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How To Select The Home Mortgage That Is Right For You
If you are seeking to finance the cost of a new home, then you may be faced with more than one home mortgage loan option, including those with various interest rates, payment terms and length.
In order to select the right loan for you, you will first want to choose how many years you plan to live in the home that you intend to purchase. A conventional fixed rate home mortgage is typically designed for someone who intends to live in that home for at least 10 years. The fixed rate home mortgage loan is the most popular of the home mortgage loan programs. With this style of loan, the interest rate remains the same for the entire life of the loan.
Another style of loan is the adjustable rate home mortgage, which is also known as an ARM loan. This one allows the interest to adjust based on current market rates, which means one year the interest may be low and the next may be unimaginably high. Interest only home mortgages, on the other hand, is a type of loan that is defined as when the homeowner is permitted to make payments on the interest alone for a specified amount of time. After that time concludes, the payments are applied toward the principal balance of the loan. Balloon home mortgages offer smaller payments in the beginning, but come with a large payment due at the end of the loan.
If you are planning to refinance your existing home or apply for a home mortgage loan, lending companies will help you to select the best loan for your individual situation. Through their pre-qualification and process, the applicant will learn just how much of a home mortgage they can afford. Before applying for any type of loan, it is important that you understand your credit report and the contents inside. In order to receive the best interest rates, you will have to have a good credit history and no previous bankruptcy listed in your credit file. This does not, however, mean that there are no loan options for individuals with less than perfect credit. With that being said, there are loan programs designed especially for individuals who have previous credit problems, including bankruptcy, or are simply first time home buyers with little or no preexisting credit. FHA loans, for example, provide flexible loan programs that may have lending options for situations where a conventional lender may not be able to approve a loan.
To qualify for a reverse mortgage, you must be at least 62 and have paid off all or most of your home mortgage. Income is generally not a factor, and no medical tests or medical histories are required. If you seek an HECM, you also must undergo free mortgage counseling from an independent government-approved “housing agency.” Financial institutions offering proprietary reverse mortgages may require similar counseling or homeowner education.
The amount you can borrow depends on your age, the equity in your home, the value of your home, and the interest rate. If it’s an HECM, federal law limits the maximum amount that can be paid out.You can be paid in a lump sum, in monthly advances, through a line of credit, or a combination of all three.
Common Features
Reverse mortgages offer special appeal to older adults because the loan advances, which are not taxable, generally do not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits. Depending on the plan, reverse mortgages generally allow homeowners to retain title to their homes until they permanently move, sell their home, die, or reach the end of a pre-selected loan term. Generally, a move is considered permanent when the homeowner has not lived in the home for 12 consecutive months. So, for example, a person could live in a nursing home or other medical facility for up to 12 months before the reverse mortgage would be due.
However, be aware that:
Reverse mortgages tend to be more costly than traditional loans because they are rising-debt loans. The interest is added to the principal loan balance each month. So, the total amount of interest owed increases significantly with time as the interest compounds.
Reverse mortgages use up all or some of the equity in a home. That leaves fewer assets for the homeowner and his or her heirs.
Lenders generally charge origination fees and closing costs; some charge servicing fees. How much is up to the lender.
Interest on reverse mortgages is not deductible on income tax returns until the loan is paid off in part or whole.
Because homeowners retain title to their home, they remain responsible for taxes, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and other housing expenses.
Securing the right home mortgage is the most important thing for you to do when considering this large purchase. You should carefully find the right choice for you after comparing all of your options. Yet, when it comes down to it, it can seem like a very difficult thing to actually do. The fact is that many individuals do not know what the right way to get their loan is. Often, they think that their local banker is the only choice, when in fact this is likely to be the most expensive and non-forgiving of all financial lenders for loans on a house. Instead, turn your attention to the web.
Online, you will find a wider range of financial options to carefully consider. For one, you are likely to get a better amount of options in financing such as lower interest rates, better terms and even low cost or no cost on loan fees. These things really can add up to save you money. There is enough competition online that lenders are looking for you, trying to lure you in with these things. But, you are a smart buyer and you know that there is a lot to think about in the home mortgage .
For one, you will want to use a tool called the loan calculator to help you to compare the loans that are available. This tool will allow you to easily look at how much one loan will cost as compared to another one. It will tell you the total cost of the loan as well as the monthly payment. Compare various rates, terms, loan types, virtually anything that is being offered to you. These are free tools, offered on many of the financial experts websites and they are easy to use. They come with no obligation to work with that lender either. In fact, you will not supply it with any information about you specifically. This can help you to find the best home mortgage out there fast.
You can even get a free, no obligation online loan quote. By simply putting in your information, it will produce for you a quote. This is usually more accurate as it will figure in the cost of your credit as well as the cost of your specific loan needs. Then, you can take this quote and compare it to other quotes that are available to find the best rate for your needs. A home mortgage quote like this should never cost you a thing and it should come with no obligation either.
Securing the loan that is ideal for your specific needs can be done much easier on the web. There are just that many more options out there for you to consider and to take in. In the long run, financing your purchase can be much more financially sound when you use the tools that are available to you on the web. Instead of dealing with face to face rejection and disappointment from your banker, just head onto the web to get the answers that you need about your home mortgage purchase.
There are different standards and strategies that real estate investors use when evaluating properties. In order for us to get involved with a property, the following standards are judged for the worthiness of any rehab project:
“You should look for the worst house on a decent block”
1) Whether your strategy is to “flip” properties, or to hold them for their rental cash flow, it’s important to be able to draw potential buyers, or strong potential tenants, as quickly as possible. With this in mind, you should look at properties on streets that are maintained properly. This does not limit you to higher end homes. There are many “blue collar” areas that properly maintain the condition of their homes and yards. However, a street that has poorly maintained properties or many vacancies do not lend themselves to fast turn around sales or well suited tenants.
