Is It ReFi Time

March 8th, 2010 - 
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Millions of people are taking advantage of the current opportunity to refinance the mortgage on their homes. Rising home prices combined with falling interest rates have motivated people to convert their accumulated home equity into expendable funds. This frequently works to their immediate advantage, giving them a considerably lower interest rate and lower monthly mortgage payments.

Homeowners can choose either to spend or save the portion of their incomes that are no longer being spent on mortgage payments.

When Should You Refinance?

In some cases, when refinancing, it helps to borrow more than is needed to pay off the earlier mortgage. This gives you the equity from your home, plus extra funds to cover the transaction costs of refinancing. People use the funds for a variety of purposes: to make home improvements, to repay older debts, or to buy goods, services or assets they couldn’t otherwise afford.

How much can you save by refinancing? This depends on several factors relating to your present mortgage situation. If your new interest rate is low, it can result in substantial savings, perhaps even thousands of pounds. And when rates rise, having refinanced from a variable rate loan to a conventional loan, you can stand to gain substantially.

Some Benefits Of Refinancing

Refinance a home mortgage is a big decision and should be approached with careful consideration of the potential costs and benefits. Clearly, when interest rates on mortgages fall below the rate on your existing loan, it’s time to consider refinancing. This is the time to evaluate your potential after-tax savings from lower monthly payments, and compare it with the after-tax expenses of refinancing. These expenses include mortgage fees or points, application fees and appraisal fees. As the loan is repaid, the savings from your lower interest payments begin to accumulate. The savings due to refinancing must be discounted at the present rate and compared with the transaction or closing costs.

If you’re considering refinancing your home, you need to evaluate your current interest rate. If your new interest rate would be more than 58% lower than your current interest rate, it is well worth refinancing. But if you want to keep your closing costs as low as possible, see that your new interest rate is at least 1% lower.

Why Refinance?

Most people who refinance do so to save money, but there are other reasons to do so. If you refinance your existing loan at a lower rate of interest, you can end up with a lower monthly mortgage payment. This can save you funds in the long run.

Debt Consolidation

In many cases, you can clear all your outstanding debts and replace them with just one low-cost monthly outlay. Refinancing your home to consolidate your debts (such as a credit card balance or a student loan) can save you money in the short run and the long run, because you’ll be paying on a low-interest loan rather than a high-interest one.

Tax Advantages

If you have lower interest rates, it means smaller interest deductions on Schedule A. You are allowed to deduct interest on a debt of up to 1 million incurred to buy your primary residence and one more home. Also deductible is the interest on up to 100,000 of home equity loans for these two residences. If you refinance a mortgage, the interest on this loan is deductible to the limit of old mortgage plus 100,000.

The interest charges you pay up-front, or points, are really interest that’s pre-paid and must therefore be deducted proportionately during the tenure unless you have purchased or improved your existing principal property.

If you have bought investment real estate or a vacation home, you can deduct points proportionately over the loan term. If you have refinanced a mortgage on which you already had been reducing points proportionately, you could be eligible for a tax bonus. Now you can subtract any part of the points for the mortgage already paid off that you had not yet deducted since the year of refinancing.

The precise moment to refinance a home is complicated to figure out. However, it is undeniable that such a moment will arrive, probably several times over the course of a 30 year mortgage. Just be prepared to act when the time comes.

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Interest-Only Or 50 Year Mortgages – Do They Really Make

March 1st, 2010 - 
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Interest-Only Or 50 Year Mortgages – Do They Really Make Sense?

With hotspots like Las Vegas, much of California and Florida still enjoying a good real estate market, many banks and mortgage companies are now spreading out payments over 50 years to make them more affordable. Prior to these 50-year mortgages, interest-only mortgages were promoted and sold as the way to go. The real question here is which is better?

Lets first digress on what an interest-only mortgage is. Interest-only home loans or mortgages arent as a general rule permanently interest-only. The bank or mortgage company will normally offer the borrower 2 to 5 years at interest-only; after that they must start paying off the principle. During this time, the principle has grown. A great many borrowers may find themselves unable to pay the higher payments that come at the end of this interest-only period. In this case, interest-only loans are similar to ARMs, and have similar default and foreclosure rates (higher than for regular fixed mortgages where the payment stays the same throughout).

