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 watchdog, [...]

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)

Posted on Thursday, 16th April 2009 by chrisjones

Market Brief: CPI comes in below expectations, and the Empire State (that’s New York, for those of you that don’t speak slogan) manufacturing index comes in crappy, but not as crappy as was expected.  Bonds reacted by wandering around slowly, like a toddler just after a nap.  Nothing much happening though rates are trending slightly [...]

Tags: home run grant, mortgage grants, tax credit, utah mortgage, utah mortgage broker
Posted in Finance 101, Rate Watch | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 4th March 2009 by chrisjones

The government unveiled the Home Affordable Modification (HAM) program today, and the provisions are interesting, exciting, and devastating, depending on who you are.
First the interesting part.  If you are:
1. Anyone with an FHA or VA loan
2. Anyone that doesn’t own a home
3. Anyone that has a mortgage greater than $729,750 (don’t ask me, I didn’t [...]

Tags: HAM, mortgage lending, mortgage modification, pork
Posted in Ask The Magician & FAQ, Blog & News, Finance 101, General, Rate Watch | Comments (1)