Save Big by Paying Your Mortgage Biweekly

Mortgage Questions Answered

Over the lifetime of your mortgage a huge chunk of your payments goes towards interest. Here is a quick tip on how to save a significant amount of those interest and fees. If your not already doing so, simply set up your mortgage payments on a biweekly basis. Most banks will offer this payment option and it will help you save thousands of dollars in interest plus pay off your mortgage early.

How it works is they just divide your monthly mortgage payment in half and you make your payments every other week. There are 52 weeks in the year, so by paying every other week you are making 26 half payments which is equivalent to 13 full payments. You will barely feel the difference because it is spread out over the year and this extra annual payment will save you quite a bit over the lifetime of your mortgage. For example, if you have a $200,000, 30 year mortgage at 5% you would save $33,000 and pay of the loan 5 years early.

If you are interested in doing this just contact your mortgage lender and see if they have a program. Just be sure to check if they charge a fee for it. Most don't if you set up automatic withdraw from your account. If you have any other mortgage questions or your own tips please leave a comment. There are lot's of tips and tricks to help people save money.

Top 5 States With The Highest Closing Costs

Top 5 States With The Highest Closing Costs

A recent survey was conducted by Bankrate.com tin the largest city of each state to determine which states had the highest fees for loan origination fees, appraisals, title and insurance in 2012. They came up with the following findings, so if you're in one of these states and you’re wondering how much house I can afford, be sure to check around for the best deal:

1. New York - $5,435
2. Texas - $4,619
3. Pennsylvania - $4,467
4. Florida $4,395
5. Oklahoma - $4,352

All fees were based on a $200,000 mortgage and the national average was calculated at $3,754. Just remember, there are still programs out there to help you if you are low on cash or have bad credit, just click on this link that shows you exactly how to buy a house with no money down even if you have terrible credit. To see exactly how just click here!

Classic Greek Revival

Classic Greek Revival

How To Buy A House With No Money Down & Bad Credit

Win A Vacation Home In Maine

Win A Vacation Home In Maine

The DIY Network and HGTV are running a contest, which is different from the Luxury High Rise Condo in Miami Contest I wrote about the other day, where you can win a vacation home in Maine. The house is a fully furnished and renovated circa-1884 high-posted cape located in Waldoboro, Maine. The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms and over 3,000 square feet of living space. You can enter twice a day up until Sept 28th, once at DIYNetwork and once at HGTV so what are you waiting for. Maine is a beautiful place to vacation and this is an awesome house! 

Remember, if you don't win, which I hope you do. Actually I'm entering so I kinda hope I do, you can still buy the home of your dreams and if your worried about cash for a down payment just check out this guide on how to buy a house with bad credit. 

Italianate House Style

Italianate House Style - How To Buy A House

How Much House Can I Afford? More Than You Think!

Win A High Rise Luxury Condo In Miami

Win A High Rise Luxury Condo In Miami

I know I normally preach how easy it is to buy a house without a down payment. However, if you can win a high rise luxury condo in Miami, that is pretty good too! So if you are interested in entering the contest, HGTV has a few home giveaways a year and right now you can still enter for the one in Miami. You can enter two times a day, once at HGTV.com and once at FrontDoor.com so if Miami is your style, go for it. 

But, if you don't win just remember, you can still buy a house without a down payment and terrible credit and that includes condo's in Miami!

5 Great Websites To Find Houses For Sale In Your Town

5 Great Websites To Find Houses For Sale In Your Town

There are many amazing websites out there to help you in your search to find houses for sale in your neck of the woods. House hunting is one of my favorite past times and by utilizing the web, you can sift through hundreds of homes without every having to leave your couch! Here are the top 5 websites I like using. If you have any of your own, please feel free to share.

Realtor.com - This is the granddaddy of them all in terms of quantity of listings. You can narrow your search by price, bedrooms, bathrooms, property types, square footage, property features and so much more. This is a great resource when your serious about finding what your looking for.

TopTenRealEstateDeals.com - This is a fun website to browse through. They have a cool feature where they create top ten lists on some amazing deals, celebrity homes for sale, and even upcoming auctions. There is also interesting real estate news and a section on hot condo deals. Definitely worth taking a look. 

Zillow.com - Another robust website with a massive amount of listings including rentals. Plus, a ton of helpful information and tips on subjects like mortgage rates, general advice and even finding local professionals such as mortgage lenders, real estate agents, home improvement pros and more.

Homefinder.com - If foreclosures is your thing then this website is for you. They have plenty of regular listings of homes for sale, rentals, auctions, advice, the usual for the big sites but their foreclosure sections is great for finding homes in a specific area as well as where they currently stand in the foreclosure process.

Rentals.com - If your not quite ready to purchase yet and still doing the Rent vs Buy debate, then this is a great place to search rentals. They include rentals for homes, condos, townhomes, lofts, duplexes and apartments. You can even list your property for rent if your looking to do so. 

There are so many websites out there to find houses for sale in about every corner of the world, it is easy to get overwhelmed when you start. These 5 should give you a great starting point no matter what your looking for. If you have any others that you find helpful please feel free to comment and share your knowledge.

And if you don't think you are financially ready to buy a house just check out my reference: How To Buy A House With No Money Down & Bad Credit, it's a simple to follow process that just about anybody can do.