How Can FHA Loans Help You Buy a Home?
FHA loans are specifically designed to assist homebuyers in purchasing homes they couldn’t afford if they opted for other types of mortgages. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was founded in 1934, and its aim was to help people purchase homes. This organization does not make any loans, but it does insure the finance that private […]
What You Should Know About ARMs
Adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, are mortgages with varying interest rates that are usually determined by performance of benchmark indexes. As the index rate changes, your rate of interest will be adjusted periodically. Here is a brief ARM glossary: Index- The index is essentially a guide that lending institutions use to measure changes in the […]
Fixed Mortgage Rates Rise
Recently, fixed-rate mortgage rates moved up slightly higher. According to Freddie Mac, the average interest rate at the end of May/beginning of June was 4.12%. Last week, lenders offered 30-year loans at an average rate of 4.14%. The rise occurred during a week the market’s direction was very unclear. A year ago, the interest rate […]
Older Americans Facing Substantial Mortgage Debt
A few decades ago, homeowners could retire without a mortgage. They could enjoy the golden years of their life. But the refinancing trend resulted in a great deal of mortgage debt. Many people also bought homes later in life, and this is another reason why retirees will be left with a mortgage. According to an […]
Making the Most of Cash-Out Refinancing
Cash-out refinancing accesses your home equity through a new mortgage with a bigger principal amount than the current one. You can avail for the difference amount between the principals of the two mortgages IN CASH for almost any purposes. Use cash-out refinancing option to obtain a new mortgage with a higher principal than your debt […]
Provisions in the New Expire Act That May Impact Homeowners
When Ronald Regan revamped the tax code and signed the reform bill in 1986 there were only 14 provisions that had expiration dates. Today that number has grown to 55. These expirations create uncertainly from year to year as to what is tax deductible and what is not. At the end of 2013 55 provisions […]
Should Homeowners Make Extra Mortgage Payments?
It is often recommended that homeowners make additional mortgage payments to pay the loan off early. Online calculators can assist homeowners to doing so. Some mortgage providers allow for payments every two weeks which will result in one additional payment a year. Since all mortgages do not have early payoff penalties, it stands to reason […]
New Qualified Mortgage Rules
The federal government has implemented the new Qualified Mortgage (QM) rules. The implementation of these rules poses many challenges for lenders as they now have to tighten their underwriting norms. On the other hand, borrowers may hardly notice any difference. However, borrowers at the lower and the higher ends of the spectrum may find it […]
Five Best Practices for Buying a Home
If you want to land your dream home, you will have to follow some unwritten rules. These are some best practices that are followed by both sellers and brokers. Let’s take a look at them: Make an offer only after getting a mortgage pre-approved The pre-approval letter shows that the lender has verified your finances […]
Understanding the Different Kinds of Mortgage Lenders
While shopping for a home loan you might come across terms like retail lenders, direct lenders, mortgage brokers, and wholesale lenders. Many borrowers simply look at the terms and the interest rate and if they are satisfactory, they go ahead and purchase the loan. They don’t really bother to find out what sort of lender […]
