The closing of your mortgage loan is a big day to look forward to because when it is successfully complete, you will officially be a homeowner. Getting to closing can be a rough process because of all the inspections, paperwork, documentation, insurance searches, and so on. Purchasing a home can be an exhausting but rewarding experience and closing is the final step.

But never take for granted that a mortgage closing is a done deal just because the date is set. For some people, they actually get to the closing appointment only to find out something has gone wrong, the realtor has made a mistake, or the attorney’s office missed something. It can be quite a fiasco. Continue reading →

There are predators of nearly every industry but when it comes to the mortgage industry, a potential homeowner can lose big time financially if taken for a ride by a professional scam artist.

Due to the recession and the tanking of the mortgage and housing industries, many current homeowners may also find themselves in a predicament a good con artist will target.  Desperate times can trigger the increase of mortgage-related scams. Continue reading →

Mortgage scams are being invented and upgrading every day with the intent of the con artists gaining access to the equity in your home or even to the home itself. Avoiding these kinds of mortgage scams is essential for your financial well-being, not to mention your state of mind.

It is not an easy task to pinpoint what is a scam and what is legitimate assistance for mortgage-related problems because the scheming individuals have developed many complex, deceptive practices to snag a homeowner facing foreclosure. But once you have discovered you have been victimized, the emotional toll of what occurred may cloud your ability to use good judgment in rectifying the situation. Continue reading →

Despite the well advertised loan modification programs designed to help homeowners who are having trouble making their monthly mortgage loan payment, millions continue to come up short when that payment date arrives.  There are some homeowners who are so underwater, foreclosure is unavoidable.  Many others however would be able to get back on track financially if they could just lower their monthly payments.  Traditionally the only way to accomplish this was through the refinancing of a mortgage loan.  Unfortunately not all homeowners qualify for a refinance and for those who do, the costs put that option out of reach.  The good news for homeowners is that there is another way to lower mortgage payments beyond refinance.  This option is known as recasting or re-amortizing and here we will look more closely at this option and how it can help homeowners stay in their house. Continue reading →

During the mortgage crisis, second mortgages got a bad rap. During the heyday of the housing boom, borrowers were finding it relatively easy to get into the home of their dreams without a single dollar sown. They were using second mortgages on top of the first mortgage to get in the door and no one was particularly worried about it all because home prices were sure to stay on the rise.

But then the bottom fell out. The housing process fell drastically and those with adjustable-rate mortgages found themselves unable to afford the higher payments each month. Since many homeowners were underwater on the mortgage, owning more than their homes were worth, refinancing the loans was not a possibility. Government assistance programs were also an unusable option because most only help out with first mortgages. Continue reading →

When President Obama set out to establish an assistance resource for homeowners that could not afford their payment any longer, many people grabbed on to the glimmer of hope. But the Home Affordable Modification Program, in effect since 2009, did not produce exact results. In fact, many people were left worse off then where they started.

What Is a Mortgage Modification?

Under the Home Affordable Modification Program, homeowners who could no longer afford their current loan payments could seek relief from lenders. Mortgage providers were basically required to open the door for modification considerations on existing loans in order to make payments more reasonable. The terms of the original loan were reworked so homeowners could secure a smaller, more manageable monthly payment. Continue reading →

When you’ve never applied for a mortgage loan before, the process can be quite confusing. A mortgage is the biggest loan most people will ever get, so it goes without saying that the mortgage process is pretty intense. That being said, as you take the steps to getting a new mortgage loan, make sure you avoid the most critical mistakes.

Not checking your credit first.

Well before you start applying for mortgages, when you’re in the “I want to by a house” stage, you should check your credit. It’s best to get rid of any credit problems before you apply for a mortgage since it can take months to clear up some errors. If you have errors on your credit report, you can dispute them with the credit bureaus. You’ll also need to take care of unpaid delinquencies and collection accounts if you want to get a mortgage. Continue reading →

Traditionally mortgages are offered with either a 15 year or a 30 year term. A good majority of home buyers opt for the 30 year mortgage because payments are lower and there is a lot more time to pay off your mortgage debt. Even financial experts recommend home buyers opt for a 30 year mortgage to keep cash from getting tied up in mortgages for such a long period of time.

Record Low Considerations

While 30 year mortgages may be the norm, the current trend of record low interest rates may be a reason to reconsider your options. If you are a good candidate for the lowest available interest, meaning you have excellent credit and your debt-to-income ratio is sufficient for lender requirements, a 15 year mortgage may be the right choice for you. Continue reading →

Homeowners tend to seek out a refinance of their mortgage loan when they have built up some equity in their home and wish to get better loan terms than their original mortgage. People also seek to refinance when they initially took out an adjustable rate loan and would prefer a fixed rate loan for better payment manageability.

Because of recent changes in the mortgage industry, it is now harder to get any kind of financing let alone a refinance deal on your current home. Lenders are looking for plenty of equity, creditworthiness, and the ability to repay the loan from any borrower. Since many people have fallen into debt traps or have come close to losing their home through foreclosure, lenders are very particular about who they will lend to and the criteria to approve applications for refinance. Continue reading →

A lot of homeowners go into a mortgage loan expecting to refinance it a few years down the road. This is especially true of homeowners who took on an adjustable rate mortgage. Others consider refinancing to take advantage of lower interest rates or to extend their mortgage repayment term. Refinancing isn’t always a good idea. Sometimes it’s better to just leave your mortgage alone.

When you’re close to paying off your mortgage loan. If you’re more than halfway done paying off your mortgage, now probably isn’t a good time to refinance. You’ll end up paying a lot more interest on your home and lose the equity you’ve gained. The same thing goes if you’ve been making prepayments toward your mortgage to pay it off sooner.

Your interest rate only goes down a little. Lowering your interest by only a percent or half-percent isn’t worth it in the long run. Refinancing has additional costs and you won’t break even let alone get any savings if you refinance for a slightly lower interest rate. Use an online refinance calculator to figure out whether refinancing would actually save you any money. Continue reading →