How To Transfer The Funds To Buy A House

How to Transfer Funds to Buy a HouseIf you have made an offer on a house and gotten it accepted, congratulations! This is a major step, but you might be wondering how you actually pay for a house. The days of showing up to the closing table with a personal check are in the rearview mirror, as nobody wants a check for a house to bounce after the other person has already walked away with the keys. Furthermore, even if you are buying a house with cash, you certainly do not want to show up with a briefcase full of dollar bills. Here is how you will actually pay for the house. 

Wire Transfer To The Closing Attorney

When you purchase a house, you will send the funds for the down payment and the closing costs to your closing attorney. Typically, the seller has a preferred closing attorney they want to use, and you should be contacted by the closing attorney several weeks before the closing date. They will also give you a finalized document specifying exactly how much money you need to wire to the office to cover the down payment, any fees, and the closing costs. You will also need to go to your bank to arrange the wire transfer. The bank will also verify you have enough money in the account to cover the expenses. 

Monthly Mortgage Payment Gets Drafted Automatically

If you are financing the purchase of a house through another lender, you will need to set up an automatic draft payment with the lender. Even though there are some lenders who will allow you to send a physical check every month, most will encourage you to set up an automatic draft payment out of your checking account. After the sale closes, you will typically have at least one month before you need to make your first mortgage payment. The lender will help you arrange the mortgage draft payment prior to that time. 

Make Sure To Wire The Money Prior To Closing

You should try to wire the money to the closing attorney before the closing date. That way, you will offer any hiccups along the way. If you don’t wire the money in time, the sale could fall through, which can create complications you would rather avoid.

An Overview of Amortization: It Plays A Role In Monthly Mortgage Payments

An Overview of Amortization: It Plays A Role In Monthly Mortgage PaymentsEven though this may sound like a fancy word, amortization is simply a long word for a straightforward topic. Furthermore, it plays a significant role in the determination of monthly mortgage payments.

Before taking out a home loan, homeowners need to understand how their payment schedule works and what this means for the future of the home loan.

Amortization refers to the way monthly payments are calculated to make sure that homeowners pay the same amount every month throughout the life of the loan. Even if homeowners do not stay in the house for the life of the loan, amortization will still play a significant role in the amount of money they receive if they decide to sell the home.

Amortization Plays A Major Role In Calculating Monthly Payments

First, amortization plays a major role in calculating monthly payments because it ensures that homeowners pay the same amount of money over the life of the loan. Even though there is interest on the home loan, and inflation will play a role in the value of money during the life of the loan, the monthly payment is going to stay the same. This is particularly beneficial to homeowners who are still working and believe that their income is going to go up during the life of a 15 year or 30 year mortgage. Even if their income goes up, and even if inflation plays a role, their monthly mortgage payments will still stay the same thanks to amortization.

Amortization Divides Interest And Principal In Monthly Payments

On the other hand, amortization also plays a role in calculating interest versus principal in monthly mortgage payments. At the beginning of the loan, the majority of each monthly payment goes toward interest on the loan. At the end of the loan, the majority of each monthly payment goes toward principal. This also means that if homeowners decide to sell their home at some point during the loan, they might not get as much money as they think because most of their monthly payments have gone toward interest and haven’t built up any equity. This is another key factor homeowners should keep in mind when it comes to amortization.

What Homeowners Must Do When Behind On Mortgage Payments

What Homeowners Must Do When Behind On Mortgage PaymentsThere are lots of homeowners who fall on rough times from time to time. For example, some people may be in the midst of changing jobs. Other people might be going back to school. When this happens, it can be hard for homeowners to keep up with their mortgage payments. Even though they might be thinking about waiting for the bank to do something, this would be the ultimate mistake.

There are ways to handle late mortgage payments as long as homeowners reach out to the lender to discuss their options. What should homeowners do if they start falling behind on their mortgage payments?

Let The Lender Know Why They Are Falling Behind

If lenders do not hear anything from the homeowners, they are not going to know what is going on. Therefore, they may end up taking drastic action. The first thing that homeowners need to do is to let the lender know that they are falling behind on their mortgage payments. That way, the lender understands that the homeowner knows he or she is behind on the mortgage. Then, let the lender know why the mortgage payments will be coming in late. For example, there might be an unexpected medical expense that took the mortgage payment that month. Or, the homeowner might be looking for a new job. These are all understandable reasons why the mortgage payments might be late. 

Ask The Lender To Go Over The Options

Next, the homeowner also should discuss with the lender all of the options when it comes to late mortgage payments. There are lots of options available. If there is a one-time unexpected expense, the lender might simply break up that payment and spread it out over the upcoming payments without charging any extra interest. Or, the lender might be willing to simply add a few months to the mortgage in exchange for not charging a late fee. These are a few of the many options the lender has at his or her disposal.

Do Not Ignore Late Mortgage Payments

The only mistake that homeowners can make with late mortgage payments is not communicating with the lender. As long as the lender understands what is going on, homeowners should have options at their disposal.