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First-time home buyer guides, helpful mortgage tips, and easy-to-follow articles to make you a better first-time buyer.

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What is a Starter Home?
Just Starting
4 min read

What is a Starter Home?

Starter home is a colloquial term for a smaller home with fewer amenities, valued below its county's median home sale…

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What is Escrow?
Under Contract
4 min read

What is Escrow?

Escrow is a financial arrangement where a homeowner pays portions of their real estate tax and homeowners insurance monthly to their lender, who then…

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FHA Mortgage vs USDA Mortgage: Compare Side by Side
Buying Soon
3 min read

FHA Mortgage vs USDA Mortgage: Compare Side by Side

This home buyer guide to FHA vs USDA mortgages compares two popular low-down-payment mortgage loans…

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What is a Homeowners Association (HOA)?
Just Starting
3 min read

What is a Homeowners Association (HOA)?

A Homeowners Association, typically called an HOA, is a volunteer organization comprising residents who govern a…

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What is Debt-to-Income?
Just Starting
4 min read

What is Debt-to-Income?

Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is a measure of a home buyer's monthly cash flow and capacity to repay a…

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What is a Credit Score?
Just Starting
4 min read

What is a Credit Score?

A credit score represents the probability that a home buyer will make on-time payments to their mortgage lender for the next 90…

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What is Loan Term?
Just Starting
3 min read

What is Loan Term?

Loan term is the number of months or years a home buyer's mortgage loan lasts.…

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Conventional 97 vs FHA: Compare Side by Side
Under Contract
2 min read

Conventional 97 vs FHA: Compare Side by Side

This guide to Conventional 97 vs FHA mortgages compares two popular low-down-payment mortgage loans side-by-side.…

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Conventional vs VA: Compare Side-by-Side
Under Contract
3 min read

Conventional vs VA: Compare Side-by-Side

This guide to Conventional vs VA mortgages compares two popular mortgages among first-time home buyers to help you choose the best mortgage loan for…

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HomeReady vs Home Possible: Compare Side-by-Side
Under Contract
3 min read

HomeReady vs Home Possible: Compare Side-by-Side

This guide to HomeReady vs Home Possible compares two popular conventional mortgages made for low- to moderate-income home…

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What is a Prepayment Penalty?
Just Starting
4 min read

What is a Prepayment Penalty?

A prepayment penalty is a clause in some mortgage contracts that states the home buyer must pay a fee for paying off the mortgage within a specified…

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What is Equity?
Just Starting
3 min read

What is Equity?

Equity is the financial value a homeowner has in their property, calculated by subtracting the value of remaining mortgage balances from the value of…

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Conventional vs FHA: Compare Side-by-Side
Under Contract
3 min read

Conventional vs FHA: Compare Side-by-Side

This guide to Conventional vs FHA mortgages compares the similarities and differences of two popular first-time home buyer…

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What is Loan-to-Value?
Buying Soon
3 min read

What is Loan-to-Value?

Loan-to-value (LTV) is the measure of a home's mortgage balance to its market value, expressed as a…

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What is a Conventional Mortgage?
Just Starting
7 min read

What is a Conventional Mortgage?

A conventional mortgage is a home loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the two government agencies that make up the Federal Housing Finance…

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What are Discount Points?
Under Contract
5 min read

What are Discount Points?

Discount points are an optional prepayment of mortgage interest, paid at closing, that lowers a home buyer's mortgage…

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What Is A Condominium?
Just Starting
4 min read

What Is A Condominium?

A condominium, often shortened to "condo," is a type of residential property in a larger building or complex where each unit is individually owned,…

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What is a Warrantable Condominium?
Buying Soon
4 min read

What is a Warrantable Condominium?

A warrantable condominium is a condo unit or building that meets specific financing and operations standards required for a government-backed…

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