03
Jun
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

4 Financial Benefits of Home Ownership

4 Financial Benefits of Home OwnershipHome ownership may be one of the most familiar goals of adulthood, but there’s more than one reason why so many people flock towards this type of investment and leave the rental market behind. If you’re trying to decide if you should make the big plunge towards buying, here are some benefits of saving up for a down payment and finding the right place to settle in.

It’s More Economical

Many people eschew home ownership simply because it can be hard to wrangle together the funds for a down payment. However, while a monthly rental is money you’ll never see again, the money you put down on a mortgage is being invested back into your home, making for a solid investment you can capitalize on later.

Instant Tax Deductions

The interest that you pay on your mortgage payment can be one of the most tumultuous aspects of purchasing a home, but you may not know that you actually have the ability to deduct many associated costs on your taxes. From origination fees to property taxes, there are plenty of costs that go along with your home that can be claimed for a refund when tax time comes!

Paying A Lower Price

The real estate market fluctuates every day, but one thing is for the certain: the median price of a home is on the rise. While low inflation rates may not be ideal if you’re selling, they can mean a better deal if you’re delving into the market for the first time. Just remember, it’s important to buy a home you can afford as anything that goes beyond your budget is not a solid investment.

A Built-In Savings Account

It may be important to have liquid assets outside of the equity you have in your home, but many people struggle to pay off their home and save money at the same time. While saving outside of your monthly mortgage payment is still important, putting money down on a home is an act of investing, and it’s one you’ll likely make a solid profit on when you decide to sell.

There can be many financial benefits to renting in the short term, but purchasing a home is a more solid financial decision when it comes right down to it. If you’re considering a home and would like to know more about your options, you may want to contact one of our mortgage professionals for more information.

24
May
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

Need to Discuss – How to Refinance Your Adjustable-rate Mortgage with Better Terms

How to Refinance Your Adjustable-rate Mortgage with Better TermsAn adjustable-rate mortgage was once a great mortgage product, at a time when home buyers wanted to avoid locking in high interest rates. But with historically low interest rates now available to millions of buyers and rates expected to rise in 2017, lots of mortgage holders are trying to find a deal and negotiate better terms before rates go up. One great way to save on mortgage costs is to refinance your adjustable-rate mortgage.

So how can you make a mortgage refinance work for you? Here are a few tactics you can use to get better terms through a refinance on your adjustable-rate mortgage.

Get Your Finances In Order

In order to successfully refinance your adjustable-rate mortgage, you’ll need to be in a strong financial position for a variety of reasons. Firstly, having a strong credit score gives you much more leverage when negotiating with a lender. And secondly, refinancing a mortgage will come with closing costs that you’ll need to pay out of pocket.

Make sure your finances are in good shape before you try to refinance it’ll be much easier.

Extend The Loan’s Term For Lower Monthly Payments

Recasting a mortgage is a popular way to reduce your monthly mortgage payments without giving up other favorable terms in your loan. When you recast your mortgage, you make a lump sum payment directly toward the principal amount of the loan, which reduces the loan balance, decreases your interest payments, and lowers your monthly payments. The loan maintains its original term, but it becomes much easier to manage.

Interest Rate Reset Coming Up? Negotiate An Interest Rate Cap

One little-known tactic that you can use to get better terms is to take advantage of an interest rate reset to negotiate a rate cap. In order to take advantage of this, you’ll need to get a mortgage approval and loan estimate for a fixed-rate mortgage. Once you have an approval in hand, your bank may have the option to offer to cap your interest rate.

Refinancing an adjustable-rate mortgage is becoming increasingly common, and for good reason. A mortgage advisor can help you to navigate the refinancing process. Contact your local mortgage professional to learn more.

19
May
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

How Are Mortgage Rates Determined?

How Are Mortgage Rates Determined?If you’ve been paying attention to the mortgage rate news, you may be wondering exactly how it is banks decide what mortgage rates to offer. Do they just pick a number at random? Mortgage rates may seem somewhat arbitrary, but there’s actually something of a science to them.

So how does your bank or lender determine what your interest rate will be? Here are just some of the factors that go into the equation.

Rates Always Account For Inflation

First and foremost, every mortgage interest rate needs to account for inflation. Inflation is the average annual change in purchasing power brought about by changing economic conditions. When inflation goes up, money loses purchasing power and when it goes down, money gains purchasing power.

For example, an annual inflation rate of two percent means that a $100 bill minted in 2014 would be able to buy just $98 worth of goods in 2015. Mortgage interest rates always take the inflation rate into account, because if your bank’s mortgage rate were lower than the rate of inflation, your bank would actually lose money on your mortgage.

The Default Risk Premium: Your Likelihood Of Default Impacts Your Rate

The default risk premium is a rate that your lender adds to the inflation rate in order to mitigate the risk of not recovering the loan. Different kinds of loans carry different risk levels, and your lender needs some way of staying profitable even when losses happen. The default risk premium helps your lender to profit more on high-risk mortgages, which mitigates the problems associated with a default.

The more at risk of defaulting on a loan you are, the higher this premium will be.

The Liquidity Premium: Can Your Lender Recoup Potential Losses?

The liquidity premium is similar to the default risk premium, but rather than addressing the possibility that the borrower might default, this premium mitigates the risk of not being able to re-sell the property after the borrower defaults. If a borrower enters default, the lender’s only option is to sell the property in order to recover its losses. However, a home is a non-liquid asset, and it’s very difficult to turn a home into cash and the liquidity premium compensates the lender for the additional time and effort it takes to sell a non-liquid asset.

Mortgage rates may seem like sorcery, but there’s a clear science and a logical method involved in calculating rates and premiums. To learn more about mortgage rates, or to find out what kind of a mortgage rate you may be eligible for, contact your trusted local mortgage professional.