First Mortgage Support

By: Ann Gibson

Mortgages are easy as long as you understand them well. But how many borrowers can be confident of their knowledge of mortgages.

With the list of terms and terminologies related to mortgages growing fastly, it is difficult to keep pace with it. However, the legal maxim goes as follows – “ignorantia juris non excusat” (ignorance of law is no excuse). Therefore, it is necessary to be updated in the field of mortgages.

This will not require a wide knowledge of mortgages. A basic understanding of the mortgage terms and the impact that every mortgage decision has on the overall financial condition of the customer will be desirable.

Once the need for mortgage advice is created, it is easy to get it. There are various articles on the topic. Newspaper clippings, seminars etc. can be valuable source of information. Friends and relatives who have taken mortgages too can provide valuable information. These explain the various terms associated with mortgage in easy to understand language.

Nevertheless, whether or not the advice given is independent still needs to be ascertained. Independence of the advice is an important criterion by which borrowers rate its value. Some sources are just selling their mortgage products in the guise of independent mortgage providers. It is important to stay away from these advisors. They tend to hide the disadvantages of the products while enumerating its advantages.

Whether the person or any other source offering advice is competent to provide advice will be the next criterion to judge the usefulness of the advice. It is advisable to contact independent financial advisors for all queries related to mortgages. Independent financial advisors provide advice according to the guidelines of the Financial Services Authority.

The first thing to understand will be the type of mortgage to be taken. There are a number of mortgages designed for different purposes. First time buyer mortgage is for people who are buying home for the first time. Those who aim to repay the mortgage through house rent can take buy to let mortgage. Those aiming to provide for their old age take a pension mortgage. There are many more mortgages to choose from. Customers must be aware of the uses that each mortgage can be put to, and their inherent advantages and disadvantages.

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By: Andrew Baker

Mortgages would have never happened, had mortgages been a no profit venture for the mortgagees or the mortgage providers. The lender receives much more than he had actually lent. And you feared that you would not qualify for the mortgages having a bad credit history. Mortgagees somehow find ways to match borrowers with the offers available with them in order to have your business.

Bad credit mortgages are mortgages offered to people whose credit history has been adversely tainted. Sub-prime lenders make a special provision for people with an adverse credit history. But, it is crucial to escape lenders who pose as sub-prime lenders, but are actually overcharging them. There is a misconception in the minds of people that having a bad credit lessens their chances of getting a mortgage. In fact they take the offer as if it is the best that they can get.

We cannot expect the mortgage providers to not differentiate between those with a good credit history and those who have not. This however does not mean that the borrower must accept all terms on the mortgage without questioning their validity. There are many mortgage providers in the UK and the case will match some or other lender if a proper and exhaustive search is made. There are a few tips which could be used to reduce the intensity of the differentiation.

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By: Charles Essmeier

For years, when someone wanted to purchase or refinance a home, the choices were simple. The buyer chose either a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage or a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage. That was it. Of course, those were also the days of twenty percent down payments, which seriously hindered the ability of many Americans to obtain the loan necessary to buy their own home. In recent years, more flexible loan types have become available and down payment requirements have been relaxed. There are now far more choices of loan types available for the borrower than ever before. That can be a mixed blessing, however, as prospective borrowers now have to do a tremendous amount of homework in order to determine which type of loan might be the best choice. The selection of loan types that are currently available can be quite bewildering, and the wrong choice could cost the prospective borrower thousands of dollars over the term of the loan.

The standard 15-year and 30-year mortgages are still quite popular. Each provides the stability of a fixed interest rate and a payment that will remain the same throughout the duration of the life of the mortgage. When interest rates are near historic lows, as they are today, these traditional choices work well for most buyers. Buyers who find a 15-year or 30-year mortgage to be within their means would probably benefit from obtaining such a mortgage now.

In recent years, as home prices have increased faster than wages, the lending industry has created more flexible types of mortgages designed to help buyers who may have trouble with traditional loans obtain financing. These types of loans tend to have adjustable interest rates:

# The Adjustable Rate Mortgage, or ARM, has a rate that adjusts over time as spelled out in the mortgage agreement. Typically, the rate at the time of singing the loan is lower than that of a traditional mortgage, perhaps by one percent or so. The difference is that the rate can adjust over time as the market changes. The loan agreement will spell out how often the rate may change and how much the rate may change at one time. The agreement may also indicate a maximum interest rate that may be charged over the life of the loan. These types of loans are ideal for buyers who do not intend to stay in their home for more than a few years, or buyers who are purchasing in times of high interest rates, when there is an expectation that rates will drop over time.

