U.S. mortgage applications sink as loan rates rise
The highest home loan rates in more than two months drained demand for refinancing last week, dragging total U.S. mortgage applications to the lowest level since early March, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.Refinancing has been the lifeblood of a renewed push for mortgage funding much of this year, and even that has lost steam despite borrowing costs staying relatively low, according to the industry group’s data.
The average 30-year mortgage rate rose 0.12 percentage point to 4.81 percent, above a low of 4.61 percent two months ago though down more than a percentage point from a year ago.Many homeowners are waiting for kinks to be worked out of refinance programs from the government as well as government-controlled Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N).The hope is that once the hurdles in the refinance process are surmounted, consumers can return to slicing monthly housing costs and stimulating the recessionary economy by spending some of those savings.
Total U.S. mortgage applications fell 14.2 percent in the week ended May 22 to 786.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis, 37 percent below its recent peak of 1,250.6 in early April.Many consumers are holding out for even lower rates and prices. Caution about making such a big purchase if jobs are at risk has also kept many buyers sidelined.
“People are calling but not necessarily willing to act,” said Brad Sherman, vice president of residential lending at Nationwide Mortgage Services in Rockville, Maryland. “We keep hearing stories that housing prices are continuing to fall and people are nervous to commit new money” to buy when it could soon cost less.The Mortgage Bankers Association’s measure of demand for loans to buy homes rose by 1 percent to 256.6 last week, but has shown scant momentum during the keenly watched spring sales season.
In the meantime, those waiting for lower rates likely also saw home values slide versus the size of their loan, possibly to levels that kept lenders from approving a refinancing.”As far as refinancing goes, people are counting on some of these Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs to fully kick in, and there are some problems with them that they haven’t yet ironed out,” Sherman said.
Requests for loans to refinance slumped 18.9 percent last week to 3,890.4, about 43 percent below the 6,813.5 peak in early April. Refinancings accounted for just over 69 percent of all applications, after hovering closer to 75 percent in recent weeks.Affordability remains at record highs, but some key obstacles remain before the housing crisis becomes history.
Fixed mortgage rates still remain near record lows. The average home price nationwide has been slashed by more than 32 percent from the 2006 highs, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller indexes.
Resource : http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN2754097820090527
Why is refinancing a mortgage so expensive?
i’m in the process of refinancing the mortgage on my home. Again.
Yes, we refinanced just a couple of years ago. But rates have been so good lately that I decided to check with a mortgage broker friend of mine to see if it would make sense to do it again.
He said it would, so here we are.
Because I have a friend to help me, I have found the refinance process to be fairly low-stress. But the same can’t be said for everyone.
Which brings us to this week’s question from Wendy. She is in the process of refinancing from a 30-year mortgage she secured in 2004 to a 15-year mortgage. And the question she asks is one that I’m sure has crossed many minds in the last few months.
“I realize folks need to make money to stay in business, but why can’t mortgage companies simply convert existing mortgages and have the client pay some kind of flat fee, say $800 or $1,000 for processing? Why does there have to be a refinance with an appraisal and a title search and all those other expensive things?” Wendy asks.
For an explanation, I turned to my friend, Christian Oliphant, who is owner and principal lending manager for Princeton Mortgage in Cottonwood Heights.
Christian points out that the company to which you make your mortgage payment every month is the servicer of your loan, but it might not actually “own” the loan. Companies often package billions of dollars of mortgage loans and sell them to investors.
The company that gets your check has a contract with the investors to collect the money and “service” the loan. But the investor who owns your “note” is expecting a certain amount of interest in return for that note he owns on the collateral of your property. (If you’ve ever looked at one of those EXTREMELY scary amortization tables, you know we’re talking about thousands of dollars here!)
What this means is, if someone wants to change the rate or length of a mortgage, the main reason a refinance is necessary is because a new note has to be written with the new terms.
“So with a new note and new terms, the individual has to qualify under the new terms of the agreement,” Christian says. “That is why all the costs are necessary, is because it is a brand new loan with new terms. The servicer who may or may not own the note/loan you want to refinance just can’t change the terms of the loan without having the borrower go through a qualification process.”
