Lee Morof's Real Estate Blog

Buying a home is a major financial transaction, especially if you’re going to need mortgage financing to help cover the purchase cost.

The only way to know if you’re getting the best deal on a mortgage is to shop around, but with so many different lenders vying for your business it can be very tough to choose which mortgage is the best fit for your own situation.

In this post we’ll share how you can compare mortgages from different lenders or underwriters so that you can get the best possible deal on your mortgage loan.

Start By Comparing Interest Rates

The most important factor in your mortgage is the interest rate that you’ll be required to pay so this should be your starting point.

While most lenders will keep their rates competitive with one another, you may find that there are discounts available based on your credit or financial history. You might also find that some lenders are willing to adjust the rate based on how long of a mortgage term you’ll need, and how much you’re investing in your down payment.

Get An Estimate Of Your Total Closing Costs

While the number that you’re likely focused on is the total monthly payment that you’ll be making for the next few years, you’ll also want to find out how much in fees and closing costs you will have to pay in order to take out the mortgage.

Every lender charges different fees and the amounts can vary wildly, so be sure to get an estimate on these costs to find out how they’ll affect your home purchase.

Watch Out For Early Payment Penalties

Finally, you’ll want to keep an eye out for early repayment penalties as these can cause you a headache later on if you decide you want to pay your mortgage off a bit faster. The ideal mortgage is one that allows you to repay the principal amount at any time without facing a penalty, but depending on the other terms that you require you might need to shop around a bit before you find a mortgage like this.

Whether you’re buying a home for the first time or you’ve decided it’s about time that you upgraded to a larger, more expansive house, if you’re making a real estate purchase you’ll need to be aware of how much you can reasonably afford to borrow in a mortgage. In today’s post we’ll take a look at a few ways that you can analyze your financial situation to help decide how much mortgage you can truly afford.

Prepare An Honest Monthly Budget

The first step in understanding how much of a monthly payment you can afford is to create an honest monthly budget which includes all of your family’s income and spending. Although you won’t have to pay them every month, it’s also important that you include costs that show up irregularly like car repairs, Christmas gifts or tuition bills as these still need to be paid. The more information you can place in your budget, the more accurate your financial picture will be.

Your Down Payment Plays A Huge Role

As you might imagine, the amount you can invest in your down payment plays a significant role in how much mortgage financing you will need. Every dollar that you can place in your down payment today is one less dollar that you’ll need to borrow and pay interest on over the amortization period of your mortgage. Take some time to consider how much you can put down, and see if there’s any way you can bump this figure a bit higher.

What Interest Rate Will You End Up Paying?

Small changes to your mortgage interest rate can have significant impacts on how much you are required to pay back over the life of your mortgage. As you’re shopping around, be sure to consider how long your interest rates are valid for and try to determine the lowest rate you might qualify for. You may also find it helpful to use an online mortgage calculator which can help you to understand how your interest rate impacts your monthly payments.

If you have been declined for a mortgage, you may think that buying that new home is out of reach. However, there are ways to turn a rejection into an approval and to find a more accessible loan. Here are just a few steps you can take to learn about your loan options and get the mortgage that works for you.

Find Out Why The Mortgage Application Was Denied

The first step to getting a second opinion is to find out why your mortgage application was denied. Banks commonly deny mortgages for reasons like a low credit score, a high debt-to-income ratio, or concerns about the applicant’s past and present employment status.

To qualify for a mortgage, most lenders want to see someone with a credit score of 640, a debt-to-income ratio of less than 43 percent after the mortgage is included and at least 30 days in your current position if using wage income to qualify for the loan.

Not All Lenders View An Application The Same Way

A good reason why it is worthwhile to ask for a second opinion about your ability to get a loan is because no two lenders will view an application the same way. For one lender, a credit score of 650 is insufficient for getting a loan – but another lender might be more than happy to offer you a mortgage with a score of 650. To get a second opinion, you may wish to talk to a mortgage broker who will be able to scan a variety of loan programs to find one that works for you.

There Are Ways To Find Down Payment And Closing Cost Assistance

Those who have a low credit score or other questionable metrics may be able to qualify for a loan by offering a larger down payment. While a first-time buyer may not have the cash on hand to make a larger payment, there may be programs that provide grants or low-interest loans that can be used as part of your down payment or to help pay closing costs. With this extra money, it may be possible to overcome lender objections and obtain a mortgage.

If your mortgage application has been rejected, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get a mortgage from another lender. If you’re ready to buy a house but just need to clear the mortgage approval hurdle, there are ways to get a leg up.

As if homeowners who are facing foreclosure don’t have enough to worry about, a multitude of loan modification scam artists have invaded the internet, public files and even foreclosure notices in newspapers in hopes of targeting their next victim. By identifying the top three modification scams and learning how to avoid them, at-risk homeowners can protect themselves (and their homes).

Never Pay For Mortgage Modification Assistance

Many desperate homeowners fall victim to scam artists who offer to provide them with assistance in the loan modification process for an exorbitant fee. Many times the scam artist who promises to provide assistance will require that the homeowner pay the fee upfront, after which they will provide very little assistance or simply take the money and run. Consumers should be aware that assistance and counseling services are offered for free through a number of reputable HUD approved counseling agencies.

