Thinking About a 40-Year Home Mortgage Loan? Think Again…

We received an article from Dane Smith today, talking about the inefficiencies of a 40-year home mortgage. Dane brings to light some very excellent points in his article, titled…

Why I Hate 40-Year Loans

During the subprime crisis we saw the advent of numerous bizarre loan products. In general the new loan products were designed to get people into houses they could not normally afford. As people started to default on their mortgages banks realized many of these loan products were not a good idea. During the subprime crisis we saw most of these new loan programs fall to the wayside. I think in most cases this is a good thing. Many of these new loan products reduced the chances that individuals could gain equity in their homes by paying off principle. When difficult times arose for people they were in a difficult position because although they had made years of payments their loan balance had not changed. The worst of the new loan products had “teaser rates” so that individuals made low payments for a few years until the rate and their mortgage shot up. Its a wonder why banks are surprised by the number of foreclosures.

40 Year Loan = 6.375

30 Year Loan = 5.75

15 Year Loan = 5.125

Now using a mortgage calculator, lets look at the mortgage payments on a 200k house.

40 Year Loan = $1,153.14

30 Year Loan = $1,167.14

15 Year Loan = $1,594.64

While the difference between a 30 year loan and a 15 year is substantial, $441.50, the difference between a 40 year loan and a 15 year loan is only $14 per month. A little savings but is it really worth adding a whole extra 10 years to your mortgage. So over 30 years $14 dollars a month amounts to $5040. On the other hand an extra 10 years of mortgage payments comes out to $138,377. To run the numbers a different way by putting down a mere $2400 on your 30 year loan you would get the same mortgage payment as you would on a 40 year loan.

Obviously everyone’s situation is different and in a small number of cases a 40 year loan might be warranted. But in general the 40 year loan adds extra years to a person’s loan for a minimal benefit.

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Ki works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. He provides updated stats on the market on his Austin real estate blog along with a free search of the Austin MLS.

Thanks for that insightful article, Dane.

If you’d like to talk to a local, Sacramento lending professional about finding the right mortgage for you, just drop us a line today and we’ll put you in touch with the best person to meet your needs.

Is Your Mortgage Lender Doing the Best They Can? Find out with These Questions…

Today we have Brian Jenkins joining us to give us some very important tips about talking with your mortgage lender. If you’re wondering if you’ve selected the right lender, discussing these ideas with them will help you find out for sure. Enjoy!

Real Estate ~ Important Questions To Ask Your Mortgage Lender

Most of us will only buy a few homes during the course of our life. Combine this fact, with the axiom that home mortgages are perpetually the largest single debit that most people carry, and you can see why choosing a mortgage lender can be nerve wracking. In what is frequently the biggest business transaction of your life, there are certain questions that you can ask that will better help you follow your loan and negotiate the best deal.

What type of loan do you advise?

There are in nonconformist types of loans, and the competent lender should help you grasp each one, and explain the benefits and drawbacks of each. Adjustable rate mortgages are frequently touted for low interest rates, but they are not the best pick for everyone. The rate typically remains low for a year or two, but when it adjusts up, the amount of the monthly liquidation can increase enough that the home owner has trouble meeting their monthly obligations. Fixed rate loans have a fixed interest rate over the life of the loan. The fixed rate is every day a little higher than the adjustable rate mortgage rate, but you have the advantage of cognizant each month exactly how much your reckoning is. If rates drop substantially, you can always refinance your loan. Interest only loans are not as common. In interest only loans, the monthly arrangement is only the amount of interest on the mortgage. These types of loans are best suited for people who have high and steady incomes, and resolution on animated in a home a number enough for it to bodily increase in value. At the end of the loan term, the home owner will either refinance the loan, or pay the balance of the loan in full. If the home has not appreciated during the loan term, it can be onerous to refinance.

What are interest rates and annual percentage rates?

A qualified mortgage lender should be more than willing to lift the veil what their interest rates are for out of place types of loans, as well as the annual percentage rate. They should also be willing to run the numbers for you so that you can see exactly how the anomalistic percentage rates affect the amount of your monthly payment.

How much will the loan cost?

The qualified mortgage lender should supply you with a advantage faith estimate. This is an estimate on the amount of cash that it will cost to shut up your loan. This service faith estimate is not an exact amount, but should be very close, and include appraisal fees, medal insurance and any other fees that the lender requires to fill up the loan. If the lender is unwilling to give you a advantage faith estimate, it is likely that there will be some surprises on closing days. Some disreputable lenders pad the closing costs with administrative fees that are unnecessary and add up quickly. Before you commit to one lender, you should see a copy of the improvement faith estimate that lists every fee you will be to pay to occlude on the loan.

Is there any prepayment penalty?

Although not as common as it once was, some lenders charge a fee if you pay off your mortgage early. While you may ponder that this does not apply to you, if the lender has a prepayment retribution it can be enacted even if you refinance your loan. It is important to confirm with your prospective lender that there are no penalties for prepayment of the mortgage.

