Borrowers who want to send in extra money don't need to call the lender or loan servicer ahead of time. But they do need to say they want the money applied to principal and not to the next scheduled payment.

Everyone wants to get the lowest mortgage rate they can when buying a home or refinancing their current home loan. But chasing after the lowest rate can be a sucker's game.That's because the

help Record low mortgage rates are driving demand for newly launched finance comparison site PriceMe Finance , as consumers seek help in locating the best current home loan rates.

Have you tried to buy a house or refinance your mortgage lately? It isn’t easy — lenders are getting ever more demanding when it comes to verifying borrowers’ ability to pay. Read that story, plus find out why it makes more sense to buy your college student a condo rather than a dorm room, and get our disability-insurance buying guide, all in today’s Personal Finance Daily.

Even when mortgage credit is easy to come by-and it still is not-the standards for vacation homes and restoration projects are tougher than for the purchase of a primary home. SEE ALSO: