| 10 Things to Know About Mortgages
I became a first-time homeowner four years ago, and in the process I learned a lot about mortgages, much of which I found interesting and surprising. Here are 10 things you may not know about mortgages. 1. You can buy a house with 0% down. That's right, you can buy a house with no down payment at all. There may even be a government agency that will help with your closing costs. These options aren't available to everyone, but first-time homeowners and/or homebuyers of limited means should definitely do some research. Check out the Department of Housing and Urban Development website for more information; and here's a list of special programs offered in various states. If you don't fit one of those categories, talk to a lender or mortgage broker about the loans that they offer. An "80-20" loan, for example, allows you to take out a first mortgage for 80% of the purchase price and a home equity loan or line of credit for the remaining 20%.
Swiss shares lower in afternoon trade on prospect of weaker Wall ...
ZURICH (Thomson Financial) - Share prices were slightly lower in afternoon trade with Wall Street indicating a lower opening and the ECB's rate hike already priced in, dealers said.
At 2.50 pm, the Swiss Market Index was down 48.26 points at 9,365.97, and the Swiss Performance Index down 43.11 points at 7,614.65.
The euro fell to 1.6449 sfr, while the dollar dropped to 1.2168 sfr.
'The market is slightly lower because of the (currently) weaker US market, but we don't expect the new ECB interest rates to impact on Swiss banks since the change was in-line with expectations,' a Vontobel Bank trader said.
The ECB earlier raised interest rates 25 basis points to 4.00 pct.
Banking stocks were weaker across-the-board, with UBS shedding 1.1 pct or 0.90 sfr at 77.30 and Credit Suisse declining 1.2 pct or 1.15 sfr to 91.30.
LendingTree.com Adds Eleven New Loan Calculators to Its Smart ...
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree.com today introduced eleven new-and-improved home loan calculators to its Smart Borrower Center at http://www.lendingtree.com/smartborrower/calculators.aspx. The calculators, which were custom developed by LendingTree loan and technology experts, cover all areas of home lending from loan product comparisons to ARM payments, and loan consolidation to refinancing. "Loan calculators have grown in popularity over the past several years, but a lot of what's out there is hard to understand and even harder to use," said Bridget Smith, the LendingTree Smart Borrower Center editor-in-chief. "We set out to develop a line of top-notch loan calculators that would make it easier, faster and more intuitive for borrowers to get the financial information they need." The LendingTree Smart Borrower Center calculators outperform other offerings in terms of ease of use, transparency of assumptions, and flexibility to customize.
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