How to Pick a Mortgage Lender

With all the lenders out there, how do you know which one to use for your home loan mortgage? Does it even really matter? What are the points you should consider when comparing lenders, and how do make sure the lender is legitimate? This article suggests that who you choose as your lender IS important, and presents some key factors to consider when comparing mortgage lenders.

First, why is which lender you choose important? The most obvious reason, is of course, cost. When you take out a mortgage loan, you incur a monthly payment associated with a large debt. Therefore, you ought to pay close attention to a loan's cost. And it's not just the interest rate you have to consider. Make sure you find out about additional fees such as an underwriting fee, an origination fee, an appraisal fee, etc. These fees are combined with the interest rate to come up with the Annual Percentage Rate (also known as the APR). It is the APR that you ought to pay the most attention to.

When you have a tight time frame within which to buy a home, a lender's speed becomes important. One lender may be able to underwrite the loan in three days and fund it in one more day while another lender may take a couple of weeks or more. Don't ignore this important aspect of lending.

Convenience may also play a role in who you choose. Does the lender allow you to upload your documents over the internet so that you don't have to mail them? Can you apply for and choose your loan without having to talk to a person? Will the notary for signing the final papers come to you?

When you have decided which lenders you'd like to try out, you might want to verify that they can legally fund loans in your state. You can do this by either contacting the state by phone or using an online search that the state may have on their website. You might find that search function on the Banking or Financial Institutions area of the website.

Besides seeing if the lender is able to provide loans in your state, you may want to verify that it has a valid business license in the state where its corporate headquarters are located. This can also be done online.

Which lender you choose is important, so remember to include these considerations in your decision making process: Cost (pay attention to APR), speed, convenience, and legitimacy. May you choose the best online lender!

Temporary Mortgage Loans and Buying a Home

Buying a home has been tougher due to the mortgage crisis and the resulting credit crunch. This article describes some of the consequences of the crisis including the discontinuance and temporary appearance of some loans.

The serious losses suffered by Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE's), Wall Street firms, and other investors across the United States brought about credit tightening and the disappearance of the loan products that caused these losses. The leading culprit was the high-risk, 100% CLTV 2nd mortgages on investment properties, most of which were executed with Stated Income and Stated Income Stated Asset (SISA) documentation. This loan type started disappearing two to two and a half years ago with credit tightening or discontinuance happening rapidly. Other high-risk loan types that resulted in significant damage were the Owner Occupied SISA and No Doc loans. Most lenders no longer offer these loans.

The struggle to correct the plight of high losses was so severe that maximum loan-to-value (LTV) percentages were decreased for conforming full-documentation mortgages for houses located in declining markets (areas where home values have decreased). The reduction was instituted to ameliorate default rates, and is being lifted during the summer 2008 under certain circumstances.

During the first half of 2008, conventional/conforming loans (non-governmental loans equal to or under $417,000) and FHA loans have been popular. Borrowers with low credit scores have the possibility of qualifying with both types of loans, although the FHA loans may be capped at a minimum of 580 FICO score. FHA loans allow a slightly higher loan-to-value ratio (lower down payment) than the conventional loans.

Here are three new (and temporary) mortgage programs:

FHASecure - this is an FHA-insured refinance loan that is available for homeowners that currently have a non-FHA adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). It was originally intended for people who defaulted, or would likely default, on their ARM when the rate reset; it was later made available to a wider demographic.

FHA High Balance - HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) has established limits for its FHA-insured loans that vary by county. It has temporarily increased the allowable size of the loans that it insures. These higher balance loans may actually have better rates than smaller FHA loans.

Agency/Conforming Jumbos - Mortgages greater than $417,000 are considered "Jumbo" loans. Loans for amounts equal to or smaller than this are called "Conforming" loans and have different guidelines than Jumbo loans that must be met in order to qualify for the loan. Agency/Conforming loans are mortgages starting at $417,001 that can go up to $729,750 and that qualify under the regular Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan guidelines -- with some additional underwriting restrictions. As with FHA High Balance loans, the actual maximum loan amount is determined by the HUD county limits is valid only for 1-unit purchases (i.e., the maximum does not apply to duplexes).

