One reason many potential homebuyers have always found mortgages to be intimidating is that lenders send them lengthy, complex “disclosure” forms that are confusing and hard to understand. This can make it more difficult to figure out exactly what you’re getting into, and whether one mortgage product is really better than another. Starting a few months ago, though, the federal government has been requiring new, simplified forms to make shopping for a mortgage easier. The new

Most married couples who buy a home take out a mortgage together. Frequently, they need both spouses’ income in order to qualify. But in a surprising number of cases, it can make sense for the couple to own the home jointly, but for only one spouse to obtain the mortgage. Here are some advantages to this arrangement:

You can deduct your mortgage interest on your income taxes, but there’s a limit – you can only deduct the interest on up to $1 million of mortgage debt used to buy the property, plus $100,000 in home equity loans. In a recent California case, a wealthy unmarried couple jointly owned a home that had a $2 million mortgage. They got into a dispute with the IRS over whether the $1 million limit applied to them

It’s common in commercial leases for the tenant to pay a portion of the landlord’s property taxes and other expenses incurred in maintaining the property. Typically, the tenant’s portion is calculated as a pro-rata share, based on how much space in the building the tenant occupies. But be careful: This pro-rata share can be calculated in two ways – as a percentage of the leased space in the building, or as a percentage of the leasable

People who live with members of their extended family – or have boarders living with them – may have an easier time getting a mortgage, under new rules from Fannie Mae. Previously, if you applied for a mortgage, only your own income could be counted to see if you qualified, even if you had family members or others living with you who contributed to your housing payments on a regular basis. Now, however, under Fannie Mae’s

A growing number of homes are being sold on a “rent-to-own” basis. Here’s how it works: The potential buyer agrees to lease the home for a period of time, usually two years. The buyer also puts down a deposit (often called an “option consideration”), which is typically two to three percent of the home’s market value. At the end of the lease term, if the buyer decides to purchase the property, the deposit is credited toward

If you work at home, the home office deduction can be a great way to turn part of your house into a tax break. But you should be aware that it can also trigger a tax bill when you sell the property. Here’s some background on how the deduction works, and how it affects home sales: The deduction is available if you have a space in your home that you use regularly and exclusively for work.

Some well-off people are thinking of buying a vacation or retirement home abroad, now that the dollar is strong and the real estate market has become depressed in many parts of Europe and elsewhere. If you’re considering such a move, be aware that the rules of real estate can be very different in other parts of the world.

As a general rule, you can deduct home mortgage interest on your federal income taxes, as long as you itemize deductions. This sounds simple enough, but it can get complicated if a home is owned by more than one person. Recently, the IRS provided an explanation of how this works. According to the IRS, the key question is how much interest each owner actually paid in a given year – not what percentage of the home

Many parents who co-sign a private student loan for a child don’t realize that it can affect their own credit score if they later apply for a mortgage. Having parents co-sign loans has become more popular lately, because it can make it easier to get a loan approved or to get a lower interest rate. Some 94% of private student loans were co-signed in the last academic year, up from only 77% six years ago.