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Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
How Time Influences Mortgage Refinancing
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage refinances are expected to reach $1.93 trillion in 2009, while new mortgage originations will reach about $825 billion. The prime factors behind the drive to refinance are the rising rates of unemployment, new programs by Freddie and Fannie Mae, and actions made by the Federal Reserve.
With the Federal Reserve constantly working to keep interest rates low, and programs available that encourage homeowners to refinance their mortgages, this may be the best time to refinance a high-priced mortgage. This may also be the best time to refinance a mortgage for a longer term. While refinancing your mortgage for a longer term may substantially increase the total amount of a mortgage, it will greatly lower monthly payments. It is important to sit down and reassess you financial situation to decide if you refinancing your home mortgage is an option for you.
Time-in On Your Mortgage before Refinancing
While there is no definite rule about how long you have to hold a mortgage before attempting to refinance, time may play a significant role. If you had to accept a higher-than-optimal interest rate because of past bad credit, for instance, and are counting on your improved credit rating to get you lower interest rates on a refinance, you should wait at least six months before refinancing. Six months is about how long it takes most lenders to start reporting your payment history to the credit bureaus.
The timing of a mortgage refinance is a delicate balancing act. The longer you continue paying the higher interest rate, the more it will cost you, but the longer you make regular payments on your mortgage, the better your credit score will look when you do apply to refinance your mortgage.
Another effect that time has on your ability to refinance is that the longer you pay on your mortgage, the higher equity you will have in your home. This is important because it will determine whether or not a lender will consider refinancing your mortgage. First, you will need to calculate how much equity you have in your home. It is actually not difficult to figure out your equity on your own. You first need to find out how much your home is currently worth, and then subtract the amount you still owe on your mortgage. For example, if your home is worth $100,000 and you still owe $60,000 on your mortgage, then your home equity is $40,000 or 40%.
Once you have that figure, you can research the type of mortgage refinance that a lender will be willing to grant you. Most lenders require at least 5% to 10% equity to agree to refinance your mortgage from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate, or to change the length of your mortgage term. Thus, if you want to go from a 30 year to a 40 year mortgage, you should have at least 5% equity in your home.
How Long You Intend to Stay in Your Home
The other time factor that affects your decision to refinance your home mortgage is how long you intend to remain in your current home. Since you will incur closing costs and penalties for early loan repayment when you refinance your loan, it will take time for you to actually realize any savings on your refinanced mortgage. For example, if you currently are paying $660 a month on a 30 year $100,000 mortgage, you can lower your monthly payment to $590 a month by refinancing to a 30 year $100,000 mortgage, a savings of over $70 a month. If the loan closing costs and penalties for early repayment total $2,500, it will take at least thirty six months for you to recover the costs of your loan. Therefore, unless you are planning to stay in your home for at least three more years, refinancing your mortgage loan will actually cost you money rather than save you money. The longer you remain in your home at the lower interest rate, the more savings you will realize. If you remain in your home for another ten years, you will realize $5,900 in savings. If you stay in your home for another twenty years, you will pay $14,300 less in mortgage payments at 6% than you would at 5%.
Paying Off Your Mortgage Faster
Another reason to refinance your mortgage is to pay it off faster. If your financial circumstances change, and you have more money to put toward your mortgage, you may consider refinancing your mortgage to a shorter term. You will not only pay off the loan faster and get out of debt sooner, but you will also be paying considerably less for your home. For example, if you refinance a $100,000, 30 year fixed term mortgage to a 15 year fixed term mortgage, you will increase your monthly payment from $599.95 to $849 monthly, but you will save $63,000 over the life of the loan.
With the Federal Reserve constantly working to keep interest rates low, and programs available that encourage homeowners to refinance their mortgages, this may be the best time to refinance a high-priced mortgage. This may also be the best time to refinance a mortgage for a longer term. While refinancing your mortgage for a longer term may substantially increase the total amount of a mortgage, it will greatly lower monthly payments. It is important to sit down and reassess you financial situation to decide if you refinancing your home mortgage is an option for you.
Time-in On Your Mortgage before Refinancing
While there is no definite rule about how long you have to hold a mortgage before attempting to refinance, time may play a significant role. If you had to accept a higher-than-optimal interest rate because of past bad credit, for instance, and are counting on your improved credit rating to get you lower interest rates on a refinance, you should wait at least six months before refinancing. Six months is about how long it takes most lenders to start reporting your payment history to the credit bureaus.