Utah Mortgage Help

You're thinking about buying a home and don't want to read through a thick book about mortgages. This article provides some general home loan basics to get you started.

Deciding to buy a home and obtain a mortgage is a serious decision with significant responsibilities. Not only must you spend money upfront to obtain your loan, you'll be entering (or increasing) your debt. You'll also be responsible to pay a large monthly payment. Hence it is important that you choose wisely what loan to get and where to get it.

As you compare mortgages, you'll want to understand some basic terms: mortgage, rate, monthly payment, closing costs, APR, ARM, and fixed.

First, what is a mortgage? A mortgage is a loan used to either purchase a property or to pay off an existing mortgage loan. The property itself becomes the collateral. In other words, if the borrower defaults on the mortgage, then the mortgage owner has legal claim to the house and can take possession of it.

The term "rate" refers to the percentage used in calculating the amount of interest you'll pay for your loan. The interest is essentially your cost for borrowing money. If the interest rate remains the same throughout the loan term, then the mortgage is considered a "fixed-rate" loan. On the other hand, if the rate can change, then the mortgage is called an adjustable rate mortgage or an ARM.

While interest is the cost of borrowing money, there are additional costs associated with the mortgage application process. These costs are called "closing costs". They include fees for checking your credit history and scores, applying for the mortgage, verifying that you qualify for a specific loan program (this is called underwriting), originating the loan, title search and insurance, and having the property's value appraised.

While the interest rate is an important number, by itself it is insufficient for comparing lenders. This is because lenders and brokers can charge different fees, making a loan from Lender A actually less expensive than from Lender B, even though it has a higher interest rate. In order to help provide a number that can be compared across lenders, the government has regulated that closing costs be added to the loan amount to determine what is known as the Annual Percentage Rate or APR.

When choosing a loan, pay special attention to the loan's total monthly payment. This amount includes what you'll pay on principal and interest, property taxes, hazard or homeowner's insurance, HOA dues, and mortgage insurance. When mortgage insurance is factored into your monthly costs, some loans with a higher interest rate might actually have a lower monthly payment. You could end up paying less overall if you pick one of those loans.

Finance & Investment,Real Estate

There are free calculators on the Internet that can help you decide whether to buy a home or keep renting, which loan is best, and how much you could save by making extra mortgage payments. This article describes some of the mortgage calculators available.

What Can You Afford

It's a good idea to know approximately how much money you can borrow for a home before you spend time looking for a new house. An affordability calculator will use information about a loan (such as interest rate and the length of the loan), the cost of taxes and insurance for the property, your debts (auto loans, credit card debt, etc), and your income to calculate the maximum mortgage you might obtain.

Monthly Payment

Your monthly mortgage payment is made up of a variety of costs, including principal, interest, taxes and insurance. A payment calculator considers all these and gives you your actual monthly payment. This is an important figure to know when determining whether or not you can afford a loan. Remember that even if you're able to obtain a loan, you still have to make the monthly payment.

Rent or Buy?

This wonderful tool will show you how much money you'll save or lose by renting, and how great a benefit buying a home might be. This calculator allows you to change the number of years used in the calculation, which is important because that can make the difference between whether renting is more advantageous or not. For example, if you were wanting to purchase a house and sell it after five years and wanted to compare it to renting for five years, you'd enter a "5" into the appropriate field in the calculator. The calculator might then tell you that you'd save $80,000 in monthly payments by renting. You'd also see that if you were to buy a home, even though you'd pay more money while you owned the house, when you sold it you'd earn both what you would have saved by renting AND an additional $5,000.

