Last week Tuesday, the blog addressed an increasing trend of moving from DIY to DIFM. Obviously, to each their own on that sort of decision — but, if you are going to contract out work, some caution is prudent. In one of their weekend roundups, Money Magazine covered the 9 biggest home-repair scams. It’s hard…

At 55,000 square feet, the White House isn’t just any old McMansion. But recent reports on a project that broke ground last year indicate that it’s originally ambitious goals were actually understated. The home is currently planned to have a 74,000 square foot main residence, with total square footage for all buildings in the compound…

Conventional mortgages are those not insured by a government agency — and to get one, you usually need to put 20% down, and they’re usually only 30-year, fixed rate. If those terms don’t fit your needs, then you can consider an FHA guaranteed loan, and if you do, you need to know a few things.…

Apparently, there’s confusion. The Federal Home Loan Banks (a collection of 12 regional banks that help finance mortgages made by their member banks) have been holding back on purchasing mortgages from their members, because they’re unsure how they would have to meet Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) targets for affordable housing. The FHFA has declared…

Did you finish some much needed work on the house this Memorial Day weekend? Or maybe kick-off a new project? For 30 years now, do-it-yourself has been a big part of American life, and has led to the success of companies like Home Depot). But it looks like the UK has started moving in the…

Last week Wednesday, this blog reported on Sen. Shelby’s discussion draft of The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015. For those of you who are inclined to delve a little deeper into these things, and who haven’t already done so, you may be interested in the Wall Street Journal’s critique of the draft. The upshot…

Conventional wisdom is that you should pre-pay your mortgage — at the very least, you should break your monthly payment in half and pay it twice per month. Doing so can dramatically shorten the period of your loan and save you a bunch of money in the long haul. But as with all things, conventional…

Conventional wisdom is that you should pre-pay your mortgage — at the very least, you should break your monthly payment in half and pay it twice per month. Doing so can dramatically shorten the period of your loan and save you a bunch of money in the long haul. But as with all things, conventional…

There has been a lot of talk around the differences in buying patterns for Millennials — everything from not owning televisions, to living (much) longer with their parents, to not buying homes even when they do move out of the basement. Particularly over the last decade, the rabid increase in student-loan debt has been used…

Just as you’ve finished spring-cleaning and are preparing to enter prime BBQ season, one last thing is here to stress you and your family before you can relax for the summer: your children’s school exam season. Thankfully, we’re not just reaching exam time here in the U.S., but the U.K. is as well, and our…