Why now might be a good time to get a mortgage

Deciding if getting on the property ladder is the right thing to do in these confusing economic circumstances can be a stressful time, particularly if you are a first time buyer.

Lenders have been reluctant to give out mortgages to the extent they did during the housing boom, making it difficult to obtain finance to get started on the property ladder.

The housing market has stalled, yet house prices are still predicted to fall further during 2011, making this year an appealing time to try and make those first steps.

If you are unsure what you are able to borrow given your personal circumstances, a mortgage calculator will help you work out what you can afford to borrow and comfortably pay off.

Deciding to buy is always a risk and you will have to make the decision to buy now and risk further price falls, although if you plan to live in the house for a long time, falling prices will pose less of a risk.

Predicting the right time to buy is only part of the equation. You still need to find out if you will
be able to secure a mortgage and this will depend on both the current market and your personal financial circumstances.

Before you start contacting lenders, check out a mortgage calculator to help you decide what size and type of mortgage is affordable for you and then what type of house you can purchase for that price.

Mortgage lending has been at an all time low in the last year as lenders have become much more conservative and risk adverse, but if you are able to meet some strict criteria, you may be able to secure a mortgage.

A good credit history and a substantial deposit, of at least 10%, but ideally up to 25%, will go along way to making you more attractive to mortgage lenders.

The tricky decisions don’t stop there. If you are fortunate enough to secure a mortgage with a combination of a good deposit and positive credit history, you then need to decide whether a fixed rate or tracker mortgage is right for you. A mortgage calculator will help you compare repayments.

Even though the base rate is currently at an all time low of 0.5%, making a tracker mortgage seem attractive, these low rates are not likely to remain forever. You will need to consider at what point a rising interest rate make it a struggle for you to pay off your mortgage.

It may be a more financially comfortable option for you to opt for a fixed rate mortgage and be certain of what your monthly repayments are going to be.

You will pay more, but it may be the difference between being able to keep up repayments, or defaulting on your mortgage should interest rates soar in the future.

The credit crunch has made mortgage lenders much more conservative than during boom times when you could get a mortgage with no deposit.

Criteria are much stricter, but if you are in a good financial position, it should not be impossible to find a good deal on today’s market.

Of course everyone’s circumstances are different, so good independent financial advice is crucial to ensuring you embark on a mortgage you can realistically afford.

How much can you afford to pay for a house?

Today’s housing market may not be going well for those looking to sell, but buyers have an opportunity to find all kinds of deals that make home-ownership affordable. If you are interested in a comparison of loans that you might apply for, see here. There are several different factors that you should take into consideration when you attempt to make a home purchase.

The House Payment
The amount that you are going to pay every month for your home is the most critical number when it comes to finding out how much you can afford to pay for a house. This number comes from several other figures all working together to give you the monthly payment. As you work with mortgage calculators, take a close look at this figure to determine whether or not home-ownership is a possibility.

The Cost of the House
Whether you have retained the services of a realtor or plan to look around yourself, the overall amount that a home costs will figure into whether or not you can afford it. The more you research, the more you will find that there is a range in price that you can afford.

The Down Payment Amount
Do you have money set aside for a down payment? The down payment will reduce the amount of money that you need to finance for home-ownership. You will need at least a part of the down payment to be used as interest money when you place an offer on a home.

The Loan Terms
Financing a home is a critical part to the ownership process. Think about whether or not you are going to set up a loan for fifteen or thirty years. The payment will be higher with a fifteen year loan, but you will be able to pay it off sooner. Most people choose to finance for thirty years in order to be able to afford a bigger home.

Private Mortgage Insurance
If you don’t have at least twenty percent of the cost of the home as a down payment, you typically need to pay private mortgage insurance. This is something that will be added into your mortgage payment, so be sure to take it into consideration when planning.

Other Loans
Do you have other loans that you are currently paying on? When you decide how much you can afford to pay for a house, you want take into consideration the other amounts that you owe and how much you pay for them each month. Over committing when it comes to a house payment can put you in a difficult situation, so be aware of other expenses.

Projected Utilities
Remember that a home purchase comes with the cost of maintaining the residence. This includes electricity, gas, taxes, homeowner’s association fees and even the cost of garbage collection. Each of these payments needs to be included in how much you can afford when it comes to a home. You don’t want to be able to afford the payment but not be able to live there because of the overall cost of running the home.
Take all of these expenses and numbers into consideration when you begin the search for a home that you can afford. This is usually a lengthy process, but the final results are well worth the effort!

