Mortgage lenders is that word we use to lump together all the institutions and organizations who give money to people to buy their homes in the form of home equity loans. These are our lenders: banks, companies that have some sort of loan program, insurance providers and trust companies

Continue reading Mortgage Lenders What Are They

Over the past couple of days, a new possible excuse for the recession has been coming up here and there and it’s called the mark-to-market accounting rule, and not a lot of people know what it is. I had to look it up myself, and I’ll try my best to explain what it’s about.

Continue reading Mark-to-Market and Mortgages

With the market experiencing a supply glut of homes, fixed-rate mortgages are now experiencing historically low interest rates. Here are some tips to getting the best possible home mortgage available. Just remember to keep a good credit score.

Here are some tips to help you get the best possible loan.

(1) Watch your rate.

The closer you are to closing on a home mortgage deal you have keep tracking your interest rates which continue to fluctuate. If the rate for the deal you are making suddenly goes up with no reasonable explanation you may have to find another lender for a mortgage even if you may have to push back your date of purchase by several days.

(2) Get preapproved, not prequalified.

The loan with the lowest rate and fees that are less than a thousand dollars are usually the best deal for people looking for a home mortgage. It pays to get a pre-approval for these loans. This usually entails filling out an application that details your income, savings and personal debt. It will be checked against your credit report and if it passes their tests, you can get the preapproval letter with how much you can borrow for your home mortgage.

This is much better than getting prequalified because prequalification does not include your credit score. In this manner, you get an idea of what problems you may encounter when getting a mortgage and what rates you can expect. But Should I Refinance Home

(3) Get the best rates

Fixed-rate loans now are so cheap there’s no point in looking for something else. It’s just a matter of shopping around to find out what is the best rate you can get for your home mortgage. You can do this by doing some aggressive research online, asking your friends or agent and joining credit unions.

With the market the way it is now, it shouldn’t be so hard to find a home mortgage to your advantage.

Generally speaking, if you can earn the refinancing costs (normally 1%-3% of the loan value) back within two to three years, and it’s a home you’re prepared to stay in for much longer than that,it’s usually a good option to refinance your mortgage. From a risk perspective if you have an adjustable rate mortgage, refinancing to a low 30 year fixed rate may also be a good idea because it will ensure your repayments never skyrocket and place you under financial duress.

Also, never blindly trust mortgage brokers who will give you life-of-loan refinance savings calculations that may not factor in the taxation implications (mortgage interest is tax deductible). Also, consider the opportunity cost of refinancing.

Refinancing Home Loans

Could you make more by putting that money into other investments? You can search on-line for a number of refinancing calculators and do the numbers based on your own personal situation. So do your homework before looking to refinance and like any financial product or service always shop around to get the lowest fees and best rates. Should I Refinance My Home?

Question:
I am in need of some help with a possible refinance. I hope someone can assist. I have a feeling refinancing is the way to go but when I asked my current lender, Chase several questions today, my head went spinning.

Should I Refinance

My situation is as follows:
498,00 purchase price in 7/05 and current value is also 498,000
373,500 financed at closing in 2005
351,000 is my balance now
5.75 is my current rate with a 10 year fixed and then 20 year variable
2179.00 monthly payments now
Chase offered 2 options today to start thinking about:
30 fixed at 4.625 1 discount point at a cost of 3500 making the monthly payment 1840 or
30 year fixed 5.125 par no points making the monthly payment 1932
the 2100 in closing costs quoted will be rolled into new loan and are included in the above monthly payment calculations above.
The 750 app fee cannot be rolled into the new mortgage.
My management company / corporation (I am in a coop) is going to charge me approx 1800 app fees etc. to close as well.
With all these fees, etc., how do I know when I will break even? Is either a good deal? I will be shopping and look at other lenders but before I spend the time, I needed a baseline. I should be in the apt at a min of 4 years more but anything is possible. I could be here forever, or I could move next year….who knows? By the way, I am in NY.

Thanks!
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Answer:
Calculate your mortgage payment Prin & Interest divide that into the total closing cost and that will tell you what your break even point is. Should I Refinance My Home