Refinance Your Home Loan Now

Michael Chamberlain, Contributor   

The mortgage payment is one of the biggest items in most homeowners’ budgets. A smaller payment means more to spend elsewhere.
Interest rates on home loans are at the lowest level in 60 years. This is an opportunity to save on interest payments and use the saving to finance other goals.

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Mortgage rates unchanged at record lows

Average rate on 30-year-fixed at 4.09 percent — lowest level since 1951

By DEREK KRAVITZ

updated 2 hours 45 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Fixed mortgage rates hovered at record lows for a third straight week. They are likely to fall even further now that the Federal Reserve said it would shuffle its holdings to drive down long-term interest rates. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 4.09 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That's the lowest rate seen since 1951. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage ticked down to 3.29 percent. Economists say that's the lowest rate ever for the loan. 

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If you aren’t sure what your homeowner’s insurance covers, ask your agent

Published: September 2

Imagine my surprise when the earth started to shake recently. That surprise was only equaled when I pulled out my 25-page, single-spaced homeowner’s insurance policy and began reading. It quickly became evident that deciphering what was covered and what was not covered was no easy task.
Just what is homeowner’s insurance? How much insurance do I need? What does it exclude? How can I make sure that all my reasonably foreseeable risks are covered by insurance?

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When will home prices spring back?

By Sarah Max @Money September 15, 2011: 5:58 AM ET

(MONEY Magazine) -- It was with some trepidation that Stephanie Kim and her husband, Brendan, 40 and 42, put their Chicago townhouse on the market in June. While the place was in great shape, prices in their city were off 8% from 2010 -- and of the 30 similar homes in the area listed the previous year, only nine had sold.

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9/16/2011 @ 5:51PM |9,998 views

The Most Amazing And Absurd Places For Rent

You could shack up in a dank apartment or chain hotel room when your job or your family vacation beckons you abroad.  But if money is no object, you might consider a more adventurous choice of lodging like, say, an old Boeing 727.  In Manuel Antonio, Cost Rica you can rent one for $400 per night or $11,872 per month through Airbnb.com, a San Francisco, CA-based online vacation home rental site.

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Click for full photo gallery: Amazing And Absurd Places For Rent

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Dodge the draft and cut home heating costs

By Josh Gars @Money September 20, 2011: 10:44 AM ET

Find the drafts that bump up your home heating bills.

(MONEY Magazine) -- You don't have to invest thousands in high-tech insulation or a super-efficient furnace to cut home heating costs. Just sealing drafts could lower your bills 3% to 18%, according to Danny Parker, a research scientist who works with the Department of Energy.

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How to keep your property dry before a big storm

By Joel M. Lerner, Published: September 16

This year now has the distinction of being the tenth wettest August on record for the Washington region. The soggiest of the weather came with Hurricane Irene late in the month, leaving record rainfall and flooding in its wake. And Tropical Storm Lee made matters worse until it blew out to sea.

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House Watch: Designing a kitchen that is kid-friendly.

By Katherine Salant, Published: September 16

When most parents plan a new house or a major remodel, they spend a lot of time on the kitchen, trying to make sensible choices from the staggering number of cabinet door styles, countertop materials and appliance models available.
In most cases, though, little thought is given to who will be using the kitchen. Will it just be Mom and Dad, or will the whole family be cooking together? Making a new kitchen user-friendly for kids is surprisingly easy.

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House Watch: Delaying exterior trim upkeep could cost you big bucks

By Katherine Salant, Published: September 2

When most people buy a house, they tend to focus on the here and now — what it looks like and all the good times they will have living there. To the extent that they think about resale at all, the conversation centers on the features that may attract future buyers.
The real key to resale, though, is how well the owners maintain the house, but this issue generally draws little interest at the time of purchase and often falls off the radar screen soon after move-in.

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Mortgage rates at lowest level in six decades

Average rate on 30-year-fixed at 4.09 percent — lowest level since 1951

updated 9/15/2011 10:46:43 AM ET

 

WASHINGTON — Fixed mortgage rates have fallen to the lowest level in six decades for the second straight week. But few Americans can take advantage of the historically low rates. Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.09 percent this week. That's the lowest rate seen since 1951. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, fell to 3.30 percent, also a new low. Economists say it is likely the lowest rate on the 15-year ever.

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