Equifax is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Where did the credit bureaus come from, anyway, and how did they get so much of your information?

If you're worried about being approved for a mortgage, you're not alone. Here's how to assess and improve your chances.

The VA Home Loan Guaranty program has an unheralded benefit -- you can qualify using residual income, even if your loan's DTI is over the VA limit.

Mortgage discount points will lower your quoted mortgage rate and your monthly housing payment. But should you ever pay them at all? Analysis and today's...

Where you live can affect your final mortgage rate. But you can use local factors to your advantage when rate shopping.

If the low housing supply is making your home search frustrating, try these strategies to get your foot in the door.

Pets have become part of the American family. That's why more home buyers are factoring their pets' quality of life when buying a home. Here are the most affordable & pet-friendly cities in America.

Unless your mortgage lender forces you to get flood insurance, you probably don't have it. But you should -- these days, as one FEMA official put it, we all live in a flood zone.

If your mortgage application is not the strongest, a non-bank mortgage lender might be better than a mortgage bank. Their standards are lower according to a new study.

Mortgage rates are approaching lower levels, but homeowners haven't heard. Four reasons homeowners are missing out on today's rates.

Common reasons why home purchase attempts fail, and how you can avoid being the 1-in-25 home buyers whose transactions don't go through.

To find better home values, you may not get to buy in your first choice area. But a smart buy today may get you where you want to be tomorrow.

The king and queen of entertainment just took on a huge monthly payment -- more than the average American spends on an entire house.

When you shop for a mortgage, you compare interest rates and loan costs and terms using the Loan Estimate (LE). But how can you do this without a property address, when lenders won't provide an LE?

When you buy a house, you may be competing against many other people. Should you waive contingencies to make yourself a more attractive buyer?

An FHA mortgage might be your best route to homeownership. Today, however, FHA loans face competition from other products, and one of them might be a better fit for you.

Natural disasters frequently affect real estate markets where they occur. But Hurricane Harvey's impact could be far more wide-reaching.

Self-employment alone won't stop your mortgage approval. You just need to know how lenders look at your income as a self-employed applicant.