Know The Loans

Is HARP 3.0 On The Horizon? Following the downturn of the housing industry in 2007-2008, millions of homeowners found they owed more on their home loan than the home itself was worth. So, is that a big deal? If you�re trying to sell the home it�s a very big deal. When borrowers begin to fall behind on their mortgage payments at some point many feel the only way out is to sell the property but if the local real estate market is in the middle of a slump they won�t be able to sell the home for enough cash to pay off the mortgage. They�re upside down. The Federal Reserve made multiple attempts to rescue the market by lowering rates. Lower rates would mean borrowers could refinance into a mortgage with lower payments and avoid foreclosure. But the catch-22 in all that was there needed to be equity in the property to be eligible for a refinance. Upside down borrowers were stuck. They couldn�t refinance and they couldn�t sell. Enter HARP, the Home Affordable Refinance Program...

3 Tips You Must Know Before Buying a Vacation Home Most people who decide to buy a vacation home typically get the idea as the result of actually renting a vacation home instead of staying in a hotel. The home rental business is booming as vacationers can now search for homes to rent instead of looking at a hotel. A home is more relaxing and can be more cost effective compared to a pricey hotel room. But before you get too much further, here are three things you need to know about buying a vacation home. Maintenance. You know that owning your own home also requires maintenance. When the hot water heater goes on the blink, you�ll need to call a service company or buy and install a new hot water heater. You have to pay utilities, property taxes and insurance on top of what pay each month on your mortgage. When you�re looking at a potential purchase, do some research about what the property uses in utilities each year. You can get that information from various utility co...

How and Why Lenders Accommodate Bad Credit Home Buyers For those with bad credit, getting a home loan seems as likely as flying to the moon. It�s just not going to happen. Yet there are lenders who do offer loan programs for those with damaged credit. There was a time however that such loan programs essentially vanished from the lending landscape just about 10 years ago when toxic loan programs began to falter. Today however, lenders have opened up home financing to those with bad credit in many instances. How do lenders approve bad credit and why do they do it in the first place? The so-called �subprime� market refers to the mortgage marketplace where the loan programs cater to those with damaged credit. There are some variances on lending guidelines but in essence they all share the same basic characteristics. Applicants must be able to verify stable employment and income. They should be employed for at least two full years and be able to provide copies of their most re...

Should I Refinance Now or Will Rates Drop Again? If you�re teetering on the brink of a refinance but you�ve yet to move forward, it�s very likely it�s because you�re waiting for interest rates to go down a bit more. After all, if it does make sense to refinance now but rates might go down even further then you�ll save even more, right? But let�s step back a bit from the interest rate question or even looking into the future and dig a little deeper. If your loan officer has suggested a refinance it�s because rates have fallen compared to what you now have, changing loan terms saves long term interest or you�re getting out of a hybrid or adjustable rate loan into the stability of a fixed. That means should you decide today to go ahead and tell your loan officer you�re ready to close the deal it will be a wise choice. Yet many are out there trying to make it wiser by waiting. Here�s our advice- Assume whatever you decide it will be the wrong decision. How�s that? Let�s...

The Smarter Way to Shop for Home Loan Interest Rates Shopping around for interest rates at some point can get a bit overwhelming. There are so many different loan programs from which to choose and each individual program has a variety of interest rates from which to choose�for the very same loan. You can get a rate quote for 15 days or for several months. You can get a rate quote today and tomorrow it might be a little different even if nothing has changed except the day of the week. To easily clear up the confusion and compare rates the smart way, here are some tips that will make the process go easier. Stick to It. One thing you absolutely must do is to decide on a loan program and stick to it. But don�t do this on your own but speak with an experienced loan officer who carries the full suite of mortgage options from government-backed loans to conventional. After a conversation with your loan officer you�ll identify the type of loan that�s best for you. When you compa...

Can You Afford a House? There are so many people that have thought about buying and owning their own home but don�t think they can afford it. Surprisingly though, mortgage payments can be lower than rent payments while at the same time creating wealth with ownership. But if you�re of the notion that you can�t afford a home but you�re renting now, let�s pull back the curtains a little bit and show you how lenders determine affordability. First, lenders take into consideration your gross monthly income. Not take-home income, but the amount before any deductions are taken out. Then, the lender looks at any monthly credit obligations you may have such as a car payment or a credit card payment. Items that won�t appear on a credit report such as food or utilities are not included in the affordability factor. Lenders then calculate a mortgage payment that would be approximately one-third of gross monthly income using today�s interest rates. In this payment is included principa...

3 Ways to Restructure Your Mortgage and Save Thousands There are ways home owners can restructure their home loan. Typically, when changing the nature of an existing mortgage it means refinancing out of one loan and into another. For those who might consider refinancing a mortgage, the biggest reason is usually because rates are lower than when they locking in the interest rate on their loan while it was being approved. Interest rates don�t have to fall to a �magical� level in order for a refinance to make sense. Instead, borrowers should compare how much they would save each month with the closing costs involved in the transaction. Doing so will provide how many months it will take to �break even� as it relates to closing costs. It�s less about the interest rate and more about recovering the cost of refinancing through lower payments. Once accomplished, it�s a real money saver. But there are costs involved, no doubt. Borrowers can work with their lender to see if a clo...