Mortgage refinancing

Mortgage refinancing saves homeowners $3.4B in Q2

Homeowners will save about $3.4 billion in the next year as a result of refinancing their mortgages, according to Freddie Mac.

In its quarterly refinance report, the McLean, Va.-based mortgage buyer said that at least half of borrowers who refinanced their loan in the second quarter lowered their annual mortgage interest rate by at least 20 percent. The new interest rate was about 1.25 percentage points below the old rate.

“A big part of the benefit of refinancing is the lower monthly payment that borrowers enjoy – the payment savings from ‘rate-and-term’ refinancing done during the quarter is about $160 a month on a $200,000 loan,” noted Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release.

While fixed rates are still low, they are starting to creep up.

In fact, mortgage rates in the U.S. rose for a second consecutive week. The average 30-year rate increased to 5.25 percent from 5.2 percent, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The 15-year rate was 4.69 percent.

“We are anticipating more than one-half of originations to be for refinancing throughout the rest of the year, as long as rates stay near their current levels of 5.25 percent,” Nothaft said.

Freddie Mac also reported that 62 percent of those who refinanced a second mortgage either kept the same principal balance or reduced it. That was up from 57 percent in the first quarter.

South Florida Business Journal

First Time Home Mortgage Loan Borrower

The Essentials of First Time Home Mortgage Loan Borrower

Buying your first home can be both exciting and perplexing. It is therefore important for you to know your options for property ownership, as well as the basics of home mortgage loans.

What is a mortgage?

In simple terms, a mortgage is simply a loan you make to pay off your home. If you are a first time home mortgage loan borrower, you may be asked to deposit a down payment and pay for the rest (i.e. monthly) through a mortgage loan. Establishments that can offer mortgages are mortgage specialists, building societies and banks.

What are the types of mortgage?

-Repayment mortgage type - monthly payments are made within an agreed term until loan and interest are paid off.

-The interest-only mortgage - monthly payments are made for a period of time as agreed in the contract, except payments cover only the loan’s interest within the initial term. Afterwards, you are asked to make interest payments in full every month.

Fixed-rate mortgage - requires you to pay for a fixed interest rate over the whole term. Interest rates do not change and therefore offers a feeling of certainty for most borrowers.

-Adjustable rate mortgage type - has rates that adjust after an initial term containing a fixed rate. Rates could adjust depending on the rise and fall of other economic rates. This could sound daunting for first time home mortgage loan borrowers, but those who want a lower initial rate can benefit from this type of mortgage.

What are the requirements?

1. Good credit report

Your credit report will let lenders determine whether or not they will approve your application and whether or not to increase interests rates for your loan. Lenders especially want to make sure that a first time home mortgage loan borrower has the ability and willingness to make his or her payments.

2. Insurance:

In cases where you get sick, get into an accident, or lose your job, your insurance will be used to pay off your mortgage. You might be required to use life insurance to pay off your mortgage should death occur. What are some tips I can use before purchasing property?

- Improve your credit report - Avoid applying for more credit and pay on time. - Review and correct credit information - Contact the credit bureau to correct inaccuracies - Get the best program - Choose a plan that is most suitable for your situation. - Research - Jot down your price range and find out how much you can borrow. - Do it online - Using the Internet could save you more time and money. Lenders now offer mortgage calculators online that you can use to predict which mortgage program is most suitable for you. - Choose the best mortgage specialist - Determine if the specialist works in a company that is likely to stay in business whenever rates fluctuate. - Ask for advice - Look for recommendations so you are familiar with what kind of mortgage plan you are getting into.

These are only recommendations, though, and should not be used in legal matters.

by Matthew Sanz

Refinancing Your Home Loan

Tips on refinancing your home loan

Posted by luxuryasiahome on July 19, 2009

With banks aggressively marketing their promotional packages, some home owners are looking into their current home loan interest rates and contemplating refinancing.

Refinancing refers to a situation where the property owners move from one mortgage loan package to another with the intention of (1) saving money by reducing interest rates; (2) restructuring the loan by including cash term loan or overdraft facilities; (3) moving to a different loan structure, such as from the conventional interest rate package to one that is linked to the interest rate of a current account.

However, do bear in mind that the low rates that are advertised may come with certain terms and conditions which may not suit your financial planning requirements. Here are some things to consider:

Flexibility: If you are planning to sell your property in the short term – say in one year or so – you may not want to get into a new package that locks you in for a period longer than you intend to keep the loan. If you do go ahead, be prepared to pay a lock-in penalty which is usually between 1per cent and 2 per cent of the loan amount as well as ‘claw back’ amounts.

