| |
| |
|
Mortgage & Refinancing Information |
|
|
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
If your down payment on a home is less than 20 percent of the appraised value or sale price, you must obtain private mortgage insurance, known as PMI, with your lender. This will enable you to obtain a mortgage with a lower down payment because your lender is now protected against any default on the loan. PMI charges vary depending on the size of the down payment and the loan, but they typically amount to about one-half of one percent of the loan, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Mortgage insurance premiums are not tax deductible. Example Let's say you put down 10 percent or $10,000 on a $100,000 house. The lender multiplies the 90 percent loan, or $90,000, by .005 percent. The result is an annual PMI of $450, which is divided into monthly payments of $37.50. Most homebuyers need PMI because 20 percent of the sale price on a home is a lot of money; for instance, that's $20,000 on a $100,000 home. Homebuyers must maintain the PMI premiums until they cross that one-fifth-of-principal threshold, a process that can take years in longer-term mortgages. Tip Keep track of your payments on the principal of the mortgage. When you reach 80 percent equity, notify the lender that it is time to discontinue the PMI premiums. A new law that takes effect in the summer of 1999 will require lenders to tell the buyer at closing how many years and months it will take for them to pay 20 percent of the principal to cancel PMI. Note: The law does allow lenders to continue requiring PMI all the way down to 50 percent equity for so-called high-risk borrowers. Traditionally, those loans that are considered riskier include reduced documentation loans, in which customers provide less proof of income and other information during the approval process. Loans for people with spotty credit histories and higher debt-to-income ratios also fall into this category. Additionally, some FHA loans require payment of PMI throughout the entire life of the loan. Ways to avoid PMI In today's market, there are some new ways to avoid mortgage insurance even when you don't have the standard 20 percent down payment. Pay more interest: Some lenders will waive the mortgage insurance requirement if the buyer accepts a higher interest rate on the mortgage loan. The rate increases generally range from .75 percent to 1 percent, depending on the down payment. The advantage is that mortgage interest is tax deductible. Using an "80-10-10" loan: This program involves two loans and a 10 percent down payment. The 90 percent loan is financed with a first mortgage equal to 80 percent of the sale price, and a second mortgage for the remaining 10 percent of the sale price. The second mortgage has a higher interest rate but since it applies to only 10 percent of the total loan, the monthly payments on the two mortgages are still lower than paying one mortgage with mortgage insurance. Plus, again, there is the advantage of mortgage interest being tax deductible. Example: If we compare the purchase of a $100,000 home under the "80-10-10" plan with a standard fixed mortgage including PMI, we find that the former is $17.45 cheaper each month. Here's how it works. Under the "80-10-10" plan, the 10 percent down payment on a $100,000 house is $10,000. The first mortgage is $80,000 at 7.50 percent, which comes to a monthly payment of $559. The second mortgage for $10,000 has a 9.50 percent interest rate, making a monthly payment of $84. Total monthly payments of the two loans: $643. With a $10,000 down payment, one mortgage of $90,000 at 7.50 percent has a monthly payment of $629, plus PMI of $31.45, making a total payment of $660.45. About The Author Martin Lukac, represents, #1 Loans USA, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more: info@1LoansUSA.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Choosing The Right Mortgage For You This article will help you understand the differences between a variety of mortgage options. There are many different mortgage products offered by the various lending institutions in Canada, so you may not know what features to look for. How to Find the Best Home Improvement Loan If you're looking for the best home improvement loan for your money it can sometimes seem like an uphill climb. You may not know whether the offer that you've received is the best that you can get, or if you should try to find a better offer elsewhere? but you shouldn't let finding the best home improvement loan stress you out so badly. Home Equity Loans - Research Your Lender Carefully Real estate prices are rising across the country, and Americans are tapping into their home equity like never before. Americans took out $431 billion in home equity loans in 2004, and that amount may increase in 2005. A Guide to Selecting a Mortgage Broker in Australia Once you have made the decision to buy a home you will need to obtain mortgage