The mortgage broker’s role is to simplify the process for the home buyer. With the possibility now of rising interest rates a stark reality, existing mortgage holders will be keen to minimise the impact of higher standard variable mortgage rates.

Mortgage refinancing has become an extremely popular way for borrowers to save on their monthly repayments and to switch to more favourable terms with another lender. In making a home loan comparison, a borrower will look at a range of factors, including monthly repayments, but also the features and benefits of one product against another.

Mortgage refinancing is a competitive market and a borrower who does their homework can take advantage of the many offers in the marketplace. The best home loan for your needs today may not be the one you have at present.

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Welcome back to the 3rd part of our loan modification series.

Here is a quick recap of what we have covered thus far.

In part 1 we covered:

• A brief explanation of the situation.
• An explanation of basic rules to follow while going through the process.
• The issues/pitfalls you may run into throughout the process.
• Some of the more confusing aspects of the process.
• Trying the modification ourselves vs. hiring someone. (pros & cons)
• Questions to ask your customer service rep.
• Tips on how to stay on top of all the documentation and information being thrown around in the beginning.

Part 2 we covered:

• The initial and follow-up conversations with bank reps.
• Tips on how to make sure you are not GIVING you personal information away to the wrong people.
• How the “trial period” will affect a credit report and score.
• Where the money that is not being paid goes while in the trial period.
• How to separate real concerns from made up concerns. (more…)

A mortgage real estate property may be remortgaged in order to pay off the indebtedness covered by the first mortgage that already matured or is about to be due. This is one of the best ways to stay off attachment of execution of the house. But there are two things that can happen concerning the 2nd home mortgage rate. It could be either higher than the first mortgage or it could be justifiably within the value that you are about to mortgage.

The reason why the 2nd home mortgage rate may be higher this time is solely for the purpose of guaranteeing payment and more or less, to exploit the urgency of the situation. The property being subjected to a second mortgage means that the owner has no other available assets to pay off the first loan and that his only means to satisfy the obligation is the property subjected to the second mortgage. Hence, the second mortgagor either wants more cash out of this transaction or he wants to end up with your property. It cannot be helped. This is business. (more…)

If you are under financial constraints and your home is already mortgaged, the best way to keep your home from getting auctioned publicly or repossessed is to subject your property to a second mortgage. Yes, this is allowed as long as payment of the first mortgage is done within the grace period given to you or before any action to enforce payment has been taken against you.

But expect that in the second mortgage, 2nd home mortgage rate is usually higher. Not that the second mortgagor wants to exploit the urgency of the situation, but this is for the purpose of guaranteeing payment. Having mortgaged the property the second time implies that you do not have sufficient assets to pay the first mortgage for the meantime. And with the consequent benefits that the second mortgage will get you, it is only right that some sort of compensation be given to the second mortgagor for assuming the risk of your insolvency. (more…)

They know, that a meeting with the reverse mortgage counselor is compulsory, but they may not know, what actually are the benefits. Is the meeting just another formal meeting, which has been organized, when the law says so, or does it offer some benefits?

1. Why The Reverse Mortgage Counselor Meeting Is So Important?

Back in 1989, when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development financed the first FHA insured program, called HECM Reverse Mortgage, their popularity have increased dramatically. The history has showed, that there are a lot of marketers, lenders, who have cheated seniors by selling too large programs with long term influences. (more…)

So the reverse mortgages work really in a reverse way compared to traditional mortgages, i.e. they eat the saved capital. The reverse mortgages pros and cons are many, so every new loan will be tailor made to a senior needs.

1. Why Do You Need The Money?

The popularity of the reverse loans have increased heavily, which tells a clear sign about the needs, which seniors have. They are an easy but costly way to get extra cash and they are always long term investments. The basic idea is, that when a senior is cash poor, but equity rich and he has a serious need to get either a lump sum or an additional monthly cash, he can think about this opportunity. (more…)

In the period of financial flux, many people ask for help and are given the solution to lower their mortgage payment through loan modification programs. They know what a loan modification is, but the loan alteration procedure can be quite confusing for troubled home owners and many of their questions remain unanswered. Does the process help them stop foreclosure? How do they qualify for this process and does their government help them in this situation? Can the loan lender include any hidden or late charges in the modification? It is very important to satisfactorily get all the help you need so that you are not exploited in any way or so.

Firstly loan modification is a permanent change in the conditions of a borrower’s home loan (mortgage) which allows the monthly mortgage payment be reduced such that the owner can afford and also lets the loan to be returned to the lender on specific conditions satisfied. Now, how will you know that you are eligible for the loan modification and if you qualify for the process? You must first consider your existing ability and income and whether you can meet the expense of the monthly mortgage payment. To meet the criteria you must provide the loan lender with sufficient proof showing your current wage and expenses and that if you are awarded the allowance, you will be able to afford the new charge. The new government under Obama has introduced the HARP and HAMP programs to calculate your financial stability and if it falls below the standard, you may be eligible for the modification. (more…)

Although many pensioners are eligible for a mortgage in retirement, many are not even considering this as an option, or even aware they could apply for one.

Equity release can be a final solution for borrowing in retirement once all other potential avenues of capital raising have been explored, however equity release can be expensive & sold all too quickly without looking at the alternatives.

It is a common misrepresentation that just because people are near to, or in retirement, that they cannot raise funds via a conventional mortgage. (more…)

So you’ve just decided on a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage and think that all your home buying decisions are behind you. Well, guess again. It’s now time for another important choice – should I do a 15-year mortgage or a 30-year? (Note that these two terms are the most typical. You may also encounter 20 or even 40-year terms)

If you are tight on money and had to stretch to purchase your home, then the choice of your mortgage terms are pretty obvious. You would probably choose to take the 30-year plan or longer term. In doing so, you would not necessarily be making a bad choice. This plan does have it’s advantages. (more…)

Just open up the yellow pages and you will be overwhelmed with the possibly thousands of mortgage lenders that are listed. The percentage of those lenders that are actually good are probably very slim. Useful references to point you towards a good lender, and steer you away from the not-so-good, would be those in the real estate business as well as other borrowers that you know. As you go through the process of interviewing lenders while getting feedback from others, you want to find lenders that have the following traits:

A good lender will assist you in comparing their loans to their competitors’ loans. They will also be straightforward at explaining their loan programs to you, doing so in an easy to understand manner avoiding a lot of jargon. (more…)