Florida FHA Loan, Florida FHA home loan, 97% Financing
March 12, 2010
Whether you are purchasing a new Florida home, renovating a house, or simply making your current home more energy efficient, the FHA home loan can be the solution to monetary concerns or problems. Since being established in the early 1930s during the great depression, the Federal Housing Administration has aimed to assist all people to live in their dream homes, be it in Florida or any other Florida county we serve including Broward and Palm Beach Florida. Time tested and government backed, there are few excuses to pass up a FHA loan.
The largest percentage of a person’s life is spent in their Florida house. An FHA loan provides comfort and makes sure that time is well spent. FHA does not lend money to Florida mortgage applicants, however serves as insurance to lenders so you can obtain a mortgage or loan to renovate or purchase a Florida house. With a down payment equipment untouchable by any other mortgage program of 3.5% of the purchase price of the home, and some programs that require no money down, the benefits of an FHA loan outweigh its costs.
Florida is a beautiful state full of beautiful homes. The dream of owning a Florida home may seem difficult at first, but with thanks to the Federal Housing Administration, that dream is not an impossible. FHA mortgage programs can help you become a homeowner with the help of an easy, hassle-free FHA mortgage loan.
Like many home buyers and homeowners looking for a Florida mortgage, 1st Continental Mortgage has weathered the storm and come out stronger and wiser. With a keen focus on core principles and products like the FHA home loan, we’re ready and able to make a broad range of real estate loans throughout Florida. Other advantages to the FHA Home loan include:
Mortgage Programs With Minimal Down payment and Closing Cost
- Down payment less than 3.5% of Sales Price
- 100% Financing options available
- Seller can credit up to 6% of sales price towards buyers costs.
- No cash or bank reserves are required.
- FHA regulated closing costs.
Easier Credit Qualifying Guidelines
- No minimum Credit Score or credit score requirements.
- FHA will allow a home purchase 2 year after a Bankruptcy.
- FHA will allow a home purchase 3 year after a Foreclosure
Mortgage Leads, Tips for Closing More Loans
March 12, 2010
If you are a mortgage broker or loan officer considering purchasing mortgage leads or you are already buying them, here are a few tips to help you close more deals.
For starters, look for quality not quantity. By quality I mean, seek out the mortgage lead companies that sell their leads fresh or in real time.
The best way to determine wether or not the lead company you are considering has fresh real time leads is to give them a call and find out exactly how they obtain their leads.
Consider the mortgage lead companies that obtain their leads through web sites that they own and operate on their own. This is always a good indication that the quality of the lead is good.
Steer clear of the lead companies that obtain their leads through third party vendors and resell them at a profit.
This is what is known in the industry as recycling and you will never know how many loan officers desks the lead landed on before it landed on yours.
We all know the pain of having a customer tell us they submitted their on line application months ago, or that they have already closed their loan.
You work hard for your money so look for the lead companies that sell fresh quality leads that they obtain on their own.
Also, if you are not having any luck contacting your customer, and you only have the ability to speak to an answering machine, be sure to leave a short detailed message that will invoke the customer to call you back.
If you get an answering machine and leave only your name and the company that you work for, your message will have a good chance of being deleted.
If you leave a message including your name, company, and the products you have to offer letting them know the importance and urgency of calling you back, than chances are they will call you back.
This is equally important because most if not all mortgage lead companies sell their non exclusive leads up to five times.
If you are buying your lead’s non exclusively, chances are you will experience some kind of competition, so the message you leave is very important.
Top Mortgagge Tips You Need to Know About
March 12, 2010
Buying a home is one of the biggest things that you do in life. You may not have the cash in hand for a one off purchase and for this reason a mortgage will come in handy. It is through this method of purchase that people are able to acquire their dream homes. However, there are so many aspects that you need to consider before you employ this method. You need top tips so that you can stay ahead and make decisions that are informed. First, you need to understand what it is and how it operates. Therefore, the first top tip is to get informed and learn the basics. The following are basics that will empower you as you look forward to making a decision that you will not regret.
• You have to know the term. Term is the period in which you have to repay the mortgage loan. There are those people who prefer a longer term of 30 years while others will go for a shorter term of 10 years. A top tip with this regard is as follows. You need to know that the longer the term, the more interest you will have to pay; go for a shorter term for a low interest rate.
