What is a Jumbo Loan?
A jumbo mortgage is a home loan that exceeds the limits set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) are the two main agencies that purchase the majority of residential...
How an Interest Only Mortgage Loan Works
A mortgage is called an interest only mortgage loan when the monthly payment does not include the repayment of principal for a certain amount of time.. How an interest only mortgage loan worksInterest only loans are offered on fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgages as wells as...
How To Finance Home Improvements
Making sure your home is in good repair helps it maintain, and, in many cases raise its over-all value. Homeowners aren’t always able to pay out of pocket for a $10,000 plumbing job when the pipes burst, and sometimes we just aren’t able to handle staring at that...
Maintain Your Credit
You have a lifetime of financial decisions to face and after you have improved your FICO credit score, you must responsibly manage it at all times. One slip could cost you thousands of dollars when you need a loan in the years to come. Besides higher interest rates, you may have...
What is a Conforming Loan?
Two government-backed companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have specific guidelines that they have created to determine which loans they will purchase in the secondary market. A conforming loan is simply a loan that meets these guidelines.. These two financial companies...
What Are Mortgage Points?
In mortgage terms, a "point" is a sum paid up front at the closing in exchange for better loan terms. Points lower the lender's risk. When more money is paid to the lender up front, the loan itself is smaller and less risky. Point payments allow the...
Can I Negotiate Closing Costs?
As with many things in this world, closing costs and discount points can be negotiated. But it's tougher for the borrower to obtain large concessions unless there are trade-offs with the lender. For example, the lender may be much more willing to reduce closing fees or...
Lower Payments With Discount Points
Mortgage points are costs that need to be paid to a lender in order to receive mortgage financing under specified terms. A point is a percentage of the loan amount (one point = one percent of the loan). One point on a $100,000 loan would be $1,000. Discount points are fees that are...
Can I Get a Home Loan after Bankruptcy?
If you have filed for bankruptcy in the past, and want to know if you can still purchase a home, the answer in short is: generally yes. The bigger question is how long after the bankruptcy do you have to wait before you apply for a new financing?. Most new mortgage loans will require a...
Components of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
. Understanding an Adjustable Rate Mortgage comes down to understanding its component parts. These are a list of terms related to ARM's that you should know:. Index: A financial indicator that rises and falls, based primarily on economic fluctuations. It is usually an...
Specifics about Jumbo Mortgage Loans
Although the name may imply something rare and unusual, a jumbo mortgage only has a few items separate from a conventional mortgage. The main difference lies in the amount of the loan. The upper limit set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for a standard mortgage is $417,000 in the...
Interest-Only Mortgage Loans: The Ins & Outs
If you are one of the many who are searching for a lower monthly payment with you new home purchase, then an interest only mortgage loan could be the answer that you are looking for. The idea behind these mortgages is that the borrower will only be required to repay the interest...
Interest Only Mortgages: Advantages & Disadvantages
Interest only home loans are considered a risky investment for most borrowers seeking to purchase a home, however there are advantages to an interest only loan, which for some outweigh the disadvantages.. The Advantages of Interest-only MortgagesThe advantage of an...
How to Refinance a Mortgage
With today’s mortgage rates approaching historic lows, many homeowners are wondering how the mortgage refinance process works.. A mortgage refinance is fundamentally similar to obtaining a first mortgage. First, you must apply for the mortgage. The bank will respond...
What is a Refinance Loan?
Refinancing is when you get a new mortgage loan, typically with better terms, to pay off and to replace your existing mortgage.. One of the advantages of refinancing your home is the ability to reduce your interest rate. By having a lower interest rate you are more likely to pay...
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is designed to help ensure that the Credit Reporting Agencies furnish businesses with correct and complete information to use when evaluating your application.. Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act:. . You have the right to...
Why is credit scoring used?
A credit score is a number consisting of three digits (from 300-850) that denotes a person's creditworthiness. What most people don't know the many ways this number is used to determine their financial status. Your credit score is an important factor used to...
Can you get a VA Loan after a Short Sale?
Although it may be somewhat challenging, borrowers who have short sold a property may still acquire a VA mortgage loan and even receive full entitlement under the right circumstances. In fact, VA loans offer much simpler guidelines for recovery from a short sale than other...
5 Most Important Things to Look for in a VA Home Loan Lender
For eligible homebuyers, home financing through the Department of Veteran Affairs can provide numerous benefits and advantages over other types of loans. Borrowers looking for a VA loan will need a lender authorized by the VA to handle this type of home financing. While many...
How Can I Refinance A VA Loan?
There are two types of VA Refinance loans: VA Cash-Out Refinance and VA Streamline Refinance (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan). The major difference between the two types of refinance loans is that a VA Cash-Out Refinance lets borrowers take cash out of...
