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Archive for August, 2008

 

Are the interest rates the same between people who take a new mortgage and those who refinance?

Friday, August 15th, 2008
refinance mortgage
deedee asked:


I want to take advantage of the decline in intest rates by refinancing my mortgage. When I search online I find a lot of rates quoted for new loans but not much for refinancing. Is it safe to assume the refinancing rates will be similar to the new buyer’s rates (with the same terms and credit rating of course)? Thanks.

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How To Get The Lowest Refinance Mortgage Rates

Friday, August 15th, 2008
refinance mortgage
Joshua Suffie asked:


Those considering refinancing their home for a better mortgage rate should consider a number of factors, and learn the tips and tricks to help get the best rates for their mortgage. You should never take the first refinance offer that is made. Shopping around to compare interest rates and terms from a wide variety of lenders will help you to get the best deal possible. Once you have found a good deal, you should check to find out whether there will be any hidden fees. These can include closing fees on your old mortgage as well as fees to open the new mortgage.

Refinancing Tips

You should calculate your expected monthly and yearly savings from the refinanced mortgage. Then, the costs of refinancing should be deducted from this amount. This will tell you whether a given plan is worth your while, or whether you should continue shopping. After these calculations have been finished, you may find that there is one lender you particularly prefer. Many borrowers prefer to stick with their current lender because of the familiarity that lender brings. In this case, see if you can convince that lender to match your best refinancing offer. If there are some fees you do not feel you can accommodate, it is always worth asking your lender if they would be willing to waive them in order to retain your business. The worst that they can say is no. In that case, you can simply move on to the next lender.

The Importance of Your Credit Score

Borrowers should ideally have the best possible credit score when they refinance their mortgage. Lenders determine whether a person is worthy of extending credit to through this scoring system. The better your history, the better the rate the lender can offer. If you have a poor credit history, there are options to improve it. These things do, however, take some time.

Improving Your Credit

You should first be sure that your existing mortgage is paid on time every month. This way, the bank will be able to tell that you can make your payments on time. Also, the more debt you can rid yourself of, the better your score will be. Repaid debts improve your credit rating. Consumer debt is considered the worst form of debt, including credit cards, store cards, and personal loans. This kind of debt is not received favourably when applying for any sort of loan.



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Is it better to pay down my current mortgage and refinance or refinance and use the money for downpayment?

Thursday, August 14th, 2008
refinance mortgage
mks6128 asked:


I have inherited some money and I want to use it to pay down the debt on my house and to make the payments lower. Would it be better to pay the mortgage down $100K and then refinance the $75K balance or Should I refinance the $175K and put a downpayment of $100K? Maybe it would be the same difference, but I just wanted to make sure I am using this money in the best way. Thanks!

Kansieo.com

 

What is the 4506-T for in regards to a mortgage refinance?

Sunday, August 10th, 2008
refinance mortgage
Eric L asked:


I am a loan officer for a mortgage company refinancing one of my clients. He is stating his income as he is self-employed. One of the conditions required by the lender is a 4506-T tax form. I forwarded it to my client, but he is hesitant to submit this form in fears of being audited by the IRS? What is the likelyhood of this actually happening and what would need to happen for the IRS to take such drastic measures? Otherwise I’m not sure why this is a requirement from the lender…
Of course I haven’t been a loan officer for very long…if I had been in the industry for many years, I doubt I would be coming to Yahoo Answers to obtain smarmy replies from know-it-alls. But hey, you were all in the same boat at one point in your careers, right?

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Finding The Best Refinance Mortgage Rate - Tips

Sunday, August 10th, 2008
refinance mortgage
James Redder asked:


One of the financial vehicles used to pay off the remaining balance on your existing loan is a refinancing loan. Before you get too ahead of yourself however and take out a refinancing loan you want to work out exactly what it is that you want to get out of it. Having a plan in mind before you start this process will assist you in having a positive experience. Getting a refinance loan should come after you have a clear logical reason to do so. The idea is not to create a bigger financial crisis in the future because of a poor or irrational decision made now. In addition to the information given here you may want to look into refinance information online.

Refinancing is incredibly popular and there are many benefits that come from it. One of the biggest benefits is that you can attain a lower interest rate and so in turn you will have lower monthly mortgage payments.

The process of finding the best refinance mortgage rates does not have to be difficult but you do have to know where to look. But before you even start the process of looking you should be very clear about your reasons for refinancing. Write them down and use them as a guideline to pick the lender you will work with for the refinancing. There are a few great companies that will help you to find the best refinance mortgage rate, which will be discussed in further detail here.