The 50-year mortgage simply spreads your payments out over a longer time period and greatly increases the amount of interest you will payback; this also tends to reduce your build-up of equity. Alex Diaz Jr., Vice President of Statewide Bancorp in Rancho Cucamonga, stated that the 50-year mortgage has particular appeal in California because prices are higher than the rest of the country. The 30-year fixed mortgage is great, but with gas prices so high, people we’re dealing with are concerned about making prices work, and the 50-year mortgage is something they’re starting to consider.” The real estate market has grown by leaps and bounds in California with the average home selling in excess of 300,000.

The 50-year mortgage was designed to do three things. First, it makes it much easier for someone to buy a home in these high price areas. Second, it can help buffer and insulate the borrower against a housing bubble or possible localized deflation. Third, it keeps the selling prices high. However, many so-called real estate experts will tell you that the interest-only loan does the same thing, but does it? The main problem with the interest-only loan is that it does not insulate or offer any protection for the borrower from increasing principle, negative equity (which can happen should there be a drop in housing prices), and, of course, those increasing payments when the term you agreed is over.

Keeping this in mind, plus the fact that there is only a very minor difference in initial payments (payments over the interest-only period), clearly the 50-year mortgage should be a better way to go.

If your budget allows, a good tactic to use is to make bi-monthly payments which will reduce the interest and term of the loan saving you many thousands of pounds. There are many lenders out there now offering this option to their borrowers. As they say, the real money in real estate is made from buying low and selling high.

The problem is that in most of these hot communities, the selling price often ends up being much higher than the asking price, plus houses do not stay on the market for very long at all. So, buying low is normally out of the question. Just try finding a bargain foreclosure or HUD homes for sale in California, it’s a little like trying to find gold in the old days. In these hot communities, the real money is made by buying and holding for a number of years allowing for the yearly increases and returns on additions and upgrades. Money can be made for sure, but with a uncertain future. It is really best to have a payment program set in stone always use a fixed term and rate mortgage. You can still sell in five years or less, make money, and have the added comfort of a fixed payment.

Have an opinion or a question you would like me to answer, then write me! http:www.CarlHampton.com

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Interest-Only Loans Can Buy More House and More Trouble

February 22nd, 2010 - 
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They’re spreading like wildfire–interest-only mortgages appear to be the panacea for rising home prices and the incomes that cant quite catch up. You can buy “more house” and have a low mortgage payment and a big tax deduction. Who wouldnt want one, right?

Well, a large number of consumers are getting into these loans when they shouldnt. Interest-only mortgages work well for some individuals and are dangerous for most others, yet the number of interest-only loans is rising rapidly.

Take a look at San Diego. In 2004 almost half of the mortgages required interest-only payments in the first few years according to a study done by LoanPerformance, a San Francisco–based real estate information service. Could this have something to do with the housing market? You bet it does. Are home prices rising faster than salaries and incomes? They sure are. So how is one supposed to afford a house in such an expensive housing market? You guessed it–an interest-only loan.

Interest only-loans were originally aimed at more sophisticated investors who wanted to leverage their income by re-directing what would have been the principal portion of their payment to higher yielding investments that exceed the rate of their home appreciation. These types of investors typically have more assets and financial discipline than most and therefore aren’t as likely to get in as much trouble with such a loan.

Today, interest-only loans are being utilized by borrowers who are trying to leverage debt. What they are doing is getting more debt for their buck; they’re borrowing more money but keeping their payments low (initially) in order to compete with other buyers in sellers markets. Here are some of the potential dangers that face such borrowers:

If the principal balance isn’t being reduced, than no equity is being built, and if home prices are stagnant during the interest-only period and the borrower needs to sell, he’ll need to be able to pay sales costs out of whatever equity there is in the house, if there is any. Remember, mortgage amortization is in the borrowers control, appreciation is not.

If theres a downturn in home prices, the borrower could end up upside down, meaning the mortgage balance on the property could end up being greater than the propertys market value. In this case, the borrower would be responsible for sales costs and the remaining mortgage balance which could lead to foreclosure.

Interest-only mortgages make sense for borrowers:

who have seasonal incomes or earn commissions andor bonuses and have a desire to pay on the principal when its convenient.

upwardly mobile individuals who expect to earn more in a few years and want to buy more house early on rather than later.

who intend on investing their cash flow in higher yielding investments or paying down high-priced debt.

Make sure you know what youre getting into with an interest-only loan. Consult with your mortgage broker or lender to know what the possible repercussions could be, and be sure youre getting the loan for the right reasons. Eventually, you want to own your home, and its better to be planning on that sooner than later.

