Mar
7
Martin Lukac asked:
Mortgage rates could hit 7% or higher, according to economists. With the 17th consecutive boost in benchmark short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve last week, the ripple could be felt in the mortgage industry before long.
In fact, rates have risen in anticipation of the Fed’s actions. The ripple will extend into higher interest rates on credit cards and home equity loans.
While the Fed has no direct control over the mortgage industry, mortgage rates have been moving higher. Freddie Mac reported last week that the national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 6.78% — the highest level since May 2002.
Borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages will be more affected than those with fixed-rates. For those just now considering adjustable-rate mortgages, the benefits are much less than even one year ago. With the gap between fixed-rates and adjustable-rates narrowing, the overall savings of an adjustable rate is lessened drastically.
The rising interest rates are intended to slow down consumer spending and other economic activities that indicate inflation. The economy has grown at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in the first quarter of 2006. The housing sector is one area, though, where growth is slowing.
After the Fed’s increase on Thursday, the majority of US banks raised their prime rates to 8.25%, up from 4% in 2004. That means that many homeowners with home equity lines of credit are paying 8.25% or more on the debt. Many experts expect to see many homeowners refinancing this debt back into a primary mortgage — where rates remain slightly lower.
“We’ve been spoiled with such low rates over the past few years,” said Scott Goodrich of Monterey Bay Mortgage. “People’s memories are short and young folks who have only experienced low rates, when they start seeing 7%, that might have an impact.”
Doreen Woo Ho, president of Wells Fargo’s consumer credit group says that consumers are “realizing it’s more expensive to borrow money now.”
Wells Fargo and other lenders are now offering home equity lines of credit with initial fixed-rate periods. This makes the repayment amount more predictable for a certain period of time.
Despite rising rates, Americans are still going to be buying homes and taking out equity lines of credit says Woo Ho.
“We certainly still have a healthy number of consumers who still see the need to borrow,” she said.
Nathaniel
Mortgage rates could hit 7% or higher, according to economists. With the 17th consecutive boost in benchmark short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve last week, the ripple could be felt in the mortgage industry before long.
In fact, rates have risen in anticipation of the Fed’s actions. The ripple will extend into higher interest rates on credit cards and home equity loans.
While the Fed has no direct control over the mortgage industry, mortgage rates have been moving higher. Freddie Mac reported last week that the national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 6.78% — the highest level since May 2002.
Borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages will be more affected than those with fixed-rates. For those just now considering adjustable-rate mortgages, the benefits are much less than even one year ago. With the gap between fixed-rates and adjustable-rates narrowing, the overall savings of an adjustable rate is lessened drastically.
The rising interest rates are intended to slow down consumer spending and other economic activities that indicate inflation. The economy has grown at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in the first quarter of 2006. The housing sector is one area, though, where growth is slowing.
After the Fed’s increase on Thursday, the majority of US banks raised their prime rates to 8.25%, up from 4% in 2004. That means that many homeowners with home equity lines of credit are paying 8.25% or more on the debt. Many experts expect to see many homeowners refinancing this debt back into a primary mortgage — where rates remain slightly lower.
“We’ve been spoiled with such low rates over the past few years,” said Scott Goodrich of Monterey Bay Mortgage. “People’s memories are short and young folks who have only experienced low rates, when they start seeing 7%, that might have an impact.”
Doreen Woo Ho, president of Wells Fargo’s consumer credit group says that consumers are “realizing it’s more expensive to borrow money now.”
Wells Fargo and other lenders are now offering home equity lines of credit with initial fixed-rate periods. This makes the repayment amount more predictable for a certain period of time.
Despite rising rates, Americans are still going to be buying homes and taking out equity lines of credit says Woo Ho.
“We certainly still have a healthy number of consumers who still see the need to borrow,” she said.
Nathaniel
Mar
6
Ryan J. Taylor asked:
When you need to obtain a mortgage for bad credit, there are a couple options you have to choose from. Before you commit to anything, it is crucial that you know your options and spend some time thinking about this important decision. Whatever you decide is something you may be stuck facing and paying off for the next 30 years, so do not take this decision lightly.
Your mortgage for bad credit options are basically the following:
1. Search for and try to find the best offer with your current credit situation
2. Focus on credit restoration to qualify for preferred treatment
There are a number of companies and organizations that will approve you for a home loan no matter what your credit score, but that comes with major consequences. You’re likely to pay outrageous fees and the interest you’ll pay on the loan will be two to three times the average rate.
As a result, not only will it cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to live in your home every month, but by the time you pay off your mortgage it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars more. That’s because each month you pay your mortgage, more money is sent to the bank to pay interest than to actually owning your home. You’re simply paying a fee.
