residential loans, MD Maryland

residential loans - MD Maryland: mortgages, loans of any type, refinancing, quick easy online quotes, home equity loans, See if you could save on your mortgage today.

The APR for a traditional mortgage takes into account the interest rate charged plus points and other finance charges. The APR for a home equity line is based on the periodic interest rate alone. It does not include points or other charges.

Where to Shop: Your first stop should definitely be a mortgage banker such as Countrywide Funding. Unlike mortgage brokers, with which these outfits are sometimes confused, mortgage bankers are not intermediaries between you and a lender; they are lenders. Mortgage bankers dont write a lot of adjustable-rate loans, because its harder to package those for sale to organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Thus, because mortgage bankers make their money on fixed rates, their prices tend to be the most aggressive around.

Adjustable-rate mortgages, known as ARMs, differ from fixed-rate mortgages in that the interest rate moves up or down. ARMs are tied to a number of indexes, which usually are published interest rates. The margin is the amount a lender adds to the index, usually two percentage points or four percentage points, to set the actual interest rate of the ARM. The most common index for ARM adjustments is the one-year U.S. Treasury bill. The one-year bill has a yield very near that offered by the 30-year Treasury bond, which is used to set rates on 30-year fixed mortgages.

Paying off high-interest credit card debt. Paying a lower interest rate and taking a tax deduction is smart but lengthening the time it would take to pay off the credit card debt may not be. Why take 30 years to pay off credit card debt that could be wiped out in five or 10 years using a shorter-term home equity loan.

Also, it depends on how long you plan to own the home you are purchasing. If its less than five years, you may be better off with an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM.

There are many factors that go into the banks decision, from how long youve been at your job to how many credit cards you carry. The most important thing lenders look at, however, is your ability to meet your obligation to them, which is a function of your income and debt levels. To gauge your ability to pay, lenders look at a pair of numbers called the housing ratio and the total-obligation ratio.

The initial ARM rate is generally lower than the fixed mortgage rate, though in the current economy the one-year ARM rate has been only slightly lower, about one-quarter to one-third of a percentage point. Check out the latest bankrate.com survey of ARM interest rates.

Here are three important questions to answer when deciding whether to choose an ARM or fixed-rate mortgage: How long do you plan on staying in the home?

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.

One Time Close Loans Youre looking to build a home and do not want the extra cost of two closings (construction loan and permanent loan). One application, one closing and one set of closing costs. Interest rate is protected up to 12 months with a built-in Roll Down Option.

These days, not much. Ideally, you would have enough cash for a 20% down payment, closing costs equal to about 3% to 5% of the purchase price, and enough left over to cover two or three months of monthly housing expenses. That gives you a big chunk of equity in your house upfront and makes the lender happy -- something that usually translates into a better deal. The trouble is, coming up with that much cash can be all but impossible for many first-time buyers. After all, were talking $40,000 on a $150,000 loan or $70,000 on a $250,000 mortgage.

Now lets look at the counter-argument: Supposing there were no agent in the picture, would the price be $15,000 less for the house? You and the seller could save that money and split it.

Lease-purchase gives a buyer time to save for a down payment or to clean up a credit history.

Are there children playing outside unattended? (Children playing is often an indication of how safe their parents feel.)

If the survey suggests big problems, you could ask for the house price to be cut. But if it is OK, your lender should then be prepared to give a formal mortgage offer.