Personal Finance Tips

With the real estate prices sky rocketing, mortgage loans are a boon when it comes to purchasing your dream home. You can opt for a mortgage loan as a first time home buyer, or to move up, or to refinance an old mortgage, or to access the equity blocked in the house. Whatever may be the reason, it is important to have a basic knowledge about mortgage loans and its types.

Mortgage loan refers to a loan that is secured by a mortgage on real property. Since these loans are secured, the value of the property reduces the risk factor involved. Thus mortgage loans may be available at lower interest rates as compared to other types of borrowing.

Mortgage loans are structured as long-term loans and the periodic payments for them are calculated according to time value of money. The payment is generally through Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) paid over the term of the loan. Over the period, the principal amount borrowed, would be slowly paid off through amortization.

It is very important to choose the right type of mortgage loan, like it is important to choose the right lender. Doing a little bit of homework will help you understand what the loan officer speaks, who most of the time otherwise seems to be speaking in an alien language.

There are two basic types of amortized mortgage loans viz.

1. Fixed Rate Mortgage Loans: In fixed rate mortgages, the interest rate remains fixed for the entire term of loan. Thus they are more predictable than other types of mortgage loans. Fixed rate loans are generally up to 30, 20, 15 and 10 years. The longer the term of loan, larger is the amount of interest paid than the principle, this means larger tax deductions.

Since the interest rate remains fixed, you are saved from paying higher rates as per market fluctuations. At the same time you might loose the opportunity of borrowing at lower rates if market rates fall. If the fall in interest rate is 2 points or more, and you plan to reside in the same house for at least 18 months more, you can opt for mortgage refinancing.

2. Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans: Also called floating rate or variable rate mortgage, these loans are popular because of the lower interest rates at the beginning. Adjustable rates are a little easier to obtain since some risk is transferred from the lender to borrower. Also lower interest rates may qualify the borrower for a larger loan amount.

In Floating rate mortgage loans interest rate is generally fixed for a period of time, after which it periodically adjusts to certain market indices. The most common market indices used are Prime Rate, London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and Treasury Index (T-bill). There is a cap on the margin that restricts the lender from charging interest rates higher than a certain point. This safeguards the interest of the borrower to a certain extent.

If you want to borrow money for your business purposes; you can opt for commercial mortgage loan. Commercial mortgage is similar to a residential mortgage, except that the collateral security given will be a commercial building or other business property and not a residential property.

All types of mortgage loans are generally non-recourse. This means that in case of default in payment, the lender can only seize the collateral security to recover the loan amount. Even if the collateral is insufficient to reimburse the loan in full, the lender has no further claim against the borrower.

For those borrowers in Florida who are out to get a mortgage loan but have poor credit, can not meet the 3 percent down payment requirement or both, and are looking for loans that are no larger than the program’s loan size limit, then the FHA mortgage loan program is the best option for you.

FHA defined

FHA stands for the Federal Housing Administration. It is governed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and insured by the US government, but is not issued by them. What the HUD does is collect the mortgage insurance from the borrowers, and in case the borrowers suddenly back out, they guarantee the lenders full payment. FHA mortgage loans were developed to support low-income housing loans so they have more lenient standard qualifications regarding credit history and down payment capacity compared to conventional loans.

Major advantages

Typically in an FHA mortgage loan, payments do not exceed 29 percent of the gross monthly income of the borrower and the total debt is not more than 41 percent of his gross income. What is the best about FHA loans is that you can get a loan with as little as 1 percent down payment. Conventional mortgages usually require a 26 to 28 percent and 33 to 36 percent down payment to qualify. Because of the less stringent measures to qualify for an FHA mortgage loan, it is fairly easy to take a loan. What’s more, the income of co-borrowers who do not live in the house can be included in measuring the adequacy of income. In special circumstances, FHA mortgage loans even allow gifts in paying for settlement costs.

Terms

In Florida, the current market offers FHA loans at about the same interest rates and points as traditional mortgage loans and also with the same terms. However, there could be a difference in mortgage insurance premiums. FHA mortgage loans are usually on a fixed-rate mortgage and have tenures of thirty years. The mortgage insurance premium for an FHA mortgage loan of a thirty-year period is 1.5 percent of the total loan amount paid from the beginning, and an additional 0.5 percent of the loan balance to be paid monthly.

A mortgage is a system of using property as security for the payment of a debt. It is easier for people with a bad credit history to obtain online mortgage loans. Likewise, online mortgage loan websites tend to offer more options to those with bad credit history. Online mortgage loans are of various types but the two basic types are fixed rate mortgage (FRM) and adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). When a lender offers a loan, he makes money by charging an interest on it. In case of a mortgage loan, all that interest is front-loaded. This means that for the initial years, every payment that is made will go towards the interest.

The interest rates applicable to online mortgage loans vary with fluctuations in the market. When applying for a mortgage loan, individuals have the option of locking-in or floating their interest rates. Fluctuations in the market have no effect on the interest rates of people who choose to lock in their interest rates but market fluctuations have a great effect on floating interest rates. If from the market conditions it appears that the interest rates are going to go lower, people can opt to watch the rates carefully, and then lock it at the rate they are comfortable with.

