Home equity loans and lines of credit are useful tools for homeowners. They allow the homeowner to borrow against the value of his or her home for all kinds of purposes – home improvement, debt consolidation, vacations, and more. The loans, backed by the value of the house itself, come with attractive interest rates and the added bonus of tax deductible interest. That interest, however, is often variable, adjusting up and down with changes in market conditions. At the moment, conditions are such that interest rates for adjustable rate loans are increasing while rates for fixed-rate loans are still fairly stable. This is probably a good time for homeowners with variable rate equity loans to consider consolidating their primary mortgage and home equity loan into a single entity.
The ideal candidate for such a consolidation would be a homeowner who has a variable rate home equity loan, rather than a line of credit or an equity loan at a fixed rate. A line of credit is sort of a revolving loan, with an amount that may be drawn, as needed, time and again, much like a credit card loan. A home equity loan would represent a fixed amount of money borrowed for a specific length of time. To consolidate a home equity loan and a primary mortgage, the home would have to be refinanced with a new mortgage issued for the combined amounts of both loans. There are costs associated with this, so homeowners should consider the following:
# Refinancing costs – It may cost several thousand dollars to combine two loans into one. A home appraisal will be required, along with paperwork fees, filing fees, and possible points paid at closing. A homeowner should make sure that he or she will remain in the home long enough to offset the additional costs of refinancing, otherwise the savings of consolidation are lost.
# Interest rate on the primary mortgage – If you have financed or refinanced your home during the last three years, your primary mortgage rate may already be lower than the rate you could get today. You don’t want to raise your overall interest rate just to consolidate the smaller amount of money from a home equity loan.
# The amount of money owed on the home equity loan – The larger the amount of money owed on the equity loan, the greater the benefit of consolidation. You wouldn’t want to refinance your home over an equity loan balance of $1000, but you might want to do so if the balance is $50,000.
Market conditions change regularly, but now is a good time for anyone with a variable rate home equity loan with a considerable balance to consider consolidating the equity loan and the primary mortgage into a single loan. If you aren’t sure if you can benefit from this, you may wish to consult with your lender.
http://www.american-lender.com/free-info/Home-Loans-and-Mortgages--Time-to-Consolidate-Loans.html
Thursday, November 8, 2007
California Bad Credit Mortgage
California is a beautiful place to live There is no doubt about that. But, to live in California you must pay the price, which is sky high real estate prices. Renting, as opposed to buying in California, can save a little bit of money. However, renting has the disadvantage of not building any equity. As home prices in California continue to rise, you may want to be a homeowner and take advantage of the home appreciation factor. If you're going to be paying a lot of money to live in California anyway, you might as well be making some money on top of it too, right?
Now, if you have bad credit and are trying to get a home loan for California home prices, this may seem like an impossible situation. Home prices are high and if you already have poor credit, the fact that you need to be approved for such a high loan amount can be an added difficulty when trying to get a home loan.
However, there is hope. There are so many programs available today to help people with recent bankruptcys, collections and even foreclosures, obtain mortgage financing. There are nationwide mortgage service companies that can either approve you directly or get you in touch with a lender who can approve you.
Here are some suggestions of things you can do to aggressively help yourself get qualified for a mortgage loan in California, with a bad credit history:
1. Pull your credit and review it - Pulling your own credit will not negatively affect your credit score like having someone else pull it will. For a list of the links to the three major credit bureaus, click on the link at the bottom of this article. Look over your credit history and make sure that everything is reporting accurately. Sometimes, something as small as an account being reported as currently being due as opposed to being included in a past bankruptcy can be the difference of 10-15 or more added points to your credit score.
Make sure every account that is closed is reported as being closed. Make sure that every account that was reported in a bankruptcy is reported that way, and not being reported as money still owed. If you have small collection accounts, try to pay them off and then fax confirmation that the account was paid off to the major credit bureaus so that they can adjust your credit report right away. Editing this information on your credit report is easier than ever today because all three major credit bureaus now make it possible to dispute and inaccuracies online. You could pull all three reports, dispute all inaccuracies and be done in less than an hour now. Just a few years ago, it used to take hours or days to fill out all the necessary paperwork.
2. Find a seller who is motivated to pay closing costs or carryback a percentage of the loan - If you find a seller who is really motivated to work with you, that may help you get approved with a lender. If the seller can pay your closing costs, this can free up that money so that you may have a small down payment. If the seller is willing to carryback a percentage of the loan then the loan-to-value may be low enough that the lender may consider that as good as a down payment. If the seller is motivated to work with you, they may be willing to work through a down payment assistance program to help you make a down payment. It is illegal for a seller to give you the down payment for their house, but through down payment assistance programs like Neighborhood Gold and the Nehemiah program, it is totally legal.
3. Borrow or ask for a gift from relatives toward a down payment - After you have financed the house, you can usually take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage up to the full value of your house, and then you would be able to repay the relatives. Keep in mind that if you intend the money to be as a loan only from the relatives, you would need to disclose that to the lender before you close. Lenders usually have regulations about where the down payment is coming from and if you are not honest, it could be considered defrauding a lender.
http://www.american-lender.com/free-info/California-Bad-Credit-Mortgage.html
Now, if you have bad credit and are trying to get a home loan for California home prices, this may seem like an impossible situation. Home prices are high and if you already have poor credit, the fact that you need to be approved for such a high loan amount can be an added difficulty when trying to get a home loan.
