Mortgage Lowdown

A good credit score is of great help when you apply for a mortgage. The better your credit score, the easier it will be for you to get a loan. So, if your score is not too good and you want to improve it before you purchase your dream home, try this tip to get your score back on track. Always TRY to pay your bills on time. Nobody likes people who ‘forget’ or delay repaying their bills. Did you know that if you delay payment on your bills by 30 days or more, it can lower your score by 50 points or even more?

So, you realize how imperative it is that you pay off your bills as soon as you receive them. But if you cannot pay your bills for some reason like being tied down with many things or if you have a habit of forgetting, you can easily go online and automate your bill payment procedure. This way, you don’t have to worry about getting late. If you have too much debt and begin to fall behind or cannot see a way out of your financial mess, it probably is time for you to get credit counseling.

So, you’re shopping for a mortgage that will meet your requirements and will also go easy on your wallet. You’ve probably already done the rounds of a couple of mortgage firms. So how about doing some shopping from within your home? For starters, you will need to switch on your PC and get online. Shopping for a mortgage on-line has now become one of the easiest and best means of finding the best mortgage available. It involves finding the best price among the different single-lender web sites that price your mortgage. There are numerous benefits of shopping for mortgage on-line.

One of the first things you will notice is that on-line prices are easier to find and to shop. You can easily find and compare different quotes from various sites at the same time. However, if you tried to do it the traditional way, you will realize that mortgage firms seldom provide the hard copy media in as much detail as you would find online.

You will also find that you can get better pricing online than off it. When you acquire a loan through a website, you will often be able to avail of lower prices. This is because online lenders manage to avoid the costs of maintaining retail lending facilities and they pass on this cost advantage to buyers like you.

Another advantage of shopping for mortgage rates online is that you can avoid getting caught in the inherently volatile mortgage market. Usually, lenders reset their prices every morning. So unless you get price quotations from different loan providers at the same time, you will be running from one to the other without getting proper comparable rates. However, on the Internet, you can be assured that the rates are updated as soon as they are changed. So, you can compare almost immediately and choose the best rate available.

BankAtlantic has launched a new commercial mortgage banking division. The bank’s new division — Commercial Mortgage Banking — will focus on long-term, non-recourse, fixed-rate mortgages for acquisition and refinancing of income-producing commercial real estate. Bizjournals.com reports:

"This new division allows us to expand our mortgage offerings into the long-term commercial loan arena — adding another dimension of customer service and convenience to the bank," says Marcia Snyder, executive vice president of commercial lending, in a release.

Read more: BankAtlantic debuts commercial mortgage banking division

As home foreclosures continue to rise across the East Bay, with Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties, mortgage bankers can no longer suppress their concern. They are commissioning classes and producing publications to stem the rash of defaulted loans predicted for next year. Contracostatimes.com reports

Aside from the financial problems, many defaultees report a feeling of loss, numbness and denial that keeps them from acting during default and foreclosure — worse, they become easy prey for con artists.

Read more: East Bay Foreclosures On The Rise

Imagine refinancing your home mortgage to get a higher interest rate — this is supposed to be the newest rage with people willing and eager to pull out buckets of cash! Unlike in the good ol’ times, when you refinanced to a lower rate of interest, today almost nine of 10 homeowners who refinanced, cashed out additional money — often tens of thousands of dollars. And matching the trend are refinancers who are today opting for larger replacement first mortgages with rates averaging about one-half of a percentage point higher than on their old loans.

So, what is the reason for this change in trend? Quite a few: Firstly, short-term interest rates no longer hover near 4 percent. And the worst part is that home equity lines of credit no longer seem a good option. The adjustable rates, which were their strong point, are now racking up bigger monthly costs. Moreover, thirty-year fixed-rate first mortgages no longer are less than 6 percent. Now the prime rate is 8.25 percent and could move higher. Washingtonpost.com reports:

Say you also have lots more than $100,000 sitting untouched and frozen in home equity. Rather than signing up for a home-equity credit line tied to a jumpy and unpredictable prime rate plus 1 percent, you instead choose a fixed-rate cash-out refinancing.

