Home Mortgage Refinancing the Right Way

Recently, Obama announced his housing stimulus plan which makes over 5 million homeowners instantly eligible for refinancing into a 2% fixed rate. This stimulus package will lower homeowners monthly payments so take advantage now.

Here are some key elements to the proposed Obama housing stimulus plan:

*Help current homeowners who have seen their property or home values decrease by 15% or more with a option to refinance. This helps a lot of homeowners who have seen their property values drop in value in the wake of this mortgage crisis.

*Make loan modification and refinancing a home loan an easier, more beneficial to the borrower, process.

*To keep home mortgage interest rates locked in to a specifice percentage. Ideally a 2% interest rate across the board.

*Provide no assistance or help to market speculators. They ultmiately profit from other peoples downfall and should not be helped.

*Help homeowners who are facing foreclosure or may default on their mortgage by allowing them to more easily refinance their current home loan.

This tough economy is making it harder for good financially responsible home owners and mortgage payers to get that payment in every month in full and on time. Hopefully though by allowing them a chance to refinance at a 2% interest rate, they will lower their costs enough to increase their standard of living, pay off bills, or save. Also, recently millions of people or their spouse have lost their jobs or have had their income reduced, which is adding to the nearly 6 million homes facing foreclosure. Property values in neighborhoods are really struggling, a 2% interest rate would almost instantly raise home values as property values also rise as less homes are foreclosed on and more are bought and sold.

Typically when applying for a mortgage loan, you quickly find out how many types of information you will need to provide. To begin with, you will need proof of income, checking or savings account information that goes back as much as 3 months to verify someone did not borrow you the down payment just for the looks, you will also need to provide tax returns. Also, you will need to bring a copy of the deposit that you gave to your realtor when you decide you found the perfect condo or home to finance. Almost all the time, the bank will send an appraiser out to the property your looking to finance, they also send an inspector out to make sure there is no significant costly damage that will need to be repaired within the first few months/years of your mortgage. You will also need to provide proof of home owner or condo owners insurance once the loan is approved.

Meanwhile, in the time between applying for either financing or refinancing you should not use any credit sources. Do not get anything financed or refinanced while the loan is awaiting approval. Refinancing loans are pretty strict and may take a few weeks to months depending on your personal financial situation. To receive refinancing in some instances you must pay off an old debt or two in order to turn that corner so the bank will refinance.

When your refinancing approval goes through it is all down hill from there. Meeting the bank and the Realtor one more time is needed before closing on the house or condo. Make sure to bring your down payment with you and anything else your realtor or banker asked you to bring in. Remember after the closing goes through the property taxes are now in your name, including any back taxes that were due on that property. You now will be the official condo or home owner!

-M Petrone
http://www.refinancingcondo.com

The biggest fear homeowners have when refinancing their home mortgage is being ripped off. Many homeowners are convinced that the best way to avoid being ripped off in a mortgage refinance is to search for the best mortgage rate quotes they can find. One of the best ways to quickly find a good mortgage rate is to use the services of a mortgage broker. However, here is where I want to caution you about the biggest secret in the mortgage refinancing industry. The secret no broker or bankers want you to know.

So, What is this secret that desperately needs to be exposed that can save you thousands?
On a daily basis, homeowners are being ripped off from mortgage brokers, lenders, and banks without even realizing it. How? By being ripped off by the mortgage lender and paying extremely high closing costs compared to what your costs should be or are compared to other homeowners in the same situation.

So what makes these closing costs so high... and why?
Sometimes mortgage lenders or brokers get together with their lawyers and then charge higher fees based on a lawyers time as well. These lawyer fees end up being passed on to you even though the lawyer was not necessary for most or all of the time. This is more of a red flag if the potential lender or broker offered you their service for “free”. When the word free is used to describe closing costs it just means the lender is making money off you in other ways. A lot of unethical mortgage lenders will grab your attention with these free or low cost refinance options. Sometimes, they will even give you cash when you refinance with them because they know the money will be coming back to them eventually. They will always work it so that you are paying more for this “free” or reduced cost closing than you expected. They will stack the deck in their favor.

Who else will be able to use this kind of scam on me?
You need to be cautious of anyone you are dealing with not only your mortgage lender or bank. Your real estate can just as easily perform the same sort of under handed scheming to you. That is why it is very important to do proper research on any potential mortgage lenders or banks. Know your estimated costs up front. Demand every single fee or related cost is estimated and quoted before the closing is set to take place. This way you can review the fees and ask any questions before signing off on the new loan. Mortgage lenders with long histories are often more stable and financially secure than fly by night mortgage companies. Usually the big lenders do not pull these cheap and greedy scams but be aware none the less. Practice patience and find the perfect lender, terms, rates, and conditions for your home mortgage refinance.

-M Petrone
www.RefinancingCondo.com
Taken from: http://www.refinancingcondo.com/2009/02/greedy-secret-of-mortgage-refinance.html