Take Advantage of Low FHA Mortgage Rates

In the past week, mortgage rates reached another low record. This is one of the news regarding the terrible economic condition. The current rate on FHA mortgage declined to 3.990% with an annual percentage rate of 5.318%. This is once again another big chance for individuals and families who have existing FHA mortgages and for those who are thinking of getting an FHA mortgage.

If you are one of those with an FHA mortgage in your house, you can take full advantage of the streamline refinance program for your mortgage. This program will help you save extra money from your mortgage payments. Oftentimes, FHA streamline refinances do not ask for a new appraisal that is why the process takes faster than a usual refinance program. If you are paying your mortgage at a rate of at least 4.5%, you can inquire from different mortgage servicers to know the amount of savings you can have when you decide to refinance.

On the other hand, if you do not yet own a home as of this time but are thinking of purchasing one, now may be the best time to go for it. Even without enough funds to put in a down payment, you might be able to obtain a mortgage via the FHA. This type of mortgage may only ask you to pay at least 3.5% of your dream home’s purchase price as your minimum down payment. Because of this, FHA mortgage is popular to many homebuyers. There are also many mortgage servicers these days that are willing to assist you in getting an FHA mortgage especially if you have a good credit standing.

The housing market is offering the best mortgage rates so far. Although this may not be a good sign for the economy, it can benefit existing homeowners and those who have been planning to purchase their own homes but are waiting for the most affordable rates.

Related articles

• 10 Facts to Know About FHA Loans (doorfly.com)

How to fix a credit score or even how to improve a credit score is a hotly debated concept these days. Especially wit

h the current state of the economy, many people are plagued with bad credit and are looking for ways to get a higher credit score to get better interest rates or even to buy a house.

The thing is, who do you follow or who do you even trust? Afterall, it’s hard to even listen to governments. With some of them looking at going into default, even they seem to have credit issues.

That being said, here are a few notes on common misbeliefs regarding credit and how to improve your credit.

You may have heard some of these things in your time. I bet you may be surprised to see that some of them are just plain bad advice.

Three Myths in Boosting a Credit Score

Credit building is one of the many things in life that can sometimes revolve around myths. People think that there are certain things they do that increases their score even if these things really do not impact their scores in any way. The truth is there are really no easy credit score fixes just like what commercials claim. The simple formula to credit score improvement is having good payment behavior and possessing a healthy mix of credit. Here are some of the wrong beliefs that are not helpful in boosting your credit score.

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Credit Improvement Myth # 1: Choosing to get rid of credit card offers will help

John Ulzeimer, SmartCredit.com’s consumer education president, said that it is a common belief among people that if they choose to get out of credit card offers, the credit inquiries in their reports will be lesser. But, the truth is, these inquiries are “soft” and do not really affect the score. He further adds that people can still welcome the offers but it will not strengthen their credit scores.

Credit Fix Myth # 2: Closing old accounts improves score

Trey Loughran, Equifax’ personal information solutions’ President, says that closing your accounts are not really helpful to a credit score. It can even cause a slight damage by shortening your credit history and leaving you with a minimal amount of remaining credit.

Credit Repair Myth # 3: Opening more accounts helps boost credit score.

Several consumers experiencing problems in their credit think that having many accounts will show that they can manage credit. Actually, this has a reverse effect. According to Experian’s public education director, Rod Griffin, more accounts will make lenders wonder why all those credit are needed. He added that it is even a sign of risk that can make your credit score suffer. What lenders will actually see if you have several accounts is the number of hard inquiries in your report. Those inquiries will decrease your score and lenders will worry that you might be in dire need of financial help because you are gaining access to too much credit.

So, while you are working to get that perfect 800 credit score, just know that there are some things that will help you and some things that are just plain malarky.

Here’s to your credit and financial freedom!

Related articles

• 8 Credit Score Myths Debunked (abcnews.go.com)
• Four Horribly False Credit Score Myths (mint.com)

Bank of America’s Inaccurate Reporting of its Residential Mortgage Loan

Henry Blodget’s worries regarding the quality of Bank of America’s mortgage loans show several interesting details. However, he seems to be looking in an incorrect place.

According to a Blodget’s statement in “The Bomb That Might Blow A Hole In Bank Of America,” a Business Insider piece, the biggest bank of the country only accounted $19 billion worth of residential mortgage loans that are deemed to be nonperforming. This totals to only 5% of the entire residential mortgages on its balance sheet and a $21 billion worth of loss reserves in loans.

To begin with, the detail in the story of the $21 billion used to pay for expected losses from potentially bad loans is inaccurate. As of June 30, the bank reported a total of $37.3 billion for loan allowances and rent losses. This can be seen on page 129 of Bank of America’s 10-Q reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In terms of the chances that there was under-reporting of problem mortgages, the story given was a real mistake because the reported 5% also accounted for Bank of America’s mortgage loans that were obtained from Countrywide. Jerry Dubrowski, spokesman of Bank of America, established that they previously lowered the loans of Countrywide to an acceptable value.

Excluding the loans of Countrywide, residential mortgages that are fully-insured and loans that have already been lowered to a fair value, the Banks total mortgage loan amounts to $169.869 billion. This accounts to one out of four of the mortgage loans included in its main portfolio as of the 30th of June. $16.726 billion of this amount or 9.84% are categorized as nonperforming loans.

