first time home buyers, NH New Hampshirefirst time home buyers - NH New Hampshire: mortgages, loans of any type, refinancing, quick easy online quotes, home equity loans, See if you could save on your mortgage today. Your credit history Your monthly gross income How much cash you can accumulate for a down payment, which is usually 10 percent to 20 percent of the sale price. For details on checking your credit history, see the bankrate.com report Credit: The Basics. Calculate how much you can borrow. Borrowing the maximum you can afford means you can buy a more expensive house but your repayments will be higher. This may create problems for you if interest rates rise (as your repayment amount will rise) or if you were to lose your job as the repayments still have to be made. You must always have a back-up plan to cover such scenarios. The good news is that lenders over the last couple of years have become increasingly willing to finance as much as 95% or even 97% of a home. The reason: They can now unload the risk of such loans onto somebody else. To limit their exposure, many lenders regularly sell their loans to the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), which then bundles them into securities which are eventually sold to investors. It used to be that Fannie Mae only would buy loans for 80% financing. But it recently standardized the lending criteria for 97% financing and will now buy these loans, making lenders much more willing to provide them to you. Its now common for first-time buyers to put down only 5%, or $7,500 on a $150,000 loan. Using an 80-10-10 loan:This program involves two loans and a 10 percent down payment. The 90 percent loan is financed with a first mortgage equal to 80 percent of the sale price, and a second mortgage for the remaining 10 percent of the sale price. The second mortgage has a higher interest rate but since it applies to only 10 percent of the total loan, the monthly payments on the two mortgages are still lower than paying one mortgage with mortgage insurance. Plus, again, there is the advantage of mortgage interest being tax deductible. There are a whole series of other fees that some lenders apply in certain circumstances e.g. arrears, late payment, removing the lenders name from the Title Deeds at the end of the mortgage. Under the terms of The Mortgage Code of Practice the lender will, before a mortgage applicant takes a mortgage, provide a tariff covering the repayment of the mortgage, including charges and additional interest costs payable in the vent of arrears and will advise of any other charges for services before or when the service is provided. 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. With No Redemption mortgages you will not have to pay this redemption fee (although there may still be other costs such as sealing fees and legal fees.) As a consequence of not being ‘locked-in’, the rate offered on these schemes will usually not be as competitive as for mortgages with redemption penalties, making them most suitable for those who are likely to keep track of current rates and wish to remortgage quickly if they find a better rate, or those who may have to repay their loan in the first few years. Adjustable Rate Mortgage CalculatorFinding a new home can be an exciting process. If this is your first home then you not only have to find the right home, but you also have to understand the kinds of mortgages that are available. Searching for online mortgages makes this easier. At least you can do it from the comfort of your own home. There are mortgages to suit every lifestyle and budget. |