# Convertible mortgages are ARMs that offer the buyer an opportunity to “convert” the adjustable rate loan to a fixed rate loan after a certain period of time that is spelled out in the loan agreement. There is a fee charged for converting the mortgage, but the fee is typically less than the fees associated with refinancing the mortgage altogether.
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By: Charles Essmeier

The booming real estate market has allowed many Americans to become “equity rich.” They may not have a lot of cash on hand, but they might have equity in their homes worth several hundred thousand dollars or more. Unfortunately, this increase in home wealth has spawned an equally booming business in equity theft, as more and more thieves find increasingly clever ways to con homeowners out of their equity, their homes, or both. One clever new scam involves companies that promise to completely “eliminate” a homeowner’s mortgage. For a fee of a few thousand dollars, these companies claim that a homeowner can have a free and clear title to their home without paying off the remaining debt. How does this scam work?

This scam is a bit more complicated than other scams that often use simple forgery of identity theft. In this “mortgage elimination” scam, the homeowner places his home in a trust with the mortgage elimination company as the trustee. The trustee files a long, tedious, frivolous, letter of complaint with the mortgage company, giving them a mere ten days to respond. Should the mortgage company not respond within ten days, and they frequently do not, the trust claims that they are then free of the mortgage obligation. Using a questionable power of attorney procedure, the trust then files with the local register of deeds for a release of the home’s title. This makes it appear that the home is now owned without a lien.
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By: Jay Conners

The time comes for all mortgage brokers and loan officers to consider spending some of their hard earned money by testing the waters of mortgage leads.

After all, leads are the name of the game.

If the time is right for you, it is important to do you research, remember, you are testing the waters, not diving right in. Investigate as many lead companies as you can before you decide which one is right for you.

Equally important is the lead itself, while doing your research, consider these three things about the type of lead you will be getting.

Where did the lead come from?

Speak with a representative from the lead company to determine where the leads are being generated from. Lead companies use different methods for obtaining their leads. Some of the more common ways lead companies generate leads is through e-mail campaigns, advertisements on search engines, directing potential customers to web sites that they own, and purchasing leads in bulk from other companies.

Is the lead fresh or recycled?

Some lead companies sell their leads in what they call “real time,” which means the leads are fresh, usually no more than a day old.
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By: Shaan Randow

There is a non-traditional type of home mortgage loan being marketed to consumers known as an interest only home mortgage loan. Sometimes called a balloon mortgage, an interest only mortgage is exactly what the name implies. For the term of the mortgage, the borrower is paying only the interest that is due on the home mortgage loan and is not paying anything back towards the original loan amount.

At the end of the mortgage term, the balance due on the loan will be equal to the full amount that was originally borrowed. This balance will be due, in full, when the mortgage loan term ends.

Why an Interest Only Mortgage Loan Sounds Attractive

Obviously, we would all like our monthly mortgage payments to be as low as possible. With an interest only home mortgage loan, the borrower is keeping his monthly payments to a minimal by paying only the interest that was accrued on the loan in the last thirty days since his last payment. Therefore, this type of mortgage is often marketed to the consumer as a tool which allows the borrower to “buy more of a home” than they would be able to afford with a traditional home mortgage loan.

To illustrate this let’s take a look at the purchase of a $150,000 home. Buying this home with a traditional 30 year fixed rate mortgage with a seven percent interest rate would give you monthly mortgage payments of approximately $1,000. On the other hand, if the consumer chooses an interest only 30 year fixed rate mortgage at the same seven percent interest rate, monthly mortgage payments would only be $695. This type of mortgage would be attractive to the consumer who can afford $700 each month, but can not afford $1,000.
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By: Rachel Lane

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, first-time buyers are the most susceptible group of homeowners to debt, as they are more likely to have higher loan-to-value ratios and commit a higher proportion of their income to mortgage repayments. Despite their susceptibility to debt, there is evidence which indicates that insurance take-up and employee benefits provide recent first-time buyers with a safer foundation than the general population of mortgage borrowers.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has become increasingly concerned about the ability of current and future home-buyers to pay back mortgages in the event of changing circumstances. Over the past five years, the CML and its partners within the Sustainable Home-ownership Initiative, have sought to improve this issue. Contributing factors to the problem include increasing personal debt levels and a less certain economic environment. This has provoked concern about the sustainability of home-ownership and consumer understanding of financial products, ensuring that the issue of mortgage risk is at the top of the agenda for the UK Government, industry regulators and public as a whole.

Over the last year, the Sustainable Home-ownership Initiative has debated the most effective move forward to increase home-buyers’ awareness of potential debt and protection from unforeseen events with insurance products, specifically Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI). The Financial Service Authority is leading the way to help raise awareness of debt prevention with the “Debt Test” initiative.

According to research carried out by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, two thirds of recent first-time buyers say that an online debt test designed to help them assess potential triggers of debt and highlight future borrowing risk would be useful.