Part of that qualification process involves getting the home appraised to show equity, and the collateral and title work is done to show the new lender there are no liens against the property.
“As for an appraisal, it’s looking backwards in the market,” Christian says. “They used to be good for six months, but now they’re only good for about 90 days, because the market is changing so fast.”
Resource: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705306682/Refinancing-is-starting-all-over-again.html
Refinance While House Is In Foreclosure
Refinance Loan while house is in foreclosure. In most cases, when you’re are behind on a number of mortgage payments, to save your home, you need to act as quickly as possible. A lot of people feel that it maybe impossible to save there home at this point. That’s just not the case when you’re determine to discover a service that is in business to aid homeowners that are either behind on there monthly payments or are already in foreclosure.
Timing Is Key
Yes, there are certain qualifications you will need to meet. The point we are trying to make clear here is that you might not qualify for any type of mortgage refinance plan, only you will never know if these programs will work for you if you do not apply before it is to late.
Here are the steps you’ll need to take to attempt to save your home!
1. Do You Have Any Equity In Your Home?
If you have at lease 25% of equity in your home, you maybe able to refinance your home with your current bank. Your current mortgage holder will more than likely extend to you the option of refinancing your home as long as you are in the position to pay your current mortgage payments.
Your mortgage lender would need to check on your current financial situation. The bottom line is that you must be able to show that you can afford to keep your new refinance mortgage payments up to date. The refinancing plan isn’t the way to go, if you are currently having financial problems.
2. Contact Your Current Mortgage Lender
Call your current mortgage lender and tell them that you would like to know how you can save your home from going into foreclosure. Most mortgage holders are not in the real estate business and they have no real interest in taking your home. They will be more than willing to meet with you to explain all of your options.
3. What can you do if your current mortgage lender is not willing to work with you?
This would mostly depend upon whether you have any home equity, good credit and a reasonable income to make your mortgage payments on-time every month. You can find hundreds of mortgage lenders over the internet that can process your home refinance loan request in just a few days.
You will be able to get by with bad credit morgage loan as long as you have a fair amount of home equity. The lender will require that your current income is high enough to support your new refinance mortgage payments. There is no getting around this requirement.
4. If you cannot afford your current mortgage payments, you may have to file for bankruptcy!
If you are having financial problems that are not going away anytime soon, you’re best plan of action could be to file for bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy will immediately stop the foreclosure on your home. This is the only alternative that is available to you if you have no equity in your home and you cannot afford to pay your monthly payments on time. To apply for bankruptcy, all you would have to do is contact a bankruptcy attorney. The cost to file for bankruptcy should be around $300 or more.
5. Loan Modification Programs
I am sure that you have heard about loan modification programs. If you really would like to to get the ball rolling rapidly, there are hundreds of companies online that will help you in locating the best plan that will help you to keep your home. The Loan Modification Program is one of the best techniques to keep your home. You can apply for most of these programs over the internet 24 hours a day. They will do all the work for you, like contacting your lender and reviewing your mortgage refinancing loan to see what method will work best for you.
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Resource: http://www.nurido.at/news/refinance-while-house-is-in-foreclosure-122098.html
President Barack Obama’s Mortgage Modification Or Refinance Stimulus Plan
President Barack Obama is well aware that the current economic situation in the country leaves a lot of homeowners struggling. Housing prices have crashed and the all time high number of foreclosures does not help that at all, lowering surrounding homes values by as much as 9%. Home and property values have dropped so far that many homeowners now owe more on their mortgage than their home is actually worth. Due to these problems, the Obama administration has introduced the housing and homeowner stimulus plan. This plan was announced in February and has started this month. Most people no longer have 20% equity in their homes, which is typically required for traditional mortgage refinancing, due to the dropping home prices. The stimulus plan from President Obama is going to make it easier for homeowners to modify or refinance their current home mortgage and have more manageable monthly payments and avoid a possible foreclosure. The goal of this home mortgage stimulus plan is to help over 5 million homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure or defaulting on their loan. This is done by giving incentives to mortgage lenders to use their new guidelines for approving a mortgage refinance. So with more incentives and less risk to mortgage lenders are going to be more flexible on who can refinance, how much they can save, and finding financially affordable monthly mortgage payments.
