Archive for September, 2010

Prepaying Your Mortgage The Pros and Cons

If you have looked into wealth building strategies, you have undoubtedly stumbled upon the raging debate over prepaying ones mortgage. Here is the objective sbest_mortgagecoop.

Prepaying Your Mortgage The Pros and Cons

When paying a mortgage, one is in the unique and unfortunate position of having to pay a lot of interest over a long period of time. Depending on the value of your home, you can easily expect to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds over the life of a 30 year loan.

Advocates on one side of the isle suggest that paying even a few extra hundred pounds a month against your principal will save you tons of money over the life of the loan. Others feel this is lunacy as the money can be used for other purposes. As is often the case, both parties are partially right and partially wrong.

If you purchase a home with a 30 year loan and live in the home for 30 years, you will pay a draconian amount in interest. In such a situation, paying a few hundred pounds more in principle each month will save you tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds in interest over the 30 years. The question, however, is whether this makes sense for you in the real world.

The first issue to consider is how long you intend to live in the home. In our modern transitory society, most people dont plop down for long periods. If you are going to sell your home in five or seven years, the extra payments on the balance of your mortgage are not going to make much of a difference. On the other hand, making such payments makes sense if you are definitely in it for the long haul.

The second issue is the mortgage interest deduction. Many people fall in love with the deduction. Obviously, yours will fall if you start paying off your loan ahead of time. Typically, you will not see a big drop off for at least five years, but it is something to keep in mind.

The third issue is alternative money usage. Specifically, would you be better off using the money in another way. Historically, the stock market has returned a little less than a 10 percent rate of gain. While each year brings different results, some believe you are better off to invest this money in the market since you will be earning more at 10 percent versus paying off a 7 percent loan. This argument tends to forget one small thing, to wit, capital gains tax you will have to pay on any stock market gains. There is no correct answer, so make sure to analyze your situation.

All and all, the decision to prepay a mortgage is a personal one. Take a stark look at your life and determine if it makes sense in your situation.

30

09 2010

No Cost Mortgages

Money house

When you are dealing with mortgages, it is important to check twice the calculation as well as the English when the lenders specify the word No cost Mortgages.

The fact is that no cost mortgage means it will cost something, now the question arises in your mind how much it cost the answer is the cost depends on what kind of mortgage you plan to go. There are two types of basic cost involved while getting mortgage, In one type of cost the lender cannot control that includes the appraisal cost, filing fees, title search, attorney fees etc, and the next type of cost is the lenders cost that is loan application fees, credit check, admin fees and processing fees etc, with out which nothing is possible.

To few lenders no cost means they do not want any cost from their pockets, all the cost will be added in the loam amount, for instance the loan cost is 5,000 and you plan to borrow 150,000 in this case the 3,000 gets added up with the loan, and ultimately you will be borrowing 1,53,000 that is with interest for the entire amount. In this case when you take 30 years loan at 6.25% rate interest the monthly interest with principal is 942.05 and the interest is 18.47, which is 18.47 per month more than 923.58 you would make on 153,000. You may not realize you are paying interest for 3,000 every month until you clear the entire amount, in addition to that this 3,000 wont be paid off till the 20th month of mortgage well into the subsequent year its only after 19th payment that the principal you owe will reduce below 150,000 to be exact 149,948.25.

How does this sounds to you, this is the way no cost mortgage works, you pay accumulated interest on unpaid balance of the loan every month and to pay off the 3,000
You would be paying 18.47 besides the interest you pay for 1,50,000. So if you have paid that 3,000 from your pocket you would be paying the interest with principal for the actual amount you are borrowing, just by the word no cost mortgage you dont start paying the loan until your loan reached 20 months.

In some cases you may not pay any cost in the beginning but you will end up paying with closing cost and sometimes the lender will take in charge of paying all the cost like application fees, commission, attorney fees and then in turn charge the borrower with high interest rate.

By this time you could get a clear idea how much it will cost you for no cost mortgage
No cost loans are very expensive, just because its convenient that you dont spend a penny from your pocket it is better, in a long run it cost you more than to spend from your pocket, so it is important to remember that you are not really saving money by opting for no cost mortgage.

23

09 2010

Mortgages And Home Financial Planning

home-loan-calculation1Buying a property is likely to be the largest purchase you ever make finding the right deal for you means choosing one mortgage from the many hundreds available. This will be much easier if you know what youre looking for.

Whats Your Status?

Depending your life situation, age, income and financial status, you will need different things from your mortgage. Whether thats flexibility, low rates or security, take the time to have a good look at where you are now, and where you want to be long term.

In For The Long Haul!

Most mortgages are for a 25-year term so its an agreement that you could be locked into for a substantial part of your life. This means you need to have at least a vague idea of how your finances are likely to shape up long term no one can predict the future, but good planning is one way to help ensure you meet the challenges to come.

Get The Budget Ready

The first thing to do is to draw up a budget you need to know what income you have every month, and all your outgoings. Be realistic theres no point exaggerating your income or ignoring certain expenses. You want to buy your own home, but you also want to be able to eat once youve moved in! Take into account all your bills, council tax and loan payments, as well as living expenses such as food, running costs for your car, going-out costs and clothing. Check bank statements to make sure you have included all your usual expenses.