The lock-in period is usually a percentage of the original or reducing loan amount. And claw back applies to the amount that must be returned to the lending bank should you terminate the loan. This usually includes legal subsidy, valuation, fire insurance or cash rebates.

Certainty: If you are currently in a fixed rate package where there is certainty and predictability, are you comfortable about moving to a variable package with volatility and uncertainty? Variable loan packages linked to the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate or the Swap Offer Rate are key products offered by most banks.

Before you sign into a seemingly attractive loan rate from a competing bank, check if your existing lender can offer you the same rates or terms that first drew your attention. Most lenders – once they know their borrowers wish to refinance – will be inclined to beat their competitors, particularly if the client is one with good financial standing and payment record.

For clients without fantastic payment records, it may be difficult to refinance as the new bank may not want to take them in. In such situations, there is more reason for the home owner to try to negotiate for better rates from his existing lender.

Advantages of staying with existing lender

To keep loans that they might otherwise lose, many lenders have loyalty programmes designed to recapture borrowers who are determined to refinance.

If you are currently in a lock-in period, it may be more advantageous to stay with your current bank and re-negotiate rates as moving to another bank may be costly. For instance, you have to incur a settlement cost with your existing lender before you move to a different bank and this may include a lock-in penalty and claw back amounts. Sometimes, the new lender may entice you by offering to pay the penalty subsidy, that is, absorbing all your present settlement cost. But this often comes with conditions, such as longer lock-in periods, some up to seven years.

Moreover, if you are not looking to take any cash out of your home loan but only seeking to reduce the interest rate, the lender may elect simply to reduce the interest rate on your current loan rather than refinance. This avoids all settlement costs except for some charges required for changing the contract.

Disadvantages of re-pricing with your current lender

Most banks do expect their existing client to re-negotiate loan rates. As such, they have in place a standard ‘rate change package’. However, though the rate offered by such packages is usually lower than your existing rate, it is higher than current market rates offered to new customers.

For example, if the market loan rate is 2 per cent, the lender might offer you 3 per cent because your mortgage rate is currently 4 per cent. But a similar borrower moving to another bank may be offered 2 per cent.

In addition, you may not get the best service from your existing lender, since there is little incentive for the lender to close a deal at a lower mortgage rate than previously. This may not be deliberate but new loans are generally being signed faster than re-pricing loans. However, of late, most banks have set up a special re-pricing team and hence service levels for existing customers have improved.

Refinancing with the same bank is not cost-free either, as most would charge at least $500 to $800 to cover costs like the mortgage stamp fee.

On the flipside, most banks offer a legal subsidy to new customers who are refinancing. So as long as the refinancing results in net savings, the client will consider doing so.

Finally, do note that whether it is re-pricing with the current bank or refinancing with another bank, once you have signed the Letter of Offer, there is no turning back and the cancellation penalty kicks in if you change your mind.

The writer is the managing director of mortgage consultancy firm Global Creatif Financial.

Source : Sunday Times – 19 Jul 2009

Email lushhome@gmail.com to speak to a professional banker.

Homeowners Loan

Tips For Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

DON’T pay money to people who promise to work with your lender to modify your loan. It is unlawful for foreclosure consultants to collect money before (1) they give you a written contract describing the services they promise to provide and (2) they actually perform all the services described in the contract, such as negotiating new monthly payments or a new mortgage loan. However, an advance fee may be charged by an attorney, or by a real estate broker who has submitted the advance fee agreement to the Department of Real Estate, for review.

DO call your lender yourself. Your lender wants to hear from you, and will likely be much more willing to work directly with you than with a foreclosure consultant.

DON’T ignore letters from your lender. Consider contacting your lender yourself, many lenders are willing to work with homeowners who are behind on their payments.

DON’T transfer title or sell your house to a “foreclosure rescuer.” Fraudulent foreclosure consultants often promise that if homeowners transfer title, they may stay in the home as renters and buy their home back later. The foreclosure consultants claim that transfer is necessary so that someone with a better credit rating can obtain a new loan to prevent foreclosure. BEWARE! This is a common scheme so-called “rescuers” use to evict homeowners and steal all or most of the home’s equity.

DON’T pay your mortgage payments to someone other than your lender or loan servicer, even if he or she promises to pass the payment on. Fraudulent foreclosure consultants often keep the money for themselves.

DON’T sign any documents without reading them first. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a new loan to pay off the mortgage they are behind on. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership to the “rescuer.”

DO contact housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), who may be able to help you for free. For a referral to a housing counselor near you, contact HUD at 1-800-569-4287 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or www.hud.gov.

If you believe you have been the victim of a mortgage-relief scam in California, please contact the Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit at http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php.