Homeowners looking to refinance or modify their current mortgages will get their loans restructured by mortgage lenders. With this plan, the maximum allowable monthly mortgage payment can not exceed 38% of the homeowners gross monthly income. Mortgage lenders will also get a dollars for dollar incentive from the government to further lower the monthly payments to 31% of the homeowners gross monthly income. This is great news for a lot of homeowners who are out of work or just struggling to make their monthly mortgage payment. A lot of homeowners currently pay 40% or even 50% of their income towards their mortgage. A 20% reduction would add up to a lot of saved money every month.
The Treasury of the United States has an exact series of guidelines for mortgage lenders and banks to complete when refinancing or modifying a home mortgage refinancing loan . In the past for example, mortgage loans have been refinanced or modified by adding on missed payments to the loans principal which basically did nothing to reduce the monthly payment. The housing mortgage refinance stimulus plan announced by Obama will mean a great amount of savings for millions of homeowners.
Morgage refinancing Loan can save you thousands or if it is done the wrong way cost you thousands. Greedy mortgage lenders will try to suck you dry if you let them. Learn how to properly refinancing a home mortgage and walk away happy and with more money.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Petrone
New 2% Home Mortgage Modification Or Refinance Stimulus Plan
President Obama is aware of the hard financial times that the average American faces. Home values have dropped, and the rising number of foreclosures just makes things even worse as each foreclosure lowers the surrounding home values even more. In an effort to help homeowners, the Government now offers 2% home mortgage refinance or modification.
This plan, enacted just last month, makes millions of homeowners eligible for a 2% refinance or modification. Some things that were typically needed to be eligible to refinance, such as a 20% equity stake in your home, are no longer required as mortgage lenders and banks strive to follow Obamas guidelines and approve as many homeowners as possible. This stimulus refinance package should make the average homeowners average monthly payment much smaller and savings of hundreds every month are typical. This will help a lot of homeowners who are in foreclosure, or will be, by giving them a chance to save their home.
This government backed plan will restore consumer confidence in the housing market, prevent millions of foreclosures, and to help struggling homeowners. There is over $75 billion dollars available to mortgage lenders and banks to help them approve homeowners they otherwise would have denied. This means that getting approval for a mortgage refinance or modification is now easier than ever.
Homeowners who are seriously looking into a mortgage refinance or modification and use this stimulus plan will be able to obtain a mortgage payment that is no larger than 31% of the homeowners gross monthly income. A lot of homeowners currently pay 50% or more every single month just on their mortgage payment. A reduction of 20% would equal big time savings which would add up quickly.
The mortgage lenders and banks who abide by this stimulus bailout plan will need to follow an exacting set of guidelines set by the Government. Homeowners will easily be able to save huge sums of money every single month just by taking advantage and refinancing Mortgage Loan their home. At least look into the potential savings from modifying a home using this “Making Home Affordable” plan from Obama.
morgage refinance loan can save you thousands or if it is done the wrong way cost you thousands. Greedy mortgage lenders will try to suck you dry if you let them. Learn how to properly refinancing a home mortgage and walk away happy and with more money.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Petrone
know the benefits of debt structuring with home mortgage refinance
When you take advantage of the equity in your home through a home mortgage refinance, you get a lot more than just cash. You get peace of mind and organization to your financial future.
Reduce the number of bills
With a home mortgage refinance, you no longer have to be concerned about missing one of your monthly credit card bills and suffering with added interest charges, penalties and fees. Your refinance loan will pay off the balances on all of those high interest loans and leave you with one payment, one due date, and an amount that doesn’t vary from one month to the next. You are likely to have a single payment that costs you less than the total of all the smaller bills. If you receive a regular paycheck, you can even arrange in many instances to have the payment deducted from your payroll so that you don’t have any chance of missing the payment.