Always remember that this is an investment. You take on a large risk, and a lot of work as a rehabber. No matter how much loving care you put into your property, you can do nothing about the condition of your neighbor’s property.
2) Make certain that there is no structural damage to the property. This could be a fatal blow to your investment!
“You make your money when you buy a property, not when you sell it!”
Purchasing Formula
There are many formulas used for the successful purchase of a rehab project. It’s important to use one. There must always be a comfortable cushion between the purchase price and the selling price of investment property. This cushion price will help you achieve a successful investment, even if you have repair cost over-runs, or hold on to the property longer than you had anticipated. Remember, every day that the property is not sold or rented comes right off your bottom line. The interest, taxes, insurance, and utility bills compound each day. Buying the property at the right price will protect you from Murphy’s Law.
Our Funding formula:
1) Establish an after repair value for your property.
(Get “area comps” and view each one. Pick out the property that has a street that is most similar to your house’s street, and a structure that is closest to your house’s structure, and then compare the square footage, amount of bedrooms and bathrooms that are all listed on the “comps.” This will help establish a real fair market value for your property).
2) Multiply the ARV x .65 (After Repair Value)
(This will give you 65% of the ARV).
3) Establish a comprehensive and accurate list of repairs that you plan to do to the property, and estimate the costs for each repair.
(This is important. If you are knowledgeable and experienced in doing repair work, you may not need help. If you are not experienced or skilled in this, find someone who is and have them draw up a plan. Even if it costs you a little money to get them out there, this could save you thousands of pounds).
4) Subtract the cost of repairs from the 65% value of the ARV. (After Repair Value) This should be the maximum price that you pay for the property! This is a conservative formula, and it usually works well. Remember, anyone can buy a property at close to fair market value, but with your costs and risks, you must do better!
Written by Jim Olivero
There’s little doubt that we’re borrowing more and there’s also little doubt that credit is one of the great conveniences of modern life. That said, like Goldilocks you want to borrow the amount that’s just right — and no more.
So what’s the right level of debt?
The loan qualification standards used by mortgage lenders are an important guideline. You can typically get that old standby — the fixed-rate, 30 year mortgage — if no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income goes for mortgage principal and interest, property taxes and property insurance (PITI). In addition, as much as 36 percent of your gross monthly income can go to regular monthly costs — PITI plus car payments, credit card debt, school costs, etc. In addition, because they have more liberal qualification standards, you can often borrow more with other loan programs such as FHA, VA and adjustable-rate financing.
But no matter what type of mortgage financing you consider, the real question should be not how much can you borrow, but rather how much can you borrow comfortably. In other words, financial sanity counts.
Unfortunately the term “financial sanity” is an expression without a definition. The economics that work for the Webbers plainly may not work for the Johnsons. We each have different incomes as well as different interests, expenses and preferences. Given this background one might ask: What makes financial sense for me?
The answer looks like this: If you’re living from paycheck to paycheck, if monthly costs are a burden, if savings are small or non-existent, if you do not have health insurance then it’s time to re-think debt burdens.
The richest person I ever met, someone who started with nothing and created jobs for more than 50,000 people, once offered this advice: “The key to financial success is saving, and nothing is harder than saving that first 10,000. After that, it’s easy.”
In other words, it’s entirely possible to have a substantial salary and to fail the financial sanity test. The waiting rooms in every bankruptcy court are filled with people who once had big incomes and bigger debts. One day the numbers didn’t work and away went the trophy houses and the big cars.
So how do you begin the savings process?
The first step, literally, is to open a savings account. The very nice people who provide checking accounts and credit cards will also be happy to hold your savings.
The second step is to go after every nickel and dime you can find.
The economics of savings resemble gravity: Little pieces brought together in one place produce big results. Here’s an example: Imagine that you usually spend 2.50 per day on little things — coffee, candy or whatever. Instead, you set the money aside in an account that pays 6 percent interest. The result? After 30 years there’s almost 77,000 in your account.
There are any number of strategies to save money, but let me suggest a practical approach. Look at your debts. Pick the one with the lowest balance, say a small credit card that requires monthly payments of 25. Save and pay it off. Then identify the next remaining debt with the smallest balance. You now have 25 a month extra that can be applied to the second obligation. Save and pay off the second debt. Maybe with the second obligation you can save 50 a month. After the second debt is repaid, you have an additional 75 a month to attack the third debt.
During this process there are other steps to take. Bring lunch to work. Have one car (hard in some areas, but not impossible). Collect change at the end of the day and deposit rolls of coins every month or so. Eat out — but not often. Stay away from credit cards. Avoid late fees and maintain good credit by paying bills in full and on time.
As this process continues you’ll notice several interesting results.
First, borrowing for real estate becomes easy as debts decline and qualification scores rise.
Second, better credit results in reduced interest rates that can save you big money. Save a half percent as a result of good credit on a 300,000 mortgage and you’ll cut costs in the first year of the loan by nearly 1,500.
Third, there’s no tax on “savings.”
If you have 1,000 in credit card debt and auto costs each month, that money is available only after taxes are paid. To get that 1,000 in cash you may have to earn 1,300 or 1,400, depending on your tax bracket and location. If you pay off your bills and don’t have to pay that 1,000 a month, Uncle Sam does not raise your taxes and you gain the equivalent of a huge raise.
When you speak with lenders about your ability to borrow, consider that with good credit you likely can borrow as much as you need if not more. But also consider that as a matter of financial sanity you have a personal obligation to save. If you can buy a home, pay general expenses and still save 5 or 10 percent of your gross monthly income, the odds are overwhelming that borrowing will not be an undue burden now or in the future.