Whether you need a mortgage for bad credit to purchase a new home, refinance your current home, or buy a second home, you’ll end up paying more with these plans – and not just in mortgage payments. Because of your bad credit, your closing costs could be higher and you may end up paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is nothing more than a fee because of your bad credit score.
This can all be entirely eliminated by simply planning 30 – 90 days before you purchase your home. By putting a little effort in restoring your credit, you can erase any worries about getting approved for a mortgage. In doing so you’ll save thousands of dollars in the process and reduce your closing costs.
Adam
When you need to obtain a mortgage for bad credit, there are a couple options you have to choose from. Before you commit to anything, it is crucial that you know your options and spend some time thinking about this important decision. Whatever you decide is something you may be stuck facing and paying off for the next 30 years, so do not take this decision lightly.
Your mortgage for bad credit options are basically the following:
1. Search for and try to find the best offer with your current credit situation
2. Focus on credit restoration to qualify for preferred treatment
There are a number of companies and organizations that will approve you for a home loan no matter what your credit score, but that comes with major consequences. You’re likely to pay outrageous fees and the interest you’ll pay on the loan will be two to three times the average rate.
As a result, not only will it cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to live in your home every month, but by the time you pay off your mortgage it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars more. That’s because each month you pay your mortgage, more money is sent to the bank to pay interest than to actually owning your home. You’re simply paying a fee.
Whether you need a mortgage for bad credit to purchase a new home, refinance your current home, or buy a second home, you’ll end up paying more with these plans – and not just in mortgage payments. Because of your bad credit, your closing costs could be higher and you may end up paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is nothing more than a fee because of your bad credit score.
This can all be entirely eliminated by simply planning 30 – 90 days before you purchase your home. By putting a little effort in restoring your credit, you can erase any worries about getting approved for a mortgage. In doing so you’ll save thousands of dollars in the process and reduce your closing costs.
Adam
Feb
26
Mortgage Cycling Secrets Revealed
Filed Under Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Steven Gillman asked:
Have you heard about mortgage cycling? Maybe you’ve seen the ads for books on this “secret technique” for paying off your mortgage sooner. Is there some useful information in them? Yes, especially if you are not familiar with the basic premise that you can pay extra principle every year and you’ll pay off the loan sooner and save thousands on interest.
Mortgage cycling is dressed up as a “new” system, and of course there are many little tricks to doing this most effectively. There are more risky techniques too, like using short-term home-equity loans to pay down your primary mortgage now. This latter technique could cost you more in interest or even put you into financial trouble that leads towards foreclosure.
The safest way of “mortgage cycling” is to just put large lump sums of money towards your mortgage loan every few months to a year. Pay thousands of dollars extra per year, and you will pay off your loan many years sooner. No surprise there, right, but what if you don’t have the hundreds of dollars a month extra needed to do this?
Money For Mortgage Cycling
Don’t assume you can’t come up with SOME extra money, at least each year. Some will say they can’t, and yet still add hundreds of dollars per month to credit card payments from buying anything from expensive shoes to snowmobiles. There’s nothing wrong with buying these things, but the choice is yours if you want to pay down that mortgage instead.
You can also pay off large chunks of principle by using your annual tax refund, insurance settlements that are not otherwise allocated, and any cash gifts or prizes you may receive.
How much sooner you can pay off your mortgage depends on how much extra you pay and when. The sooner you pay extra money towards the principle, the better. Let’s demonstrate with a simple example, just making an extra payment each month.
Suppose you have a $160,000 30-year mortgage at a 7% annual interest rate. Regular monthly payments would be $1064.40. If you looked at your second payment you would see that it’s composed of $932.57 interest and $131.83 principle (the amount you actually pay down the loan). Just add $131.83 to your normal payment of $1064.40, and you have taken an entire month off the time it will take to pay off your mortgage.
If you did this each month, you would cut the time to pay off your loan in half. The principle part of the payment would be growing with each payment, so the extra payment would be a little more each month (around $137 by the end of the first year), but hopefully over the years your income will rise enough to afford that. Consider that if you pay normally, your last year of the mortgage you’ll pay $12,772.80 ($1064.40 x 12 months). On the other hand, pay about an extra $1600 that first year, in the way shown above, and you’ll eliminate that entire last year – a savings of over $11,000!
Other ways to pay off extra principle need to be evaluated carefully. You could, for example, put a few thousand of your savings towards the loan now and save perhaps tens of thousands in interest over the years. However, will you then need to pay even higher credit card rates because you emptied your savings account and need some money? You could cash in stocks and apply the money to the loan, but will you be giving up a 9% return to pay down a 7% mortgage? You may also want to consider paying off any debts with higher interest rates before you apply extra money to your mortgage.