Set up a savings plan
Discipline yourself to set up a savings plan with the savings you make from not paying multiple minimum payments and set it aside to fund future purchases that previously would have resulted in you charging your credit card and going further into debt. You can save for an emergency fund or save to pay cash for future purchases, or even for creating an investment portfolio to build toward your retirement. A home mortgage refinancing loan should not be a routine part of your financial planning, but a final determination to get your financial house in order. Imagine being able to plan for a vacation and to know precisely when you will be able to book your cruise.
Renovate your home
With a home mortgage refinance, you can provide yourself with a sizable chunk of cash to renovate or even completely remodel your existing home. You won’t need to charge the lumber on a credit card and pay double digit interest rates. Instead, you can set up an account with the proceeds of the refinance and pay for your renovation materials and supplies as they are required. You can provide a complete makeover to your home so that its future value will be increased. Whether you need to redo the carpets, replace the roof, or fix the plumbing, a home loan will help you pay for the repairs easily.
Timing benefits
Depending upon the timing of your loan and the purchases you make, you can definitely save money on interest rates. Choose your home mortgage refinance loan period to take advantage of the regular payroll periods at your house. Enjoy the ability to schedule the loan to suit your financial schedule. Imagine the peaceful feeling to know that when the payment comes due, there is already money in your bank account to cover it.
Consistency benefits
The peace of mind gained by knowing each month what the payment will be on your home mortgage refinance loan cannot be downplayed. There are no surprises when the monthly statement arrives. There is also no change in the due date each month. You will never again have to spend money on late fees, minimum payments or over limit penalties. The value of the reduced stress by being able to plan your finances each month is hard to deny.
Mortgage Refinance Calculator - save your time and money
At mortgage renewal time many people simply return to their lender and accept whatever rate and mortgage features are offered. What they may not know …
At mortgage renewal time many people simply return to their lender and accept whatever rate and mortgage features are offered. What they may not know is, with a little research and shopping around, it’s possible to find better rates and different types of mortgages that could leave them debt-free years sooner.
Today many lenders provide online mortgage calculators that let homeowners estimate payment rates and terms, right from the comfort of home. These easy-to-use tools can save you time and running from appointment to appointment with a number of financial institutions.
“Mortgage refinance calculator are designed to be easy and convenient for homeowners to work out for themselves what their payments could be and how they might shorten their mortgage’s lifespan,”
“Just as you don’t want to spend more money than you have to for your home, you don’t want mortgage shopping eating up too much time.”
Not all mortgage refinancing calculators are the same. Some will only determine what your payments will be, amortized over a set period of time. Others can let homeowners glimpse a larger snapshot of their financial picture, giving them a better handle on how their funds can be put to use.
“When someone uses our Manulife One mortgage calculator, they punch in their debts and savings to quickly figure out for themselves how much they can save by switching to an all-in-one account,” continued Strong. “By combining savings, mortgage and other loans into one account, clients could repay their debts quicker and potentially save thousands in interest charges over the life of their mortgage.”
Source : articles.directorym.ca
Mortgage Refinancing Tips - Useful information about refinancing.
Many of US home owners are struggling with unpaid debt and a constant stream of bills, and are also wanted to know if there is anything they can do to get reduces their monthly payment on their mortgage. The news is that there are some useful ways by which they can lower down their monthly payment whiteout worrying about being scammed by unethical mortgage refinancing lenders.
Mortgage Refinancing Tips
One of the best and easy ways to get low monthly payment is through mortgage refinancing loan. Mortgage refinancing will not only get you a lower monthly payment, but you may be able to pay off your entire mortgage much more quickly once you have secured some better payment terms. So how do you know what types of terms to look for in order to get mortgage refinancing that will give you a lower monthly payment? Use these tips to help make sure that you use mortgage refinancing to get you the best rate possible.