30 Year Fixed Hovers around 5%

If you don’t currently own your the place you live in you may be missing out on one of the greatest opportunities in your life. Most of us are well aware that it is a buyers market and that homes are being sold dirt cheap. The other opportunity is the incredibly low prices on 30 year fixed mortgages. The last time they were even close was March of 2004 at 5.45%. If you look at the charts since 1971 this has rarely happenned and could truly be a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a low monthly payment on a loan. Even if you already have a home loan your payback period to refinance could be less than 2 years. The reason for that is you typically have to pay some fees to refinance your home. Let’s say you save $100 a month in mortgage payments by refinancing, but the fee is $2,400. Even with the lower payment it will take you 2 years to make up for the difference. If you plan on staying in your current home for more than 2 years it should certainly be considered. Over the next 30 years you would save $36,000.

$100 Homes

Last night 20/20 featured an interesting segment on homes in foreclosure. They interviewed some urban pioneers in Michigan who are rebuilding an entire neighborhood one house at a time. The homes sold for $100-$500. They were in terrible shape. Most of them were either burned and partially destroyed. While it will probably take 10’s of thousands to repair them and the area is awful the pioneers were doing something very interesting. They were building a community. Instead of trying to go it alone they found other people that wanted to renovate this area. One by one they began attracting friends and family to come join them in their quest to rebuild this area.

I have no doubt that in ten years this will be some cool, hip part of Detroit that everyone wants to visit. An interesting example of creativity during a tough patch in our economy.

VA or Military Home Loans

The LA Times recently featured a story on VA Loan Benefits. For military members coming home and looking to purchase a home there are some tremendous benefits. Without putting up any of their own money veterans can borrow up to 417k with a GI loan. The limits increase in other areas such as California and Colorado where home prices are higher than the rest of the nation. There are some pretty specific items you need in order to qualify

You Are Eligible For A VA Home Loan If:

• You have had 90 days or more of active duty service during wartime
• You have had 181 days or more of active duty service during peacetime
• You were discharged for circumstances that were not dishonorable
• You are currently active duty personnel and you meet the above service requirements
• You are the surviving spouse of a Veteran who died during service or because of service-related injuries and you have not remarried.

You will also need to show work history and ability to make payments for the loan you are applying for. Lastly, there are three other reasons these loans are good for veterans.

No PMI Insurance is required.

VA Loans require no money down and you will see no penalty rates

VA Loans have lower rates than conventional loans.

Given the current economic environment this is a great option for those who have dutifully served our country.

Housing Price Declines 18.5% - Time to Buy?

If you are currently looking for a new home or have been on the fence about trying real estate as an investment option now could be a great time.

It is truly a buyer’s market. Home prices are low, there is a large selection to choose from and even new home prices are being driven down by builders eager to scrape up any business they can.

Even though everyone keeps talking about the credit crunch mortgage rates are extremely low. The graph below shows the interest rate of a 30 year mortgage over the last 30 years.

But wait there’s more. With the passage of HR 1 up to $8,000 can be used as a tax credit for first-time home buyers purchasing between 1/1/2009 and 12/1/2009. The credit does not require repayment and will be used to reduce the purchasers income tax liability. If any credit amount remains unused, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser.

From an investment standpoint the picture is a bit mixed. There are certain areas where home prices have been falling, but rents have been stable. This is an ideal situation for an investor to swoop in and make large profits.

However, large metro areas have also seen drops in occupancy rates. If you take the case of Salt Lake City the
apartment vacancy rate went from 3.1% to 6.8% year over year at the end of the fourth quarter for 2008.

As long as you can get renters in you are good, but with vacancy rates rising in some areas it definitely pays to do your homework before you invest.

Loan Fraud - What to Look for

I’ll never forget the first spam I received involving an African prince who would send me oodles of money. Unfortunately, these types of loans continue to proliferate the Internet and take advantage of people. The trend has only gotten worse as people are more desperate in these hard economic times. They prey on people desperate to get student loans and other types of financing. The most common type of fraud is called an advance fee loan scams. In this situation the person is told that they have been guaranteed a unsecured loan for a large sum of money. They simply need to pay the processing fee.

Here are a few of the signs that the company may not be legitimate.

• A lender who isn’t interested in your credit history
• Fees that are not disclosed clearly or prominently
• A loan that is offered by phone
• A lender who is not registered in your state

Do business with licensed companies. Ask your state banking or finance department about the licensing requirements for lenders and loan brokers, and find out if the company has complied.

If you are the victim of a fraudulant crime you can visit https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/. This site helps people who have been victimized by credit card theft. It helps the government to aggregate data and ultimately apprehend those responsible for the fraudulant crimes.

Debt Consolidation - How it Works

Every day I hear ads for debt consolidation. I was always curious how these loans are able to take existing interest debt and turn it into a lower payment. The primary way debt consolidation programs work is by transferring unsecured debt into secured debt. Which brings up the next question, what are the difference between the two? An unsecured debt does not have an underlying asset associated with it. A good example is a credit card. Usually, there isn’t a specific asset that you own tied to the credit card. An example of a secured debt is a home mortgage. If you don’t pay back the mortgage the bank can take possession of the home (secured asset).