How for ages will it take and what if interest rates change?

Closing can take a week or a month, or even longer. It is important to ask your mortgage lender how for a long time they anticipate it will take from the start of the process to closing. You should also ask what happens if interest rates change during the closing process. Ideally, you will lock in your rate at the proviso phase, and if mortgage rates increase, you keep this rate, but if they drop, your lender will ‘float’ your rate down with them.

How much of a down compensation is required?

Down payments can swerve greatly, depending on your credit history, the appraised appraise of the home and even market conditions. Never assume that you know, ask the lender what percentage of the loan amount you should have on hand for a down payment. This is perpetually negotiable, but you need to know person in the process if you will have enough legal tender to case the cost.

How to qualify?

Ask the mortgage lender person in the process what the qualifications are to qualify for a loan. In accession to a solid job history, you will apparently be exigent to have several years’ value of income tax statements, as well as bank statements and notice on any stocks, savings bonds or other investments. Even if you do not conception on cashing these to buy your home, they do count as assets and make it easier to qualify for a loan.

About Author: Brian Jenkins is a freelance writer who writes about topics pertaining to the mortgage industry such as a Pennsylvania Mortgage

Thanks for the the awesome article, Brian, it’s always a pleasure.

I hope you all enjoyed Brian’s article, and if you’d like to discuss your options or have any questions about your specific challenges, we’d be more than happy to assist you. Just drop us a line today.

Home Mortgage Interest Rates Continue To Fall

Is it the right time to get into a mortgage? No one times the market perfectly, so waiting around could land you with a higher rate. This article by Ki summarizes a lot of important data if you’d like to look at the numbers yourself.

Mortgage Interest Rates Continue To Fall

This was the sixth week in a row were 30 Year mortgage rates fell or held steady. In the tarry 6 weeks 30 year notes have fallen from 6.63 to 6.35. This was preceded by a sudden jump in interest rates in July where 30 year mortgage interest rates rose from 6.26 to 6.63 midst July 17th and July 24th. So during the time rates are little higher today than what we saw on July 17th they have almost fallen rear to mid July levels. It’s interesting to dot that it took one week for rates to jump from 6.26 to 6.63 and six weeks of falling rates to get occlude to the July 17th levels.

This week we also saw decreases in all the other major mortgage products. The 15 year mortgage fell from 5.93 to 5.9 and the 5 year arm fell from 6.03 to 5.97. By far the biggest mover was 1 year arms which fell almost 1/5 of a point movable from 5.33 to 5.15. Below are rates for the 4 major mortgage products for the be late few weeks.

September 4, 2008

30-yr 6.35
15-yr 5.90
5-yr ARM 5.97
1-yr ARM 5.15

August 28, 2008
30-yr 6.40
15-yr 5.93
5-yr ARM 6.03
1-yr ARM 5.33

August 21, 2008
30-yr 6.47
15-yr 6.00
5-yr ARM 5.99
1-yr ARM 5.29

August 14, 2008
30-yr 6.52
15-yr 6.07
5-yr ARM 6.02
1-yr ARM 5.18

August 7, 2008
30-yr 6.52
15-yr 6.10
5-yr ARM 6.05
1-yr ARM 5.22

Ok so what does this mean for a mortgage? Obviously ones mortgage would be lower with falling rates but by how much. Let’s look at a 200k mortgage and using our free mortgage calculator lets fun the numbers based on today’s rates.

September 4th
30-yr $1244.47
15-yr $1676.92
5-yr ARM $1195.24
1-yr ARM $1092.05

August 28th
30-yr $1251.01
15-yr $1680.15
5-yr ARM $1202.96
1-yr ARM $1114.33

July 24th
30-yr $1281.28
15-yr $1707.22
5-yr ARM $1219.75
1-yr ARM $1134.32

So why have rates steadily fallen. I consider it has to be based on rumors (which have now proven to be correct) that the federal nation is going to takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Basically the direction takeover provides more assurance to banks that their mortgage insurance is going to be paid out in case of default. The declining fortunes of Freddie Mac spooked some banks into pensive their mortgage insurance was harmoniously worthless. So now banks are concavity rates in their view the risk associated with the loans has gone down.

So what do I expect to see over the next few months? I would be fascinated if mortgage rates don’t collate to fall now that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are owned by the government. The Fed has been trying to push down interest rates all year and now they have the revenue to do so (I contemplate this was part of the motivation rearward the takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae). So does this mean investors? Should they wait for mortgage rates to drop before buying? I don’t ponder so. If rates follow in succession to fall certain estate prices could rise or at least I would expect to see underADJ Expensiveness deals sitting on the market. Instead if you find a dominion to I would watch interest rates and if they string together to fall I would try and relock your mortgage rate at the new lower rate. While I expect rates to fall something unexpected that spooks banks over the next month could of course push mortgage rates postern up.

