Tag Archives: payments
What is Federal Modification Loan
I have been asked so many questions regarding federal modification loan. So, here again is a primer for those who are interested in this.
Federal modification loan for homes are made to help those whose houses are in threat of immediate or gradual foreclosure. These are the people whose mortgage is too big that they are definitely having trouble with the payments if they choose to try to stop foreclosure. In short, these are people who will have to give up an arm and a leg to complete the payment. The emphasis on their financial struggle is an important prerequisite to be eligible for federal modification loan.
The program is called “Making Home Affordable” and it was put into place by President Obama. This is expected to give much neede4d aid to the millions of Americans who need to have their monthly mortgage payments rates to be lowered. The questions that most people ask is: does the program have any catch? Most people also want to know what this program does to your taxes and how exactly does it change the monthly payments.
Generally speaking, refinancing plans will leave your credit score unscathed because it will just revise some of the terms in your mortgage loan. The thing that does scathe your credit score is missed payments. If you missed a payment during the year before, then you will not be eligible for federal modification loan.
I had a friend once who was having some problems regarding this matter. He was a very good friend. He had a great wife. She was still young, just around her late twenties. They had a cute 5 year old girl. The guy had it all until he suddenly lost his job because of the recession. The economic downward spiral hit them hard and it hit them without any warning. They were totally unprepared. This was just a new family so they obviously was far from paying their loans. They bought a really nice home near Henderson Nevada, the spot where the big real estate problem first went bonkers. If not for this federal plan, they would have lost so much. The marriage would in all likelihood not have survived at all. Good thing they were able to take advantage of the government plan. You can too if you are smart enough. You just need to make sure that all the necessary requirements are met.
These things happen. It can happen to just about anybody. Do not give in to despair. Rise up, the government can help you but you need to help yourself first and foremost.
Advice for First Time Home Buyers Seeking Loans
First time home buyers are faced with a lot of confusion when seeking loans. Their inexperience could lead to them taking several wrong decisions which could become disastrous in the long run. Thus it is necessary to be well-informed on how the home mortgage market operates before entering into it.
Things to consider at the onset are the interest rates. That must be one of the prime deciding factors of the person seeking a home mortgage loan for the first time. After all, it is the rate of interest that will decide the amount of payment to make every month for a long period of time. The homebuyer must take time out and compare the rates of interest of different lenders.
However a low rate of interest is not just the only thing to be considered. Every mortgage has several other fees to be paid, such as appraisal costs, application fees, lawyers fees, closing costs, etc. All these must be found out in advance so that they do not hit hard later.
One more thing to consider is how much mortgage can really be afforded. This would determine how much payment the homebuyer would be making per month. The payments should not go beyond the budget of the borrower. When all these decisions are made, only then should a meeting be scheduled with the lender. The lender would make a careful study of the borrowers credit history and then only decide how much mortgage they would give, and at what terms. This is where the borrower must decide whether the payments could be afforded or not.
Rents must not be taken as a parameter to decide how much loan payments can be afforded per month. Rents are for a short term, while mortgages tend to go on for as much as thirty years. Hence, the borrower must think on a broader perspective. Also, the person will have to pay taxes such as property taxes, which were not involved when living as a renter. Renters get several utilities for free, but the homebuyer would need to pay for them. Examples could be water, gas and electricity bills. With homes bought on mortgages, the resident would also need to conduct repairs and maintenance, which were not the responsibility while renting out a house.
An often neglected part of the mortgage is mortgage insurance. All lenders make it mandatory for borrowers to purchase mortgage insurance in case of any eventuality. If the mortgage is a high-ratio mortgage, then this amount could be very high.
So, the first time homebuyer should not just take the rent to compare with how much payments he/she could afford, but consider all other expenses as well. Only then would he/she not feel the pinch of the mortgage payments month after month.
The lender should also be sympathetic with first time homebuyers. You could find this out in the way they carry the preliminary discussions itself. If they are too highbrow to condescend to first-timers, then you are well off with another lender. Talk to them in detail about the packages they offer, and the features of the loan, so that there are no misunderstandings later. It is wisest to take copies of everything that is related to the loan.