AP Personal Finance Editor Trevor Delaney explains why late fees can occur on credit card statements, even if the bill arrived on the due date. (Video runs :56)
It's always a good idea to pay your credit card bill online, and just to be on the safe side, schedule it to post one day ahead of the due date.
Remember, Philadelphia real estate is our specialty. If you're looking for real estate anywhere in the Philadelphia, PA area, including: Center City, Art Museum, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Old City, Queen Village, Society Hill, South of South, Washington Square West, Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Fishtown, Manayunk, East Mt. Airy, West Mt. Airy, Overbrook Farms, Roxborough, Spruce Hill, University City or one of the many other areas we serve, we'd love to help you find the home of your dreams. If you'd like to search for Philadelphia real estate now, just click the "Search for Philadelphia Real Estate" link at the top or bottom of this page.
For those waiting until interest rates bottomed out before they either purchased a home, or refinanced the one they're in, it may be too late.
We warned our readers a couple of months ago about the risk involved in trying to time the markets, both from a home buying and mortgage point of view.
Now, the Federal Reserve has signaled that it won't try to do more than it previously planned to pull down mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates.
For homeowners hoping to refinance at a lower interest rate, the Fed doesn't seem to be offering any fresh encouragement.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may have decided there was too much risk in trying to boost efforts to push long-term rates down, with the market leaning in the other direction. Besides, the Fed has said it views rising long-term rates as a sign that the economy is getting better.
Could mortgage rates dive again? Sure — if the economy crumbles.
Remember, Philadelphia real estate is our specialty. If you're looking for real estate anywhere in the Philadelphia, PA area, including: Center City, Art Museum, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Old City, Queen Village, Society Hill, South of South, Washington Square West, Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Fishtown, Manayunk, East Mt. Airy, West Mt. Airy, Overbrook Farms, Roxborough, Spruce Hill, University City or one of the many other areas we serve, we'd love to help you find the home of your dreams. If you'd like to search for Philadelphia real estate now, just click the "Search for Philadelphia Real Estate" link at the top or bottom of this page.
From the right Nav Menu, Find "PAGES AND NEWSLETTERS" and Select "July 2009 below "Our Monthly Newsletters".
Remember, Philadelphia real estate is our specialty. If you're looking for real estate anywhere in the Philadelphia, PA area, including: Center City, Art Museum, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Old City, Queen Village, Society Hill, South of South, Washington Square West, Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Fishtown, Manayunk, East Mt. Airy, West Mt. Airy, Overbrook Farms, Roxborough, Spruce Hill, University City or one of the many other areas we serve, we'd love to help you find the home of your dreams. If you'd like to search for Philadelphia real estate now, just click the "Search for Philadelphia Real Estate" link at the top or bottom of this page.
A reader (we'll call him Robert to protect the real identity of this comment) wrote in to ask:
Q - "I am thinking of buying a house. I have a credit card with a balance of approximately $3,000. Should I pay this off before applying for a mortgage, or will that hurt my FICO score to pay it off and hacve no balance?"
A - About 60 days before you apply for your mortgage be sure to have that credit card paid off completely. The purpose of the 60 day advance is to make sure your credit reports are updated to show the zero balance. It's somewhat comical that in the year 2009 you have to do it so far in advance in order to ensure that your credit reports reflect the balance, but these are the cards we've been dealt.
If you can do that then your mortgage application won't have any trouble caused by credit scores.
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Remember, Philadelphia real estate is our specialty. If you're looking for real estate anywhere in the Philadelphia, PA area, including: Center City, Art Museum, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Old City, Queen Village, Society Hill, South of South, Washington Square West, Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Fishtown, Manayunk, East Mt. Airy, West Mt. Airy, Overbrook Farms, Roxborough, Spruce Hill, University City or one of the many other areas we serve, we'd love to help you find the home of your dreams. If you'd like to search for Philadelphia real estate now, just click the "Search for Philadelphia Real Estate" link at the top or bottom of this page.
If you're in the market for a mortgage these days, one thing to be aware of that is a growing trend these days, and that is: Many banks are cutting out mortgage brokers altogether. This video explains: (Runs 1:34)
If you need or want to find a mortgage broker, contact us. We'll be glad to help you locate a broker to assist you with your next mortgage.
Remember, Philadelphia real estate is our specialty. If you're looking for real estate anywhere in the Philadelphia, PA area, including: Center City, Art Museum, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Old City, Queen Village, Society Hill, South of South, Washington Square West, Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Fishtown, Manayunk, East Mt. Airy, West Mt. Airy, Overbrook Farms, Roxborough, Spruce Hill, University City or one of the many other areas we serve, we'd love to help you find the home of your dreams. If you'd like to search for Philadelphia real estate now, just click the "Search for Philadelphia Real Estate" link at the top or bottom of this page.
