What’s the Low Down on Loan to Value?

Filed Under: Home loan    by: Admin
It’s not very often that a borrower takes into heavy consideration what his loan to value is when shopping for a loan.  In fact, if the subject is brought up by the customer, it’s mostly in relation to avoiding paying monthly mortgage insurance.  But sometimes, a loan to value can affect even more aspects of your loan – like pricing and approval!

What is loan to value?  Well, it’s exactly what it says.  The loan amount compared to the value of the home you are buying or refinancing.  For example, if you are buying a $100,000 home, and your loan amount is only $50,000, your loan to value or “LTV” is 50%.  It’s also very common to refinance a home to obtain a lower LTV and drop mortgage insurance that was before required.

Different types of loans have different minimum requirements for LTV’s.   With primary residence purchases, for instance, an FHA loan can have as high as a 97.75% LTV (soon to change to 96.5% in 2009).  A conventional loan can have as high as a 97% LTV (but more common is 95% LTV).  VA and Rural Housing loans can have 100% LTV’s.  People who have cash to put down on the property they are buying and financing with a conventional loan oftentimes try to amass 20% of the purchase price in order to avoid mortgage insurance.  Mortgage insurance is required when your LTV for a primary residence is above 80% and is issued by independent mortgage insuring companies like Genworth Financial or PMI.  Fannie and Freddie, the big purchasers of conventional loans, will require one of these or other approved companies issue mortgage insurance unless the loan has an 80% LTV.  And if you’re refinancing the home you live in?  The whole grid of acceptable LTV’s changes for the most part, with a few exceptions.  And furthermore, if you’re talking about investment properties, it’s another can of worms.

But when else does LTV mean something?  Consider when a loan specialist prices your loan.  Oftentimes there are pricing differentials based upon the loan to value.  For instance, if you carry mortgage insurance and your LTV is 85.01% or higher, you might actually get a better interest rate than if you had an 85% LTV (but don’t get too excited because your monthly mortgage insurance will be higher).  Or if your LTV is 60% or lower, you might also get a better interest rate.  If you are close to tipping the scales on one of these ratios, it may be to your benefit to ask your loan specialist how close you are to a pricing break one way or another.  You’d be surprised to find out it might change your mind as to how much money you decide to put down on your loan. 

And guess what else?  A low loan to value may be the difference between loan approval and loan denial.  Why is that?  Because if you are investing enough of your own money into the equity of a property, chances are you won’t default on the loan.  And if you do, it’s probably a last recourse.  Not to mention, the lender who holds the note won’t lose money because there is enough equity in the property to cover foreclosure costs, re-sale costs and any value loss from an upside down market.  The lender is covered.  So, the lender will consider the loan less risky and a higher debt to income ratio is tolerated when reviewed with a high credit score. 







Can i sell a home which is on home loan before 5 years which was claimed for tax deduction?

Filed Under: Home loan    by: Admin
home loan
I am planning to sell one of my flat bought in 2004 on home loan. I have claimed for tax deduction for 4 years already. I have a seen a clause in the yearly bank statement that i will not be entitled for tax saving on home loan if flat is sold before 5 years. Is it true? Please provide more information on this clause.





How much time does it usually take for the home loan process ?

Filed Under: Home loan    by: Admin
home loan
I have put an offer for a home.

I wanted to start the home loan process. Usually how long does it take for the home loan to finish.

Small banks or big banks time frame, for a 160K loan with 25% down and excellent fico score.





Home Loans for People with Bad Credit

Filed Under: Home loan    by: Admin
Almost every person needs a home loan sooner or later. If your incoming is reasonable and regular and your credit score is good enough, availing of a home loan is in fact simple. Though, for individuals with bad credit obtaining home loans is not so effortless. Evidently, banks are assuming a higher risk by offering home mortgage loans to people with bad credit. That is why they will perhaps be more cautious when supplying you with a loan. Nonetheless, there are loads of alternatives out there for individuals suffering from bad credit.

Bad credit home loans are usually available for individuals with credit scores below 620. If your credit score is over 620, you almost certainly don’t need to be looking for a home loan for people with bad credit. But, if you have a credit score above 620 and at the same time you are delayed on payments on a current mortgage loan, then you definitively need to get a loan like this.

Different Types of Home Loans for People with Bad Credit

There are two classes of home loans for people with bad credit. The first class is bad credit mortgage loans. These loans are evidently for individuals that are aiming to buy homes. As loans involve higher interest rates for individuals suffering from bad credit, these kinds of loans typically hold interest rates of around 10% per annum. The interest rate of your loan will fluctuate according to your exact credit score and records. Often times these loans are also called bad credit new home loans.

The second class of bad credit home loans is home equity loans with bad credit. These loans were planned for homeowners that already have mortgage loans. Habitually, people avail home equity loans when they require additional money. These loans are normally available just for individuals with already established equity into their house. At other times borrowers get these types of loans to deal with expenses or just to make investments or to initiate businesses.

