Know The Basics When You Buy or Refinance

If you are currently looking for a new home, chances are that in all the excitement you wont really give any thought to the type of home loan mortgage you take out, instead going with the first one offered to you. This could be a serious mistake costing you thousands, if not tens of thousands. Make sure you know all about the different types of home mortgage loans before you starting looking for that new dream home!

Here are some of the basic types of mortgage loans: 

Fixed-rate home loan mortgage -

As the name suggests, this is a plain-vanilla home loan. Basically you borrow a certain amount over a certain period at a fixed rate of interest. You then pay the same monthly installments for the life of the home loan. The benefit of a fixed-rate home loan is that you can easily budget for the repayments. The downfall of a fixed-rate home loan is that you could end up paying a higher rate of interest than everyone else no one knows what interest rates will be in 15-20 years time!

Adjustable-rate home loan mortgage -

Mirroring the fixed-rate mortgage is the adjustable-rate mortgage. Again, you borrow a certain amount over a certain period, however in this case the interest rate is not fixed, but is adjustable (or floating as you may also hear it called). The upside to adjustable-rate home loans is that the interest rate at the start

of the loan period can be lower than the fixed rate would be. The downside is that it is difficult to budget for, as the amount can change, and you are at the mercy of something outside of your control interest rate fluctuations, which can change quickly.

Hybrid home loan mortgages -

Trying to fill the void left with the downside of the fixed and adjustable/variable-rate home loans, the hybrid home loan lets you fix the interest rate over the first part of the home loan, and then switch to an adjustable/variable rate later. The upside of hybrid home loans is that they allow you to budget for your repayments during the expensive time when you first buy the home. The downside is that if floating rates are much higher than your fixed rate when the switch happens, you could find you are paying a much higher repayment each month.

Short Term Refi's

A 15 year mortgage has a better rate than a 30 year mortgage offered the same day - usually by a quarter of a percent.

However, even if rates are the same as your current mortgage, refinancing to a shorter mortgage can save you thousands in interest by paying off the principal sooner. Your monthly payments will be slightly larger, but that is because a larger portion of the balance is being paid. 

Offers Self-Discipline

Short term loans make your decision to pay off your mortgage official. For those that have a hard time making extra payments on their mortgage, a short term mortgage may be the answer.

It is helpful to first look at your long term financial goals.  Perhaps you are planning to pay for kids' college tuition, to retire, or to reduce your debt load in the future. Decide when you want your mortgage paid off and look at the monthly payments. You can choose a number of periods - 15, 20 or 25 year home loans.

Factors To Consider

Low rates aren't the only factor to consider when deciding to refinance, the payment period is also important. By simply making larger principal payments, you get rid of your loan sooner and save money on interest payments. Additionally, reducing your debt level by paying off your mortgage also improves your credit and financial situation.

However, you should also remember the immediate impact of a short term mortgage. A larger monthly payment can put a strain on your monthly budget. You may also find that if you plan to sell your home within a couple of years, you will not recoup the cost of refinancing fees.

You are also limiting your financial flexibility. You are committing yourself to a larger principal payment. You could choose to simply pay down the principal when you have the available cash.

In the end, short term mortgages do have their benefits and should be considered when you plan to refinance.

Should I Refinance?

Refinancing can be worthwhile, but it does not make good financial sense for everyone. A general role of thumb is that refinancing becomes worth your while if the current interest rate on your mortgage is at least 2 percentage points higher than the prevailing market rate.

There are several reasons to refinance your home:

1. To lower the interest rate on your mortgage, reducing your monthly payments and overall cost;

2. To reduce the term or length of your loan, doing so can save you thousands of dollars in interest;

3. To provide a means of consolidating your debt;

4. To draw on the equity built up in the house to get cash for a major purchase or for children's education;

5. Have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and want a fixed-rate loan to have the certainty of knowing exactly what the mortgage payment will be for the life of the loan.

It is better to refinance if you can get an interest rate at least two percentage points lower than what you are currently paying. However, every situation is different. Some lenders are offering reduced fees or no points. Asking yourself a few questions may help you determine if you can save money:

1. How much can I lower my current monthly payment?
2. How much will I pay in refinancing costs?
3. How much will I still owe on the house?
4. How much am I currently paying each month?
5. How much did I initially pay for the house?

