One area of real estate that has been popular in recent years is the the court step sale of a property that has been foreclosed upon. From the lender’s perspective, getting a reasonable return quickly is much better than holding the property for long periods of time, especially if the return is not much higher [...]
If you have a mortgage on your home and you’re planning to sell, then plan to closely examine your mortgage contract first. You’ll be surprised at what you may find hidden. Doug Francis (on his blog) has an interesting take on FHA mortgages and some of the fine print attached to them – and it [...]
Buying real estate through ‘short sales’ has become popular in some areas. The term ‘short sale’ refers to the fact that sales will proceed even though the agreed price is below the current value of the mortgage. The perception is that a ‘short sale’ is a sale that is below the current market value of [...]
If you are considering buying a home in the next month or two, and your plans include an FHA loan, then you may want to act sooner rather than later. Insurance rates on FHA loans approved after April 18 will attract higher premiums, and while the rate rise is only marginal at .25%, the effect [...]
You have to be careful when reading articles that suggest you ‘buy now’. Do you take a second look at who is offering the advice because sometimes it is vested interest at work. Not vested interest in a direct sort of way, as in hoping you will buy from them, but vested interest in a [...]
Mortgages in Virginia may well become a little harder for those who are on the borderline for mortgage qualification. The Virginia Legislature is about to start considerations on several bills designed to restrict some of the freedoms that lenders have experienced in the past. While ‘robo signing’ has been discussed a lot in the press, [...]
Many mortgages today are being resold in the secondary markets. The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is a government-sponsored organization that purchases mortgages from lenders and sells them to investors. Mortgages that conform to Fannie Mae’s standards may carry lower interest rates or smaller down payments. To qualify, the mortgage borrower needs to meet [...]
Trends come and trends go. But, what do mortgage shoppers need to know about rates as they look into the future? It’s impossible to pinpoint a single factor that causes mortgage rates to move up or down. Still, mortgage experts often have observed that fixed-rate mortgage rates typically follow the direction of long-term Treasury rates. [...]
What? A 40 year mortgage? It’s true. A 40-year mortgage can make your monthly house payment more affordable. But mortgage brokers say such long-term loans generally aren’t the best choice for most borrowers because they typically come with a higher interest rate and cost more in interest over the lifetime of the loan. This trade [...]
There’s a new wrinkle in the way people obtain home mortgages. Many new and creative financing methods are available to help people afford their dream home. But some of them include hidden risks that can make them a potential time bomb for the home owner. And this type of mortgage could be one of them. [...]
What percentage of your income is actually calculated into your mortgage payments? Here’s a rule of thumb that’s grounded in practice. Mortgage lenders have a standard called the “front ratio” that measures your mortgage expense – principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, or PITI – as a percentage of your gross monthly income. It’s typical for [...]
The Internet has opened up a broad range of activities and opportunities for everyone, everywhere. With the Internet, you can buy a car, sell almost anything, be entertained, do your banking and get advice about…well, anything! You can also shop for and buy a mortgage! The expansion of mortgage lenders onto the Internet is a [...]
Real estate agents routinely suggest that consumers start their mortgage process well before bidding on a home. By meeting with lenders – either online or face to face – and looking at loan options, you will find which programs best meet your needs and how much you can afford. This process will get you pre-approved [...]
When getting a loan for a mortgage, the person or persons who are actually qualifying for the mortgage must have decent credit scores. However, if your wife’s credit score, for example, is poor and yours is good, do you absolutely need her credit counted towards the mortgage? If you don’t need her income to qualify [...]
How will you use the money when you reverse mortgage your home? Believe it or not, how you use the proceeds from your reverse mortgage can have an effect on your interest rates. The interest rate you are offered can be different if you take a lump sum distribution versus taking the equity in small [...]
Are closing costs keeping you from refinancing a mortgage? If so, a no-closing-cost mortgage may be for you. With this type of mortgage, you won’t need to pay thousands of dollars in upfront fees. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Of course, nothing is free. And in this case, the trade-off for waiving [...]
It may be difficult to repair your credit after a bankruptcy, but there are certainly steps to take to put you in better credit standing. getting yourself debt-free is the first step. The second thing to do is to obtain some type of credit. Department stores, jewelry stores, and secured MasterCard and Visa accounts are [...]
About 10% of home buyers who have mortgages have PMI (private mortgage insurance). For many home buyers, it’s a good thing that PMI exists. In recent years, personal income has not kept pace with increases in home prices. And it’s been more difficult for young families to save a sizeable down payment. Having PMI makes [...]
Applying for a mortgage is like taking a final exam: You earn a grade. A lot of money rides on the grade you get on your mortgage. If you get an A, the lender will quote you its best rate and terms. An A-minus might cost a little more in rate and fees. A grade [...]
Is it time to rethink your mortgage? The main thing you need to do is to analyze your own situation. Do you think you’re sitting in the middle of a bubble (skyrocketing house prices followed by plummeting values)? Or is it just that home values have been climbing and are now leveling off or even [...]
An online mortgage calculator can be a valuable financial planning tool. Here are five types of consumers who can benefit from using a mortgage calculator to chart their next mortgage move: Renters thinking about becoming owners often wonder whether it is cheaper to rent or buy. A mortgage calculator can help them estimate how a [...]
When is the timing right to lock in your mortgage rate? With a rate lock, lenders are obligated (with a few exceptions) to offer a home loan at an agreed-upon rate regardless of whether mortgage rates have changed between the time of the loan approval and the closing date. The time to lock in a [...]
“Junk fees,” also known as “garbage fees,” are tacked on to most mortgages. There is no way to completely avoid them, but you can often minimize them. Trying to make sure that you’re not lining the lender’s, or mortgage broker’s, pocket by paying junk fees at closing is an important exercise for home owners. Most [...]
There are many types of mortgage loans available out there, but the two most common are the fixed rate and the adjustable rate mortgage (or ARM). Read the following to get an idea of the pros and cons of each. Fixed Rate Mortgage With a fixed rate mortgage your interest rate is set prior to [...]
Twenty percent of, say, $300,000 is a lot of money to average people with average income. That’s $60,000! For many, that’s two years’ (or more) worth of paychecks! Today, many lenders offer little to no down payment incentives. So, why would you want to try and struggle to gain such a hefty sum if you [...]
How would one go about making a mortgage prepayment work? First, recognize that there’s a big advantage to getting your mortgage paid off. It frees up a sizeable amount each month that can be used for other things. Yes, it’s a big long-term goal. But, unlike some other distant goals, you don’t need to get [...]
An interest rate is a rate which is charged or paid for the use of money. An interest rate is often expressed as an annual percentage of the principal. It is calculated by dividing the amount of interest by the amount of principal. APR is defined as the yearly cost of a mortgage, including interest, [...]
When most people think of wholesale or retail, they are reminded of stores that sell merchandise, not mortgages and brokers and loans. Wholesale lenders, however, deal only with brokers, where retail lenders deal directly with borrowers. Retail lenders use their own employees to perform the functions that mortgage brokers perform for wholesale lenders. For this [...]
What makes a mortgage broker “upfront”? Upfront mortgage brokers tell you, before you retain them, how much they are charging for their services. Other brokers don’t. Mortgage brokers work hard for their money. They don’t make loans — that’s what lenders do — but they do most of the work leading up to a loan. [...]
It seems like everywhere one looks, people are being rewarded for bad behavior, such as Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers, mortgage lenders, and even home owners who knowingly bought homes they couldn’t afford. Many of these folks are taking advantage of the government bailout programs. So, does it still pay to play by the rules? [...]
