This past Summer, our friends’ beautiful 100-year old home was hit by lightning and caught on fire. The house was a total loss and it will take them two years to rebuild. While lightning strikes can set a house on fire, more than a quarter of all house fires happen in the winter. According to [...]
Q: I was reading several of your articles in a New Jersey paper about loan modifications and what a nightmare they are. It made me tear up reading the second article which was almost exactly what we experienced with our lender. Our poor financial situation was caused by a health-related issue, as so many are. [...]
Q: I need guidance on what to do with my underwater mortgage. My wife, my preschooler, my infant and I are living in a house that we owe $90,000 on that we bought eight years ago for about $100,000. Comps in our neighborhood put the current value of our house at about $50,000. Three foreclosures [...]
Roth IRAs are great for some, but some don't appreciate the benefits. Q: Everyone talks about what a great product the Roth IRA is. But my belief is one is contributing after-tax money. That means you’re likely paying at least 40 percent in state and federal taxes on the cash. Imagine if you didn’t pay [...]
Using ARM loan is better than 401k to pay for college. Q: My husband and I are 56 and 55 respectively. We have 3 college tuitions and 2 of 3 weddings done, and are now thinking of taking advantage of the great prices for a vacation condo. We have enough cash for the 20 percent [...]
On Monday, October 24, 2011, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced major changes to the Homeowners Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The old version of HARP, which had been in place for about two years, assisted 900,000 homeowners in their efforts to refinance their mortgages. However a report from PR Newswire highlights two major problems with [...]
You might be able to lower your mortgage interest rate with an FHA loan. Q: I was listening to your radio show on WSB Radio this past Sunday. The caller had a mortgage with one of the big banks and he wanted to get his interest rate lowered. He stated he wasn’t behind in his [...]
Bailout of Greece and problems in the Eurozone continued this week. This week, the Dow was up 422 points, ending at 12,231 by the close of business on Friday. I can't remember the last time we were over 12,000. The reason for the sudden investor enthusiasm? Euphoria over the latest Eurozone deal. Leaders across Europe [...]
If you've applied to refinance your loan, and interest rates have gone lower and you have locked, you'll have to talk to your lender to see what options you may have. Q: We're right at the end of the time period for our refinance on our new 15-year mortgage application. The process has taken too [...]
Rosie Rios and Pam Yip on the Show. The Great Spending Checklist. And as usual, providing personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer advice on the Ilyce Glink Show October 23, 2011 on WSB Radio. Earlier this year, I toured around the country giving a series of speeches called "Everyday Money." The general theme of the [...]
