Can You Avail of Obama’s Home Refinancing Program?

September 10th, 2009

President Barack Obama launched a home refinancing program this year to help homeowners cope with the financial crisis that has hardly hit the country. Since real estate suffered the worst of all the consequences brought about the economic recession, Obama saw that it was imperative to create something that would help troubled homeowners who are dealing with job loss and foreclosure threats.

This project, aimed at protecting homeowners from losing their houses, has criteria for homeowners. Basically, the criteria points to homeowners that are currently troubled and facing threats of losing their homes. If your house reduced in value by around 16 percent, you can take advantage of this plan and refinance to a program that has only around 4 percent in interest rate. How do you know if you qualify? Here are the criteria:

  • Your home mortgage loan should be under Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
  • The sum of your loan should me more than 106 percent of the value of your house.
  • Your monthly mortgage payments should be 32 percent of your monthly income.
  • The total of all your credit payments should not be more than 56 percent of your previous tax income.
  • The total equity of your home that you already own is not more than 21 percent.

If you qualify for the program, you can start looking for banks that would help you with your home refinancing. The Obama administration is giving $1,000 cash advantage to banks that would participate in this, so there can be a lot of companies that would give great offers for you.

You can also seek expert advice from counselors from HUD. They can be your representative as you apply for a refinance, giving you the best opportunities to refinance and get the best deal with the lending institutions. Of course, it would also be great if you yourself are in the know about the latest in the real estate market, as well as about home mortgages.

If you are aware of what is happening, you would be able to assert and push for what you deserve. Home refinancing can be the best solution for your current situation. Be informed and start your application as soon as you can.

Financing Applications Increase As Mortgage Rates Hit 3-Month Low

September 8th, 2009

Refinancing one’s mortgage is perhaps the preferred solution of many troubled homeowners. It is certainly effective in lowering their monthly mortgage obligations and preventing foreclosure. If you are among these homeowners, you might want to take advantage of the currently low mortgage rates for a 30-year loan, as reported by Freddie Mac.

For the period ending September 3, rates were recorded at 5.08 percent, the lowest it has been in the last three months when it hit 4.91 percent last May 28. During that period, applications to refinance soared to 6, 814. If this is to be used as a standard, applications are expected to soar in the next couple of days according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Economists have always believed that the demand for refinancing will grow if mortgage rate is at 5 percent or lower. This is because homeowners who were not lucky enough to get approved last May will most probably try their luck once more considering that lenders will be in a better position to accommodate their requests unlike the first time when most were just overwhelmed.

In addition, a poll conducted by Reuters showed that this development might brighten the outlook for the housing industry and might even push prices of homes up in the coming year.

Last year, mortgage rate for a 30-year loan was at 6.35 percent. Considering such huge difference and renewed optimism in the housing industry, it is probably the best time to go out and refinance. You will be able to save thousands and enjoy an improved quality of life.

When applying for refinancing, you should make sure that your financial documents are in order so that your lender will have an easier time assessing your qualifications. In addition, you might also want to get a copy of your credit report in case there are wrong entries that could affect your credit score. If you must know, the higher credit score you have, the greater the chances of being approved.

Personal Loans: Make Sure They Are Worth Their Expensive Price

September 4th, 2009

Personal loans are often easy to obtain, but they are also often given at high costs – high interest rates, high processing fees and very short terms.

If you browse the Internet for personal loans, you would be overwhelmed by the number of web sites and companies offering personal loans that you can get online and by various types of personal loans available.

Many of them also advertise that they have the lowest interest rates, the fastest processing times, the least requirements and the highest maximum loan amounts.

But when you examine their offers, their interest rates are much higher than secured loans and they are requiring you to pay at much shorter time periods.

Personal loans can be secured or unsecured, but most borrowers and lenders have come to view personal loans as mostly unsecured. In secured loans, you must present a piece of collateral that would be acquired by your lender in case you are not able to pay your loan, such as a car, lot or house.

Secured loans have higher loan limits, longer terms and lower interest rates. Oftentimes, you can also get these loans even if your financial record is sketchy.

On the other hand, unsecured loans just need information: your credit score, credit history, current debt information and income record. With information as the only requirement, a lot of these loans can be easily applied for and obtained online.

But before you get one of these loans, make sure that the money you are borrowing is worth its high costs. This means that the reason you are borrowing should be crucial to your life and that it does not put your family into hardship in the years to come.

Based on observations of consumer behavior, many borrowers use personal loans to consolidate their debts, pay maturing student loans, pay medical bills and fund home repairs, weddings or vacations.

For many other people, personal loans should not be used to fund vacations, weddings or home repairs that are really just renovations because these are expenses that could wait for better times. They are simply not worth the high interest rates they come with, these practical individuals say.

According to personal finance management advisers, you should constantly monitor you income and expenses so you would never arrive at a situation where you are forced to get loans with higher interest rates to pay off loans with lower interest rates.

Home Mortgage Rates Rise

September 1st, 2009

Home mortgage rates for loans that are fixed for 30 years experienced an increase this week. This was even as the real estate market experiences its lowest borrowing costs that produced the largest jump in the purchases of new houses.
The average 30-year fixed rate home loan rose to 5.14 percent. This was from 5.12 [...]

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Mortgage Refinancing Can Solve Your Money Problems

August 26th, 2009

Home mortgage refinancing has become a popular option for a lot of homeowners who need to redistribute their income to their everyday needs. With unemployment continuing to injure the country, more and more families have to adjust according to their means. Refinancing is one way for homeowners to free up some cash for other expenses. [...]

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Home Mortgage Delinquencies Cause Home Sales to Soar

August 25th, 2009

Existing houses are now at its highest in terms of sales, beating records from the last ten years. This comes after home mortgage delinquencies swept across the country, brought about by the economic crisis that has now injured the real estate market badly.
Last month, existing houses sales rose by 7.2 percent, a very significant [...]

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No-Cost Home Mortgage Refinancing

July 30th, 2009

There are a lot of lending companies that advertise no-cost home mortgage refinancing. However, this may have a different meaning from what you think. Make sure that before you apply for a home mortgage refinancing plan, you understand all the details that go with this mortgage refinancing plan.
There are basically two ways to avoid [...]

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Find Out If You Can Go for Home Mortgage Refinancing

July 29th, 2009

Home mortgage refinancing seems to be a very good solution for all troubled homeowners. They can get a better deal and pay for a less amount monthly for their home mortgage.
If you are looking at home mortgage refinancing, then you should consider whether or not you are eligible. The Obama administration is currently at [...]

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Mortgage Refinancing Program Expands

July 28th, 2009

After seeing that the initial mortgage refinancing plan of the administration was quite insufficient, President Barack Obama launched an expansion of the program. The new program would allow borrowers who have home mortgage loans that are valued at 125 percent of the value of their home to refinance into loans that are more affordable. Before, [...]

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Latest Home Mortgage Report Released

July 27th, 2009

Home mortgage modifications increase during the first quarter of this year. However, home mortgage delinquencies and even foreclosures also increased. This was according to a statement released by bank regulators of the country.
The report show that the quality of loan modifications actually improved, as more than 50 percent have already resulted in lower monthly home [...]

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