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Ki lives in Austin Texas. His website has a graph that shows mortgage rate trends. He also provides a free calculator for potential home buyers and a mortgage interest rates widget.

Thanks for sharing that excellent information with us, Ki. I enjoyed reading your report and I know our readers will find it useful as well.

If you’d like to discuss what current mortgage rates mean to you, we can speak with you to help you make the right decisions. Just drop us a line >>

The Truth About Choosing The Right Fixed Rate Mortgage

James Redder is with us today to help us choose the right fixed home mortgage. We’re very excited to present this article to you, since it breaks through many of the myths and misconceptions in the mortgage market. Take it away, James!

The Truth About Choosing The Right Fixed Rate Mortgage

There is always a debate when home buyers have to decide on the merits of 15 or 30 year fixed mortgage rates. Many people wait until they are older before taking on the responsibility of a mortgage so an early payment of this large debt is an important issue to think about. In a situation as important as this time needs to be spent considering all the available options. Home buyers looking into this need to be assured their monthly payments will not increase.

It seems that some lenders are happy to offer deals that appear too good to be true and they usually are. The interest rate should remain the same for fixed rate mortgages until the loan is repaid. This is of great benefit for anyone that does not like surprises. Both my wife and I decided to research fixed rate mortgages when we started looking at homes for sale.

Even though it was important for us to pay off our loan at the earliest possible opportunity, we didn’t want high, unrealistic monthly payments which we would have trouble maintaining. Considering longer term fixed rate mortgages was one option if we could not afford a 15 year plan. We didn’t really like the prospect of having a mortgage as we approached retirement so were really hoping to get one of the loans with 15 year fixed mortgage rates. We felt that there was a great deal of emphasis on paying the mortgage off early.

We thought about it long and hard and despite the pressure we decided to go with the 30 year loan plan. Although a number of things had to be pondered over, eventually the choice was made for us. Discovering my wife was having a baby was the most important reason. As she intended to raise our child at home we couldn’t rely on her financial income to the monthly expenditure. The problem we could see was the increased financial commitment on a monthly basis if we had opted for the 15 year fixed mortgage rate. We knew that it just wasn’t an option and the risk was too great. Despite the trepidation of having a longer term loan, it did reduce the repayments considerably.

We are also able to make extra payments throughout the year to make the principal shrink quicker. Those few extra payments also help reduce the number of years you have to pay the loan over. In the long term, this is a strategy well worth pursuing if you are able. Although we would have much preferred a loan with a 15 year fixed mortgage rate we had to take our needs and abilities into consideration. Anyway, everything worked out fine despite our hesitancy.

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James Redder markets a Finance website. If you liked the finance info, GET the powerful info RIGHT NOW. Goto Refinance After Bankruptcy website.

Excellent tips, James! Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

For a personalized consultation about your home mortgage needs, just drop us a line today. It’s always free, and always great advice.

How To Save Thousands in Interest on Your Home Mortgage!

No matter if this is your first or 30th home mortgage, you can always learn new ways to save more money on your mortgage. In this article, Sameer goes over the basics of restructuring your payments to save you lots of money in interest.

How To Save Thousands in Interest on Your Home Mortgage!

So you have a mortgage on your home or planning to get one? Here’s something to consider if you want to reduce your interest payment and save on thousands of dollars. Consider going in for a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan.

So, what is a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan? The difference in this type of mortgage plan lies in the frequency of payments. Out here you make your payments every two weeks instead of every month. By going in with such a payment plan, you end up paying for the 52 weeks in a year, i.e. 1 month more than the otherwise 12 payments you would make with the monthly plan (52 / 4 = 13 payments in a year). You may think why pay extra? But the benefits are there for all to see. By going in for such a mortgage plan, you are reducing the tenure of your loan as well as continuously reducing the principal and interest which has to be repaid.

An illustration to show what we mean - Suppose you were to go in for a mortgage of $150,000 for a term of 360 months at an interest rate of 6%, your monthly payment would work out to $899.93 and your total interest through out the tenure of the loan would work out to $173,757. Now consider the same mortgage taken on a bi-weekly payment plan. Your bi-weekly payments would be of $449.67 while your total interest for the entire tenure would work out to only $135,294 + you end up completing the loan in 24 years instead of 30. Huge difference!

The savings from such a payment plan are huge and are worth considering if you can afford to make the payments every two weeks. At least, keep it as an option!

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Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO and Founder of ChoiceOfHomes.com - Find real estate listings of homes on sale and rent.

Thanks for writing that excellent article, Sameer! This is a great tip for making more effective payments and stretching our dollars further.

To find out more information about restructuring your mortgage payments or other home mortgage topics, we’ll provide a free consultation to get you headed on the right track - just contact us today to get started.