If you don’t meet the requirements for bad credit home loans by yourself, you should try to find a cosigner. This could be rather embarrassing, but it will help you to get a new home. If you were not able to get someone to sign as a cosigner, you will have to make your best effort to improve your credit score.

Best of Luck!







Home Loan Paves a Way to Get a Home of Your Own

Filed Under: Home loan    by: Admin
A home is a place, where we happily spend with our family members. So, everyone wants to be a owner than to be a tenant. Recently, drastic changes have been taken place in the market of home loans. Most of the Indian banks and money lenders have reduced the interest rates on these loans and facilitating you to fulfil your desire of having a own home of you. In India, there are many possible sources to get these loans. The reducing interest rates of loans for home is an unexpected decision of the lenders. Mixed interest rate, floating interest rate and fixed interest rate with reset clause are the most usually interest rates that are offered on taking loan for a home. The interest rates of these loans are differ from one bank to another.

Like most of the other loans, the home loans can avail in two types such as secured and unsecured. The secured loan borrower should have a property of his own to submit it as a security against the loan. On the other hand, the unsecured home loan borrowers are no need to bother about collateral to get a home loan. In case of secured home loan, the borrower can avail loan at low interest rates, where as the unsecured loan borrowers have to pay high interest rates. If you are an unsecured home loan borrower, who are failed to repay the loan amount in right time, your collateral will be taken by your lender. When it compared to the unsecured loan for home, the secured borrowers can avail high loan amount.

The DDA which is known as a Delhi Development Authority has recently announced that they are planning to build around 5020 flats in several parts of Delhi. The government wants to provide own houses to many of the people, who are living in Delhi, Under the DDA housing scheme, 2008. The DDA invites applications for different types of flats like single, double and three bedroom. If anyone wants to avail a home under this scheme, they should pay 1.5 lakhs in the form of a registration fee. Several banks and lenders are ready to sanctions loans for paying registration fee.

The main intention of the DDA Housing Scheme is to offer good-looking flats to the middle and common class people of Delhi at low rates. You can get application forms of the DDA scheme at various places like the sales counter of DDA and some of the branches of ICICI, IDBI, HDFC, SBI and Axis banks apart from all the public and private banks. The applicant, who is going to apply for this scheme, should mention the detailed personal information on the application form. For some reasons, if the application is rejected by the Authority, the applicant will get back the registration fee.

In brief, we can easily say that the Indian loan market is flooded with different types of home loans. By selecting the best home deal, people can avail a own home without any hassles. In this modern world, people can get the right information by visiting reliable Internet websites that provides all the particulars of availing loan for a home. These websites also allow the people to compare the interest rates of all the banks or lenders that offer these loans. This helps them to get home loan at cheap interest rates.







How Does a Fed Cut Affect Home Mortgage Rates?

Filed Under: Home loan    by: Admin
You hear quite a bit lately that “the Fed is cutting the interest rate.” Maybe you’ve been considering a refinance, and you’re waiting to move forward till the Fed takes action again. But be smart about waiting and watching. A Fed cut doesn’t directly affect long term rates (for instance a 30 year fixed mortgage), but it does impact long term mortgage rates. The problem is the impact might not have the result you’ve been waiting for.

Who is the Fed? Well, it’s really the Federal Reserve. And when the Fed cuts rates, it usually cuts the Fed Funds Rate, which is the rate banks lend each other money. However, when the Fed lowers the Fed Funds Rate, Prime Rate, the rate banks give their best customers, usually drops as well. Ok, that’s great. But what does that really mean to the average person on the street? It means that anything that has an interest rate tied to Prime is directly affected by the Feds’ rate cut. Typically, these are short term loans. For instance: a credit card or a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). In general, these rates decline when the Fed lowers rates. On the flip side, a Fed rate cut means your savings will perhaps not yield as much interest and your CD (certificate of deposit) won’t be at such a great rate. So, it’s not all good.

Why aren’t mortgages directly affected? Because mortgage rates are typically longer term rates and are influenced by buyers and sellers in the bond market. Daily movements in the bond market cause mortgage rates to change. That’s why you might get a quote from a loan officer on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, your quoted interest rate has increased .125%. The Fed lowers rates to help stimulate the economy. Ultimately a healthy economy is good for the real estate market. Jesse Lehn, Senior Vice President for Mortgage Investors Group, believes, “…a liquid real estate market is beneficial for the mortgage market and that keeps rates competitive.” So, when the Fed lowers rates, indirectly it can help mortgage rates, but there is no direct correlation.

Another misconception is that mortgage rate changes occur in direct relation to when a Fed rate cut happens. In actuality, most mortgage rate changes, positive or negative, occur regardless of whether the Fed is actually meeting. That’s because the mortgage market anticipates what the Fed is going to do.

A good loan officer should have their finger on the pulse of the market, but again it’s a gamble. Remember to have a target interest rate in mind if you want to lock a loan but are watching the market. Trying to lock an interest rate on the day the mortgage rates have reached their lowest point in a year is like trying to get a royal flush in poker. It happens, but it’s not a realistic goal. It just means you were lucky. Just stick to your home financing goals and consider the big picture, and you’ll be fine.