Refinancing Your Mortgage

You might want to refinance if it lowers your monthly payment or the total amount paid for your home. A calculator can help you decide this. How soon you'll sell your home after refinancing is important data this calculator will consider. For example, if you sell your house in five years, your savings due to refinancing might be $1,500. Waiting five additional years (for a total of ten) would increase your total savings to $4,000. However, if you wait too long, say 25 years before selling, you'd end up losing $7,500. That's why this calculator is important.

Loan Comparison

There are a variety of loan products available out there. In order to know which is best, you need a loan comparison calculator that considers interest rates, points, and closing costs. You can then compare the loans based on important factors such as the monthly payment and the total cost over the life of the loan. Some loans also have mortgage insurance associated with them, but many calculators might not take this into account, so be careful.

Bi-Weekly Payments

Want to know if paying off your mortgage every two weeks will actually help you save money over paying once a month? There's a calculator for this too. It can show you how much quicker you'll pay off the loan and how much you'll save in interest. Because you won't pay as much in interest by paying every two weeks, you could lose out on some tax benefits. A good calculator will take this into account and show you a "net savings" by taking into account the loss in tax savings.

These mortgage calculators can assist you in deciding whether to refinance or buy a home.

Remodel Your Bathroom for Added Home Value

The bathroom may seem to be void of all style and personality, but it doesn't have to be. With all of the new home accents and stylish fixtures on the market, you can easily make the restroom a nicer place to be. For starters, you can begin with simple decorations for the sink, shower, toilet and floors. There are tons of different colors you can choose to coordinate your bathroom with, so use your creativity to come up with a noticeable design. There are shower curtains, rugs and toilet covers you can buy - use different colors or find and interesting bathroom set to add a designer touch.

Garbage receptacles for the restroom are also becoming a tad more interesting with increasingly varied choices for shapes and colors. More options are also offered for shower rings; you can add a sleek look with plain silver or a whimsical vibe with colorful characters for children's facilities. Towels and washcloths can also become an integral part of the bathroom décor - just take a look at the restrooms in luxury hotels. Make these match your bathroom's color scheme and you will have a stylish looking restroom.

Besides using fundamental decorating tactics, you can get a bit more technical. Replacing fixtures in the restroom can actually be fun, especially while you are shopping around for different designs and gathering ideas. These days, faucets and fixtures are becoming more imaginative. They can come with peculiar carvings with sparkling silver, gold, bronze and other metallic colored faucets. You can visit your neighborhood home improvement store to get an overview of the variety of faucets and bathroom cabinets available.

You can even look into installing a new bathtub and showerhead. Technology has allowed impressive advances to occur in this market and you may have even already acquired a more modern model. Showerheads now have varying speeds and settings, such as pulsate; low, medium and hard streams and wide or narrow water flow. Some of them even come with a hose, so that you can separate it from the wall and use it to easily spray different parts of your body. Maybe you want to get really creative and have two showerheads. The options are truly endless for this personal area of your home, so make sure the design and shower necessities cater to your needs.

Yesterday's colors date any room. Even bathrooms with updated fixtures and hardware can look old and tired when decorated with palettes from a decade ago. Olive green, salmon and bright yellow, all of which were favorites in years past, scream your bathroom's age. Softer colors not only modernize your bathroom, but they can also hide flaws. Wall coverings and borders may also give away how many years it has been seen your bathroom was last redecorated. People working on a tight budget won't be able to replace bathtubs and vanities with outdated colors. You can de-emphasize those colors by changing the paint and adding accessories that tone down the bright colors. Be sure to stay in the same color family. meshing colors from different palettes can make even a large bathroom look mismatched.

Polish off your bathroom facelift with imaginative use of traditional accessories. Use several stacks of towels in a variety of colors. Give up the plastic flowers for baskets filled with useful bathroom items. Bring the outdoors in with living plants, but forget the potpourri. Rather, finish up your bathroom's touch-up with a light misting of scent from oiled tapers. With a little thought and a touch of creativity, sprucing up your bathroom can be fun, fast and within your budget.