There are other considerations, too, such as how long you plan to stay in the house. Most sources say that it takes at least three years to realize fully the savings from a lower interest rate, given the costs of the refinancing. Itemize all the expenses of the refinance and estimate your new monthly payments. Answering these questions can help you to decide if you should refinance.

Talk with mortgage lenders, real estate agents, attorneys, and other advisors about lending practices, mortgage instruments, and your own interests before you commit to any specific loan.

The Hows and The Whats of Refinancing

If you are like every other home owner or general consumer out there, you need to pay for your expenses somehow. If you have bad credit, you might be limited in your options as to what you can do (or so you thinkkeep reading!). 

This can be especially annoying to homeowners who want to refinance their mortgages to take advantage of low interest rates but have had a few debt defaults in recent years. The story is always the same: you see these low 5% interest rates advertised on TV and you know that you deserve to refinance your home loan with this low interest rate. However, once you call, you find out that in fact you can refinance your mortgage, but it will cost you a lot more than you think. "What?" you think to yourself "Why does it cost more for me to refinance my mortgage than I thought it would?"

The reason is simple: bad credit. Refinancing with bad credit can be difficult. You might have filed for bankruptcy or racked up a whole bunch of debt which you just couldn't pay off. Debt defaults take a long time to get off your credit report (if they ever come off!) and they can affect every lender to whom you owe money.

This is because these days, lenders are very clued in to borrowers credit scores and credit history. All your credit information is stored in a giant database somewhere and if your credit is bad for some reason, it's going to show up on a mortgage refinancing report. And banks probably don't mind seeing a few defaults and bad credit accounts here and there.

More fees for them! Your bank might like to see one of their client's earmarked as 'bad credit'they can raise your interest rate and you can't do anything about it.

Refinance with a Poor Credit Score

To many, the term 'bad credit' is the end of the world when it comes to getting financing in the near future. However, it doesn't always have to be like that, you can take the bad credit mortgage refinance option!

Mortgage refinance vs. equity finance

It is essential at the outset that you understand there is a fundamental difference between mortgage refinancing and equity financing. Basically, with equity financing you are using the surplus amount you may have stored up in your property between your outstanding mortgage amount and the appraised value of your home.

However a mortgage refinance is where you find a new lender willing to lend you the whole appraised value of your property, the sum of which you then use to repay your existing mortgage lender and the remaining sum you can utilize in any manner you wish. Because of this, you are faced with a different set of problems than would be the case with an equity financing.

The pros of a bad credit mortgage refinance

Aside from any possible equity financing you can do with your property, without doubt the biggest upside to a bad credit mortgage refinance is the fact that it is a long-term and cheap form of borrowing. Interest rates are likely to be low and, possibly, can even be fixed. You could even possibly benefit from certain tax advantages from a bad credit mortgage refinance.

Because of this, bad credit mortgage finance can allow you to do things financially that may not otherwise be available to you as a person with a bad credit rating. You could use the equity you free up after you repay your original mortgage lender to invest in stocks and savings that will give you a better yield than you are currently getting on the property.

Alternatively, you could pay off all outstanding debts you have so that you have no interest and debt payments to make each month merely a mortgage repayment. Finally, you could even use the equity you get to invest in a long-term investment plan like your pension. In fact the options are so limitless that you should really consult with a financial expert who can best advise you on how you should put that money to the best use for you!

The cons of bad credit mortgage refinance

The number one downside to any mortgage refinancing, whether it be bad credit or otherwise, is the fact that mortgage lenders do not like to be repaid early. As such they usually incorporate some expensive penalty clauses to try and make it not worth your while repaying them early. With this in mind, you will need to read your original mortgage agreement with your original lender very carefully to make sure you won't have any onerous default payments to make; or, you could try and arrange for the new lender to swallow these.

That said, if you make any arrangements with the new lender that they agree to pay these fees for you, you then need to make sure they do not put any restrictive clauses in your new refinance mortgage agreement that would prohibit you from refinancing your mortgage again at some time in the future if the occasion warrants such.

Without a doubt, as a person with a bad credit history and bad credit rating, a bad credit mortgage refinance can open up avenues to you that would not otherwise be there. You do, however, need to give consideration as to whether or not you want to take this route. Not least because at the end of the day your house and family home is on the line!