As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for Phoenix home buyers, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing. Several years ago, you could finance a home with nothing down. Today, most conventional mortgages require at least 5 - 10 percent. Incidentally, these guideline changes have led to an increase in the number of home buyers accepting cash gifts from family. Gifts are allowed in most cases but the problem is, if you don't accept the gift in a "lender-friendly" way, the mortgage underwriter could reject it, and negate it. Three Steps To Success With Your Down Payment Gift Funds You … [Read more...]
Whatever You Do, Don’t Make These Common Mortgage Mistakes
Are you applying for a mortgage on your home? Keep in mind that a mortgage is a major financial decision and choosing one will have a significant impact on the rest of your life. Many people go into this decision without understanding all of the essential mortgage information they need to know. This means that they may not make the best choices which could result in paying much more than they need to. If you want to save yourself from throwing away your hard earned money, here are a few common mistakes to avoid: Trying To Time The Mortgage Interest Rate Market Many people will wait too long to … [Read more...]
Here’s What To Do If You Fall Behind On Your Mortgage Payments
What happens if you go through a tough financial period and you find yourself behind on your mortgage payments for your home? If you are missing mortgage payments and are having difficulty paying, this can become a serious problem. Even just one missed payment can be difficult to catch up on, and if you are in this situation it is important to get help right away. Contact Your Lender The first step in this circumstance should be to get in touch with your mortgage lender to explain the situation. Simply leaving things alone and not explaining why you have missed a payment will just make things … [Read more...]
What Should You To Do In Advance To Prepare For Your Mortgage Application
According to mortgage experts, it is a good idea to gather up all of the needed documents in advance before launching your house hunt, as this will make the application process a lot easier. The housing burst has resulted in much harder lending standards, which means that it could possible take weeks or sometimes even months to secure a loan. Here are a few important steps that you should take in advance Consider What You Can Really Afford Before you start the entire house hunting and mortgage application process, you should consider what you can really afford to buy. It might be tempting to … [Read more...]
3 Clever But Simple Ways To Get Your Home Mortgage Paid Faster
Paying off the mortgage on your home faster means that you will not only have the satisfaction of owning your own home sooner, you will also have the benefit of paying much less in interest over the years. The faster you pay off your mortgage, the more money you can save, so here are some tips to accelerate your payment schedule. Pay Your Mortgage Every Other Week (Bi-Weekly) Did you know that if you take your monthly mortgage payment and divide it in half and then pay it every two weeks that you will end up making a full extra month of payments every year? This is called a bi-weekly … [Read more...]