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Archive for the 'Mortgage information' Category

Mortgage Rates – Low Enough to Refinance Now!

You would think I ‘d know better.  I am in real estate after all.  But I got too caught up in the mortgage/real estate/job market/Wall Street mess, and the whirlwind of media negativity, to see that mortgage rates had dropped SOOOOO LOW that I could have saved a lot of money EACH month, if I had refinanced.  Luckily I wasn’t too late to miss the boat in its entirety.  I had grown complacent with my 5.75% interest rate since I had refinanced it several years ago when rates were at “historic lows”.  I saved on my monthly mortgage from when I originally purchased my home, so thought I was okay.  I did the calculations last week and, based on a rate of 4.625% for a 15 year loan, realized I would save $544.77 each month and that in less than a year that savings would pay for the closing costs associated with refinancing.

If I were to take a portion of my monthly savings and use it to pay down the principal balance on my loan and another portion to invest in my retirement fund, I would still have a little extra spending money!  Needless to say, I filled out the paperwork today.  What are you waiting for?

Tags: Homeownership

Good-Faith Estimates To Improve Dramatically

On January 1, 2010, new rules adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development go into effect.  These rules are going to give borrowers a much more realistic estimate of what their closing costs are going to be so there are fewer surprises at the closing table.

• Good-faith estimates will now be on a uniform form, so borrowers can more easily compare settlement fees and loan charges among lenders.
• The form will break-down fees into three categories:  those that can’t increase from original estimates, those that can increase by as much as 10% and those that the lender has no control over.  Fees that can increase up to 10% are limited to a total 10% in that category so, if at closing, two items increase by 10%, the most the borrower will pay is the 10%.

Although the new rules do not guarantee a borrower’s actual closing costs will be exactly what the good-faith estimate states, it will be a lot better and closer to reality than many of these estimates currently are.  The fact that these new uniform good-faith estimates are also going to be included in a new HUD-1 will allow borrowers to compare what they were told with the actual charges.  The new HUD-1 will also break out the title insurance premiums so that the borrower can see what percentage is going to the insurance and what portion is a fee to the title agent.

What should you do if you are shopping for a mortgage now and plan on purchasing a home before the new rules come out?  Use HUD’s shopping for a mortgage brochure to get you started.

Tags: buying real estate

Buying a Home? Get Pre-Approved For a Mortgage

The first and most important step in buying a home is to get pre-approved by a lender for a mortgage.  This can be directly from a bank or credit union you do business with or through a mortgage broker.   Getting pre-approved will let you know how much house you can afford or, better yet, how much of a house you feel comfortable with.  The lender or mortgage broker will give you an idea of what your monthly costs will be and will give you a Good Faith Estimate of closing costs to let you know how much money you will need to bring to the closing table to finalize your purchase.

Tags: buying real estate, mortgages

5 Criteria You Must Meet to Qualify For a Jumbo Loan in Miami, Florida

So, you have decided to get off the fence, take advantage of the steep price decreases and finally buy your dream home.  You have surfed the Internet, looked at pictures, maybe even settled on a neighborhood.  STOP!  Before you go any further you need to talk to a mortgage broker and find out if you could get a mortgage.  As you have read in the papers, the banks are not handing out money very easily.

Jumbo Loan

• Any loan mortgage over $417,000 is considered a jumbo loan.
• The minimum down payment required is 30%.
• You will be required to provide your last two years tax returns.
• Your credit score will need to be at least 720.
• You can lower your rate by 1/4% if you go through EWM mortgage and have a bank account with Wachovia.

Stay tuned for information on other types of mortgages.

Tags: Buying