The 5 Types of Paperwork Your Lender Will Demand
. The home purchase loan often begins and ends with mortgage paperwork. Why? It’s simple. You’ll have to get preapproved for a mortgage before you can negotiate with a seller to buy a house, and in order to close the deal, you’ll have to sign a finalized mortgage...
Interest Only Mortgage Program
An interest only mortgage is one in which the monthly payment for the loan does not include the repayment of the principle balance for a specific period of time. Interest only loans are offered on both fixed rate and adjustable mortgages, and also on option ARM loans. Once the...
What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest-Only Mortgages?
Affluent borrowers are signing on to the same type of mortgage that sent many borrowers into foreclosure during the housing market meltdown. Interest-only mortgages, where borrowers pay interest but no principal at the beginning of the loan, are enticing homebuyers with...
Top 5 Reasons You're Ready For a Refinance
If you plan to refinance your home mortgage, don't act too fast. Wait until mortgage rates are low, as they are currently, and you'll save a significant amount of money. But how can you know when the time to act has come? Check out the following tips.1...
What to Look for when Purchasing a Home
Purchasing a house is a big step. We’ve listed the top 5 things to look for when purchasing a home.. 1. What’s the location like?Purchasing a house in a great neighborhood has lots of benefits. Desirable locations not only are enjoyable to live in, but boost your...
Find The Perfect Home in 10 Easy Steps
Finding your perfect home has never been easier thanks to the plethora of houses flooding the market. Although the way you progress through the actual homebuying transaction can vary depending on the real estate laws and customs of your area, there are many homebuying steps...
Benefits of Homeownership
Entire generations of citizens have been raised to believe that homeownership is an essential part of life, a necessary step on the road to success and happiness. Arguably, the ideal of owning a home has been one of the major staple ingredients of the traditional...
Find A House: 7 Tips For Getting The Home You Want
1. Plan your budgetUsing a mortgage calculator is a great start to planning what you afford when it comes to finding a house. You can get an idea of monthly payment amounts, interest rates, and even what down payment amount is best for you. Planning out your budget like this gives...
Things to Know When You Apply for a Mortgage
The best way to save money on any kind of purchase is to know your options. This is especially true when you are financing or borrowing money. There are some key issues that you should be aware of before you apply for a mortgage:. Credit Rating (FICO)First, your credit rating, also...
Credit Card Debt
Credit card debt is one of the easiest kind of debts to get in, and one of the hardest kinds of debt to get out of. A big part of the allure of credit cards is the ability to buy NOW and pay later. However, behind the possibility of buying now is an ugly truth. Many consumers discover that...
Why Your Credit Score Matters
Most individuals who are considering a home purchase or a mortgage loan refinance are well aware of the importance of having a good credit score. If you're like most home buyers, you've probably heard that it's important to have the highest credit score...
Get Your Credit Score Ready for a Mortgage
You may have found the home of your dreams and you may feel that you’re ready to take on a mortgage, but how is your credit score? If your credit score isn’t ready, you won’t qualify for the home mortgage loan you need and you won’t be able to...
Requirements for a Good Credit Score
In recent years, your credit score was just a minor issue if you wanted to take out a mortgage loan for a home purchase or a refinance. Now, however, lenders are enforcing extremely strict credit score requirements. Some minimum qualifications are outlined here.. 1...
How Do Construction Loans Work?
Construction loans are approved only when the lender knows the full story such as builder, land purchase, location, and borrower behind the proposed project, which is why they are classified as story loans. Such information is key for the lender, considering story loans are...
5 Tips To Build Your Dream Home
Building a new house can be both exciting, nerve wracking, and rewarding. There is always a long list of decisions to be made, and it can be easy to overlook some points in the process when all you want is for your house to be done and ready to move into. We’ve put together a...
The Homeowner Association: Ruling Your Rights?
You may not know that there are private governments across the United States. Or that one out of every five homeowners in America is bound by strict regulations enforced so stringently that they’re in constant threat of losing their rights to privacy, their freedom of...
How Can I Avoid Paying Additional Fees at Closing?
Many first time home buyers who aren’t familiar with the forms and fees required during the mortgage closing often find themselves stuck paying additional expenses for the home purchase. This can happen when borrowers are too stressed to...
7-1 ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)
A 7/1 ARM, or adjustable rate mortgage, allows homebuyers to borrow funds at a low initial rate. This can help a borrower finance a home purchase more effectively. 7/1 ARMs come with lower interest than conventional fixed mortgages for an initial 7 year period at...
3 Tips for Mortgage Pre-Approval
Preparing for a mortgage can be a complex process, especially if you’re a first time buyer. One of the most important steps in the mortgage process is preapproval. You should try to get preapproved for your loan as soon as possible. If you can,...