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What On Earth are Home Equity Loans?
Home equity loans are one of the most common types of financing for doing improvements on your house. These loans are not necessary used for home improvements but can also be used to simply obtain extra cash. It is essentially a standard loan, based on the equity you have in your house. This is as opposed to mortgage loans which are the loans used to purchase a home. Equity is the value that you have paid on your mortgage loan.
If you are planning on building a house, it may be advisable to obtain a construction loan. These loans are available at most banks or lenders online. Home loans in general are available online. If you are looking for more information on loans that are available, try checking online.
By doing a simple search using any search engine, like Yahoo or Google, you will undoubtedly receive hundreds of pages of websites that offer information or loans themselves. These companies, while there are many, may not all offer the same things. On value in doing this type of research is the ability to compare and contrast the different types of loans and different lenders available. You can save a lot of money by doing some basic research. Countrywide Home Loans, is one such lender that uses the Internet as a tool in providing potential customers with updated information.
Things to consider when looking at different loans include interest rates and terms of the loans. The interest rate, while dependent on the rate on the current market, may differ between lenders. Terms and conditions can be dependent on length of loan, flexibility of interest rate and credit standing. You may be able to find online lenders that will pre-approve you online within minutes of sending them your information.
All in all, there are many different financing options depending on if you are buying, building, or in need of extra cash. Home equity loans and home mortgage loans can be found through lenders at your local bank or online. Doing the proper amount of research will afford you the best deal out there.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage - How They Work?
How does an ARM work.
The borrowers interest rate is determined initially by the cost of money and the time the loan is made. Once the rate has been set, and it is tied to one of several widely recognized and published indexes , and future interest adjustments are based on the upward an downward movements of the index. An index is a statistical report that is generally reliable indicator of the approximate change in the cost of money.
At the time a loan is made, the index preferred by the lender is selected, and thereafter the loan interest rate to rise and fall with the rates reported by the index. Since the index is a reflection of the lenders cost of money, it is necessary to add a margin to the index to ensure sufficient income for administrative expenses and profit. Margin will usually vary from 2% to 3%. The index plus the margin equals the adjustable interest rate. It is the index rate that fluctuates during the term of the loan and the cause of the borrowers interest rate to increase and decrease, the lenders margin remains constant.
The index.
Most lenders try to use an index to is very responsive to economic fluctuations. Some of the indexes are Treasury Rates--CMT-MTA-COFI-CODI-COSI-LIBOR-Prime Rate.
Margin.
The margin is the difference between the index rate and the interest charged to the borrower.
Example:
9.25% - current index rate
2.00% - margin
______
11.25% - mortgage interest rate (note rate)
Rate adjustment period.
The rate adjustment period refers to the intervals and which a borrowers interest rate is adjusted, example: six months, one year, for years and so on. After referring to the rates movement in the selected index, the lender will notify the borrower of any rate increase or decrease. Annual rate adjustments are most common.
Lenders used two different mechanisms to limit the magnitude off payment changes that occur with interest rate adjustments: Interest rate caps and payment caps
An interest rate cap.
Lenders, consumers are concerned with a phenomenon called payment shock. Payment shock results from increase in the borrowers monthly payments which, depending upon the amount and frequency of payment increases, as well as the borrowers income, may eliminate the borrowers ability to continue making mortgage payments.
Payment Caps.This is a limit on the amount or percentage that a payment may change at each adjustment. If this cap was 7.50% and your monthly payment was $800.00, the most your payment could increase would be $60.00 - to $860.00. At the next adjustment, the most your payment could increase would be $64.50 (7.50% of $860.00 - for a $924.50 payment this period).
Teaser rates.
When lenders discovered residential adjustable-rate mortgage instrument in late 1979, recognize an opportunity to increase earnings. As public acceptance of adjustable-rate mortgages grew, so did the competition for adjustable-rate mortgage loans. To compete, lenders lowered the first-year interest rates on the loans they offered and introduce borrowers to discounts and buy-downs. The low initial rate have subsequently been dumped teaser rates. Many lenders offered attractive teaser rates merely to enlarge their portfolio of adjustable-rate mortgages. But since most adjustable-rate mortgages where he got interest rate caps prior to 1984, there are many instances where initial interest rates were increased by five to six percent. Clearly a crisis was developing.
To protect borrowers from payment shock and perfect lenders from portfolio shock, lenders began imposing caps on their adjustable-rate mortgages.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caps.
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have guidelines relating to adjustable-rate mortgages interest rate caps. There are many different adjustable-rate mortgage plans, but as a general guideline, most adjustable-rate mortgages purchase by Fannie Mae are limited to the rate increase often no more than 2% per year and 5% over the life of the loan. Freddie Mac rate adjustment guidelines limiting rate increase to 2% per year and 5% over the life of the loan.
Mortgage payment adjustment period. The mortgage payment adjustment period defines the intervals and reach a borrowers actual principal and interest payments are charged.
There are two ways the rate and payment adjustments can be handled:
The lender can adjust the rate periodically as called for in the loan agreement and then adjust to mortgage payment to reflect the rate change.The lender can adjust the rate of more frequently than the mortgage payment is adjusted. For example, the loan agreement may call for interest rate adjustments every six months but changes in mortgage payments every three years.
If a borrowers principal and interest payment remains constant over a three-year period by the loans interest rate has steadily increased or decreased during that time, than to little or too much interest will have been paid in the interim. When this happens, the difference is subtracted from or added to the loan balance. When unpaid interest is added to loan balance, it is called negative amortization.
Why Its Important to Get Pre-Approved
Having a pre-approved mortgage will give you the confidence of knowing exactly what you can spend on a home before you start looking. You will also be protected against interest rate increases while you look for your new home.
Your Mortgage Specialist will answer your questions and help you determine which financing terms and options are right for you. Your Mortgage Specialist and Real Estate Professional work as a team to help you find the right home and select the best financing.
Finalizing Your Mortgage
Once youve found the home you want to purchase, there are some documents youll probably be asked for in order to finalize your financing. They will include:
1. A copy of the real estate listing of the property. If the home is still to be built, the mortgage lender will need to see the architects or builders plans and details on lot size and location.
2. A copy of the offer to purchase or the building contract, if this document has been prepared.
3. Documents to confirm employment, income and source of pre-approval.
If you have a pre-approved mortgage, its a simple matter of finalizing a few details which your Mortgage Specialist will explain to you.
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