Posted on Tuesday, 19th May 2009 by chrisjones

Once, a thousand years ago, there were new loan programs coming out every day or two.  Now there are only a few left, and no innovation coming from the private loan markets, because it is the Fed that is doing all the dictating. But they are doing some dictating.  Yesterday HUD said it is writing [...]

Tags: downpayment assistance, DU Refi Plus, mortgage industry, mortgage lending, mortgage loans, mortgage modification
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General, Rate Watch | Comments (2)

Posted on Tuesday, 19th May 2009 by chrisjones

A couple weeks ago I posted about debt and spending in A Conundrum Wrapped in a Paradox, Stuffed in a Burrito.  The point was that we as a country can get – and have gotten – to a place where we can’t keep spending as we have, because we weren’t spending our money, and now [...]

Tags: debt, Fed, personal responsibility, savings
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 28th April 2009 by chrisjones

Now that it appears that mortgage cramdowns are going to be stripped out of the housing bill in Congress, let’s talk about why they were a bad idea in the first place. Yes, I know that bankruptcy judges re-write credit card debt all the time.  This is the argument that Elizabeth Warren, the chief TARP [...]

Tags: cramdowns
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General | Comments (0)

Posted on Monday, 27th April 2009 by chrisjones

Periodically, I hear the same question from enough people that I know it’s time for a detailed primer on some part of the mortgage process. So today, let’s take a close look at how mortgage interest rates and fees are determined, what “points” are, and what you need to know to make sure you’re getting [...]

Tags: fees, points, rates
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101 | Comments (1)

Posted on Tuesday, 21st April 2009 by chrisjones

Most of my posts in the Finance 101 series can be found at the Lehi page of the Provo Daily Herald website. Today’s lesson is about investing, and you can read the entire thing here.

Tags: Finance 101, investing
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101 | Comments (0)