Tuesday 9 July 2013

Making Smart Mortgage Decisions In 2013

By Maryl Joop


The word mortgage is of Latin origin. "Mort-" is from the Latin word meaning "death" and "gage" means that something is forfeit something of value if debt is not paid.

Every lender's minimum requirements are different as they set many of these themselves. At a general level though, the following is what they will likely be looking for.

Here are a few tips on how to successfully make intelligent decisions about your mortgage on your own. Keep in mind that 2013 is a great year to start really thinking about your mortgage.

2013 is a year of opportunity, with dozens of avenues of financial freedom to be explored. One great way to save money on your mortgage is to learn about refinancing.

Once the term was up though, you either had to pay off the rest of the debt, or refinance your home. Back then, insurance companies ran the show, not banks, and they weren't very interested in looking into refinancing. You'd approach an insurance company to take out a loan to purchase a house. You qualified mostly on how well the company knew you.

Lenders are going to want to know what your past payment histories have been to determine how trustworthy you are. You have a credit score to help them quantify your trustworthiness.

If you have had trouble making your payments on time, or indeed making them at all, then your lender needs to know about it. They will be expecting similar behavior from you for a several hundred thousand dollar loan.

The financial gains surrounding mortgages were designed around defaulting loans. Aren't you glad that times have changed? Today, it's normally your success at paying off the loans that the banks are interested in. They want guaranteed money more than they want the real estate.

Rates for homes have plummeted in recent years, and they are just now starting to rise back up. Still, buying a home at this time would be an excellent choice.

The nice thing about VA loans is that they offer a bit more flexibility where this is concerned. They won't deny a loan solely based on a low credit score.

The ways to get good credit is to have a credit card and use it responsibly. If you have to make credit card payments, you should pay them in full each time you get a bill. If you don't feel that you can handle that kind of responsibility, you could consider throwing away the card. Or perhaps, only limit yourself to buying $5 worth of items on your credit card.

These changes led to the eventual bank overhaul of the mortgage system. Once homeowners started keeping their homes, insurance companies stopped providing these loans. From there, programs have grown to allow other options. Veterans can apply for a VA home loan for their own houses.

The nice thing about VA home loans is that they are easier to get, they don't require a down payment, and they are generally easier to refinance. Benefits like these are invaluable to one that is looking to settle down after a career in the military.



No comments:

Post a Comment