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New Home Loans

Despite news stories about slow home sales, plenty of Americans still qualify to purchase new homes. In fact, with the federal and even some state governments offering tax incentives for home purchases, now may be the perfect time for you to consider purchasing a new home. Use our new home buying guide and our mortgage calculators to learn how much home you can afford.

How to Know When a New Home Is Right for You
In today's economy, buying a new home works best under any of these conditions:

When you can budget your 150% of your current rent to pay both mortgage and maintenance expenses.
When a lender or seller is willing to help cover your closing costs or other expenses related to the purchase.
When tax credits or energy efficiency make it less expensive for you to live in a new home.

How to Save the Most Money on a New Home
Choosing a home from existing inventory may save you the most money, especially when builders want to recoup their investments to cover expenses for other projects. Don't be afraid to print out the results of your mortgage calculator to show builders the price range that your budget can handle. Savvy sales professionals will find ways to work within your means, whether it's buying down your mortgage rate or throwing in some extras.

How to Get the Best Mortgage Rates
When you've determined that it's time to buy a new home, follow these steps to get the very best deal on your next home loan:

Review your credit report for errors before you shop rates.
Get mortgage quotes from a multiple lenders.
Estimate your target monthly payment using a mortgage calculator.
Get pre-approved for a new home loan before discussing financing directly with a lender. This will prevent you from getting locked into an unfavorable rate.
Ask your new home loan lender or seller to cover some or all of your closing costs.

How Mortgage Calculators Help Find the Best New Home Loan Deals
Mortgage calculators make it easy to shop for new home loans. You can learn just how much house you can afford by filling in the blanks of our site's mortgage calculator. With a few quick keystrokes, you can narrow down the range of new homes on your shopping list while setting the right expectations for your real estate purchase. Thanks to some of the best mortgage rates in years, a new home may be closer than you think.

Certificates of Deposit

Certificates of deposit combine higher rates of return with the security of knowing your investments can't lose money. As banks compete for more deposits, CD rates alone can't predict whether a par... Read More >>

Credit Cards

Even as lenders tighten requirements for new credit cards, borrowers can still find great deals. Use our handy guide to credit cards and discover how to get the most from your plastic. Read More >>

Five Debt Consolidation Steps to Make Life Easier

Debt consolidation can be a powerful tool for getting control of your finances, but only if you have a long-term plan and the discipline to stick with it. Perhaps the best news about debt consolida... Read More >>

Money Market Accounts

Money market accounts (MMAs) bridge the gap between no-interest accounts and higher-interest certificates of deposit. Unlike CDs, MMAs involve no time commitment. Except in specific cases, you can ... Read More >>

Savings Accounts

After years of leveraging their assets, most banks have rediscovered a passion for their core function: offering savings accounts to consumers. With a sudden burst of competition for your deposits,... Read More >>

Refinancing Your Home

With banks reluctant to lend and with many Americans worried about keeping their homes, the rules of refinancing have changed. Instead of refinancing to pull cash out from high value properties, mo... Read More >>

Should You Refinance Your Mortgage Loan to Pay off Credit Card Debt?

If you're like many Americans, you may be paying on a mortgage loan and juggling a lot of credit card debt. Homeowners with credit card debt used an average of $14,344 in home equity to pay down th... Read More >>

Refinancing Your Mortgage: Calculating the Costs

Comparing refinance rates is a first step toward getting your best refinancing terms, but the cost of refinancing a mortgage loan is also a consideration. Here's how to compare interest rates, iden... Read More >>

Refinancing Your FHA Mortgage Loan

The FHA Streamline Refinance: No Appraisal or Credit Scoring Required If you have an FHA mortgage loan you may qualify for FHA's streamline refinance program. Unlike recent... Read More >>

Refinancing Mortgage Loan Could Give You Cash to Pay Bills

If you're looking for extra money, refinancing to cash out some of your home equity could help. But with mortgage lenders toughening up requirements, not everyone will qualify to do this. It's impo... Read More >>

Refinancing Your FHA Mortgage Loan

The FHA Streamline Refinance: No Appraisal or Credit Scoring Required If you have an FHA mortgage loan you may qualify for FHA's streamline refinance program. Unlike recent... Read More >>

Refinancing Mortgage Loan Could Give You Cash to Pay Bills

Your Mortgage Refinance: How to Understand Your Property Appraisal

When mortgage rates are low, many homeowners rush to refinance. If you, too, are thinking of refinancing, take the time to check out the housing market in your area to get some idea of how much you... Read More >>

Low Mortgage Rates Promote Refinancing

If you're considering a mortgage refinance, now is a good time to do it. Refinance rates are low, and no one knows when they'll start rising steadily. Mortgage lenders report that a large majority ... Read More >>

Refinancing Your Mortgage: Calculating Potential Benefits

With rates close to record lows, home owners may have a great opportunity to save by refinancing to lower mortgage rates. Before committing to a particular lender you should estimate your possible ... Read More >>

Income Requirements When Refinancing a Mortgage

Doing a home refinance has gotten much more complicated than just a few years ago when the economy was booming. Many mortgage lenders are unwilling to approve a refinance if you don't have a stable... Read More >>

Is it Time to Say Good-Bye to Your Home?

You never thought the day would come when you'd be thinking about giving up your home. But if your financial situation has changed for the worse, that is exactly what you may be considering. So h... Read More >>

Refinancing: Shopping and Comparing Mortgage Costs and Features

Refinancing your mortgage at current low mortgage rates can lower monthly payments, stabilize fluctuating payment amounts, and may even provide additional cash for debt consolidation or home impr... Read More >>

Refinancing: Getting the Most from Your Next Mortgage

Lowering mortgage rates is the starting point for reviewing refinance mortgage options, but refinancing may offer additional benefits depending on your current mortgage and financial goals. Here ar... Read More >>

How to Deal with an Underwater Mortgage Loan

Millions of homeowners are underwater on mortgages and feel trapped. Refinancing is probably not an option when you owe more on your mortgage that your home is worth, so it's tough to tap your home... Read More >>

Refinance Your Mortgage with a Credit Union

Consumers have been voicing their anger and frustration with big banks by moving their accounts to smaller banks and credit unions. Should you consider doing a home refinance through a local credit... Read More >>

Refinancing for Funding Home Improvements: Investing in Your Home

Making major home improvements requires planning for construction costs and paying for them. Refinancing your mortgage loan may provide funding for your projects if you have enough home equity. Her... Read More >>

Fixed Rate vs. Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Doing a home refinance involves making several important decisions. One of the biggest things to decide is whether it makes sense to get a fixed-rate or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Wh... Read More >>

Reverse Mortgage Loans: A Refinancing Option for You?

Refinancing to a reverse mortgage can help eligible homeowners improve cash flow by eliminating mortgage payments and providing additional income. This can be useful in cases where homeowners are l... Read More >>

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Can Energy Improvements Keep Me from Refinancing My Home?
Dear Liz, Current mortgage rates in California have dropped very low and I want to refinance my property. I have excellent credit and there is still quite a bit of equity in my home. But when I went to my local bank, I was to... Ask the expert >>

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New Home Loans