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Showing posts from December, 2007

The New Mortgage [By Jason Holter]

Thanks to Federal Regulators there is once again good and bad news. The bad news is more paperwork and tougher standards when applying for and ultimately purchasing your home. Creating tightened guidelines for stated income and piggy back loans and stricter rules for option arms and interest only is meant to create security for the lenders. Good news for home buyers? YES! Ever since the days of School House Rock we have known that "Knowledge is Power!" nothing has changed. If the borrower knows the rules, they can be prepared to meet the lending institution requirements and come out ahead or no worse for the wear. Here are the basic steps to survive and flourish under the new "Rules" 1. Be prepared to have payroll stubs and or tax returns available. Instead of using stated income, using actual income will ensure that you get the right size payment and decrease the chances of default later on. 2. Keep your credit report up to date. Check for errors in information. If...

I Have No Credit Scores, Can I Get A Mortgage?[By Mike Clover]

No Credit Scores, believe it or not it's very common. There are lots of people out there that don't have any credit. It is like a double edge sword, no credit could hurt you, but bad credit will definitely hurt you. Normally people that have no credit scores, fall into two categories. 1. Young and just starting out.2. I pay cash for everything. Luckily there is hope for individuals that don't have credit scores and want to buy a home. There is a loan called FHA, which is a life saver for lots of happy homeowners. FHA is the single largest insurer of loans in the world. This particular loan is more lenient with banks, because it is insured by HUD. The qualifying process is less stringent. FHA does not require credit scores to get a mortgage. It offers an alternative in place of no scores. It will allow you to provide alternate lines of credit. Typically the underwriter will require 3 sources. The following would work. 1. Last 12 month payment history from any utility company...

How To Do A Successful Mortgage Short Sale - Sell Your House In 9 Days With No Fix-Up[By Richard Geller]

Do you owe more than your house is worth? Or are you unable to make your mortgage payments? Mortgage costs including taxes and insurance should be no more than 40% of your take-home income, at worst. Many people are paying more than this. Your mortgage payments may feel like a crushing burden and you probably don't know where to turn for help. It turns out that a short sale may be the answer for you. I want to focus on doing a short sale -- that lets you sell your house, get out from under your mortgage without paying in any cash, and get out from under even if you owe more than your house is worth. Because let's look at your choices. Choice #1: If you sell your house and you owe more than it is worth, you can pay your own money to make up the loss. For example, if the buyer pays $180,000 because that is all you can get as far as an offer, and your mortgage is for $250,000, you have to pay in $70,000 cash at closing or else the deal will fall through. Do you have that kind of c...

The Basics of Tracker Mortgages[By Michael Sterios]

There are several different types of methods for interest to be charged on mortgages. Tracker mortgages have a variable interest rate that moves roughly in line with the Bank of England Base Rate (BoEBR). Another popular type of interest rate is a fixed rate which does not move in line with the base rate. The interest rates on tracker rate mortgages are quoted as a fixed percentage above the base rate and will normally exist for a short period, although it can be attached to the tracker rate mortgage for its entire term. Once the tracker period expires the interest rate will convert to the lender's Standard Variable Rate (SVR). A typical example would be tracker rate mortgages that are quotes as having an interest rate of BoEBR+2% for three years. The BoEBR is set by the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) each month. The MPC will evaluate a range of economic indicators to decide whether a change in the base rate is necessary to meet the Government's inflationary po...

Interest Only Mortgages Basics[By Michael Sterios ]

Interest only mortgages allow borrowers to reduce their monthly mortgage payments by only paying interest on the outstanding loan balance. Capital repayments are not made on a monthly basis with interest only mortgages. Instead, the payment of the capital portion of interest only mortgages is deferred until the end of the term of the mortgage. Because interest only mortgages reduce the amount of the payments due to the lender each month, they are a popular vehicle for individuals to finance the purchase of their first home. Interest only mortgages can help ease the financial burden involved with home ownership, allowing for borrowers to get a foot on the property ladder and switch to a repayment mortgage when it becomes more affordable. Interest only mortgages are therefore a short-term solution to the high cost involved in borrowing money to acquire property. While interest only mortgages are popular at all times, they become even more popular during times of high interest rates. Desp...

Loan Officers - The Tale Of The Average Mortgage Loan Officer[By Andrew Poletto]

I once talked to a Loan Officer whose only goal was to close more loans. He had a plan he told me. He was going to send out postcards and mailers then follow up with phone calls asking the client if they wanted to refinance. On top of that, he was planning on taking about 2 days a week and visit Realtor offices and drop off information for the Realtors. Not just rate sheets mind you, he was going to pass out flyers and a bio sheet telling everyone about him and what he can do for them. After all, it was a perfect fit, a Mortgage guy and a Realtor, they both need each other, right? Then, he was going to buy a bunch of leads from a lead generation company and spend two nights a week calling folks from the list. Does this sound like you? Do these activities sound like something you've ever done? Most Loan Officers and Mortgage Brokers do at least one of these activities to get their business started. Not only that, but the average Loan Officer continues to do these activities througho...