When a person is looking at getting a good mortgage loan, the term or length of the mortgage is an essential factor to be considered. If an individual wishes to secure a mortgage loan online for a new house, three basic steps if followed can make sure the process is swift and stress-free. Firstly, being unprepared is a very big obstruction when filling up an online loan mortgage application and hence, all information that will be required must be gathered at the beginning. The information generally required is, the individual’s income, assets, and previous home ownership. Secondly, visit several websites before selecting one for the loan. This will just mean getting more quotes from more brokers. This decision can have a great effect on the terms of the loan. Lastly, be extra cautious when completing mortgage application online. A small mistake may result in delaying the loan or even worse, not receiving quotes. Double check each answer in the application for accuracy while applying for online loans.

A mortgage may be the largest investment of your entire life.

Deciding whether or not a mortgage is right for you may also be the single most important financial decision you ever make.

Getting down to basics, a mortgage is a loan you take out to purchase a home. With a mortgage loan the amount of money you’re borrowing, not including a down payment on your new home, is known as the principal.

Over the life of the mortgage you’ll pay interest, which is the percentage of the loan amount you’ll pay to acquire a mortgage. Interest payments are spread out, or amortized over the life of the loan. With a traditional 15- or 30-year fixed-rate mortgage your interest payment is at its highest rate starting with your first payment, and then slowly decreases with each successive payment.

For most consumers, acquiring a mortgage is the only path to home ownership. With median level homes ranging anywhere from $150,000 – $250,000 and more in some cities, very few people can purchase a home outright.

If you’re like most of us and want to own your own home, you need to know how large a home you can afford. This will be influenced most directly by the price of the home and indirectly, by several other factors including the age of the home, size, condition, available land and location within the city you choose to live. If the home needs renovations you need to make sure that the costs of renovation will not exceed the resale value of the home.

Before you begin shopping around for the mortgage that is right for you, you can use the resources of many potential lenders to help you determine what you can afford. Once you know how much home you can afford you’ll be ready to begin searching for a mortgage.

Local mortgage companies, banks, credit unions and even online mortgage brokers should all be scrutinized in your search for a loan.

A broker typically represents a number of different lenders with a variety of loans available to consumers. If a broker charges fees for brokerage services you need to determine the qualifications of the broker. Will the extra fees you pay help you get a better deal on a mortgage? The best brokers should be able to provide several loan options and be willing to provide comparisons of all available loan options. Some brokers may also be willing to assist if any disputes should arise between you and your lender of choice.

If you can find an upfront mortgage broker you’ll eliminate any guesswork as to the true costs of a mortgage loan, with all fees disclosed in writing before the loan application is even submitted.

Before you submit a loan application you should get pre-qualified for a mortgage. This will establish in writing how large a loan you may qualify for. Once you pre-qualify make sure the lender will provide you with a free, no obligation pre-approved commitment letter.

Once you’re pre-approved for a mortgage you’ll have cleared one major obstacle in the sometimes long and winding road to home ownership.

Contrary to popular belief, bad credit mortgage loans still exist. However, they can be more difficult to obtain. Mortgages for those without good credit scores can be more expensive and entail varied terms. If you have bad credit, then it becomes even more important to shop effectively for your mortgage.

Mortgages all have stated periods of repayment. Throughout time they usually were 30 years. More recently this repayment time frame began to be drawn out. Some extended to 40, even 50, years. Others had shorter periods allowing for quicker pay back. Most experts suggest a 30 year term. This often translates to a reasonable payment while allowing for appreciable principal reduction.

Interest rates can vary. They are mostly all tied to main market interest rates. How much above this benchmark rate you pay depends on several factors. Your credit score is one of them. This is unfortunately one of the costs of having less than great credit. The good news is that refinancing is always possible in the future erasing the initial higher interest rate.

Not only can they vary, but interest rates can also change. Some mortgages have what are called “fixed rates”. This means that the interest rate will remain the same during the life of the loan. Fixed rate mortgage loans allow for effective planning and budgeting. There are no surprises when the rate changes and your mortgage payment all of a sudden shoots up.

Other mortgages have what are called “adjustable rates”. These loans have an interest rate which changes along with the market rate interest rate. With an adjustable rate one really never knows what the payment will be into the future. The advantage of an adjustable rate is the sometimes the initial payment is lower. However, this can quickly change resulting in a very high rate.

This is especially so for mortgages with initial very low “teaser rates”. This loans can be especially dangerous and are heavily marketed to those with bad credit. Therefore, you need to be very wary of these mortgages. A very low initial payment is great. However, in a year, if it greatly increases you could be in a position that you can no longer afford your mortgage. This can obviously lead to a horrible result.

Be wary of claims that you will be able to refinance at any point that the initial teaser rate shoots upward. Many borrowers were told this before and believed it. However, now they find they are unable to refinance because of declining property values. The result can be foreclosure. Obviously, you want to avoid this at all costs. Staying away from initial low teaser rate loans is a good step towards that end.

There are bad credit mortgage loans available today. However, many can have nasty pitfalls. Make sure you are an educated consumer. Each bit of information available online can prove valuable and end up saving you money and heartache. Do your research, read the fine print, and avoid fancy or tricky mortgages and you’ll be a happy homeowner.