If you are paying your taxes yourself, your tax bill will indicate the semi-annual first and second installment payment amounts and an optional full payment amount. If no notice is given to the lender, the lender will pay the taxes in semi-annual installments.

Calculating Accrued Interest Calculate the accrued interest by multiplying the day count by the daily interest rate and the face value. In this example, the daily interest rate is 6 percent divided by 360 days, or 0.017 percent per day. The calculation is $1,000 times 0.00017 times 73 days, or $12.17 accrued interest.

Compounding interest semiannually means that the principal of a loan or investment at the beginning of the compounding period, in this case, every six months, includes the total interest from each previous period. When interest is compounded, the interest from every previous period is added to the principal.

A semiannual bond compounds twice as much as an annual bond. If prevailing rates are lower than the bond’s interest rate, an annual bond will have a higher price than its semiannual twin, because bond investors are willing to pay more for the extra six months of relatively high accrued interest.

For instance, say you own a bond with a par value of $1,000 whose current price is $900. Its coupon rate is 2% and it matures five years from now. To calculate the semi-annual bond payment, take 2% of the par value of $1,000, or $20, and divide it by two. The bond therefore pays $10 semiannually.

California’s overall property taxes are below the national average. The average effective property tax rate in California is 0.73%, compared to the national rate, which sits at 1.07%….Overview of California Taxes.

What are annual taxes? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines how much each household owes annually by weighing gross income for the calendar year and adjusting it for certain exceptions, credits and deductions.

13 months

According to a recent Bankrate study, the average closing costs in Maryland are about 3.5% of the home’s final sale price. For a $200,000 home, the closing costs averaged $6,590.

7%

Who Attends the Closing of a House? Depending on where you live, those at your closing appointment might include you (the buyer), the seller, the escrow/closing agent, the attorney (who might also be the closing agent), a title company representative, the mortgage lender, and the real estate agents.

Conventional loans require a 20% down payment, but FHA loans only require you provide 3.5% of your new home’s value at the time of purchase. However, to receive the full potential of this perk, you must have a FICO® credit score of 580 or better.

Some closing costs are negotiable: attorney fees, commission rates, recording costs, and messenger fees. Check your lender’s good-faith estimate (GFE) for an itemized list of fees. You can also use your GFE to comparison shop with other lenders.

4 ways to avoid closing costs

1. Negotiate closing costs between lenders. Loan Estimates are just offers.
2. Lender-paid closing costs. Some (but not all) lenders have their own programs that can help with closing costs and down payments.
3. Get the seller to pay your closing costs.
4. Rolling closing costs into your loan amount.

Low closing costs usually come with a interest rate that is slightly higher than the market rate for that type of loan. The reason is the lender will have to pay the costs to originate a loan that the borrower is not paying. The lender recoups these costs by charging a slightly higher interest rate.

It’s never about age The reason you’re never too old to get a mortgage is that it’s illegal for lenders to discriminate on the basis of age. That’s because no matter how old or young you are, you still have to be able to prove to your lender that you have the financial means to make your mortgage payments.