The timing of a mortgage refinance is a delicate balancing act. The longer you continue paying the higher interest rate, the more it will cost you, but the longer you make regular payments on your mortgage, the better your credit score will look when you do apply to refinance your mortgage.
Another effect that time has on your ability to refinance is that the longer you pay on your mortgage, the higher equity you will have in your home. This is important because it will determine whether or not a lender will consider refinancing your mortgage. First, you will need to calculate how much equity you have in your home. It is actually not difficult to figure out your equity on your own. You first need to find out how much your home is currently worth, and then subtract the amount you still owe on your mortgage. For example, if your home is worth $100,000 and you still owe $60,000 on your mortgage, then your home equity is $40,000 or 40%.
Once you have that figure, you can research the type of mortgage refinance that a lender will be willing to grant you. Most lenders require at least 5% to 10% equity to agree to refinance your mortgage from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate, or to change the length of your mortgage term. Thus, if you want to go from a 30 year to a 40 year mortgage, you should have at least 5% equity in your home.
How Long You Intend to Stay in Your Home
The other time factor that affects your decision to refinance your home mortgage is how long you intend to remain in your current home. Since you will incur closing costs and penalties for early loan repayment when you refinance your loan, it will take time for you to actually realize any savings on your refinanced mortgage. For example, if you currently are paying $660 a month on a 30 year $100,000 mortgage, you can lower your monthly payment to $590 a month by refinancing to a 30 year $100,000 mortgage, a savings of over $70 a month. If the loan closing costs and penalties for early repayment total $2,500, it will take at least thirty six months for you to recover the costs of your loan. Therefore, unless you are planning to stay in your home for at least three more years, refinancing your mortgage loan will actually cost you money rather than save you money. The longer you remain in your home at the lower interest rate, the more savings you will realize. If you remain in your home for another ten years, you will realize $5,900 in savings. If you stay in your home for another twenty years, you will pay $14,300 less in mortgage payments at 6% than you would at 5%.
Paying Off Your Mortgage Faster
Another reason to refinance your mortgage is to pay it off faster. If your financial circumstances change, and you have more money to put toward your mortgage, you may consider refinancing your mortgage to a shorter term. You will not only pay off the loan faster and get out of debt sooner, but you will also be paying considerably less for your home. For example, if you refinance a $100,000, 30 year fixed term mortgage to a 15 year fixed term mortgage, you will increase your monthly payment from $599.95 to $849 monthly, but you will save $63,000 over the life of the loan.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Few Mortgage Tips To Help You Prevent Foreclosure
If you fall behind on your mortgage payments, there are several steps that you can take to help prevent foreclosure. First, it's important to understand your mortgage. If you don't understand the type of mortgage you have, you'll be unhappily surprised when your payments adjust. Adjustable Rate Mortgages are not fixed, and your payments will change, you must be aware of whether you have a fixed rate or adjustable mortgage to begin making plans. If you have a hybrid adjustable rate mortgage, you'll need to know when you can expect your payments to increase.
Hybrid and Adjustable Rate Mortgages might be refinanced to a fixed rate if you foresee that you will have difficulty making the new payments. Don't give up and be persistent. Keep contacting your loan officer and request a refinance for your loan. Other options include devising a repayment plan with your loan officer, and can be used to prevent foreclosure. A repayment plan is effective for those who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and would like to create a new schedule until they are caught up. You can also discuss a reinstatement plan. This enables you to arrange to pay your past due amount by a certain date, this method is also an effective way to prevent foreclosure.
Forbearance is another option that should be discussed with your loan officer. With a forbearance agreement, your payments would be temporarily reduced, or even suspended for a time period that you and your loan service officer agree upon. At the end of the agreed upon time, you resume your payments and regularly meet any other stipulations that were originally agreed upon.
Hybrid and Adjustable Rate Mortgages might be refinanced to a fixed rate if you foresee that you will have difficulty making the new payments. Don't give up and be persistent. Keep contacting your loan officer and request a refinance for your loan. Other options include devising a repayment plan with your loan officer, and can be used to prevent foreclosure. A repayment plan is effective for those who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and would like to create a new schedule until they are caught up. You can also discuss a reinstatement plan. This enables you to arrange to pay your past due amount by a certain date, this method is also an effective way to prevent foreclosure.
