va home loans, KY Kentuckyva home loans - KY Kentucky: mortgages, loans of any type, refinancing, quick easy online quotes, home equity loans, See if you could save on your mortgage today. We help millions of people a year buy homes. And we can help you. Click a title on the left for a look at the topics available. Then click a topic to go to the information. Keep in mind that there are ways to prepay your mortgage and whittle away at the principal each month, so that the loan is paid off sooner than 30 years. Theyre not as daunting as they sound. The first is just the percentage of your gross monthly income that youll need to spend on housing expenses after you buy the new home. It includes your mortgage payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance. Lenders will want to see a ratio of 28% or lower. The total-obligation ratio, meanwhile, is the portion of your income that goes to covering both your housing expenses and any other obligations, such as credit cards, car loans and child support. There, your lender will want to see a ratio of 36% or lower. Both of these ratios are often negotiable upward. It is very common for homeowners to use the equity in their home to consolidate debts. This can be very financially prudent when faced with rising bills and static income. In addition to having lower interest rates than most consumer loans, the interest from many home mortgages are tax deductible. Finally, weve added some calculators and worksheets for your use, plus a glossary of terms, since the lingo of mortgages and home-buying can sometimes sound like Greek. Along the way, weve provided hyperlinks to terms that you can click on when youre not sure just what they mean. (Aint the Internet and its world of knowledge just-a-click-away wonderful?) Most mortgages require a fee to set up. You need to allow a few hundred pounds for this. You dont need to use a broker at all if the house you want is being sold by an owner himself. Indeed, youll have a lot more room to negotiate on price if the brokers 6% fee is absent from the equation. Its also not that difficult to sell your house without a broker, though it is a significant commitment of time and energy -- one you may not be willing to make. Property Insurance and, often, private mortgage insurance, known as PMI. PMI gives the lender protection if the homeowner should default on the loan. The mortgage company charges insurance if the down payment is less than 20 percent of the sale price or appraised value. PMI usually can be eliminated once the principal balance of the mortgage reaches 80 percent of the sale price or appraised value, which is known as the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. What About the Web? Lets say that youre moving to (choosing a city at random) Phoenix, or (a state) Maryland. You boot up your computer, log onto the Internet, and type For Sale by Owner into one of the search engines. Sure enough, youll come up with a list of sites. The problem, as of this writing, is that the sites carry few listings. Getting Financing for Your Business Previous Home Next CCH Toolkit World Wide Web Business Tools Downloadable checklists, model business plans, forms and other documents Survey Mortgage valuation survey from £170 Homebuyers survey from £200 Full structural survey from £250 Q. What are points? A. Points are costs that need to be paid to a lender in order to receive mortgage financing under specified terms. A point is a percentage of the loan amount (one point = one percent of the loan). One point on a $100,000 loan would be $1,000. Discount points are fees that are used to lower the interest rate on a mortgage loan (you are discounting the interest rate by paying some of this interest up-front). Lenders may express other loan-related fees in terms of points. Some lenders may express their costs in terms of basis points (hundredths of a percent). 100 basis points = 1 point (or 1 percent of the loan amount). In addition to these qualities the intangibles can be even more important to some home owners. Things like ambiance and curb appeal are elements to consider. A squeaky clean new neighborhood and an old, historic lived-in area feel very different. Both can be safe and have the desired services, but one will probably say home while the other says get me out of here! Use the equity in your home to add living space in your home as your family grows So go ahead, slosh away. If the waterbed springs a leak, its your problem. Welcome to the joys of home ownership! But wait. You havent actually bought the place yet. Youve just investigated the ins and outs of loans. (Youre well ahead of many home shoppers, who hop in the car one day and begin to look, without investigating how theyre going to pay for this humong ous asset.) Now you need to think about the house itself, and the neighborhood. Mortgage financing tools and resources are generally free and easy to access. Services involve filling out a simple form and thereafter a consultation is given from experts. With all the information and tools made available on-line, shopping for a mortgage is made convenient. Here, as is done in common usage, well use the terms interchangeably. The Buyer Broker Traditionally, the real estate agent has always represented the seller of the house. So whenever you walk into an agents office and say something like, Im ready to offer $150K but would go as high as $160K if I had to, that agent is duty-bound to tell the seller about your conversation. Valuation Fee The amount charged to conduct a valuation of the property on behalf of the lender. It is important to note that the valuation is carried out on behalf of the lender – not the mortgage applicants! Frequently lenders include an administration fee as part of the valuation fee collected to cover the costs of arranging the valuation. The valuation does not represent a detailed inspection. For peace of mind it may be appropriate to obtain a ‘Housebuyers Report’ or a ‘Full Structural Survey’. These are more detailed than a lender valuation but they produced on behalf of the applicant. They are more expensive than the lenders valuation. The main advantage to a FHA home loan is that the credit criteria for a borrower are not as strict as FNMA or FHLMC. Someone who may have had a few credit problems should not have a problem obtaining FHA financing. Also, FHA home loans are assumable, allowing a person to take over the mortgage without the additional cost of obtaining a new loan. In addition, the seller must pay for part of the traditional closing costs (called non-allowable costs) while a borrowers allowable costs can partially be wrapped into the loan. 100% of the down payment and closing costs can be gifted. Of course, you cannot put a price on the pleasure of living in your own home and building equity, an unencumbered interest in your property. Equity grows as you pay off the principal of the mortgage and as the property appreciates in value. Also, there are tax incentives, since mortgage interest is a deduction on your federal income tax. Calculator Check out the bankrate.com Should you get a fixed or adjustable-rate mortgage? This calculator will give you both the best- and the worst-case scenarios for an adjustable-rate mortgage. To get an FHA or VA loan, you apply through an approved lender like Countrywide. In fact, were the number one lender for government loans. At every one of our branches, you work directly with local loan experts experienced with these loans. Pay your home loan online. Let us help you every step of the way. Whats the most confusing part about buying a home? Having to learn words like escrow? Fixed rate loans that also adjust? Or is it the closing process? How do you spot a good mortgage company? Most financial institutes who offer a variety of mortgages and lending options, do not specialize in one type of mortgage or another. If your looking for home mortgages in particular, choose one that specializes in that. Plus, prefer a company that provides local loan officers for your empowerment, your realtor will probably point out the significance of this factor. The Internet makes the process of mortgages easier, and increases the possibility of the borrower making a more informed decision about refinancing. A mortgage refinancing company provides the information and allows you to do the research and gives you the tools to self-qualify and rate your credit so you can clearly analyze your options and be more prepared to evaluate a lenders offer. Example Lets take a homebuyer who makes $40,000 a year. The maximum amount of money available for a monthly mortgage payment at 28 percent of gross income would be $933. However, the lender says the total debt payments each month should not exceed 36 percent, which comes to $1,200. 3. Use special programs. There are many programs for home buyers in down-payment distress. Borrowers in a wide range of incomes, locales and professional groups may have access to aid from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored offices that buy mortgages and package them as investments. Various nonprofit and community groups also lend a hand to buyers struggling to put money down on a home. And dont forget about assistance from state agencies. |