If you’re planning to use the Macbook Pro professionally and produce work with it, I think it’s definitely worth the investment. I bought mine back in early 2012, and the performance (it’s running the latest version of Mac OS, El Capitan — despite its hardware age) has been nothing short of spectacular. Chances are, you wouldn’t know that a macbook is amazing, because if you’ve been using a macbook...
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Is Apple MacBook Pro worth buying?
Firstly as you anyway need a laptop, the Mac would be the superior option as you may need to move constantly, as sitting in one place is very boring and you generally have to move about from one place to another.
Getting a Mac would mean bye-bye to the heating up issues...
Having to buy mortgage points
“Points” are not something you buy, they’re something you pay. There are two types of points: origination points and discount points.
Origination points are a fee that the lender requires to “originate” a mortgage. This presumably represents costs that the lender incurs simply to process the mortgage. While they could in principle cover this just by increasing the interest rate a little bit, they...
Is there any reason to avoid 'no-name' lenders when shopping for a home mortgage refinance?
ANY company can join the BBB. And each state's regulator might be called something different. Instead, check the company AND ALSO the loan originator out on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. Here is the free consumer access site:http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.orgThe Nationwide Mortgage Licensing system was created as part of the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 and gives all...
Refinancing your mortgage
"Refinancing" a mortgage is the act of acquiring a new primary mortgage on your property, the proceeds of which are used to pay off the first mortgage in it's entirety.
There are a couple of different ways refinances can work:
1. A "Straight" refinance just writes a new first mortgage against the property in the amount of the current outstanding mortgage on the property (plus any closing...
How likely is abolition of the mortgage interest tax deduction?
It is unlikely that it will be completely abolished. It's possible that the deduction terms be amended such that it's less regressive, or otherwise more limited. There are many reasons that it won't become completely abolished, mostly political.
Much of the benefits of the deduction are capitalized into the value of property. That means home buyers and sellers are aware of the benefit of...
Monday, January 16, 2017
Is the mortgage interest deduction an example of wealth redistribution?
The mortgage interest deduction is a stick used by the government to encourage a specific behavior - home ownership. It may be a velvet covered scented oil laced stick that beats the middle and upper classes to pay more for housing than they should, but it is still a stick. And like all government actions, has unintended consequences - new home builders are the greatest beneficiary,...