• The other basic to know about is the rate. This refers to interest rate. When you borrow money from a bank, you will have to pay them a certain percentage. This is called the interest rate and it is dependent on different factors. It depends on the loan program, the value of the home, your credit rating and so on. You should settle for a rate that is workable and suitable for you.
• The other mortgage basic is the closing cost. In some cases there will be no closing cost. Costs will include a host of costs and the following is an example. It will include recording fees on different documents, attorney fees and others. However, the vital tip that you must take is that there are lots of closing costs that will arise and you must determine which ones are legitimate and which ones are junk.
• Mortgage brokers are people who have the full experience in the industry and are able to guide a newbie into success with this regard. There are many people who will have reservations when it comes to using brokers. However, it is important for you to recognize their role. For you to make the best decision, you need advice from somebody who has seen it all. In this case brokers will come in handy. This is the main advantage of using them. Brokers can also be your local bank.
There are so many dynamics when it comes to mortgages but knowing a few basics can make all the difference. There are numerous online resources that are able to break down some aspects to give you a clear picture of what they entail. In hard economic times, you need to look at all mistakes that have been made and take home lessons even as you look for a home. This industry continues to help make dreams of owning a home come true; it is not going anywhere.
Mortgages, Tips to Getting the Best Deal
March 12, 2010
The credit crunch has bought good and bad news for home buyers. The good news is that house prices are sliding, bringing homes within the reach of first-time buyers. The bad news is that mortgage loan conditions have tightened up so much that only those with the largest deposits and the cleanest of credit records stand a good chance of getting exactly the loan they need.
In fact despite no change in base rate since the 0.25% cut in April, fixed-rate, tracker and discounted rate mortgage costs have been rising – not for existing customers but for those looking to arrange a new mortgage or a remortgage. Inflation fears, thanks in large part to the soaring oil price, have sent money market interest rates, on which many of these mortgage deals are based, sharply higher.
Getting the best mortgage deal
If you are not a first-time buyer and are thinking of moving, you probably have some equity in your property from past years’ rise in prices. So, unless you bought your current home very recently, you should still be able to move your mortgage without difficulty. While you may get less for the sale of your present home than you might have done last year, you will also be paying less for your new house.
Unless you are trading down a long way to release equity, the general fall in prices should mean that things will even out in the end. You might even find yourself paying less stamp duty if the fall in prices brings the cost of your new home below one of the tax thresholds.
Hard times for new borrowers
The prospects for new borrowers are not so rosy – and this applies to first-time buyers, existing borrowers whose current deals are coming to an end and anyone needing to move house whose current deal is not “portable”, so they will need to take out a new loan.
Over the past few years, fixed-rate mortgages have been all the rage, because even with the arrangement fees that they attract they have worked out cheaper for borrowers. People who opted for short-term fixed rate deals felt they could easily find a new, and maybe even cheaper, rate when their first deal came to an end. Indeed, some people found it tempting to cash in existing mortgage deals and suffer an early repayment penalty because it could be cheaper to remortgage at a lower rate.
Mortgage arrangement fees are higher
To make matters worse, fees are also jumping. According to recent research, the number of fixed mortgages with high fees has rocketed by as much as 1,368% in the past 18 months, as lenders get tough on customers looking for the best deals.
Some 323 fixed mortgages – 34% of the total fixed rate mortgage market – charged application fees of £750 or more. This compares with September 2006 – before the credit crunch hit the UK – when only 22 fixed mortgage deals charged that much.
Average application fees on fixed mortgages have risen by 66% over the same period, from £517.19 in September 2006 to £860.25 now. The highest fee on record 18 months ago was £1,499 on Halifax’s two-year fixed mortgage for homeowners with a 25% deposit or more.
But now the Halifax charges a fee of £3,999 on a three-year fixed deal for its existing customers who have homes worth between £500,000 and £2 million.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have shown that, ironically, fixed-rate mortgage deals grew in popularity in April, with the proportion of borrowers taking out a fixed-rate mortgage up 5% to 59%, compared with 54% in March, the largest proportion since last December.
