Source: CNBC ---  There’s a lot that goes into the home buying process, especially if you’re a first-time home buyer. One criteria mortgage lenders use to assess your mortgage application is the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Your debt-to-income ratio is a comparison of...

Source: MSN --- Buying a home is an integral part of the American dream. There's something special — almost sacred — about the idea of owning your own property where you can raise kids and grow old with your spouse before passing on that property to your descendants....

Source: Yahoo! Finance --- For many years, homebuyers seized upon the option to purchase their first house with a loan backed up by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This allowed them to put down as little as 3.5% of the total cost upfront, which meant owning...

Source: The New York Times ---  It’s a perennial question for would-be home buyers: How can I possibly come up with such a huge down payment? The short answer, usually, is you don’t have to. Most first-time home buyers (and even many repeat buyers) don’t have the 20...

Source: CBS News --- Everyone wants to save on taxes, and one of the best ways is to maximize every possible deduction.  The mortgage interest deduction used to be a mainstay for consumers, but the past few years have changed that. Some homeowners may be better off...

Source: MPA Mag ---  It’s only during life’s more painful episodes that people are invariably forced to reconsider their place in the world, and sometimes their career. Inevitably, it involves change, but taking that momentous first step is often the hardest because...