Posts Tagged ‘Mortage Basics’

Mortgage Basics

Saturday, December 8th, 2007

Not everyone has enough money in his bank account to buy a house. If you’re an average American, chances are you need a mortgage.Many types of mortgages are available and these can be classified into 2 categories, the conventional and the government loans. These two categories can be further classified as fixed-rate loans, adjustable rate loans and different hybrids or combinations of these mortgages.

The U.S. government provides mortgages which can be found from three government departments. These are the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Rural Housing Service (ERS) U.S. Department of Agriculture. Low-cost mortgage moderate housing plans are also available in different cities, states and counties. Most of these provide loans to fixed rate mortgages and interest rates low.

The conventional mortgages are also classified into 2 kinds. They are conforming mortgages and non-conforming mortgages. Conforming mortgages follow the guidelines and conditions that were set up by 2 stock-holder of the Company: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both companies purchase mortgage lending institutions and packages in these securities that are then sold to investors.

The two organizations set guidelines on initial payments, the properties appropriate amounts of loan, the borrower credit and income in terms of mortgages. Every year, loan limits for those applying for their first mortgage are known. To view tables for loan limits, interest rates and other information, visit Fannie Mae (www.fanniemae.com) and Freddie Mac (www.freddiemac.com) websites.

There are also other mortgages available on the market. These non-conforming loans are Jumbo loans and B / C loans. Jumbo mortgages are those above the maximum loan established by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It is a kind of mortgage that is higher than conforming loans because the loans are acquired and purchased less. B / C mortgages, on the other hand, refer to plans that are offered to people who borrowed mortgages, but earlier applied for bankruptcy and foreclosure. It is also for borrowers who had records of late payments.

As mentioned earlier, conventional and government mortgages can be classified into fixed-rate mortgage and adjustable mortgage. Fixed rate mortgages are those whose monthly payments remain fixed during the period of the loan. There are many forms of these ranging from 10 – 30 years, but the most popular mortgage terms are 15 and 30. It should be noted that short period of mortgage guarantees a smaller interest to pay.

If you want to benefit from mortgages where monthly payments can change periodically, you can choose a plan under mortgages to adjustable rates. The value of this type of mortgage changes depending on the type of index applied on the interest rate. Some of these indexes include Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT), the prime rate, certificate of deposit Index (CODI), 12 months Treasury Average (MTA), the cost of saving Index (COSI), certificates of deposit (CD ) Indices, treasury bills (T-bill), 11th District Cost of Funds Index (COFI), the London Inter-Bank Offer Rates (LIBOR) and Fannie Mae’s required net yield (rny).

Information on mortgages can be found on the Internet and many companies offer online resources and services for those who want to avail of these loans. But before choosing the right type of mortgage there are a few things to consider about what your mortgage work plans with your financial goals. They are:

-The amount you can pay per month for the mortgage
-How much can you pay the deposit
-How long you plan to stay home
-Consider whether you intend to make additional principal payments

More importantly, because most mortgages to take long periods to cover, we must consider the stability of your income.