Crystal Ball Time..

Next, give some thought to your future. Now we dont really mean for you to go to some charlatan and ask what your personal circumstances will be in the future, that would be just silly. However, what you would need to do is be honest with yourself in answering some personal questions in an attempt to plan ahead for financial reasons.

Do you expect your income to rise over the next few years, or will it stay the same? Do you have dependents, or are you planning a family? While some things are uncertain, you should be able to tell whether your needs will stay constant for the next five years, or are likely to change substantially.

Your budget should give you a fair idea of how much you can afford in repayments each month bear in mind there will be other costs incurred when buying property, such as legal fees and stamp duty.

Generally, a mortgage lender will also look for a cash deposit usually 5 or 10 percent of the total cost of your home. You will then repay what you have borrowed in monthly instalments. Read on for more detailed information on how mortgages work.

You may freely reprint this article provided that the author bio and live links are left intact.

16

09 2010

Mortgage Rate: What Makes Them Tick?

home-loan-keysA mortgage rate is a price tag that is flying from the smoke stack of your home. It is the cost that you will be charged, on top of the principle amount of the homes value that you will be charged for borrowing money to pay for your home. Buying a home does not have to be just a dream anymore because rates of interest on homes are very low. Yet, will they stay that low? And, what else helps to contribute to the overall cost of the interest? There are several things that do, but you can easily sort through these and have the best options at lowering the cost of the home for your needs.

The first thing that affects the homes mortgage rate is that of the Prime Rate. This is the number that the US federal government sets to help improve the economy. It is the prime cost of interest and it is the guideline that most banks will use when providing loans to their customers or when providing interest on savings accounts and other such investments. Some lenders do offer sub prime rates, meaning that they are below the prime level, but this is hard to come by and may mean fee increases in other conditions.

Secondly, the mortgage rate may change from one type of loan to the next as well. For example, the longer the loan terms are, the lower the interest rate will be on them. Yet, when you consider how much you will be paying in the length of the loan, this is not really a savings at all. Other loan options such as VA and FHA loans may also offer a lower than prime rate or at least be near to it.

Even more so the more risk that you pose to the company, the more costly your mortgage rate is. If you have a poor credit score, you will often be charged a higher amount of interest on your homes purchase. You should know what your credit score is and you can find this out by getting your credit report. To raise it or to keep your score high, make sure to pay loans and credit lines on time, keep your balances as low as possible as well as to insure that you have enough credit against your debt. The higher your score is, the lower your interest is likely to be as well.

In order to know what the rates of a home loan that you qualify for are, simply go to the lenders websites and request a free loan quote. This will give you a good understanding of where you stand as well as provide you with a way to compare one lender to the next. Because the difference in just a few fractions of a percentage point are so very important (it can cost you thousands of pounds), it makes sense that you will need to carefully look for the lender that can offer you the most ideal interest. Finally, you should know the mortgage rate on any loan long before you agree to pay for it.

09

09 2010

Mortgage Choices That You Have

houseWhen selecting a mortgage, there are many things to think about and wonder about. For anyone that is looking for a way to secure the best loan for their next or first home, they should weigh all of their options, carefully deciding what the right way to go is. With so many different types of mortgages out there, though, this can be relatively difficult for you to do. Take a moment, then, to find the best way to get your mortgage to fit within your life.

Here are some of the mortgage options that you have and you should carefully consider before purchasing your home.

New Timers: If this is your first home loan, you have the advantage in many ways. First of all, you may qualify for a government backed loan. The FHA loan is a commonly used loan that allows for the lenders to offer better interest rates and lower fees. It can help any new homeowner to actually secure the home that they want even when their credit is not that great. This federal government will help to back these loans for you, giving you more of an option in funding it. Also, there are many benefits offered to first time home buyers throughout the states from various cities. Find out if your city offers any benefits to moving here.

The Down Payment: When it comes to having a down payment or not, many of those that bought homes twenty or more years ago, did so with large down payments. Today, many people are buying them without any. Which is the right way to go? If you do not have the funds set aside for a down payment on your home, you should still consider purchasing one. If you do have the funds to put down on a home, do it. This can greatly reduce the amount of money that will need to be financed which means less interest payments on it as well. Carefully consider the amortization schedules that you can get before signing a mortgage to determine if it is a better choice all around.

VA Loans: If you have served in the armed forces of the US, you may qualify for a VA loan. These will allow an individual to secure a loan with federally backed funds. It can help to lower the cost of the homes interest rate too. If you are applying for a mortgage with a home lender, make sure to tell them of this status as it can greatly help you.

With so many options, it pays to do your homework. The good news is that there are tools called loan calculators that you can use to help you to see what your monthly payment will be as well as how much your home will end up costing you with various options like these. Use them and see what the best solution for your needs is. This can be done easily and within seconds right on the web. Also, always ask your mortgage lender to inform you of any and all options that you may qualify for with your home loan.

02

09 2010