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A Smart Shoppers Guide To Mortgage Hunting

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

There are lots of things to consider when purchasing a mortgage, but unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, you would do better to hire a mortgage broker. However, if you insist on doing this yourself, there are a few things you need to do.

For starters, you need to make sure you have what it takes to actually be in the market. Take a look at your finances and really make an honest appraisal of your spending and saving habits. A mortgage is a big deal and a great responsibility – not something to be taken lightly in any way. You are also going to want to decide what features you want in a mortgage – term and down payment – and where you factor in as far as trends are concerned. What’s your credit like? What kind of interest can you handle? And while you’re doing all this research, be sure and shop around. There are lots of little questions you need to ask that many people don’t think are important. Questions like “will it affect my rates if I put in an ADT Alarm System” and the like. And, don’t just get one quote from one source, play the field.

You will also need to find out who will provide the loan and you are going to want to stick to someone who will lock the prices. And remember not to rush into anything – a mortgage is a big decision and one you will ultimately have to live with.

Beating the down payment on a new mortgage

admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

With housing prices still in decline there are a number of people who are attempting to buy a home to take advantage. However, with the mortgage market skittish of new mortgages it can be difficult to obtain a large enough line of credit to purchase a home. Even if you have a solid credit rating and a steady income a big enough down payment to satisfy the bank may be hard to come by, but there are ways to get around this.

The most common workaround for a down payment is to take an 80/20 loan. What this means is that you take out a primary loan for 80 percent of the house, and a secondary loan for 20 percent to cover the down payment. The secondary loan usually has a higher interest rate so it would be the one you would want to pay off first. The other benefit of this option is that it avoids penalties for insufficient down payment.

You can also find mortgages that require minimal down payments, but these are usually found through credit unions rather than large banks. These loans will also likely requiring paying private mortgage insurance due to having a down payment less than 20 percent. However, it does get you into the home buying market.

While down payments are more of a hindrance for buyers now than they were five years ago it doesn’t necessarily mean a house is unobtainable.

How to apply at a Credit Union for mortgages

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you are interested in applying for a credit union loan, the first thing that you must do is be a member of that credit union. Membership generally requires you to work for a certain organization or company, to live a certain place, and/or you to be a family member of a current member. Whatever their requirements for membership are once you meet those is when you apply for a mortgage loan.

What is the difference between banks and credit unions you may ask? Well credit unions are nonprofits owned by the customers and this is why they can offer such competitive loans with reasonable interest rates. Other benefits of a credit union loan is that they can offer repayment rates to suit you particular circumstance, there are no hidden charges or fees, and there is no penalty for early repayment or lump sum repayments.

Membership does not preclude your from the application process. Needless to say, credit unions allow you to apply for loans the traditional way, through a loan officer at a local branch. However, with the advent of online banking, you now have the option of applying for a loan online (first make sure your individual credit union offers this service).

How to make banks compete for your mortgage

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Banks make most of their income off of loaning mortgages. For this reason they must be competitive, otherwise they would quickly loose to the competition. As a customer on the paying end of a mortgage you should always work to get the best deal on mortgage. This means getting the lowest fix rate mortgage rate possible.
Do some research on the fixed rate mortgage rates that banks offer. Never allow yourself to get tricked into getting a variable rate mortgage rate. The reason for this is to avoid the rate going beyond what you could afford to pay.Confused? Here ‘s a little help . If you can’t find the information online that don’t be afraid to call some banks and ask.
All the research in the world won’t beat some good negotiation skills. If a bank knows that you are a very good potential customer then they should lower their mortgage rate if you threaten to go to the competition. The bank knows that its better to lower their rate than to loose you to the competition.
By combining research and negotiation skills it should be possible to get a mortgage on your terms. Never let a bank decide your mortgage for you. Instead, make them compete for it!

Ways to fix credit to get good mortgage rates

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Are you shopping around for a mortgage soon and need to get your credit in order, fix some blemishes, or just raise your score in order to get a good mortgage rate? Listed are some tips, that will help you fix your credit so that you can qualify for a better loan.

Pay off your credit cards: According the three major credit bureaus, in terms of score weighted-ness, revolving accounts like credit cards should carry a balance of below 25 of your total credit line and credit cards are weighted more heavily than installment loans (i. e car payments). If you want to increase your FICO score focus on paying down, or better yet paying off, those credit cards.

Do not use you whole credit line each month: Again you should carry a balance of below 25 of your total credit line and if it is more, you score will take a dive.

Do not use credit card issuers who do not report to the credit bureaus or your credit limit

Ask a creditor for forgiveness: If you have diligently paid your bills on time but ran into a “hard-time” and missed a payment or two you may be able to ask the creditor to erase that negative listing. Not a guarantee but worth a shot.

“Pay for Delete” strategy: Get a collection agency to take off an adverse listing if you promise to pay it off. Remember to get the agreement in writing.