Debt Consolidation Tips

An alternative form of mortgage that has been seeing a growing popularity in recent years, the interest only mortgage loan allows a borrower to pay only the interest on the money that they borrow for a specified period of time. Once that time period has expired, the full loan amount is due; this allows many borrowers to save up money for the mortgage payment during the initial payment period without having to struggle to meet a large payment amount every month. These loans can be very useful for those who are on an infrequent or irregular pay schedule, especially when they will be seeing a larger influx of money at a later date from investments or large surges in income. These loans are not for everyone, but provided that you are fully informed about how the loans work you may find that they are exactly what you have been looking for.

Interest only mortgage loans can be very useful when you are trying to purchase a house or other property but will not be able to afford full mortgage payments at this time. Since you are only paying the interest on the principal amount that you borrow instead of making payments for both the interest and the principal, the amount of each payment is going to be significantly lower. When the total amount finally becomes due, you will have to pay only the principal because you have been taking care of the interest as it was accrued. With most interest only mortgage loans, this will give you between five and seven years to save up the money that you need or to make investments that will pay off the principal amount once it becomes due.

Continue reading “Important details about an interest only mortgage loan” »

Refinancing a mortgage loan is one of the options that most people take when they are in danger of foreclosure. This procedure, in its simplest terms, is like trading in your old first mortgage for a new first mortgage, making it easier for you to pay your debts.

This process may sound easy, but it's not. You might even think that you can save a few pennies by doing it yourself. However, this is not something we'll definitely encourage you to do. Usually, what we'll recommend is for you to hire lawyers who know the process better than you. For instance, here are some questions that your lawyers can answer for you that you wouldn't know yourself.

Inadequate equity

The most common problem that a lot of people have is that they don't have enough equity. This term is important, as it measures your loan-to-value, or LTV ration. Usually, homeowners who encounter these problems have experienced refinancing their original mortgage to take out cash, bought their homes without giving any down payment, got an interest-only or payment-option mortgage, or had their own property that lost a lot of its value.

The LTV ratio that most lenders set is around 80 percent, though they can adjust it from time to time.

Solution: Principal Reduction

Most mortgage lawyers say that the best strategy to change this problem is to lower the loan amount, so the LTV will fall within the guidelines. This can be done through lump-sum payments and gradual reduction of principal. A lump sum can be applied in many ways, such as savings or retirement account, sale of another asset, income tax refund or bonus.

According to some lawyers, if you apply $300 - $500 to your principal for some time, you may be able to increase your chances of lowering your principal and also the interest that's charged on your outstanding principal. 

And if you have a second loan and your lender does not want to subordinate, then you might try to combine both of your loans into just one new loan. This is more possible if you obtained both of these loans through the same lender as part of your purchase-money financing. However, expect stricter guidelines than the conventional rate and term refinancing, because your status be considered a cash out already.

Refinancing a mortgage loan is not easy. But if you ask the advice of lawyers who have the expertise and knowledge to guide you in the process, then you can be assured of a better chance of success.

If you are finding it very difficult to make up with your mortgage payments and are foreseeing a future in which foreclosure might be a possibility, then mortgage loan modification programs might prove to be your solution. These programs are basically a negotiation between your lender and you wherein they agree to go easy on some of the terms of the payment so that you are able to meet with your payments easily.
There are different things that may be done during a mortgage loan modification program, of which the most common are:
* Reducing the rate of interest so that you are able to meet with the payments
* Converting adjustable rate mortgage into fixed rate mortgage so that there are no more nasty surprises for you Continue reading “Mortgage loan modification programs -- learn what they can do for you” »