To keep it simple, set aside extra money every month and apply it to the loan. Then use any other money that may otherwise be squandered (like tax refunds). If you just do a few simple things to pay something extra on the loan each year, and you can forget about complicated mortgage cycling plans.
Edwin
Have you heard about mortgage cycling? Maybe you’ve seen the ads for books on this “secret technique” for paying off your mortgage sooner. Is there some useful information in them? Yes, especially if you are not familiar with the basic premise that you can pay extra principle every year and you’ll pay off the loan sooner and save thousands on interest.
Mortgage cycling is dressed up as a “new” system, and of course there are many little tricks to doing this most effectively. There are more risky techniques too, like using short-term home-equity loans to pay down your primary mortgage now. This latter technique could cost you more in interest or even put you into financial trouble that leads towards foreclosure.
The safest way of “mortgage cycling” is to just put large lump sums of money towards your mortgage loan every few months to a year. Pay thousands of dollars extra per year, and you will pay off your loan many years sooner. No surprise there, right, but what if you don’t have the hundreds of dollars a month extra needed to do this?
Money For Mortgage Cycling
Don’t assume you can’t come up with SOME extra money, at least each year. Some will say they can’t, and yet still add hundreds of dollars per month to credit card payments from buying anything from expensive shoes to snowmobiles. There’s nothing wrong with buying these things, but the choice is yours if you want to pay down that mortgage instead.
You can also pay off large chunks of principle by using your annual tax refund, insurance settlements that are not otherwise allocated, and any cash gifts or prizes you may receive.
How much sooner you can pay off your mortgage depends on how much extra you pay and when. The sooner you pay extra money towards the principle, the better. Let’s demonstrate with a simple example, just making an extra payment each month.
Suppose you have a $160,000 30-year mortgage at a 7% annual interest rate. Regular monthly payments would be $1064.40. If you looked at your second payment you would see that it’s composed of $932.57 interest and $131.83 principle (the amount you actually pay down the loan). Just add $131.83 to your normal payment of $1064.40, and you have taken an entire month off the time it will take to pay off your mortgage.
If you did this each month, you would cut the time to pay off your loan in half. The principle part of the payment would be growing with each payment, so the extra payment would be a little more each month (around $137 by the end of the first year), but hopefully over the years your income will rise enough to afford that. Consider that if you pay normally, your last year of the mortgage you’ll pay $12,772.80 ($1064.40 x 12 months). On the other hand, pay about an extra $1600 that first year, in the way shown above, and you’ll eliminate that entire last year – a savings of over $11,000!
Other ways to pay off extra principle need to be evaluated carefully. You could, for example, put a few thousand of your savings towards the loan now and save perhaps tens of thousands in interest over the years. However, will you then need to pay even higher credit card rates because you emptied your savings account and need some money? You could cash in stocks and apply the money to the loan, but will you be giving up a 9% return to pay down a 7% mortgage? You may also want to consider paying off any debts with higher interest rates before you apply extra money to your mortgage.
To keep it simple, set aside extra money every month and apply it to the loan. Then use any other money that may otherwise be squandered (like tax refunds). If you just do a few simple things to pay something extra on the loan each year, and you can forget about complicated mortgage cycling plans.
Edwin
Feb
18
Mortgage Underwriter
Filed Under Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Dennis Estrada asked:
The mortgage underwriter understands the mortgage loan qualification, approval, and pre-approval. He makes the decision if the borrower qualifies for the mortgage. If the mortgage application fails to meet the qualification level, he determines the best mortgage loan options for the borrower.
To qualify for the mortgage, the mortgage underwriter basically looks at the credit history, credit score, down payment, equity, income, and outstanding loan. So, he also understands how to repair bad credit rating, and increase the credit score.
The credit history tells how the borrower pays off loan obligation. As you pay off the mortgage, the Credit Score increases. A high score is a positive indicator. The borrower will possibly be approved for the mortgage.
The income and debt ratio helps the mortgage underwriter prove that the income is enough to cover the mortgage, and outstanding loan. To prove, the mortgage underwriter verifies all the different source of income.
First, the loan officer prepares the necessary documents for the mortgage application. Then, the loan officer enters the personal and credit information into the underwriting system. The system checks the qualification of the information. Eventually, the loan officer gets the qualified application. Then, the loan officer sends the qualified application to the mortgage underwriter. The mortgage underwriter verifies the documents including pay stubs, and bank statements. If there are missing documents and unsatisfactory documents, the mortgage underwriter asks the borrower to provide the documents. This makes sure that the borrower has enough income to pay off the mortgage. Finally, the mortgage underwriter gives the final approval.