Bank of America divides the Countywide loans to show the past write-downs on loans considered as “purchased credit impaired.” This was also done in order to better represent the credit risk in the loan portfolio of the residential mortgage.

Blodget also says that about 35% of the bank’s residential real-estate loans amounting to $413 billion might be in trouble in the future. This is according to an unnamed analyst’s scrutiny of the securitized mortgage delinquencies in the entire industry.

However, according to Rochdale Securities’ Richard Bove, the idea that the bank’s credit quality in its self-originated core portfolio is weak as the loan portfolio from the wholesale lending operations of Countrywide is already beyond the imagination.

Related articles

• US Bank Sues Bank of America for $1.75 Billion Over Countrywide Loans (johnmurphyreports.com)
• Barclays, Bank of America Are Sued by FHFA Over Mortgage-Backed Securities – Bloomberg (news.google.com)

It’s great that you are looking for the best way to repay a student loan. That means that you are a responsible person and want to do the right thing! Let’s take a look at loan repayments when it comes to student loans.

Two Ways to Repay a Student Loan
Majority of Americans have been struggling to settle different types of loans and debts such as mortgage, home-equity, credit card and vehicle in the last few years. But, these are not the only loans that Americans are having problems with. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loans are also significantly increasing. Moody’s Analytics support this information by saying that there is no improvement in the rates of delinquency of student loans and the future outlook for borrowers are troublesome. If you are one of the many individuals who are experiencing challenges in settling your student loan, do not be tempted to ignore them. Take note that not paying your loan will have a huge negative impact on your future paycheck, tax refund and credit rating. Here are two ways to repay your student loan.

Serve an organization that can help you settle your debt.
There are many organizations that you can work for to obtain loan forgiveness. These include the United States Military, AmeriCorps and Teach America. Also, full-time public sector workers such as police officers, public school teachers and public defenders are qualified to have their debt balances cancelled after making 120 payments on or beyond October 1, 2007.

Seek a leniency application
If you took a Federal Stafford loan, you are allowed to defer your repayment up to a maximum of three years under the condition that you are unemployed, you are going through difficult economic challenges or you pursued grad school. You can also request forbearance from your lender.
Aside from suspending your payment up to three years, you can also make small payments for your federal loans in the first couple of years of your payment period. Moreover, you can also ask for an extension of your repayment term. Another option is to qualify for a repayment plan that is based on your income. This plan lets you link your income and your payment.

Related articles

• Student Loan Options in a Tight Credit Market (education.com)
• A Quick Guide to Student Loans (askthemoneycoach.com)
• 7 surprising ways to minimize student debt (msnbc.msn.com)

One of the things that is continually asked these days is “Should I refinance my home mortgage?”

Things are moving so quickly with the economy, that it is no wonder that you may be confused and not sure whether or not to get a mortgage refinance.

The recent downgrading of the US credit from AAA to AA+ was a big hit to the nation and many people are trying to work out whether or not that is going to have an effect on home mortgage interest rates.

Keep in mind, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are part of the Government so the downgrade affects the two largest mortgage holders in the nation.

Additionally, the FED has announced that rates are going to stay low for the next 2 years. When the FED says low, that means close to zero.

I’m going to talk about things to think about before refinancing, but before I do, I want to say that it may be a good idea to refinance if you have great credit, and the interest rate you lock in can drop your monthly payments by hundreds of dollars.

Three Factors to Consider Before Refinancing

Recently, the Fed announced that they are maintaining the low interest rates until the year 2013. This is good news for those with good credit standing and for those with some home equity left because these individuals and families still have a chance to refinance their mortgage with the lowest rates. However, even if low rates are available at the moment, this does not mean that it is always a good idea to refinance. Here are the reasons why:

First, since low rates will continue for a little while, refinancing should not be rushed. Individuals and families can still make use of the time to build a strong credit so that when the decision is made to finally refinance, the lowest rates are obtained.

Second, it is best to consider the fees that come with refinancing. With this, it is best to keep the loan long enough to be able to justify the charges. Find out about the fees that you might potentially pay; those that you will surely pay; and those that you may or may not pay. Familiarity with these charges is important before refinancing in order to generate extra savings.

Third, note that points gathered from payments can be deducted in one’s taxes for the entire duration of the loan. With this, the cost of the loan will greatly decrease because of tax savings. For example, if an individual obtains a mortgage of $300,000 and pays 2 point or 2%, he or she has to make an upfront payment of about $6,000. If the person belongs to the 25% tax bracket, the savings will be 25% of $6,000 or $1,500 for the entire duration of the loan. When computing for the real after tax cost, the 2 points will generate a tax savings of $4,500. This is obtained from deducting $1,500 to $6,000.

Despite the low rates these days, it is best to think things through before refinancing. Consider and compute the costs and check if there are savings that can be obtained from it. Otherwise, postpone refinancing if after a thorough computation, it ends up as a bad deal even when the rates obtained are lower.

Whether or not to refinance is really a personal choice. I have friends that have refinanced 5 times in the last year. And, everytime they have refinanced, they have saved hundreds of dollars. Their current interest rate will be 4%. Now, their mortgage is close to 1 million. They live in a home in Hawaii.

The point is, you need to make sure that you do the numbers, do the research and make sure that you are comfortable with the numbers.