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Interest Only Mortgages

February 15th, 2010 - 
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These days, as people scramble for new and more creative ways to finance buying a home, the interest only mortgage is becoming more common and well known. An interest only mortgage is one in which you have the option of paying only the interest (or just the interest and a portion of the principal) each month in the early years of the mortgage loan. Interest only periods may be applied to adjustable rate mortgages, or 30 year fixed rate mortgages, depending on the lender.

In a traditional mortgage, each month your mortgage payment is divided in two parts – one part is paid on the interest charge, the other on the principal of the loan. The main feature of an interest only mortgage loan is that during a specified initial period of time – usually three, five, seven or ten years – you may choose to make a payment of the interest portion of the loan only. The option is flexible. One month you may choose to make an interest only payment, another you may choose to make an interest-plus-part-of-the-principal mortgage payment, or a full, standard monthly mortgage payment. Needless to say, an interest-only payment will be significantly less than a traditional mortgage payment.

The flexibility of an interest-only mortgage allows you to adjust your mortgage cost on a month by month basis, giving you more control over your monthly cash flow. In any given month during the interest-only period, you have the flexibility to pay as much or as little on your mortgage as you can.

Interest only mortgages aren’t right for everyone. While you have the option of paying interest only each month during the early years, the principal repayment on your mortgage loan is accumulating. At the end of your interest only period, your mortgage payment will take a dramatic jump. Financial experts recommend interest only mortgages for specific types of borrowers: those whose income is supplemented by large commissions or bonuses throughout the year, those who can reasonably expect to be making considerably more income in a few years than they are now, and those borrowers who actually WILL invest the difference between their interest-only payment and their full mortgage payment in profitable investments.

The power of an interest-only loan, according to most experts, is that you can ‘afford to buy more house’. Because you’ll have the choice during the early years of paying only the interest each month, you can effectively afford the monthly payments on a house that’s as much as 30% more expensive than you could with an amortizing (typical) mortgage payment.

You also, however, have the choice each month of paying the interest plus as much on the principal as you wish. If you’re a salesman, for instance, whose standard income is supplemented quarterly and semi-annually by large commissions or bonuses, you could pay interest-only during lean months, saving yourself up to 350 in those months. In the months that you get a large commission though, you could choose to pay down several thousand pounds on the principal.

An interest only mortgage also makes sense if you have a solid investment plan. If a typical mortgage payment would be 900 monthly, and your interest-only payment for the month is 625, then the best financial strategy according to many financial experts is to invest the remaining 275 in a solid, money-making stocks program.

Interest only loans are not for everyone, but they can be a valuable financial tool that can help you control your spending and give your investment power some added oomph. Don’t rush blindly into an interest only mortgage, but do speak to a financial expert or loan officer about whether an interest only loan may be right for you.

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100 Mortgage Financing – No Money Down Programs

February 1st, 2010 - 
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Buying a new home with no money down has never been easier. If you are unfamiliar with 100 mortgage financing, it may help to contact a mortgage broker before applying for a conventional loan. At one point in time, buying a home with no money down was unheard of. Today, the majority of mortgage lenders offer a range of zero down loan programs. These loans are ideal for families trying to buy a home with little or no money for a down payment.

Benefits of 100 Mortgage Financing

The benefits of applying for a no money down home loan are obvious. Ordinarily, mortgage lenders would ask new home buyers to have a down payment of 20%, 5%, or 3%. Rising cost of living makes it difficult for middle class families to save money for a home purchase. Instead of alienating the majority of working class people, lenders chose a smarter approach and begin offering a variety of home loans for every need.

With a 100 percent mortgage financing, down payments are not required. The downside is that these loans may carry a slightly higher interest rate. However, if your credit rating is high, the rate increase is barely noticeable. Of course, good credit is not required for getting a no money down home loan. Fortunately, there are loans available for all credit types.

Different Types of No Money Down Loan Programs

Another option for obtaining 100 percent financing involves getting a mortgage loan for 103 percent or 107 percent financing. 107 percent financing is perfect for homes that need a lot of cosmetic repairs.

If applying for more than 100 percent financing, a good or fair credit rating is a must. Typically, 103 percent full document loans require a score of at least 600. A credit score of at least 680 is required for 107 percent home loans.

Self-employed homebuyers can get approved for a stated income no money down loan. These individuals will likely need 12 months of banking statements, tax returns for the past two years, and a credit score of at least 650. Having bad credit will not disqualify you from getting 100 percent financing. Full document bad credit no money down home loans are available to those with credit scores as low as 580.

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