VA Home Loan Limits to Disappear, Fees to Rise
Veterans and military service members will have more borrowing power but will pay slightly higher fees when they use VA home loans in 2020. The changes are part of the…
Barbara Marquand
Barbara Marquand is a NerdWallet authority on insurance. She has written about personal finance for more than a decade, including the intricacies of auto, home, health, life and long-term care insurance. She now writes about mortgages and homeownership. Her work has appeared in MarketWatch, MSN Money, USA Today, The Washington Post and many others. Outside of work, Barb enjoys do-it-yourself projects and is saving for the next round of home improvements. Email: bmarquand@nerdwallet.com
Posts by Barbara Marquand:
The ‘Good Enough’ Home May Be Just Perfect
Constructed from aspirational Instagram feeds and reality TV, the dream home floats in the imagination like a castle in the sky but dissolves in the rain of hard numbers. Chasing…
Ordering the Combo: Life Insurance with Long-Term Care Benefits
The biggest risk of buying long-term care insurance is that you might spend tens of thousands of dollars on something you won’t use. Policies pay for nursing homes, assisted living…
Alternatives to Buying Long-Term Care Insurance
Buying long-term care insurance is one way to plan financially for a time when you might need to pay for help to take care of yourself. But it’s not the only…
Long-Term Care Insurance Explained
It might be hard to imagine now, but chances are you’ll need some help taking care of yourself later in life. The big question is: How will you pay for…
Make a Home Down Payment Without Wrecking Your Finances
Maximizing a home down payment can make sense: The bigger the down payment, the lower the monthly mortgage bill and the better the chance of building equity more quickly. But…
What Is Mortgage Insurance? How It Works, When It’s Required
The traditional target for a home down payment is 20% of the purchase price, but that’s out of reach for many buyers. Mortgage insurance makes it possible to hand over a much…
Non-Owner Car Insurance: Where to Buy and What It Covers
Non-owner car insurance provides liability coverage when you don’t have a car and drive one that isn’t yours. Liability coverage pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others…
What Is Risk Tolerance, and Why Is It Important?
Here’s one sure thing to know about investing: There is no sure thing. Every investment has some level of risk. The more risk you take, the greater the potential returns…
Don’t Make These Big Life Insurance Blunders
Life insurance provides a financial safety net for families. Sounds simple, but decisions over whether and how much to buy can get complicated, and mistakes can be costly. Here are…