- Apply for pre-approval with several mortgage refinancing lenders. Applying for pre-approval with more than one lending company will allow you to shop around for prices to make sure you are getting the best rate available. During this process, make sure these refinancing lenders are not pulling your credit history. You want to save your credit pulls for the lender that can provide you with a mortgage refinance with a low monthly payment. Each time you pull your credit score, your score suffers a little bit. Too many pulls will prevent you from getting the best rates on a mortgage refinance. After qualifying several different lenders, authorize only the companies that can give you the best mortgage refinance rates to pull your credit.
- Check to make sure your existing mortgage does not have any pre-pay penalties. Many homeowners select a mortgage that includes pre-payment or early pay penalty clauses. While the cost of this penalty may vary, it generally amounts to about six months of your mortgage loan’s interest. If you want to do a mortgage refinancing that has these types of penalties, make sure you have enough funds to cover them.
- Pay attention to interest rates and closing costs. A lender might be able to provide you with a lower monthly payment through mortgage refinancing with their company, but this does not automatically make them the best choice. If interest rates or closing costs are too high, avoid the lender in question. These two variables are often the deciding factor when it comes to making a final decision about selecting a lender for mortgage refinancing.
- Get everything in writing. Once you decide on a mortgage refinancing lender, make sure you get all of your mortgage refinancing terms written down on paper. This includes the agreed upon interests rates and closing costs. It is also good to ask questions about pre-pay penalties or any other types of penalties that might be associated with the mortgage refinance. Often times, lenders will avoid this type of information if they feel it will be a deal-breaker that will prevent you refinancing with their company.
Source : mortgage101.com
Know Your Mortgage Refinancing Options
If you have a home and a mortgage, and you are thinking about refinancing, first you must know both what you want out of your new mortgage and what your different options are, so that you can pick the refinancing plan that best fits your needs.
There are many different situations that will make people consider refinancing their mortgage. Some of the most common ones are:
- They have a fixed-rate mortgage with a high interest rate, and they are looking to get a lower interest rate.
- They have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and are looking to get a fixed rate.
- They have two mortgages and would like to consolidate them into one.
- They have a long-term loan and would like a shorter-term loan so they can pay it off and build equity more quickly.
- They have a short-term loan and would like a longer-term loan so as to reduce their monthly payments.
- They want to move from an interest-only mortgage to a loan that pays down the principal.
- They want some extra cash to make a purchase or to pay off other debt.
There are four main mortgage refinancing options available that can meet the needs listed above:
Cash-out or Cash back Refinancing
This plan allows you to refinance your mortgage for more than you currently owe, and the difference . the equity . is converted into cash for the homeowner.
Low Fixed-rate Loan
If you currently have a high fixed-rate mortgage and the rates have dropped due to market conditions, then you may want to refinance to a low fixed-rate loan. Also, if you have an ARM, you might consider this option in order to get the security of a fixed rate. Even if your adjustable rate is low now, it is not guaranteed to remain that way; but if you get a low fixed-rate loan, then you lock that low rate in for the life of the loan. This option is a good choice if you are not planning on moving within the next five years.
Shorter-term Loan
If your main goal is to quickly build up equity and to pay off your mortgage sooner, then the shorter-term loan is probably your best choice. A lot of times, if you refinance to this type of loan, your monthly payments will be higher, but you will pay substantially less interest and your mortgage will be paid off sooner. Also, you would benefit from a larger tax deduction on interest if you move from a 30-year fixed to a 15-year fixed loan. There are some cases, however, in which you may be able to refinance to a shorter-term loan without raising your monthly payment -if you’ve had your current mortgage for enough years.
Longer-term Loan
If your current monthly payments are higher than is comfortable for your financial situation, then you might want to consider refinancing to a longer-term loan. This will result in a decrease in your monthly payments, since you will have more time to repay the loan.
Examining your current mortgage and knowing how you would like to improve it are the first steps you need to take when starting the refinancing process. Once you know this, you can choose the option that will best help you achieve your goals.
Source : http://realestate.yahoo.com
