Buying Your First Home? Don’t Miss These Vital Keys to Your First Mortgage!

One of the most important parts of manifest destiny and the American dream is home ownership. Owning your own home can be a very smart investment decision since prices tend to increase faster than the inflation rate, and now, with the recession dropping home prices and interest rates to their lowest in the last decade, there isn’t a better time to buy! Because of the current market timing and the fact that it’s a widely known as a smart investment, now is the time to start considering the idea. Before you rush out, call a realtor and start looking for a house, you should start by seeking out the perfect mortgage for your budget.

To begin your home mortgage search, talk to credit unions, banks, and brokers in your area. You’re looking for someone to hold your hand through the process, but you also want a decent rate with low fees, so make sure to shop around.

When you’re looking at rates, you will be shown two different types - variable/adjustable rate (ARM) and fixed rate. The ARM rate is usually shown as a promotion at a cheap rate, sometimes called a “teaser.” After the fixed period of the ARM is up, you can expect rates to rise significantly if you get into one of these adjustable rate mortgages.

ARMs have two specific things you look for to use in your analysis - when the rate adjusts (anywhere between one month to 10 years) and what the cap on the interest rate is. Usually, the rate will adjust to whatever the prime rate (the federal government chooses this number) is at the time of the adjustment, plus a certain percentage of ‘mark-up’ that pays the bank. When you discover the rate cap, use a mortgage payment calculator to find out how much your maximum monthly payment is, worst case. That’s not to say your mortgage will actually adjust to that rate, but it’s a prudent idea to plan for different scenarios - including worst case.

In the current economic environment, we have extremely low interest rates. By signing on an ARM right now, you would more than likely end up with higher payments later, as the economy rebounds and the rates increase again. However, if you plan to move into a new home before your interest rate is set to adjust, it isn’t a bad idea to capitalize on the low rate. If you feel that rates will continue to drop in the future, an ARM can put you in a great position to take advantage of that.

Fixed rate mortgages are less complicated than ARMs because you know exactly what your payment is for the life of the mortgage. The fixed rate, as it implies, locks in your interest rate for the entire duration of the loan, which is great for current economic times with low interest. This type of mortgage protects you if interest rates go up, and if interest rates fall, you’ll have the option to refinance at the lower rate.

The length of the term on your mortgage can greatly affect the total amount that you pay over the course of the loan term. A shorter, 15-year mortgage has much less compound interest tacked on, so the payments won’t actually double that of a 30-year mortgage. 15-year mortgages can be surprisingly affordable, but if your income can vary from month to month, and it might be a stretch, go for the longer term. With the 30-year mortgage, you can always make additional principal payments during good months to help pay off the loan quicker - effectively racking up less in interest.

Becoming a home owner is an important step in everyone’s life, and with the right home mortgage loan, it can be just as affordable as your rent payment. Start building equity and investing in you home today - you’ll look back on this moment and be glad you did.

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.

–
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.

Like Free Money? Take Advantage of the FHA for your Next Home Purchase!

Today, we have the pleasure of hearing from Greg Shuey, a loan originator from Utah, on the topic of the FHA. Since he’s walked clients through FHA-type loans before, he’s in a great position to offer his expertise for us today. Let’s take a look at what he has to say.

FHA Loans Make Buying a Home Easy During Hard Times

The Federal Housing Administration or FHA is a federal agency established as part of the National Housing Act of 1934. Its goal is to improve the housing standards and conditions of every Americans. FHA provides a sufficient home financing system. The agency does this by insuring mortgage loans to help stabilize the mortgage market.

In short, the FHA is your key to homeownership. You can get different types of mortgage loans offered by the Federal Housing Administration. They are the following:

• Fixed-Rate mortgages
• Adjustable-Rate mortgages
• Energy Efficient mortgages
• Graduated Payment mortgages
• Growing Equity mortgages

You need to meet certain requirements such as employment and credit scores to qualify for any of these mortgages. There are limits imposed on FHA loans offered to homebuyers. These limits will help you purchase a home during tough economic times and strict lending standards prevent you from qualifying for conventional loans.

Last year, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 signed by President Bush made some changes to FHA loan limits to help more homebuyers qualify. For example, FHA loan limits on single-family home mortgages will be raised to $271,050 in low-cost areas and $625,500 in high-cost areas. The previous FHA loan limit was $362,790.

The new limits, according to the Housing and Urban Development secretary, is targeted at assisting neophyte homebuyers and those struggling with money to refinance to government-backed loans such as FHA loans. One of the most beneficial things FHA does is that it allows you to refinance or buy a home with a low down payment. This spells great for first-time homebuyers and those who dont have much money for initial payment. Other than that, FHA-insured loans have more benefits than the conventional loan. They have lower down payment, which is at 3 percent. In addition, it can come anybody”family members or organizations as a gift.

–
Greg Shuey originates loans for Utah Financial, a mortgage company in utah. Together with Chase Gunderson, we specialize in FHA home loans and Utah FHA Streamline loans. We are here to educate and help you along the way when researching streamline refinance in utah.

Thanks for sharing those excellent insights, Greg! I know our readers have picked up some valuable tips!

If you’re a reader and considering making a move in the mortgage industry, talk to our experts first. We’ll get you pointed in the right direction after a no cost consultation.