When you are thinking of buying a home, you may have questions about mortgage loan options and the affordability of a monthly mortgage payment. The mortgage calculators are very helpful.
The mortgage calculators will give you a rough estimate of a monthly principal and interest payment. You can compare different loan terms or interest rates. Visit my webpage to use my online calculators and other online resources:
http://www.1stadvantagemortgage.com/grego/resources/calculators.php
With these three calculators, you’ll be able to gain a better grasp of what your payments would be, find out which loan program would benefit your situation the most, or see what you would save in interest by making additional payments to your principal each month. It’s always important to talk to a professional when making such an important purchase, but the online mortgage tools available on my page are a great start in gaining more knowledge on the overall loan process.
Keep in mind that you still need to account for real estate taxes, home insurance, association fees and possibly private or government mortgage insurance as other components of your housing payment. It is always best to speak with a professional when you are ready to take the next step in buying a home. I am happy to explain the process further and help you with one of the most important financial decisions of your lifetime. Ask me about a free loan approval analysis.
HARP 2.0 expands the Home Affordable Refinance Program initiative which will enable many homeowners to refinance their current mortgage and take advantage of the low interest rate environment even if they may owe more than their home is currently worth. Owing more than the home is worth is commonly referred to as being “underwater” on the home loan. There are rules and not everyone will qualify, but you are a fool if you don’t check on your eligibility.
To be eligible for a HARP refinance, a borrower
1. needs to be current on their loan and have a history of making timely payments.
2. The loan has to be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (These are not loan servicers)
3. The loan had to be purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to June 2009
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own about 70% of residential mortgages. You can use the following links to determine if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. You still have to qualify and a competent loan originator has to run your proposed loan through the automated underwriting engine for either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to make sure you are eligible.
http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/
Harp 2.0 refinances still require a mortgage application like any other mortgage. Borrowers are not required to use their original lender or current loan servicer, but can research for the best mortgage rates available through any lender that is participating in the Harp 2.0 program. Guidelines are specific to this program with each entity, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, as each has their own underwriting process and instructions. Since Harp 2.0 targets underwater borrowers, it is expected that refinances will increase throughout the year as the program becomes more familiar to the public. The program runs to the end of 2013 which may give homeowners a false sense of security that they have time to act. Mortgage rates rose recently and procrastinators usually miss out. If the economy improves, higher rates will follow. Do yourself a favor and at least find out if you are eligible. The potential savings should be worth the minimal effort.
1st Advantage Mortgage is working directly with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which should make this an easier process for borrowers compared to other alternatives. My office is located in Naperville, Illinois. Loan applications can be done electronically and the signing of closing documents can be done in your home or any other location. Visit my web site http://www.1amllc.com/grego/ for company information and mortgage calculators.
For those of you that do not know, the Fed is establishing a very restrictive rule limiting the amount and the way loan originators can be compensated. The new rule scheduled to start on April 1st will likely result in a 25% pay cut for mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers by forcing them to adopt pay scales used by the big 4 mega banks like Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and Bank of America. Loan Officers that work for mortgage Mortgage Bankers and Mortgage Brokers can no longer give lender credits from the commissioned compensation that is earned by them. Loan creativity is limited as well.
You see, loan originators that work for mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers tend to be more knowledgeable and work to provide more customer service than the loan originators for mega banks. Mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers provide competition that helps borrowers obtain financing at a lower cost. This is turn helps the real estate industry.
The banks, most of which received bailouts to keep them viable after poor risk taking, got together with their lobbyists and buried this new regulation into the massive financial reform bill that legislators did not read before it was passed into law. The new rule by the Federal Reserve Board stifles competition which is bad for consumers. Ironically, the Fed claims that they are doing this to “protect consumers”. Consumers are protected by the new disclosure rules and the new Good Faith Estimate process that was updated subsequent to the financial crisis and mortgage meltdown. The Federal Reserve has not been able to provide any evidence that a loan officer’s compensation plan has anything to do with the mortgage financing that a consumer ultimately obtains.
I encourage you to watch this video http://tbwsdailyshow.com/2011/04/05/495/ It takes a little while to load but it is worth it. Every once in a while consumers should monitor the government and hold them accountable for their actions. How would you like it if the government limited the amount of income that you can earn?
I could have sworn that the USA was a capitalistic country. Everyone knows that competition is best for consumers. The government should not eliminate competition. Let consumers decide who the winners and losers will be in any industry.
Individual loan officers are catching much of the blame for the financial crisis. If you really want to be educated about what led to the crisis, rent the movie “Inside Job” which is available at Redbox now. It is a documentary about the 2008 financial crisis. http://www.redbox.com/movies/inside-job
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The April 1st deadline to apply for a $1,000 scholarship is almost here. Naperville students should go to http://napervilledollarsforscholars.org/students/ to apply. The student needs to be a high school senior planning to attend college in the fall and they must live in Naperville, Illinois. There is a GPA requirement and a 500 word essay required. The scholarship is not “needs based” so get at it and apply before the deadline.
For those of you that want to donate to help make scholarships possible, please go to http://napervilledollarsforscholars.org/ and click the donate button. Naperville Dollars For Scholars is a volunteer organization so a majority of donated dollars is passed to students. Only a small percentage is used for promotion and operating expenses.