All these steps ensure that there is absence of fraud, and meets the standards in which the mortgage are insurable, and serviceable. So, the mortgage underwriter knows the good and bad practice on mortgage application. The standards are set by the company and government.
Sheila
The mortgage underwriter understands the mortgage loan qualification, approval, and pre-approval. He makes the decision if the borrower qualifies for the mortgage. If the mortgage application fails to meet the qualification level, he determines the best mortgage loan options for the borrower.
To qualify for the mortgage, the mortgage underwriter basically looks at the credit history, credit score, down payment, equity, income, and outstanding loan. So, he also understands how to repair bad credit rating, and increase the credit score.
The credit history tells how the borrower pays off loan obligation. As you pay off the mortgage, the Credit Score increases. A high score is a positive indicator. The borrower will possibly be approved for the mortgage.
The income and debt ratio helps the mortgage underwriter prove that the income is enough to cover the mortgage, and outstanding loan. To prove, the mortgage underwriter verifies all the different source of income.
First, the loan officer prepares the necessary documents for the mortgage application. Then, the loan officer enters the personal and credit information into the underwriting system. The system checks the qualification of the information. Eventually, the loan officer gets the qualified application. Then, the loan officer sends the qualified application to the mortgage underwriter. The mortgage underwriter verifies the documents including pay stubs, and bank statements. If there are missing documents and unsatisfactory documents, the mortgage underwriter asks the borrower to provide the documents. This makes sure that the borrower has enough income to pay off the mortgage. Finally, the mortgage underwriter gives the final approval.
All these steps ensure that there is absence of fraud, and meets the standards in which the mortgage are insurable, and serviceable. So, the mortgage underwriter knows the good and bad practice on mortgage application. The standards are set by the company and government.
Sheila
Feb
18
USDA Mortgage Loans
Filed Under Real Estate | Leave a Comment
Paul Anderberg asked:
The USDA (US Department of Agriculture) funds some mortgage loans, and guarantees others. Apply for these loans at your local lender’s office, or go through a mortgage broker, or go directly to a Department of Agriculture Service Center (see link below for locations of these centers.) Your real estate agent will know about these loans. The USDA provides funds for low to moderate income borrowers to purchase rural housing.
Rural is rather loosely defined. The home should be located in an area with a population of less than 20,000. I do not know, and neither does anyone I’ve spoken to about this, what the defined boundaries of an area actually are.
However, it is certain that the USDA home loan program does not provide funds for purchasing a home in large cities. But if you are looking to buy your first home home in a rural or semi-rural area this type of mortgage loan is definitely worth investigating.
The US government has traditionally recognized that it is beneficial to the country as a whole for it to encourage rural development. For instance, the rural electrification program was a huge part of the New Deal. The Homestead program directly assisted mostly rural citizens, and CCC projects abounded “out in the country.”
There is NO down payment required, the interest rate is usually well below “market,” and they are 30 year, fixed rate loans. These rates and terms are set at the lender’s discretion, however. Make sure that you are getting a good deal before you sign anything. This type of mortgage loan is widely available, but as I previously mentioned – big city banks usually do not offer them.
USDA Rural Development website =>http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/index.html
Bryan
The USDA (US Department of Agriculture) funds some mortgage loans, and guarantees others. Apply for these loans at your local lender’s office, or go through a mortgage broker, or go directly to a Department of Agriculture Service Center (see link below for locations of these centers.) Your real estate agent will know about these loans. The USDA provides funds for low to moderate income borrowers to purchase rural housing.
Rural is rather loosely defined. The home should be located in an area with a population of less than 20,000. I do not know, and neither does anyone I’ve spoken to about this, what the defined boundaries of an area actually are.
However, it is certain that the USDA home loan program does not provide funds for purchasing a home in large cities. But if you are looking to buy your first home home in a rural or semi-rural area this type of mortgage loan is definitely worth investigating.
The US government has traditionally recognized that it is beneficial to the country as a whole for it to encourage rural development. For instance, the rural electrification program was a huge part of the New Deal. The Homestead program directly assisted mostly rural citizens, and CCC projects abounded “out in the country.”
There is NO down payment required, the interest rate is usually well below “market,” and they are 30 year, fixed rate loans. These rates and terms are set at the lender’s discretion, however. Make sure that you are getting a good deal before you sign anything. This type of mortgage loan is widely available, but as I previously mentioned – big city banks usually do not offer them.
USDA Rural Development website =>http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/index.html
Bryan