying A Home

The old real estate cliche’ about “location, location, location” is true, as the area of the city where your home is located will have an impact on its future value as well as your lifestyle. So what factors should you consider when you are choosing which neighborhoods to house hunt within? Proximity to Your Daily Continue reading

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – August 19, 2013

Last week wasn’t kind to stock market investors, but weekly jobless claims fell to an unexpected low of 320,000 new jobless claims filed, the lowest level in nearly six years. Here is a review of the major events of the week. Monday: The federal budget for July shows an increase in its deficit to -$98 Continue reading

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Quick Tips Save On Your Electric Bill

Summer always brings with it a hard choice: Do you turn down the thermostat to stay cool and resign yourself to high power bills? Or, do you sweat it out to save some dough? If you’ve been struggling with this dilemma, don’t fret. With a programmable thermostat, you can beat the heat and save money, Continue reading

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A Few Red Flags To Look For When Buying Real Estate

If you’re looking to purchase real estate, keep in mind that the homes you are considering might be in need of repairs or improvements. In a recent study done by a major home inspection company, at least 40 percent of previously owned homes on the market have at least one serious issue or defect. When Continue reading

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Important Tips To Do If Behind On Your Mortgage Payments

What happens if you go through a tough financial period and you find yourself behind on your mortgage payments for your home? If you are missing mortgage payments and are having difficulty paying, this can become a serious problem. Even just one missed payment can be difficult to catch up on, and if you are

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week of August 12, 2013

Highlights of economic news from last week, include a survey of senior loan officers from U.S. and foreign banks doing business in the U.S. They indicated that banks were gradually easing lending standards for business and consumer loans, but viewed lending criteria for home loans as more restrictive than other types of loans. According to

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5 Important Summer Deck Inspection Tips

Summer seems to be slipping away quickly. And, while you’ve hosted many barbecues on your back deck, you might not have had time to properly take care of it. August is the perfect month to conduct a deck inspection and make any repairs before the time comes to prepare it for winter. Below are tips

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Fed Meeting Statement Positive For Ongoing Mortgage Sector Support

There was potentially good news for mortgage rates last Wednesday as the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that its quantitative easing (QE) program would remain unchanged for the present. Economists expect the Fed to begin tapering the amount of QE toward the end of the year in accordance with Chairman Ben Bernanke’s previous

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Case Shiller Home Price Index Shows Rising Prices For May 2013

The S

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Top Questions To Ask The Home Inspector Before Buying Your Next Home

Imagine how frustrated you’d be to find out that the hot water heater wasn’t working – in the middle of your very first shower in your new home! This, among other very good reasons, is why you should have a home inspection before you buy your home. When you buy a home, you need to

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How To Bring More Natural Light Into Your Home

One of the biggest improvements that you can make to your home is to bring in more natural light. Sunlight is a powerful mood enhancer and a home design that brings in a lot of natural light will automatically look and feel much more pleasant. Not only will it boost your mood, bringing in natural

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What Should You To Do To Prepare For Your Mortgage Application

If you are applying for a mortgage to buy a home, doing your homework in advance before you submit the application means that you will stand a better chance of getting accepted at a desirable mortgage rate. According to mortgage experts, it is a good idea to gather up all of the needed documents in

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