Should I escrow my taxes and insurance?

White House box on top of money for article about Escrow

One of the big terms in the mortgage world is escrow. An escrow account is set up to collect funds to pay your property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, if applicable, mortgage insurance. The lender collects one twelfth of each of those yearly premiums each month to ensure there is enough money in the escrow account…

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Get Out of Your Rental

Couple with keys in hand and a small home in hand

If you’ve been renting and waiting to buy your first home, now is a good time to make your move. A number of industry analysts predict that interest rates will rise slightly over the year, while continuing to stay very affordable. Home prices are also expected to rise, now that more buyers are again competing…

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What is PMI?

Couple in living room with wide looking over the couch with child on couch looking at a computer

Have you ever laid awake at night wondering what is Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI? Benefits of PMI Don’t confuse Private Mortgage Insurance with homeowners insurance, which insures the actual property in case of a loss. PMI protects the lender when there is less than 20 percent equity and the borrower defaults on a conventional…

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3 Home Staging Tips for a Quick Sale at Top Dollar

Clean living room with couches, center table, and a carpet used as home staging area

Do you want to sell your home quickly and get the best price for it? Follow these three important home staging tips to help you enhance your home’s strengths and minimize the weaknesses so it appeals to as many buyers as possible. Home staging tips 1. Curb appeal – you know the old cliché, “don’t…

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Checklist of Documents

Documents on a folder, hand sifting through the documents

Getting a home loan can be a stressful time in your life. At SouthPoint, we want to help make the process smooth and easy for you. When you are ready to begin the process and talk to a Mortgage Loan Officer, you will need general personal information such as: Financials Income (hourly or salary): Current…

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Tips to Qualifying for a Home Loan

A man talking to a woman buyer of the house

Oftentimes, the Average Joe doesn’t know much about obtaining a home loan. People hear reports of dropping interest rates and lower home prices and hastily decide to jump into home ownership. To their surprise, they discover that the process of getting a home loan differs from getting a car loan or renting an apartment. Applicants…

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Using your home to your advantage

A man making measurements on a wall with a carpenter's ruler and a pencil

With your home being a power asset, now may be the time to build on the strength of that asset. What is an asset? As your home ages, it can increase in value or appreciate. This is different than other assets like vehicles or campers, which tend to depreciate. One way to help increase your…

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