Do you have mortgage questions and are you looking for mortgage advice but you are not sure where to turn for unbiased answers.  Look no further because the ultimate mortgage book is here.  Mortgages: What You Need to Know, Strategies to Take Control of Your Financial Future answers most of your mortgage questions.  This book covers:

• The different types of mortgages
• Understanding adjustable rate mortgages
• How an amortization schedule works for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and
• It provides mortgage questions you need to ask yourself in order to determine which mortgage is right for you? 

The last chapter covers how to find a good mortgage planner in your neighborhood and what questions you should ask this person to ensure they have your best interests at heart.

Financial literacy is a big issue and this book will provide you with everything you need to know about mortgages so you can make smarter decisions for your future.  The main theme of this mortgage book is to Educate and Empower the individual:

• To take control of their financial future buy slowing down to understand the mortgage process
• How a mortgage affects short term cash flow while being mindful of long term retirement goals. 

After all, the type of mortgage you choose will directly impact your ability to save for retirement. 

Credit Score and Credit History

Q. Does it make sense to monitor your credit?

A. It is definitely worth it. 79% of all credit reports contain some type of error. By monitoring your credit you can be proactive about any derogatory statements that crop up so you can fix them which in turn will keep your credit score high availing you to better offers from credit cards and mortgage companies. Furthermore, most credit card companies will raise your interest rate if your credit score drops too low. Many people think that this is not a concern but so thought one of my clients when he called to get a loan for a condo he was buying.
This client, we will call him Mark, was referred to us by his attorney and he was only 30 days away from his purchase closing date. Mark advised us that his credit was perfect. However, when we ran it as part of his application, it turned out that it was not. One of the student loans that Mark co-signed on behalf of his daughter indicated several missed payments despite the fact she was still in school and the first payment was not due for another two years. We still got the mortgage approved at a rate and payment Mark could live with but had Mark proactively monitored his credit scores both his interest rate and payment would have been better. Mark did contact the student loan provider and they agreed that it was a mistake but the damage was done. It took six months to finally reflect the corrected information on his report and at that point it was too late to affect that particular mortgage. In that example “life happened to Mark” and had he been proactive about checking his credit score he would have been better off. This is not a hard thing to do—it is just like going to the gym, you have to do it regularly. While I am not suggesting that you monitor your credit scores daily or even weekly, I am suggesting that you institute a bi-annual credit review to ensure your credit is the best it can be so you are not caught off guard like Mark.