Avoid Transferring The Deed

One popular scam that at-risk homeowners often face is the property deed scam in which scam artists promise to purchase the home in question, agreeing to let the desperate homeowner rent it out. They suggest that turning over the deed to a borrower with a better credit rating will offer additional financing opportunities, thus preventing the loss of the home. The scammer often promises to sell the home back to the homeowner, but in reality has no intention of doing so.

Many times the scam artist will sell the home to another buyer. In some instances, the crook will collect any processing fees, take the title to the home and any equity, and then leave the home to default. It is a good idea for consumers who are approached with a property deed scam to report it to the FTC.

Ignore Unrealistic Promises

Mortgage modification scammers often make promises to do such things as negotiate a solution to the foreclosure more quickly, process mortgage payments for the consumer while the negotiation is being worked out, or even guarantee a loan modification. Since the actual lender is the only one who can agree to a loan modification, and this solution requires additional processing time, overnight fixes are almost always scams. Additionally, consumers should never make mortgage payments to anyone other than their lender.

If you are nearing retirement, a reverse mortgage might be right for you. This type of mortgage essentially allows you to turn your home equity into cash. If you find yourself with little money, a reverse mortgage could be the perfect solution, and here’s why.

No Worries About Monthly Payments

After taking on a mortgage, there are many costs that you have to worry about. One of these problems is mortgage insurance premiums. Add interest and fees from lender service providers to the mix, and you’ve got yourself many costs.

All of these fees can create tremendous headaches, as a large chunk of the loan amount goes into covering these costs.

When you undertake a reverse mortgage, you don’t have to worry about any of that. The loan is paid back with home equity, not ongoing cash flow, so monthly payments aren’t a worry.

Your Income Won’t Affect Your Eligibility, And The Income You’ll Get Won’t Create Problems

If the reason you’re hoping to get a reverse mortgage is your low income, the last thing you want is that income to be the deciding factor. With this type of loan, it’s not an issue. That’s because the thing that determines eligibility is your house’s value.

In fact, the income you’ll be getting from this loan is not taxable, which means you’ll be able to keep it in full. Plus, any benefits you get from Medicare will not be affected, and neither will your Social Security.

As such, what you’ll be getting is a loan that doesn’t take into account your current income. Rather, it adds on to it, without creating any issues for you. Plus, you’ll be able to get the money in several different ways, which means you’re in control.

Lastly, the money you get is fully yours. That means that you can use it for anything you want, whether that means you’ll be paying off other loans, or simply funding your day-to-day needs.

You Won’t Be Taken Away From Your Home

Your house is yours because it feels that way. It’s the place in which you’ve invested money and effort. It’s also the place where many loved memories were created, and where they’ll keep on being created.

One of the hardest things for the elderly is being removed from their loved homes and placed into care. They have to leave the place they’ve grown to love. Worse than that, they’re thrown into a world they don’t know.

With a reverse mortgage, this doesn’t need to happen. With this type of loan, you get additional income, and you get to stay in your own house.

Not only that, but you’re also keeping the title to that place until you move, pass away, or reach the end of the loan’s term. Your home will stay yours, both effectively and in the documents.

There are many more reasons why a reverse mortgage is a great idea. However, the fact that you’re in complete control of the income you’ll be getting is one of the most important things.

If you’d like to learn more about reverse mortgages, be sure to contact your mortgage professional.

Are you shopping for a home or a new mortgage? If you are interested in finding the best possible financial product, it is important to consider the benefits of selecting a Qualified Mortgage. With so many different types of loan products to choose from and financial terms to learn, schooling yourself on the mortgage market before you buy your first home or apply for your first refinance mortgage may seem like a daunting task.

Luckily, there are resources that are designed to help you learn the basics of products and terms so that all consumers have the power to inform themselves before securing a loan.

What is a Qualified Mortgage?

There are many different categories of home loans that individual loan products can fall into and one of these categories is simply referred to as a Qualified Mortgage. Qualified Mortgages, also referred to as the QM in the industry, is a product that has been approved as a qualified product because it has stable features that benefit you as a borrower.

All lenders who are interested in offering a Qualified Mortgage must make a good-faith effort to assess your income and your debt-to-income ratio to ensure that you are able to repay the loan before you take the loan out. All lenders must meet a long list of certain requirements that are free of harmful features that could affect a borrower’s ability to pay.

Common Requirements of Qualified Mortgages

The main purpose of a qualified mortgage is to protect borrowers from forms of predatory lending. The standards that the loan must meet are set by the Federal government. In addition to assessing the borrower’s ability to pay before approving an application, lenders must meet loan product requirements that are very specific in nature. Some of the harmful features that a QM product is not permitted to have include:

– Negative Amortization: This feature affects consumers by allowing principal to increase over time.

– Interest-only Periods: Where payments are only applied to interest on the money borrowed.

– Balloon payment requirement: A requirement where borrowers must pay a large payment at the end of the loan term.

– Long Terms: Loans cannot have terms longer than 30 years.

– A Large Debt-to-Income Ratio: There is a limit in how much income that can go to monthly debt payments. This limit is 43% for a QM.

How Can a QM Benefit a New Home Buyer?

As you can see, there are safeguards built into a Qualified Mortgage that are designed to protect you from entering into a long-term binding loan contract that puts you in an unfair position. There are also legal protections that are designed to protect lenders who are committed to designing qualified mortgage products. You can sign a loan that you can afford to repay, have payments applied to your principal as well as interest, and become a homeowner without unnecessary stress.