Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Assumable Mortgages Are Overrated
An assumable mortgage is one where the homeowner can transfer responsibility for the mortgage loan, and with it ownership of the house, to another borrower. Especially in today’s housing market, it seems like an irresistibly good option. After all, the main draw of an assumable mortgage is that the new borrower gets to keep… Read More »
Will the Nation Follow Philly’s Example in Providing Cash Assistance for Tenants?
Being a homeowner has its share of annoyances, but as long as you make your mortgage payments every month, you will always have a place to live, and when you are finished living there, you can sell it at a profit or pass it on to your descendants in your will. It is up… Read More »
Effective Fixes for Common Used Car Scams
Questionable practices surrounding the sale of used cars are almost as old as the automobile itself. Unscrupulous sellers have been saying “caveat emptor” since the days when buyers knew what that meant. When people buy cars under shady circumstances, it is usually not because of a lack of caution, but rather because of a… Read More »
Zombie Mortgages Are as Scary as They Sound
Mortgage foreclosure is an ordeal. The bank could kick you out of your house in an instant, but instead they drag the process out for months, with final notices, additional notices beyond the final ones, a foreclosure case, and court order, and then the auction of your house, like a cat toying with a… Read More »
Should You Practice Radical Acceptance With Your Debts?
In this week’s edition of the New York Times, an adorable hedgehog named Goober is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. Of course, Goober’s innocent wonder is such that he probably also enjoys the moments of his life before and after his brief stint as the Internet’s most beloved unconventional household pet just as… Read More »
Underwater Car Loans Are Increasingly Common, But They Might Not Be As Scary As You Think
If you are looking for good news about consumer debt, you will probably have to keep looking. Car ownership is unlikely to become more affordable anytime soon, even as most people in the Philadelphia area who rely on employment income as their main means of financial support rely on a car to get to… Read More »
The Big Five Junk Fees at Real Estate Closing
Everyone knows that homeownership is expensive, but at first glance, this extraordinary expense seems to defy the laws of mathematics. If you are gainfully employed, you have probably scrolled through real estate listings at some point, and if you found a house you loved, maybe you opened the calculator on your phone app. You… Read More »
Can Bankruptcy Make Your Tax Debts Worse?
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It is easy to find big promises of debt relief if you are struggling to keep up with your debt payments. Debt settlement companies promise miracles, and so do credit repair companies. You know you are poor when most of your junk mail… Read More »
How Good Is Good Debt?
If you dream of being debt free, you are not alone. It is easy to find podcasts, YouTube channels, and blogs providing a steady stream of aspirational content about a lifestyle that does not revolve around money. The trouble is that it takes a lot of money, a lot of luck, or a considerable… Read More »
The Next Junk Fee to Disappear From Your Bank Statements Might Be Your Unused Subscriptions
Personal finance experts have been saying for years that, by canceling subscriptions to services you rarely use, you can find more money in your budget to pay down debts, thereby reducing the overall amount you will spend on interest. In fact, they have been saying that since they operated out of blogs instead of… Read More »