Which Mortgage Lenders Will Be Around Tomorrow

Foreclosures and credit tightening have rocked the mortgage industry, causing some lenders to go out of business. In this critical time when it's harder to close the number of loans you're used to, having relationships with lenders that will be around tomorrow and the next day is important. But how can you tell which ones will close their doors and which ones will stem the tide? This article presents four key signs of a mortgage lender that is more likely to remain strong in these turbulent times. If you do business with lenders who meet these criteria, you'll be able to spend your time finding and closing loans instead of searching out new lenders.

These four signs of staying power are:

1. Comprehensive Loan Portfolio.

2. Ability to quickly adapt loan guidelines to the changing environment.

3. Automation allowing rates competitive with top-tier lenders.

4. Technology allowing rapid alignment with secondary market investor requirements, leading to better quality loans.

You'll want to find a lender with a large loan portfolio for two reasons. First, the greater the variety of loans offered, the more likely you'll be able to find a loan that meets your borrower's financial situations. Second, with a variety of loan programs, the lender will be safer if some loan programs are discontinued. You'll also want a lender that can rapidly adapt its loan programs to meet the criteria of secondary market lenders. Some lenders sell their loans to investors in order to replenish their available capital. If the loans they fund do not meet investor requirements, the investor will not buy the loans and the lender may become cash strapped.

Besides modifying loan program guidelines, it is important to insert those guidelines into an automated underwriting system (AUS) that can underwrite loans in seconds, which will quickly ensure that borrowers qualify for a specific loan program. Rapid adaptation of loan programs and utilizing an AUS can help ensure that brokers submit saleable loans. This contributes to keeping the lender strong and prices down.

A third factor for success is automating multiple processes and incorporating the underwriting into the lending workflow. That way the lender reduces costs and increases its efficiencies, which allows it to provide competitive rates. Great rates are an incentive for brokers to use that lender and contribute to the lender's strength.

If you're a broker looking for the best wholesale lender, make sure whoever you choose uses the four keys listed above. Doing so means you'll be able to earn more money in less time.

Originating Loans in Today's Mortgage Market

If you're a mortgage broker or loan officer, market conditions may have made you want to pull out your hair and scream. In spite of the negative and painful consequences of this fallout, there are positive steps you can take right now to improve your situation. There are also lessons each of us can learn that will prepare us for the future.

What actions can you do right now?

1. Be careful of lenders who discount rates. Ask yourself -- "Why is this lender so hungry for my business?" The lenders who are instable and less likely to be around tomorrow are also the ones most likely to discount.

2. Remain educated in what loan products are available and what scenarios they are best for. With the constant changes in the marketplace today, this means putting in extra time, but knowing what's out there may mean the difference between closing a loan and not closing it. Ask your lenders for training on their loan programs. They should also have product guidelines available for your use.

3. Become conscious of your attitude and how you talk to yourself. Some things can be changed and some cannot. A pessimistic and gloomy attitude does not improve the things that cannot change. Positive self-talk and a happy, hopeful attitude, however, can improve a situation. For starters, you'll feel better. You'll also have less stress, a clearer mind, and the ability to make better decisions. Your positive attitude will rub off on your clients and they'll be more likely to close a loan with you than if you had a bad attitude.

How can you prepare for the future?

1. Stay out of personal debt and keep business debt to a minimum. Pay off your house as quickly as possible. Purchase a car you can afford. Spend less than you make. You've heard it before, and there's a reason -- because it's good counsel.

2. Create a financial reserve. Saving money for emergencies both in your business and personal life will help you weather market maelstroms, will bring peace of mind, and will give you a better chance of surviving and making decisions based on long-term consequences.

3. Make choices based on a long-term perspective. This may mean working harder now for future profits. It definitely means keeping your integrity at all times, helping borrowers get the best loan product at the best rate (even if it means a lower yield for you ), and maintaining good relationships with your best lenders. Focus on building a good reputation and the investment will deliver great dividends.