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By: Carrie Reeder

Being self employed has many benefits. When you are self-employed, you can write off all of your deductions on your taxes. You have the potential to make more income than someone who is employed by someone else. You have the freedom to be your own boss. One of the few times when being self employed has some drawbacks is when you go to get financing for a home or a major purchase. But, here are some things to know that can help you make the mortgage loan process run smoothly when you are self employed.

When verifying income - In general, lenders want to see at least 2 years of self employment history, sometimes they want to see 3 years. They will want to see this history verified in tax returns, usually. Sometimes the lenders will figure your income as being the average income you claimed on your income taxes as profit, not your gross business income. Sometimes the lender will figure your income as the lowest of the two years and sometimes as the highest of the two years. Talk to your mortgage broker or lender and find out which way they verify. Sometimes lenders will figure a portion of your write-offs or deductions back into your income. There are ideas of other ways that a lender may be able to verify your income and if you are self employed it will help you to be able to show a more of your income.

A. Use bank statements as proof of income – Find a lender who will accept 1-2 years of bank statements as proof of income. It is becoming more common nowadays for lenders to verify your income this way. This way usually works better in proving income than going off of your tax returns, because you can usually prove a lot more cash flow than tax returns will show. On your tax returns you usually subtract each and every business expense before you claim any profit. When using bank statements, you are still proving income, this does not put as much emphasis on your credit score or down payment as the stated income or no doc loan will.

B. Do a stated income or no doc loan – These types of loans are done all of the time, where you need no proof of income, you only state on a form what your income is, and you do not need to verify it. This can help if you are self employed and want to state your income as it is and not worry about having the lender average out your income from the last two years instead. Make sure you are accurate in stating your income, because the lender may be able to obtain past taxes from the IRS to confirm it. When you do a stated income loan, this will put more emphasis on your down payment or credit score. So, you will usually need one of these factors to be strong if you want to go this route. Most of the time when you do a stated income or no doc loan, you will be charged a slightly higher interest rate because of the extra risk the lenders carries.

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By: Carrie Reeder

Most people approach the act of getting a home mortgage purchase or refinance loan the wrong way. They timidly approach lenders and cross their fingers that they will quality for that all-important loan. But that’s just the opposite of what most people should be doing!

There are a lot of lenders out there—some great and others that can be difficult to work with. And here’s the good news—they all want your business! Before agreeing to a contract with just any lender, you should make an appointment with (in person or by telephone) and ask them some important questions. Doing so could make the difference in a wonderful experience and one that you’d rather forget.

If you are in the process of applying for a mortgage loan—either online or off—then you should ask the following questions to every lender that you are considering.

• What are my loan options? Some lenders specialize in only fixed-rate mortgages and you couldn’t get an ARM if you begged. It’s important to know your options up-front.

• What is the interest rate? You can easily go online and find the competitive interest rate on any given day, and you should ensure that your chosen mortgage lender is offering you one in line with the market.

• How many points will I have to pay to guarantee that rate? Just because someone offers you a great interest rate, that doesn’t mean there won’t be strings attached. Be sure and ask if the interest rate they quoted you is contingent on your buying points.

• Will you charge an application fee? This can vary drastically from lender to lender, and in some cases the fees are negotiable.

• What happens if I pay off my loan early? Some lenders will include a pre-payment penalty in their contract, actually penalizing you for paying off your loan early. If one is included in yours, try to negotiate around it, or look for another lender.

• Can I lock in my rate? Be sure to ask specifics about this. Will it be possible to lock in a rate at the application stage, or will you have to wait until you’ve been approved? After you’ve locked it in, how long is it good for?

• Will I be assigned a person that I should call with questions? It is vital that one person is familiar with your application and loan documents so you don’t have to explain yourself every time you call with a question.

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By: Carrie Reeder

There are numerous reasons a person has bad credit. Late or partial payments, missing payments, and too many outstanding debts could all be factors that have left you with a poor credit rating. If you want to refinance your current mortgage but are afraid a poor credit rating will disqualify you, be aware that there are mortgage lenders that can help you qualify for a loan. Refinancing your home with bad credit is not impossible. Mortgage lenders can help you be approved for a home refinancing loan and will offer you advice on how to improve your credit rating.

Bad credit can result from many other factors besides missing or making late payments. Illness, unexpected expenses, and unemployment can affect your credit rating adversely as well. When you refinance your existing mortgage you may even be able to get cash back to help you pay off your debts and restore your credit rating. Regardless of your credit history, you can be approved for a home refinance loan. You could lower your monthly mortgage payments and have the extra cash you need to pay off high interest debts. Refinancing with bad credit is not only possible; you could be approved quickly when you apply for a refinancing loan online. Online lenders can offer you free quotes and great terms, even with bad credit.

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