However, there is hope. There are so many programs available today to help people with recent bankruptcys, collections and even foreclosures, obtain mortgage financing. There are nationwide mortgage service companies that can either approve you directly or get you in touch with a lender who can approve you.
Here are some suggestions of things you can do to aggressively help yourself get qualified for a mortgage loan in California, with a bad credit history:
1. Pull your credit and review it - Pulling your own credit will not negatively affect your credit score like having someone else pull it will. For a list of the links to the three major credit bureaus, click on the link at the bottom of this article. Look over your credit history and make sure that everything is reporting accurately. Sometimes, something as small as an account being reported as currently being due as opposed to being included in a past bankruptcy can be the difference of 10-15 or more added points to your credit score.
Make sure every account that is closed is reported as being closed. Make sure that every account that was reported in a bankruptcy is reported that way, and not being reported as money still owed. If you have small collection accounts, try to pay them off and then fax confirmation that the account was paid off to the major credit bureaus so that they can adjust your credit report right away. Editing this information on your credit report is easier than ever today because all three major credit bureaus now make it possible to dispute and inaccuracies online. You could pull all three reports, dispute all inaccuracies and be done in less than an hour now. Just a few years ago, it used to take hours or days to fill out all the necessary paperwork.
2. Find a seller who is motivated to pay closing costs or carryback a percentage of the loan - If you find a seller who is really motivated to work with you, that may help you get approved with a lender. If the seller can pay your closing costs, this can free up that money so that you may have a small down payment. If the seller is willing to carryback a percentage of the loan then the loan-to-value may be low enough that the lender may consider that as good as a down payment. If the seller is motivated to work with you, they may be willing to work through a down payment assistance program to help you make a down payment. It is illegal for a seller to give you the down payment for their house, but through down payment assistance programs like Neighborhood Gold and the Nehemiah program, it is totally legal.
3. Borrow or ask for a gift from relatives toward a down payment - After you have financed the house, you can usually take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage up to the full value of your house, and then you would be able to repay the relatives. Keep in mind that if you intend the money to be as a loan only from the relatives, you would need to disclose that to the lender before you close. Lenders usually have regulations about where the down payment is coming from and if you are not honest, it could be considered defrauding a lender.
http://www.american-lender.com/free-info/California-Bad-Credit-Mortgage.html
Low mortgage rates are spurring the recent boom in home owne
Anyone serious about buying a home has seen the recent ads offering low mortgage rates for first time buyers and current homeowners. One reason for this mass of offers is that most financial institutions now understand the economic importance of having home owners as a part of their clientele.
The advertising for low mortgage rates is specifically designed to bring in customers who never thought that they could qualify for a home loan. Who are these customers in demand?
Lenders are going after non traditional borrowers
First time buyers, single buyers, minorities, women and other groups that might have been shut out of the home ownership market in the past. If you’re a member of one of these groups you might have received mailings, phone calls, or seminar invitations to give you more information on how to get your own home, and how to do so with low mortgage rates.
Seriously consider low rate offers
If you are thinking of getting a home within a year or two, don’t hesitate to take advantage of these offers. It is highly unlikely that mortgages will remain at these low levels for a long time. Also, even if they did remain low, things can easily swing back to the days of the early 90’s when only people with excellent credit could get low mortgage rates.
Get started online
You can get started by getting prequalified online. The internet gives you access to many more resources than you can find locally. Look online for low mortgage rates, fill out an easy application and a lender will call you back to let you know if you are eligible for a low rate home loan.
Don’t be tempted to take the first offer that comes your way. Shop around, compare and then sign your documents.
http://www.american-lender.com/free-info/Low-mortgage-rates-are-spurring-the-recent-boom-in-home-owne.html
The advertising for low mortgage rates is specifically designed to bring in customers who never thought that they could qualify for a home loan. Who are these customers in demand?
Lenders are going after non traditional borrowers
First time buyers, single buyers, minorities, women and other groups that might have been shut out of the home ownership market in the past. If you’re a member of one of these groups you might have received mailings, phone calls, or seminar invitations to give you more information on how to get your own home, and how to do so with low mortgage rates.
Seriously consider low rate offers
If you are thinking of getting a home within a year or two, don’t hesitate to take advantage of these offers. It is highly unlikely that mortgages will remain at these low levels for a long time. Also, even if they did remain low, things can easily swing back to the days of the early 90’s when only people with excellent credit could get low mortgage rates.
Get started online
You can get started by getting prequalified online. The internet gives you access to many more resources than you can find locally. Look online for low mortgage rates, fill out an easy application and a lender will call you back to let you know if you are eligible for a low rate home loan.
Don’t be tempted to take the first offer that comes your way. Shop around, compare and then sign your documents.
http://www.american-lender.com/free-info/Low-mortgage-rates-are-spurring-the-recent-boom-in-home-owne.html
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