In review, work with good lenders, remain educated, and keep a positive attitude; avoid debt, save for the future, and maintain a long-term perspective. Following these steps can help you weather today's storm and protect you against difficult times in the future.

Living A Condo Life In Miami Beach

Transferring from a home to a condo unit is actually a hard step for most individuals. Because you have to make adjustments with the place and the community, it takes some time before you can fully adjust in a condo life. Moreover, moving in to a new place like Miami Beach requires some time before you can finally adapt to the weather and the social life as well.

So before you make the transfer, you have to decide carefully on the matter first. It takes a lot of maturity to move in to a new place and adapt a new life from there.

To help you on the transfer, here are some reminders for your new condo life in Miami Beach.

Know The Policies

There are many condo unit owners which get troubled later during the transfer because of missed information. For this reason, you have to consult with your lawyers to know your responsibilities and rights in the new area. You also have to be familiar with the rules and regulations in Miami Beach so you know what and what not to do after you've moved in to the place.

Obtain The Proper Documentation

Even before you move in to your new condo in Miami Beach, you have to ascertain that all papers and transactions are legal. By hiring the most competent lawyers and the right agents, you can be guaranteed safe transactions before your transfer.

Some individuals have moved in the place completely only to find out that the place they bought or rented didn't even exist. You have to be wise on legal matters to assure ownership and to avoid hassle during the transfer.

Visit The Place

Before you transport all things in the new condo in Miami Beach, you have to pay a visit to the place first. You would know what things you need to bring and what you have to leave behind. If you have made the right plans for your new condo unit, the transfer is going to be less of a hassle to you.

If you visit Miami Beach a couple of times, you'd also adapt to the place much better. Because you've been constantly exposed before the transfer, making adjustments later on would just be easy.

Make Friends

For you to adjust well on your transfer, you have to gain new friends in the place. They would make your transfer a less bothersome task and they can also brighten up your tiresome day if the need be.

Going around the community in Miami Beach can help make you adjust on your transfer. Aside from making friends, you get to visit several places too. You would also feel relaxed knowing that you can go about the place anytime you want to.

Selling Miami Beach Condo With Pride

Before starting a new life to a new location, of course, you need to sell your current property. Selling a property is not that simple, there are factors to be considered that are important in making a sale.

If you are selling your home at Miami Beach condo, you need to let anyone know that you are selling your property. A good advertising strategy is a good help to let everyone knows that you are selling your home. You can start by putting a big house for sale in front of your home. Include important details on the poster like your contact number and address of the property. This is a good way to let the passers by knows that your house is for sale.

You can also try to give away leaflets or flyers on a crowded place or leave a flyer on the wind shield of a car in the parking area of a grocery store. Contact your affiliates and ask them if they know someone who is interested in buying a home or ask your relatives if they have a friend who is looking for a Miami Beach condo.

You can also ask assistance from real estate agent and usually these agents do have a list of home buyers and investor who are interested in buying properties.

Above all these suggestions, you need to prepare your home so will have an easy way to convince prospected buyers. Convincing would be easy if the home that you are selling has the quality that a buyer wants. Technically you need to know the characteristics that a buyer wants in a home. You can ask yourself, if you were the one who will buy a home, what are the things you want in a home? This is very clear and it is also a way on how to have a great deal selling your home.

Preparing your home for a make over, beautifying the surroundings and landscaping the garden is what most home buyers want. Make sure that all facilities are all in a good working condition; check the lights and electrical wiring, if all the faucets and toilet facilities are working. This will save you from getting some disappointment from your buyers. You need to impress them with the things that you have in your home.

You need to learn how to say good things about your home and as much as possible answer their entire question promptly and honestly. Of course you don't want to give your buyer a bad impression on your home. You can also tell your buyers that having a Miami Beach condo is more practical because there are features that you can have in a condo. Aside from the 24 hours security, there are personnel who are in charged of the maintenance of the condo.