What Went Wrong[By Ray Newby]

Oh Yes...it's a time of goodwill and cheer! With the holidays comes a bit of stress and anxiety. Some of those factors are money, buy, buy, buy, and some are time, more, more, more. It's tough to just sit back and take it in and revel in the spirit. A cup of cheer will sometimes help. So that's what we're going to try to give you today...a symbolic cup of cheer. But first the grinch doeth cometh. Rate Is Low, like most in the mortgage business has gone through many changes this past year. Some have been disappointing. We've had to do layoffs and downsizing. We've had to change our view of what to expect and how to get to the end game. For the last three months the fall out from programs not being available has been nothing less than shattering. Because of the mammoth exodus of lenders, many borrowers have been left in a financial lurch with no where to go. There just weren't any programs for them. And good or excellent credit didn't matter...everyone suf...

The Reverse Mortgage Association - Here To Help[By Judy Wellsworth]

If you are a US homeowner approaching retirement, and have already realized that your pension, social security, or 401K will not be enough to let you maintain the lifestyle you have been able to afford during your working years, you may be considering a reverse mortgage. If you are, you should take advantage of the services offered by the National Reverse Mortgage Association. Started in 1997, the National Reverse Mortgage Association has a decade of experience in assisting both seniors who want to use reverse mortgages to help fund their retirements, and lenders who want to offer reverse mortgages as part of their services. For homeowners who have made the decision to preserve their financial independence through reverse mortgages, the Reverse Mortgage Association offers educational programs. For lenders who wish to offer reverse mortgages, the Reverse Mortgage Association has a Code of Conduct designed to safeguard interests of older homeowners, and which it expects its lenders to ho...

Home Equity Loans - Reverse Mortgages -You Know They Have Arrived When[By J Krohn]

Only recently has LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers lived up to his superstar status. He has arrived. Reverse mortgages have been around for years. They, for the most part, have had a low profile with only smaller lenders being involved. They have been the subject of ridicule and some serious misgivings. Only recently has it dawned on the biggest lenders in the country what a huge market there is in reverse mortgages-78 million baby boomers in the next decade to be precise. Now the big lenders are getting into the fray in a big way. The race is on for market domination. They have arrived. The nation's aging population, along with the rapid housing-price appreciation from 2000 to 2005, has led to record growth in reverse mortgages, which allow homeowners 62 years old and above to turn home equity into income they don't have to repay until they move out. Reverse mortgages provide income to the homeowner in the form of a lump sum, monthly payments, or a line of credit while ...

Home Equity Loans Bad Credit - Cheap Loans Against Your Home[By Steve C Clark]

If you want a cheap loan despite your bad credit than you can choose bad credit home equity loans. These loans are given on the security of your home. People with CCJ's, arrears or any default payment can easily go for these loans. The lender keeps your home as collateral so that they don't have fear to loose their money. This provides you the cheap interest rate. The loan amount is decided by evaluating equity on your home based on its current market price and mortgages over it. You can use the loan amount for any purpose such as home improvement, clearing medical bills or any other debts without the intervention of lender. These loans do not have any specific prerequisites and lender may only want to see the paper of home and details of various mortgages on it. These loans require some paperwork to be done so it may take about 3 to 4 days in the approval. As stated, the loan amount is decided by the current market value of your home and the mortgages it carry. The interest ra...

Home Equity Refinance[By Sara Sentor]

Home equity refinance can come in handy when your main objective is to pay off your credit card debt or you want to remodel your home. The best part about home equity refinance is that you get the much-needed cash very quickly and that too without any problem. This is not the case with traditional refinance where you need to fill lots of application forms and go through various procedures. No closing costs- Another good thing about home equity refinance is that you don't need to pay any sort of closing costs for the loan. However, there are few financial institutions that will charge you few dollars for processing the loan but it is still quite low as compared to other loans. Private mortgage insurance- Don't opt for private mortgage insurance because not only it is useless but also quite costly in nature. You have to pay private mortgage insurance if you borrow against your home for more than 80 per cent of the value. You can avoid private mortgage insurance by going for a hom...

Cash-Out Refinancing - Suitable For Eliminating Debt?[By Jess Peterson]

Following you will find a few easy steps you should follow to obtain extra funds from your property by refinancing and use the money to eliminate your outstanding debt. Assess Your Financial Situation It is important that you analyze your financial situation before making any type of decision. Whether it is advisable to obtain a cash-out refinance home loan or not to eliminate debt will depend on several factors that constitute your finances. The first thing that you must analyze is how much debt you will need to consolidate with the amount of money you get out of a cash-out refinance home loan. Unless you have subsidized loans like student loans or loans with high prepayment penalty fees, chances are that you should consolidate all your outstanding debt with the mortgage refinance home loan. Also, check how much money you are spending monthly in terms of debt repayment. Add up mortgage payments, car loan payments, unsecured loan payments, credit card average balance payments, etc. Thi...

Bi-Weekly Amortization Schedule - Why Half is Sometimes Better than Whole[By Dave Poon]

People who are into a much more manageable way of paying off their mortgage will definitely benefit from a bi-weekly amortization schedule. This type of amortization schedule will go by more quickly than a monthly mortgage because if it is biweekly then the payment schedule is accelerated. You usually make 26 half payments in a year instead of 12 full payments. Should you decide to go for a biweekly amortization schedule, you will find yourself being able to compare the size, interest rate and number of years of biweekly mortgages against monthly ones. It is then not very surprising to know that research and statistics confidently reveal that the demand for such an amortization program is indeed very outstanding. Such a side by side schedule of amortization can show you the dramatic interest when it comes to saving and speedier payoffs of frequent payments. The great results that this type of schedule shows are quite amazing. If you pay for your mortgage every two weeks, your dollar sa...