Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: What's the difference between Homeowners Insurance and Mortgage Insurance? Homeowners insurance protects you, the homeowner, from damages to your home or loss, such as in cases of natural disaster or [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: What's the difference between Interest Rate and APR? Interest rate is just the percentage of interest that you pay on your mortgage loan principal amount. APR stands for Annual Percentage [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: If I already have debt, can I still qualify for a mortgage? The answer is: Yes! It all comes down to your debt-to-income ratio (or DTI for short). To calculate [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: Can I roll my closing costs into my VA Loan? The answer is: It Depends...  For eligible Veterans looking to purchase a home with their VA benefits, you have the [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: Can I count my retirement pension towards qualifying for a mortgage? Yes, your retirement pension can count towards qualifying for a mortgage! Under certain requirements.  Simply being retired doesn't preclude [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: What makes Morgan Financial's Secured Approval stronger than a typical pre-approval? A pre-approval (usually conducted by a loan officer), is where a credit report is reviewed and a loan application [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: When I'm buying a home, who orders the property survey? The responsibility to order and pay for the survey is up to you, the homebuyer. However in many cases, the [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: Do I need to put 20% down to buy a home? The quick answer: Nope! There are many options for putting less than 20% down, for example… A Veteran might [...]

Hello! This is Joe Harris with Morgan Financial and here is your “Joe Knows Mortgages MINUTE.” This week, we answer the question: When it comes to my mortgage, what are cash reserves? Essentially, cash reserves are the money you have leftover in the bank after paying your down-payment and closing costs. Cash [...]