A Viable Option?

Look for and investigate the mortgage loan companies that have long histories and few consumer complaints against them. There are some companies that have been helping thousands of consumers around the world to find the best refinance mortgage rates, second and reverse mortgages, payday and home equity loans. These are the ones you want to inquire about further.

After you have gathered your list go to each companies respective website and check out their best refinance mortgage rates on your own, but the best idea is often to have someone work with you so that you do not make a mistake and can get the best results possible.

Conclusion

Make sure you properly research the lenders that are available to you. Before you enter into any agreement make sure the lender explains all the details of the process to you. By doing this you ensure that you are informed and not unpleasantly surprised. If you keep in the forefront of your mind the reasons WHY you want to refinance and what the long term consequences of those reasons are then you will be in a position to make a better well-informed rational decision.



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Houston Refinance Mortgage Information

Saturday, August 9th, 2008
refinance mortgage
Smith & Chen asked:


There are three main reasons that consumers consider a Houston refinance mortgage. They are lower rate, cash out (or debt consolidation), and converting from adjustable to a fixed rate.

For a rate refinance an important consideration is the closing costs to be paid. If there are typical closing costs it is usually advisable to refi if you can save ? percent on your rate or more. With a “no closing cost” loan it can make sense to refi with 1/8 percent savings or more. The no closing cost option is not always the best choice. If a mortgage with some closing costs is available at a better rate you should consider the payback time. This is a calculation of how long it would take a rate savings to recover the closing costs. If the payback is 4 years and you plan on having the loan longer than that it may be the better deal.

For cash out refinancing there are rules that are commonly called “Texas cash-out” rules. The key part of this is that the loan may not exceed 80% of your homes appraised value. For example if your home is worth $100,000 and you currently have a $50,000 mortgage, the maximum cash out would be $30,000 (less closing costs). It is usually not advisable to do a cash out refi if it would result in a higher rate than you currently have. If you can’t get a equal or better finance rate it may be better to do a second mortgage or home equity line of credit instead (HELOC). Ask a good loan officer or mortgage broker to show you options and explain the differences.

It is usually advisable to convert from an adjustable to a fixed rate mortgage only if the fixed rate is equal or better. Some adjustable rate loans have a prepayment penalty the first two or three years. In some cases it can be best to wait until after the penalty clause expires to refinance.

For all refinance mortgages it is important to get the best possible rate and terms. Your credit, income, and loan to value ratio will be factors for your rate and terms. Your goal should be to get the best program that you qualify for. There are a lot of mortgage programs available in the marketplace. In general the best include some Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac programs, and VA conforming loans. Next might be other conventional “A” mortgages or FHA loans which are very good. Alternate A loans are next, these are loans that don’t quite fit the top tier because they are very large (jumbo), or for another reason like not documenting your income. Next could be Fannie/Freddie programs that are for those with less than perfect credit (sometimes called A- mortgages”). Next to last would be “sub-prime” loans. These are for consumers with more difficult to finance mortgages because of credit or other reasons. The lowest category could be called “hard-money” loans. Some lenders will do this type of mortgage at a high rate regardless of severe problems if there is a large amount of equity.

I suggest dealing with a lender that has a large variety of programs to select from. If you shop a lender that only does one type of mortgages you will probably be turned down if you don’t fit their program. When you shop a lender that doesn’t do FHA loans, they may suggest a lower category mortgage with a higher rate. And it is better when a lender offers a choice of programs, rather than just one.

Texas residents can visit our Houston refinance mortgage site for more information. You can also call my office at 281-537-7800.

Mortgage Rate Calculators - Valuable Tools For Getting The Best Loan

Are you looking for some inside information on refinance mortgage rate calculators? Here’s an article that can help provide information for you to find the best rates for your mortgage.

Refinancing is a smart move if you want to lower your monthly payment and overall interest on your bills. With refinance mortgages, you are also able to change the term of the loan to a shorter one so you can pay off the loan earlier and save more on interest.

There are actually several reasons why people want to take a refinance mortgage. This is also why refinance mortgage rate calculators are important. Refinance mortgage rate calculators help consumers determine the amount of savings they can make on their chosen loan type. Refinance mortgage rate calculators also aid you in finding out how much is your monthly payment for your refinancing loan.

The Internet refinance mortgage rate calculators show you the monthly payments you need to make for your mortgage. Aside from that, these refinance mortgage rate calculators also show you the total interest rate. If you’re more concerned on how much saving you will be able to make with a refinancing loan, refinance mortgage rate calculators will also help you on that.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of refinance mortgage rate calculators is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news to help you make a wise financial decision.