financing for your purchase. Until about fifteen years ago buyers had to go directly to banks to obtain loans and shopping around for the right fit was a long process. Kingsland Georgia Mortgage Company Information For Homebuyers Transferring to Kings Bay If you are transferring to the Kings Bay Georgia Naval Submarine base, more than likely you will need a lender to buy a home.VA mortgages provide military homebuyers with 100% financing to buy a home. Is an ARM Right For You? Let's start by taking a look at 7 key elements of an adjustable rate mortgage:1) ARM defined: While a fixed rate loan is constant and never changes throughout the life of the loan, an adjustable rate mortgage changes periodically. The interest rate of an ARM goes up and down based on whatever external index it is tied to. Home Mortgage Quotes Online - How Do They Compare To a Quote From a Broker in The Real World? Online home mortgage quotes are very similar to the quotes given by mortgage brokers in "the real world," except lower. With the reduced cost due to a simplified application process and reduce overhead for office space and personnel, online mortgage lenders can offer financing with no fees or lower interest rates. How to Compare Fixed Rate Mortgages and Adjustable Rate Mortgages There are many types of mortgages, and the more you know about them before you start, the better. To compare one Adjustable Rate Mortgage with another or with a fixed-rate mortgage, you need to know about indexes, margins, discounts, caps, negative amortization, and convertibility. 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. Where To Find The Best Rates For Your Mortgage? As with all of my articles this will be based on a scenario in my home town. (Which may be similar to yours). A Guide to the Best Remortgage Deals Finding the best remortgage deals isn't always easy, especially with the large variety of lenders available today. It can sometimes take a lot of research and time to locate the best remortgage deals for your home, though the end result is often worth it. Get the Best Rate on Your Home Mortgage Loan Home mortgage interest rates hit record lows in 2004 and have remained at record lows as we go through 2005. It is possible today to get a thirty-year fixed rate home mortgage loan for under five percent, and an adjustable rate mortgage can be found for under four percent if you look hard enough!However, record low mortgage rates do not mean that you should take the first mortgage offer made to you, even if it sounds low. What the Bank Won't Tell You About Mortgage Refinancing So you have a mortgage, and you need to refinance to get your interest rates low. Most people simply walk into their bank, ask to refinance, and then end up paying more money long term than they would have otherwise. How to Get the Best Mortgage This is a guide on how to get the best mortgage deal. Do not rush into the first offer that is made to you even if you are in a hurry for a mortgage. Are Biweekly Mortgages Really Worthwhile? You may have heard people, especially mortgage lenders, extolling the virtues of biweekly payments, saying that you can save thousands of dollars and take 5-7 years off your mortgage--and then offering to set up a biweekly plan for you for as little as $400. But you don't have to spend $400 to begin saving money and time on your mortgage. Mortgage Prepayment Penalties - Just Say No One of the most common terms found in a new home loan is a prepayment penalty. This type of penalty says that if the borrower pays off the loan early, commonly during the first five years of the loan, then the borrower will be responsible for paying an additional amount of money, typically about six months interest on 80% of the mortgage balance. Mortgage Questions to Ask Your Lender Buying and financing a home today can be overwhelming. Here are some questions to ask your lender so that you can make informed decisions. Bridging Loan Basics A Bridging Loan is a short-term loan used as a way to provide funding for the purchase of a new property while the borrower awaits the sale of an existing property. Unless all the stars are in perfect alignment, it's tricky to coordinate the sale of one property and the purchase of another property in such a way that the transactions occur simultaneously. First-time House Buyers: to Buy or Not to Buy; that is the Question Buying your first house is always a difficult time. There are so many important decisions to make, and problems to be solved, which combine to make it one of the most stressful events that will occur in most people's lives. Stop Foreclosure - 7 Tips to Save Your Home Faced with the threat of a foreclosure on their home, with all the weight of the mortgage industry and its army of attorneys against them, the average homeowner might feel like David facing Goliath.But David defeated Goliath !David had a sling and some pebbles.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 TIGER MEDIA |