Lenders are usually able to offer a lower rates since the debt is now secured with an asset. There is less risk to the lender.

Additionally, programs can do things like extend the term of your loans to increase the payback period and decrease the monthly payment. This makes it easier to meet your monthly payment. Many debt consolidation experts have the ability to work with multiple lenders. This can save a great deal of time and frustration as these agents are experts and can navigate the maze of creditors while minimizing payment.

Compare Rates in Australia

One of my favorite financial sites is bankrate.com. When I was looking for a mortgage I scoured that site on a daily basis watching rates change and thinking about who I would place my mortgage with. Interestingly for me it wasn’t all about the best rate. I also wanted someone who wouldn’t sell my mortgage and who had an office close by. I was able to find it and get a decent rate easily. I am amazed at the difference between the advertised rate and the rate you end up with though.

Even though bankrate is the 800 lb gorilla in the market there are a growing list of sites specializing in financial niches as well.

Anyway, there is a new site that seeks to help Australians with their rates as well. The site is called GoodWithMoney. They compare traditional items like credit cards
and cheap loans, but what I also found interesting is that you can compare rates on items like insurance and broadband services. They have most of the major items that you need for your financial being on their site specifically geared to those living in Australia. They also have a section dedicated to financial Australian news.

If you have any other interesting sites that help to compare rates for a given niche let us know in a comment.

Where to Invest Your Money during Recession: Real Estate

When you heard about real estate investing in today’s recession, the majority would react by saying, “avoid at all cost.”

The sub-prime mortgages, the sky-high interest rates, and the sharp decline in value - all seem against real estate investing.

However, I encourage you to have a surfer’s mindset that I have occasionally mentioned in my previous posts.

The surfer mindset

Surfer loves challenges. In fact, challenges are what make a surfer perform.

For example, in a surfing competition, weak tides can be a huge, single, factor that will fail the surfer to win the competition. The stronger the tides, the more challenging they will become and the better the surfers showcase their surfing skills.

However, take heed - if your surfing skills are somewhat low, strong tides will swallow you; The key is utilising the right skill sets on the right opportunities.

In your personal finance, you need to increase your financial knowledge in order to ride the right waves, with the right skill sets. Playing too safe will hinder you from achieving the financial milestones you have set. Exposing yourself to risks too much will put you into financial difficulties, even personal bankruptcy.

One of the waves in today’s tide of recession: real estate investing

Real estate is one of the hardest hit sector that causes property owners and brokers alike struggling financially.

If you thought about investing in real estate during recession, it wouldn’t be the right decision to invest your money.

Or, is it?

Many real estates are losing their value - how can they be a good place to invest your money?

Robert Kiyosaki, the best seller writer of Rich Dad Poor Dad series, stated controversially that a house is not an asset, because it is not putting money in your pocket.

General public and many experts are slamming him for such controversial statement, but his statement proves true in today’s recession.

Homes are losing value, the interest rates are high, and the demand is low - the dreaded sub-prime mortgage.

However, as everything in life, there is always a good thing in every bad thing.

Today is probably the best time to invest in real estate, for one reason: Higher mortgage interest rate = Lower real estate demand = lower price tag.

As the real estate business crashes, property prices are in decline, too. Foreclosures are everywhere - this means, opportunities are everywhere, at a discounted price tag. Of course, your eyes for real estate values and prospects play an important role.

One last advice: never invest in real estate with an expectation that your property’s value will go up - it’s not always the case. Instead, invest with cash flow comes first in mind - your property as a rental property.

Image by terren in Virginia.

Jobs to go at HBOS mortgage sector

This is a guest post.

With the mortgage drought in the UK continuing since the onset of the global credit crunch last year, it is not only consumers who are suffering. Many people that work within the mortgage industry have also suffered as a result of the turmoil in the mortgage sector, and recently HBOS has announced that there are to be job losses in its mortgage loan sector. The closure of a specialist mortgage branch by HBOS is to result in the loss of 325 jobs by the end of March next year.

The Mortgage Business, which is an arm of HBOS, will be closing to new custom later this month, and the bank will also close a mortgage processing centre. The job losses have been described as a blow by union officials, who have said that the number job losses is actually larger than the bank has cared to admit. In the first six months of the year HBOS announced that pre-tax profits fell by around 72%.

The bank said that it hoped the jobs could be cut through voluntary redundancies and turnover of staff. It added that the bank had to focus on streamlining the business. Union officials have said that the closure of the processing centre will affect jobs in Livinston, Chester, and Cardiff. One union official stated: "This is a further blow for jobs in the UK financial services sector which is being brought about by the credit crunch and the changing economic climate." 

Another union official said: "We are never happy about any reduction in roles in HBOS even if we understand the commercial logic for the changes."

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