Articles

Once you've been approved for a mortgage, found a house, made an offer, and the offer has been accepted, you are close to calling your property home. What's left is to finalize the documents which will transfer ownership of the house from the seller to the buyer. The "close" or "settlement" usually involves the seller, real estate agent, lawyer, escrow agent, mortgage lender and buyer, and title company.

Knowing how much house you can afford begins by listing the type of features you'd like to have in a home. Your individual needs, location requirements, style and the amount of effort you are willing to put into finding your dream house, all factor into the equation. How important is it for you to be near a school? How long will it take you to commute to work? How much will you spend on gas to commute to work? How safe is the neighborhood? These are all legitimate questions that can help you choose your ideal home.

After you've been pre-approved for a loan, the right real estate agent can assist you in making sure the rest of the process runs smoothly.

A home is one of the most expensive purchases most of us will ever make during our lifetime. Whether you decide to rent or buy, either choice comes with its own rewards and risks.

Once you are on your way to homeownership there are certain precautions you will want to take to further minimize your risks.

Here is financial terminology often used in relation to bonds and CDs and the meanings of these terms.

The CPI-U or Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers is published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. It is a measure of the average change in consumer prices over time for a fixed market basket of goods and services, including food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, and drugs.

Commercial paper is a company's senior, unsecured debt. Several companies offer programs through which depositors can maintain commercial paper accounts. The companies that offer these accounts find them to be effective ways to borrow at very low costs of capital directly from depositors. Most issuers claim that these accounts are fully negotiable and have instituted banking features (such as ATM access and check writing) as well as competitive rates.

A laddered bond portfolio allows investors to have bonds spread all along the yield curve so they constantly have bonds maturing, enabling them capture the highest yields available.

The first question that generally comes to mind is why go to all this trouble to put together a bond portfolio? Why not invest in a bond fund? Good questions both, and a do-it-yourself bond portfolio is not necessarily better or worse than a bond fund. It has more to do with an individuals objectives, risk tolerance, etc.

Investors new to bonds often wonder what the difference is between yield to maturity and current yield.

A newbie purchasing bonds for the first time can be a little bit like the coffee virgin at Starbucks ordering his first ever specialty drink.

This article examines three popular bond investment strategies - the barbell, the bullet and the ladder.

Bond funds are mutual funds that invest in bonds. The funds can invest in government or corporate bonds of short, medium, or long-term maturity. This article explores investing in bond funds versus individual bonds.

There are a lot of fees to watch out for and to understand when you are considering investing in a bond fund (these apply to any mutual fund).