The refinance mortgage rate calculator will ask you for your current loan information. For instance, on the refinance mortgage rate calculator, a field labeled Principal Balance will be provided along with the Monthly Payment and Annual Interest Rate fields. You need fill these up in order to start using the refinance mortgage rate calculator.

To complete the process, the website’s refinance mortgage rate calculator will also ask for your new loan information. Another three fields will be provided in the refinance mortgage rate calculator. The refinance mortgage rate calculator fields are: Annual Interest Rate, Term, and closing Costs. By checking on the Finance Closing Costs at the bottom part of the refinance mortgage rate calculator and then hitting the Calculate button, you can determine how many months it will take for your loan to break even on the closing costs.

For example, for the Principal Balance field on the refinance mortgage rate calculator, you put in $150,000 (Take note that the amount you place in this refinance mortgage rate calculator field represents the remaining pay-off balance). The Interest Rate of your current loan is 6% and the data you put in the refinance mortgage rate calculator Monthly Payment field is $899.30.

For the New Loan Information portion of the refinance mortgage rate calculator, you place the following data: 5% Annual Interest Rate, 30-year Term, and $0 for Closing Costs. Make sure that you check the box for Finance Closing Costs at the bottom of the refinance mortgage calculator before hitting the Calculate button.

The results of the refinance mortgage rate calculator would show you that your new monthly payment would be $805.23, $93.77 short of your current loan monthly payment. The refinance mortgage rate calculator would also display the difference in the interest rates of both loans. With the refinance mortgage rate calculator, you will be able to find that the total interest of your current loan would be $173,757.28 while your new interest after refinancing would be $139,883.68. This allows you to save $33,873.61 on interest.

As your knowledge about mortgage calculators continues to grow, you will begin to see how easy it is to get the best loan available. Knowing how these type of tools work is important when making large financial decisions.



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Can you refinance an adjustable mortgage as a fixed mortgage?

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
refinance mortgage
Mr. Congo asked:


Thankfully, my mortgage is fixed rate. For those out there who are getting pounded by their balooning adjustable payments, do they have an option to refinance their property with a fixed rate mortgage?

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California Refinance Mortgages Help You Get Ahead Financially

Monday, August 4th, 2008
refinance mortgage
Jonathan Sapling asked:


Refinancing your California home with a California Refinance Mortgage may enable you to take advantage of low interest rates. Refinancing your California home purchase with a California Refinance Mortgage may make good financial sense at any point during your mortgage repayment period, and in some cases, on more than one occasion.

One of the most common scenarios that a California refinance mortgage might work is when interest rates fall lower than they were when you purchased, thus allowing you the chance to save significantly, particularly if you expect to own your home for more than a few years.

In addition, you may choose to refinance with a California refinance mortgage and take advantage of lower interest rates if you currently have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and want to convert to a fixed rate.

Once again your terms will vary depending on how long you plan on staying in your California home, so it is necessary to evaluate your options as they apply to your situation.

Refinancing your home with a California Refinance Mortgage can also free up cash to use for other purposes. Taking out a second mortgage can provide you with the means to pay off other, higher interest debts, invest, take a vacation, pay for your children’s college education, or other high-cost purchases.

In addition to the lower interest rates you will pay by consolidating your debts, the interest charges on a home mortgage loan are tax-deductible, giving you double the reason to consider this as a wise financial move.

Deciding if refinancing is right for you will depend on your current interest rate, the amount you have paid off on your home, the number of years you expect to continue living there, and your potential for savings.

A number of other costs and fees may be involved, so it is important to explore your options thoroughly.

There are plenty of reasons to consider refinancing, so investigate the possibilities for saving money, or putting it to better use. In addition, because homes in California have higher than national average prices, your savings from refinancing with a California refinance mortgage may be considerable. Therefore, if you’re tempted to avoid the hassle, you should weigh all options!

To determine if a California refinance mortgage is right for you, review your financing and look for ways to make the most of the equity you own in your home.

For instance, if you have been considering starting a small business or taking more of an interest in your investments, you may stand to make substantial gains by freeing up some cash flow and redirecting some funds with a California refinance mortgage.

If you decide that refinancing is your best choice, consult with a financial planner if the choices are too confusing, and explore your options for better financial management.

There are likely to be numerous possibilities available that you have never even considered. Find out what refinancing options you have. Then, make the most of the resources you have, and reduce borrowing costs whenever possible. After all, it’s never too late, or too soon to start planning for a successful financial future and a California refinance mortgage may be your key!



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