Thursday, October 28, 2010

How much is too much for Mortgage Closing Costs?

Something that is very important for you to take into consideration when purchasing or going to refinance home loans for your home is the closing costs.

I would love to tell you that closing costs are not expensive, but believe me they are. Once you add up all the fees' involved, such as points, taxes, title insurance, county costs and various other fee's, it really begins to add up.

The first thing you need to understand is that nobody works for free so be prepared to pay at closing.

The total amount of fees' depends on quite a few things. For instance, the percentage of loan origination fees' (points) the lender is going to be charging you. Another large fee is the title search and insurance. The title fee varies by state and is determined by the amount of the home.

Closing costs on average should not exceed 5% of the total amount of the purchase price, and this does not include the down payment.

The total amount of these fees' does not all go to the lender. Generally only the loan origination fee and the application fee go to the lender.

The rest of the fee's such as the appraisal, credit report, interest for the period in between closing and your first monthly payment, home owner’s insurance, title insurance, pro rated property tax, etc., go to their appropriate institutions when applying for the home mortgage loan.

Before you go to closing, the lender is required by law to send you a Good Faith Estimate (GFE).The GFE disclose an accurate estimate of the entire fee's you will be responsible for at closing.

Make sure you go over the GFE with a fine tooth comb, and if there are any fees' you don’t understand, call your lender or broker and ask for an explanation.

As I stated earlier, you must be prepared to pay closing costs. Closing costs are not cheap, but you should not pay a penny more than what is required.

If your closing costs are somewhere between two and 5% of the amount of the mortgage, you should be in good shape.

If they are drastically higher, consider finding another lender.

Remember, do your homework. Put yourself in a position to understand all the jargon that fills up all the paperwork you will be signing.

Also, take your time and shop around, always look for the best rate at the lowest possible price. My recommendation for you people visiting this article is to visit http://www.home123.com and use Mortgage Loan Calculator for better decision when applying for a loan.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Cash Out Refinancing

Refinancing is to pay off your existing home mortgage loan with another one at a lower rate.

A cash out refinance is refinancing your existing mortgage and borrowing some of your equity in a lump sum to use for other purposes, such as home improvement, college tuition, family vacation, etc.

Other reasons people use a cash out refinance is to use the equity in their home to invest in real estate, or start their own business.

Cash out refinances are very good tools when used for the right reasons like when you are looking to refinance home loans. It is not wise to do cash out refinancing if you are going to receive a higher interest rate than what you already have on your current mortgage.

If you have a really good rate on your current mortgage, it would be wise to leave it alone.

However, if you are looking to tap into the equity you have acquired in your home without touching your current mortgage, you may want to consider a Home Equity Loan.

With a home equity loan you can borrow the equity you have acquired without touching your first mortgage. The home equity loan is also referred to as a second mortgage.

For instance, if you have acquired $50,000.00 worth of equity in your home, you can borrow what you need of that equity, without your first mortgage being affected.

The cash out refinance and the home equity loan are very similar and serve almost the same purpose; your situation should determine the right choice for you.

As always, I want to leave you with this reminder. Do your homework, educate yourself, and shop around for the best deal. Even I would like to recommend you to use Mortgage Loan Calculator at http://www.home123.com for better planning.