Fort Lauderdale Real Estate: What Homebuyers Should Expect In Buying A Home

Homebuyers should always be prepared to face a lot of stress in purchase a home in Fort Lauderdale. Beginners in home buying needs to know all the details that comes with it to avoid getting into a lot of problems with the acquisition. Here are some of them that you should expect to crop up during the purchase.

1. Home Selections

Let's face it; there are thousands of residential properties available in Fort Lauderdale. Whether they are of top quality units or average residences, you might be hard-pressed to find the availability to check them all out if you are on a limited time in the city. But if you want to get the ideal home for your needs, then you better immerse yourself in the selections to achieve your goals. Here are some ideas that should help you out:

* Hire a realtor to help find a home that fits your specifications * Visit real estate firms and developers in the area to check out their selections (this is much better than looking for them one-by-one per location) * Check out real estate sites on the Web that features home selections in Fort Lauderdale.

2. Home Financing

It would be safe to say that not all homebuyers are blessed with unlimited funds to be used for their home acquisition. In fact, many of these individuals base their selection according to the funds they have at their disposal; which could lead to a low-quality home despite their best efforts in scouring the local market for a good quality home at an affordable price range.

A solution to this is to get a mortgage loan from one of the financial institutions in the city. You can get one that fits well with your income to easily pay for it when the time comes. Lenders usually give best offers of low interest rates to homebuyers with good credit scores. Bad credit holders can also avail of this solution, but might suffer financial hurdles with the high interest rates that come with such a loan.

3. Legal Matters

Homebuyers should keep in mind that there are legalities involved in purchasing a home in the city. Aside from the laws and regulations of Fort Lauderdale in regards to home purchase, you also need to settle some legal matters with the seller during the acquisition process. The most common ones are:

* Legal documents that comes with the property (deed, titles, purchase agreements, and so on) * Permits and taxes that needs to be paid before the actual purchase * Encumbrances that comes with the residential property * Negotiations with the seller in regards to their terms and conditions

If you are going to be pushing with the purchase on your own, you might be processing a lot of these requirements by yourself. But if you want to avoid the hassle of doing so, then you might want to hire a realtor to do the job for you.

Sarasota Real Estate: Qualities Of A Good Realty Broker

You need to find a good realty broker in Sarasota to simplify and expedite your home purchase in the city. Considering that there may be thousands of these professionals offering their services to homebuyers in Sarasota, you may be hard-pressed to determine whether they are good ones or bad.

It might be best to know the qualities of a good realty broker to ensure that you will not end up with the bad ones in the city. Here are some of them that you should know about.

Taking The Needs Of Their Clients First

The major quality of a good realty broker is how they handle their clients. There are plenty of realtors who will practically dish out their sales spiel when the client comes into the room -- avoid these people at all cost since they are more interested in getting a good profit than giving you a good service.

A good realty broker will walk their clients down the garden path -- which is to say that these professional will listen to all their needs first before they give out advice and suggestions. These professional almost never use a selling tone of voice towards their clients and customers.

Contacts In The Real Estate Market

Another good quality of a realty broker is the number of contacts they have in the real estate market in Sarasota. It is very important for these individuals to know all the realty businesses in the city, as well as having access to home listings to ensure that they can find the perfect home for their clients. Also, good realty brokers who have this at his or her disposal ensure a good property selection presented to homebuyers in the shortest possible time.

Extensive Knowledge In The Business

In order to help their clients with the acquisition process, good realty brokers should know everything there is to know about real estate to achieve this. In fact, good realty brokers should be knowledgeable enough with the market to aid clients in buying and selling properties, like processing legal requirements, negotiating with the seller while putting their client's interest first, and so on.

Service Oriented Professionals

Good realty brokers never leave the side of their clients and customers when they are needed. In most cases; these professional stick to their clients like glue during the transaction, lending their expertise when needed and offering advice and suggestion to ensure that homebuyers are happy with their purchase.

Since these individuals will be processing all the necessary requirements for your home purchase in Sarasota, you can be sure that they will be keeping you updated with the acquisition to make sure that you know what is going on with the project.