virgilio vallecera asked:


Making Home Affordable is a new government program designed to help keep people in their homes by lowering monthly mortgage payments for qualifying homeowners. The plan is projected to help somewhere between 7 and 9 million homeowners all across the United States by either refinancing or modifying their mortgage. Do you qualify for the Making Home Affordable program?

There are a few simple questions that will help determine if you are eligible to participate in the Making Home Affordable program. There are two different parts to the Making Home Affordable program, the mortgage refinance and the loan modification.

The Making Home Affordable refinance program targets homeowners who are current on their mortgages, but are currently unable to refinance to a lower rate due to a drop in the value of their home. This plan targets those homeowners who have loans held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and whose owe approximately the same or less than the current home value. Here is a quick set of questions to see if you qualify for the Making Home Affordable refinance program:

1. Is your home your primary residence?

2. Do you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan? If you are not sure, you can find out if you have a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan.

3. Are you current on your mortgage payments? Current means that you have not been more than 30 days late on your mortgage payment over the past 12 months.

4. Do you believe that the amount you owe on your first mortgage is about the same or less than the current value of your house?

If you answered yes to all four of these questions, then you may be eligible for the Making Home Affordable refinance program. You can find out more about the mortgage refinance program 

If you answered no to any of these questions, then you will want to find out if you qualify for the second part of the Making Home Affordable - the loan modification plan. This plan is for homeowners who can no longer afford their mortgage payments due to an increase in interest rates, a decrease in their income, or a financial hardship such as medical expenses. This plan works for those who are current on their mortgage, or those who are behind on their mortgages. Here are four basic questions that will help to determine if you may be eligible for the loan modification plan:

1. Is your home your primary residence?

2. Is the amount you owe on your first mortgage equal to or less than $729,750?

3. Are you having trouble paying your mortgage? For example, have you had a significant increase in your mortgage payment OR reduction in your income since you got your current loan OR have you suffered a hardship that has increased your expenses (like medical bills)?

4. Did you get your current mortgage before January 1, 2009?

If you answered yes to all four of these questions, then you may be eligible for the Making Home Affordable loan modification program. Find out more about the Making Home Affordable loan modification program  you answered no to any of these questions, then you still have some options available for avoiding a foreclosure.

You can find out more by visiting the Making Home Mortgage Affordable website, the number one informational resource on the Making Home Affordable program.



RIGOBERTO

Liam G asked:


Offset mortgages, which were practically unheard of around six years ago, are becoming an increasingly popular option within today’s market.

They are particularly popular with higher-rate taxpayers and are expected to become more and more common, with lenders saying that 25% of current mortgage holders would be much better off with an offset mortgage.

The basic principle behind offset mortgages is that we tend to pay more interest on debts than we accumulate on savings. Therefore, by linking the two accounts – and even a current account into which your salary is paid – the amount you are in credit by helps to offset the capital owed on the mortgage. In turn, this reduces the interest payable on what you owe.

For instance, if you had an offset mortgage of £100,000 with a savings account of £10,000 and £2,000 in your current account, you would only accrue interest on £88,000 of the mortgage.

Another major advantage with offset mortgages is that the interest saved is not taxed. For instance, instead of getting a net return of 3% on your savings, by offsetting you can expect a net return of 6%

One of the main disadvantages of offset mortgages was the high interest rates attached to them. Such interest rates were often at least 1% or more higher than the most competitive fixed rate mortgage within the market at the time.

As offset mortgages have become more popular though, introductory rates of less than 5% are becoming more and more common.

As to be expected, the highly competitive nature of the lending market has led to banks offering various extras to increase customer base.

The most popular of these include free valuations, legal fees and some lenders even allow you to offset 2 savings accounts. On top of this most lenders offer “super low” introductory interest rates, usually for 6 – 12 months.

The actual interest rate you will end up with will depend on a number of factors, notably the percentage of the properties value that you wish to borrow.



JACKIE

Mr.Ed asked:


I have a nice down payment I’m putting on my first house, but wondered would it be smart to add in money from my Roth IRA? What is better in the long run. As of now I am planning on living in this house for a long period of time, but everyone knows that can change.

REFUGIO

poppy asked:


my morgage is interest only but the rate has nearly doubled…i need to convince the bank to lower the price

RODRICK

anim8er2 asked:


I’m looking to buy a property that would be classified as commercial, but I’m going to live in it. The loan officer is asking for:

W2s for the past 2 years
2 recent pay stubbs
2 recent bank statements
information on my present landloard

Is this typical?

ABDUL