Go for a longer fix
However, anyone taking out a two-year fixed rate mortgage could be tying themselves in, not just to a deal with high fees, but to the prospect of paying out all over again in just two years’ time. Darren Cook of analysts Moneyfacts, said: “With fears of base rate increases, swap at over 6.3% and rising, and lenders continuing to price more for risk, it is likely that mortgage rates will continue to follow suit. Under these uncertain times, many borrowers are looking to fix their mortgage payments and a five-year deal could become a preferred option rather than the popular two years.
“The current average rates for a two-year fixed deal stands at 6.68%, which equates to a monthly repayment of £1,029.75 on a £150k repayment mortgage. In comparison, the average five-year fixed stands at 6.66%, with a monthly repayment of £1,027.86.
“There is little difference between the initial monthly repayments of these two deals and, in my view, we have now seen the end of loss leading product pricing within the two-year market.
“With the short and medium term economic outlook not looking too promising, homeowners are less likely to move home due to falling property values and banks lowering the maximum loan to values available. There is now new scope for a borrower to possibly take a more prudent approach, to look past previously popular two-year deals and look for longer term stability.”
Beware of tracker mortgages?
It seems like only yesterday that mortgage experts were telling everyone to go for tracker loans. Fixed rates were going up, but the Bank of England base rate – to which most trackers are linked – seemed likely to fall.
The experts are changing their minds, or maybe the pessimists have louder voices, as economists are now warning that the Bank of England base rate may need to increase to keep inflation under control. Opting for a tracker loan could be a bit of a gamble until the outlook for base rates seems more certain.
Bigger deposits attract the best mortgage deals
In its report the CML warned that lenders need not only to pass their own higher borrowing costs on to borrowers, but they also need to protect themselves in case house prices fall further. Therefore some lenders have been putting up the cost of mortgages for borrowers who can put down only a small deposit.
According to Moneyextra.com’s most recent monthly review of the mortgage market, the average loan-to-value (LTV) being considered by first-time buyers in May was just under 82%. However, many lenders are routinely restricting borrowers to loans of no more than 75% of the value of the property they want to purchase, while some will only offer their “best” rates on 60% LTVs. There are now none of the plentiful 100% loan deals that were on offer at the start of the year.
Robin Amlôt, senior editor of Moneyextra.com, said: “First-time buyers are being pushed out of what’s left of the housing market – being asked for deposits that could run to several tens of thousands of pounds.”
The CML said that new buyers put down an average of 13% during the month, the highest figure since November 2004 and up from 11% in March.
Getting A Credit Card If You Have Bad Credit
March 12, 2010
If you have a bad credit score because you have defaulted on your mortgage or other loans too many times, you may despair of ever getting the credit you need again. However, there is hope. You need a bad credit credit card and indeed you can most likely get one, even if you have no credit history at all. Most adults with regular lives find that they need a credit card to make major purchases at least, so you need to make sure you can obtain a credit card. If your credit is bad, you will still benefit from getting a credit card for those with bad credit.
There is nothing to worry about if you have to apply for a bad credit credit card. It is easy. These applications work pretty much the same way as any regular credit card. Even with bad credit you should be able to get your hands on a secured credit card. With these, all you do is deposit some money in the credit card account and you are ready to use it. No-one will know that you are buying things on this type of card because they look exactly like the regular ones do. No-one but you – and anyone you may tell, of course – will be aware of the restrictions placed upon your bad card. It’s important that you familiarize yourself with the fine print on the credit card agreement for which you want to apply to make sure it suits your needs. Look out for the fees which are charged – some of them are astronomical!
Bad credit credit cards have a lot of the same pluses that any credit card does. You can still pay your bills online with these types of credit cards, get online statements on your account and have very good support from customer services. None of these things are affected just because it is not a prime credit card that you use.
These days, a lot of people enjoy the benefits of online shopping. You will need a credit card to enable you to take advantage of these convenient services. Even if you have bad credit, this perk of shopping online is available to you, with a credit card designed for those with a poor credit history.
Perhaps the best long-term advantage of getting a bad credit credit card is that it allows you to build up your credit score again so you will find it easier to borrow money and get credit in the future. This works because the credit card company will usually report to the credit bureaus on what you used your card for and how well you kept up with your repayments. If you are careful about your spending and repayments you won’t have any trouble at all building your credit score back up.
Therefore, you don’t need to worry that having a bad credit score now – or no credit score at all – will blight your chances of getting credit. A bad credit credit card makes this easy and can be a great way to build your future financial stability with a better credit score.