Forbearance is another option that should be discussed with your loan officer. With a forbearance agreement, your payments would be temporarily reduced, or even suspended for a time period that you and your loan service officer agree upon. At the end of the agreed upon time, you resume your payments and regularly meet any other stipulations that were originally agreed upon.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Composite Credit Report Score simplifies Mortgage Issues
Do you want a mortgage loan for your new home? Trying to qualify for a new mortgage can be very tough, especially if you aren’t aware of the effect your credit report score has on your ability to get approved for loans. One of the first things a lender looks at to determine your suitability for a mortgage loan is your credit report, or FICO score.
This is a composite score that gives a quick glance at your overall responsibility rating when it comes to finances. It has to do with how well you maintain repayment plans, how well you keep the ratios of your overall debt to income, your stability in employment, and many other things. Basically, the better your credit report score, the more likely you are to qualify for the loan you want.
Of course, there are many things that a lender considers before reaching the decision about your suitability for a mortgage loan. Employment stability is one. Lenders know that people who stay in the same field of work will more likely stay employed, and therefore will be more likely to repay their obligations. So, even if you have changed jobs recently, if you have kept a progression of advancing within the same field, or have simply changed employers but kept the same basic job with each, your ability to be approved for a mortgage loan should not be hindered much, unless there are negative reasons for your changing jobs.
As a matter of fact, now that automated credit report scoring has come into the lending business, less discretion gets used in determining who qualifies for what credit rate. This is supposed to ensure more objectivity in the loan approval process. For this purpose, the automated credit report score is used to give lenders the ability to boil the entire process down to review of only your overall score.
Unfortunately, this can close out some borrowers from getting loans of the amount, or interest rate they would like. Its even possible that a prospective borrower with enough income could actually be denied a loan he could afford due to a low standardized credit report score. For this reason, its imperative that prospective borrowers be diligent about improving their credit report scores and paying their bills on time. In this way the problem of disputing a low credit report score is alleviated.
Since there are five key factors that go into the composite credit report score, knowing what they are can help consumers to take control of their financial destiny by making them able enough to change things in their favor.
The very first thing that affects your overall credit report score is how well you repay your debts. Even a person with low income who carefully ensures that all his debts are repaid on time will be able to maintain a high credit report score. And timing is everything. A recent late payment is worse than several late payments some years ago.
Next, collection accounts and public histories are important to your credit report score. This means accounts that go into collection, foreclosure, and bankruptcies are harmful to your score. Ensuring these don’t show up on your credit report goes a long way towards improving your credit report score. And therefore, the accuracy of your credit report becomes more important than ever. Consumers need to check their credit reports at least yearly and make sure the information therein is accurate.
Credit report scores below 620 will require remedial work to bring up to an acceptable level. This may take extended amount of time, perhaps years. But its worth it. You must build a positive credit history that shows extended time of handling your finances in a responsible way in order to bury old negative information.
This is a composite score that gives a quick glance at your overall responsibility rating when it comes to finances. It has to do with how well you maintain repayment plans, how well you keep the ratios of your overall debt to income, your stability in employment, and many other things. Basically, the better your credit report score, the more likely you are to qualify for the loan you want.
Of course, there are many things that a lender considers before reaching the decision about your suitability for a mortgage loan. Employment stability is one. Lenders know that people who stay in the same field of work will more likely stay employed, and therefore will be more likely to repay their obligations. So, even if you have changed jobs recently, if you have kept a progression of advancing within the same field, or have simply changed employers but kept the same basic job with each, your ability to be approved for a mortgage loan should not be hindered much, unless there are negative reasons for your changing jobs.
As a matter of fact, now that automated credit report scoring has come into the lending business, less discretion gets used in determining who qualifies for what credit rate. This is supposed to ensure more objectivity in the loan approval process. For this purpose, the automated credit report score is used to give lenders the ability to boil the entire process down to review of only your overall score.
Unfortunately, this can close out some borrowers from getting loans of the amount, or interest rate they would like. Its even possible that a prospective borrower with enough income could actually be denied a loan he could afford due to a low standardized credit report score. For this reason, its imperative that prospective borrowers be diligent about improving their credit report scores and paying their bills on time. In this way the problem of disputing a low credit report score is alleviated.
Since there are five key factors that go into the composite credit report score, knowing what they are can help consumers to take control of their financial destiny by making them able enough to change things in their favor.
The very first thing that affects your overall credit report score is how well you repay your debts. Even a person with low income who carefully ensures that all his debts are repaid on time will be able to maintain a high credit report score. And timing is everything. A recent late payment is worse than several late payments some years ago.