Read more: Refinancing To Get Cash, Not Save It

One of the biggest benefits of refinancing is that if you have an adjustable rate mortgage, you can convert it to a fixed rate mortgage. However, there are many homeowners who don’t fully understand the refi process and as a result, they choose bad loans. Well, all you need to do is avoid some very common mistakes and your refi will be a cakewalk. Associatedcontent.com reports:

Before refinancing, research different loans. Finding the best loan with the most savings should be the primary goal. Homeowners must choose between an adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage. Is a 15-year term, or a 30-year term best? Regrettably, some people rush the process and ultimately choose a bad loan.

Read more: Mortgage Refinance: Four Refinancing Loan Mistakes

If you have close relatives with mortgage loan problems that could escalate into foreclosure, a helping hand from you would definitely benefit them. But while you do your Good Samaritan act, do ensure that you don’t end up with problems yourself. Marketwatch.com reports:

If your debt load is too heavy, they can help arrange a debt-repayment plan requiring you to pay a set amount to the agency each month, which it then forwards to your creditors on your behalf.

Read more: The best ways to help relatives with mortgage woes

You’ve got yourself a nice cushy job and are now looking to settle down. So, you choose the place you want to call home and now scour the market for the best mortgage loan available. You don’t want to go in for ARMs and prefer a fixed-rate mortgage. But what if you don’t qualify?

The recent reintroduction of the 30-year bond has created quite a bit of interest among consumers. So, how does this translate into benefits for you? Well the longer the loan period, the lower the monthly payments. There are plans among lenders to even introduce a 50-year home loan! Of course, none of these are new on the market and may have been around earlier. But the recent past belonged to adjustable rate mortgages with most people giving fixed rate mortgages the go by.

So how does this news bode for young first time homebuyers? Agreed the real estate market prices are on the rise and are you probably may not be able to afford the house of your dreams unless you take a 30 or 40-year loan. So what are the things you need to remember when you do take such a long-term loan.

Firstly, don’t get cowed down by the long repayment period. Most borrowers don’t stick with these loans to full term. What you could do is take a 30 or 40-year loan and then refinance into 15-year loans or lesser. This will help you repay your loan faster.

Another thing you need to remember when taking a 30-year loan is that the interest rate on such a long-term loan is higher than shorter-term loans. This means that though payments will be lower, you may end up paying a lot more as interest.

If you were like most Americans, you would think that owning a house is something that would seem just a matter of time. As soon as you graduate from college, you get a good job and then the house follows. Simple. But modern life is not as simple as it seems. A recent study shows that nearly 75% of college graduates with student loans felt the loan payments prevented them from buying a house or car.

Painful when you come to think of it. Imagine not being able to buy the necessities of life because of loan repayments, which could go on for years. But that need not be the case for you. A house would mean a mortgage and repaying two loans at the same time may not be easy. Rising interest rates will also make qualifying for mortgages more difficult for many people, but could really put the squeeze on those with student loans, who may have trouble qualifying even at lower interest rates.

Foreclosure has become a national problem now and just about anybody who can find a solution to this problem is encouraged and appreciated. In such an attempt, NeighborWorks America recently announced national honors for three organizations that have developed innovative and cost-effective approaches to preserve homeownership for families in jeopardy of foreclosure.

Montana-based Neighborhood Housing Servicing of Great Falls (NHSGF) got recognition in the “Innovative Outreach” category, for their ‘Who’s Got a Sheriff?’ program. In the state of Montana, the Sheriff’s office serves all foreclosure notices. This way, whenever a foreclosure notice is served to a homeowner, the county Sheriff provides valuable information on NHSGF’s foreclosure prevention services. The Consumer Credit Counseling Services of San Francisco’s Outbound Telephone Counseling program also won accolades. At the time of mortgage delinquency, CCCS doesn’t wait for the family to call, and calls them instead. Dsnews.com reports:

In the “Innovative Partnerships to Prevent Foreclosure” category, the Tippecanoe County HomeOwnership Preservation Initiative (HOPI) in Lafayette, IN was recognized. Lafayette Neighborhood Housing Services (LNHS) and other partners brought foreclosure problems to the attention of municipal officials and leaders through the Tippecanoe County HomeOwnership Preservation Initiative (HOPI). The group studied local causes of foreclosure and defined potential solutions, and a successful partnership between citizens and LNHS yielded positive results for the community.

Read more: NeighborWorks America and MetLife Foundation Recognize Key Foreclosure Prevention Efforts