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For all that’s been said about the proposed Bank of America-Countrywide merger, what’s not getting talked about is how the merger will impact existing Countrywide customers.

The short answer is that it won’t.

A mortgage (and its corresponding note) is a legal contract between the lender and the lendee, signed on the date of closing. It is [...]

Markets are welcoming the return of cold, hard data this week.

Most of last week was spent making sense of Fed speakers, recessionary fears, and a takeover of the nation’s largest lender.

This week, we’ll find out if the recent fears of recession are on target, or overblown.

The data deluge starts Tuesday with [...]

Clipped from NBC’s Today Show, real estate maven Barbara Corcoran talks about preparing your home for sale. As usual, her remarks are spot-on.

Some highlights from the 5-minute video:

Go online and shop for your own home first
Empty your home of two-thirds of the “stuff”
Keep your home immaculately clean

Corcoran also offers pricing tips that can help [...]

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is an insurance policy paid to a lender in the event that a homeowner defaults on his home loan.

These defaults are up 35 percent over last year, according to an industry group — bad news for all homeowners requiring PMI with their mortgage.

Much like home insurers adjust premiums after a worse-than-expected [...]

Some quick statistics:

13% of Americans will die before age 65
28% of Americans will face a long-term disability before age 65 and be unable to work and/or earn an income

Despite these facts, Americans are twice as likely to be insured on their lives as on their long-term health.

Life insurance is important, but is much less likely [...]

Since September 2007, the Federal Reserve has lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 1.000%.

This has caused Prime Rate to fall by 1.000%, too. This is because the Fed Funds Rate and Prime Rate are directly related.

In mathematical terms, the relationship looks like this:

(Prime Rate) = (Fed Funds Rate) [...]

Stock markets tanked last week behind high oil prices and weak employment data.

Amid a sell-off that led to a 4.5% decline in the S&P 500, investors sought safety in the bond markets.

As a result, mortgage bonds improved last week, driving some mortgage rates to their lowest levels in two years.

This week, [...]

On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases key data about the American workforce.

The report is officially called “Non-Farm Payrolls” but most people refer to it as the “jobs report”.

The jobs report’s influence on markets is palpable for two major reasons:

Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the economy
When more people [...]

The price of oil briefly touched $100 per barrel yesterday, just short of the all-time inflation-adjusted high of $102.81 in April 1980.

According to economic forecasting firm Global Insight, each $10-per-barrel increase in oil prices:

Increases gas prices by 19 per gallon
Cuts consumer spending by one-third of a percent
Reduces employment by 100,000
Adds one-half percent to consumer prices

And, [...]

It’s a short, but heavy, week for mortgage markets. Investors are returning to the fray after a few lighter-than-normal weeks and their return should bring some stability to mortgage rates.

Last week, mortgage bond prices rose which, in turn, moved mortgage rates down.

The main reason for last week’s rate improvement was the assassination [...]