Next, collection accounts and public histories are important to your credit report score. This means accounts that go into collection, foreclosure, and bankruptcies are harmful to your score. Ensuring these don’t show up on your credit report goes a long way towards improving your credit report score. And therefore, the accuracy of your credit report becomes more important than ever. Consumers need to check their credit reports at least yearly and make sure the information therein is accurate.
Credit report scores below 620 will require remedial work to bring up to an acceptable level. This may take extended amount of time, perhaps years. But its worth it. You must build a positive credit history that shows extended time of handling your finances in a responsible way in order to bury old negative information.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Quick Tips For Getting A Mortgage
1. Watch out for the 'Deal Of A Lifetime', the deal that seems too good to be true. The company may be saving money by cutting back on their level of service.
2. When getting a fixed rate: get a written statement which details the interest rate, how long the rate is fixed for, and the conditions attached.
3. When interest rates fall: try and leave your repayments as they are. You will therefore be paying more than the minimum each month. You'll repay your loan much earlier. When rates rise again you may not have to change your payment.
4. Consider a fifteen or twenty year term. Try to pay off your mortgage quickly. Use a mortgage calculator with an amortization function, and see what's possible.
5. Keep your mortgage as small as possible. Aim for *comfortable* affordability.
6. Try not to 'churn' your mortgage. Each time you refinance you'll probably incur completion costs and non-refundable fees.
7. Beware of prepayment penalties. Many 'no fee' credit lines have a pre-payment penalty. This can be very expensive if you are planning to refinance or sell your house in a few years time.
You don't need to sign a mortgage agreement which contains any significant prepayment penalty, if you have good credit. One of the smartest things you can do with a mortgage is to prepay it.
8. Don't look for a home without being pre-approved. You will have much more negotiating power with the vendor, and may be able to save thousands of pounds.
9. Get a full, professional survey. Human beings can be perverse; happy to spend £150,000 on a house after a half-hour viewing, but be-grudge spending £500 finding out whether it's worth buying in the first place!
10. Find out the true value of your home-to-be. Get more than one independent appraisal. Compare it with the prices of similar-sized houses for sale in the same area.
11. Start gathering documents. Provide your mortgage company with documents in good time; don't let your rate lock expire!
12. Verbal (oral) agreements are worthless. When buying or selling property, always get it in writing.
A mortgage is the biggest financial committment most of us will ever make; worth spending a little time on, to get it right!
About The Author
T. O' Donnell (www.tigertom.com/mortgages-uk.shtml) offers mortgage quotes, advice, an ebook and a mortgage calculator, in London, UK.
2. When getting a fixed rate: get a written statement which details the interest rate, how long the rate is fixed for, and the conditions attached.
3. When interest rates fall: try and leave your repayments as they are. You will therefore be paying more than the minimum each month. You'll repay your loan much earlier. When rates rise again you may not have to change your payment.
4. Consider a fifteen or twenty year term. Try to pay off your mortgage quickly. Use a mortgage calculator with an amortization function, and see what's possible.
5. Keep your mortgage as small as possible. Aim for *comfortable* affordability.
6. Try not to 'churn' your mortgage. Each time you refinance you'll probably incur completion costs and non-refundable fees.
7. Beware of prepayment penalties. Many 'no fee' credit lines have a pre-payment penalty. This can be very expensive if you are planning to refinance or sell your house in a few years time.
You don't need to sign a mortgage agreement which contains any significant prepayment penalty, if you have good credit. One of the smartest things you can do with a mortgage is to prepay it.
8. Don't look for a home without being pre-approved. You will have much more negotiating power with the vendor, and may be able to save thousands of pounds.
9. Get a full, professional survey. Human beings can be perverse; happy to spend £150,000 on a house after a half-hour viewing, but be-grudge spending £500 finding out whether it's worth buying in the first place!
10. Find out the true value of your home-to-be. Get more than one independent appraisal. Compare it with the prices of similar-sized houses for sale in the same area.
11. Start gathering documents. Provide your mortgage company with documents in good time; don't let your rate lock expire!
12. Verbal (oral) agreements are worthless. When buying or selling property, always get it in writing.
A mortgage is the biggest financial committment most of us will ever make; worth spending a little time on, to get it right!
About The Author
T. O' Donnell (www.tigertom.com/mortgages-uk.shtml) offers mortgage quotes, advice, an ebook and a mortgage calculator, in London, UK.
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