Home Loan Refinancing Options for Individuals with Bad Credit

Over the past few years, many Americans have refinanced their home loans to take advantage of the low interest rates. But, the low rates are not offered to all homeowners. Currently, the 30 year fixed interest rate is around 4.35%. This is only available to borrowers with good credit. Those with poor credit standing are usually given higher rates than the average.

People with bad credit who are seeking a refinance loan from Bank of America or Countywide must know that they need a credit score of at least 740 to qualify for the 30 year fixed interest rate of 4.5% or below. Moreover, their debt to income ratio must fall below 40% in order to be qualified for this refinance rate.

Sadly, the reality is, these are very difficult requirements to meet for people with poor credit. However, if they are determined to take advantage of good rates, they must try to boost their score by paying down their debts especially the ones incurring high interests. These include credit cards, payday loans and personal loans.

Moreover, even if Bank of America is considered as one of the country’s major financial institution, the low rates are not only exclusive to them. It is a common misconception of Americans with bad credit that not many lenders would want to work with them. In fact, there are plenty of institutions that are looking for customers and would welcome anyone regardless of his or her credit standing.

The website of FDIC provides a list of the mortgage lenders who can help in refinancing a home loan no matter what the status of the borrower’s credit is. There are about 7000 financial institutions all over the country with FDIC insurance that can provide assistance in home loan refinancing with the lowest mortgage rates of interest.

Related articles

• Homeowners Shortening Mortgage Terms At Record Rates (inquisitr.com)
• Mortgage Refinancing Activity Continues to Rise (johnmurphyreports.com)

Positive Economic News Despite Wall Street Challenges

Although it may seem unbelievable, economists have some positive news despite the challenging week in Wall Street.

One of this is the chance of Americans with good credit ratings to obtain the best bargains in housing prices. In the latest survey of Freddie Mac, it showed that there has been a reduction in the average rate of 30-year fixed rate mortgages. Currently, it is only at 4.32%. Aside from this, home prices are even lower compared to the previous year. According to the S&P/Case Shriller 20-city composite, prices all over the country have become lower by 46.5%. Low mortgage rates and home prices will help more individuals and families afford their first home purchase. For those that already own a home, they can also benefit from low rates by refinancing their mortgages so that their monthly payments will become lower.

The impact of lower rates also extends to the retail industry. The data of the Commerce Department from the previous week shows that there is an increase of 0.5% in their July sales. This is one of their strongest numbers since March this year.

Moreover, another report from last week showed that state unemployment benefit claims declined by 7,000 resulting to only a total of 395,000. Although it seems high, this is still a better number than what most economists are expecting.

Also, a weaker dollar is a silver lining at this time. This means that U.S manufacturers can effectively and better challenge their competitors in countries with strong currencies.

Finally, there is no better news than oil price reduction. During the spring time, prices of oil and gasoline increased. Currently, the prices are more reasonable at around $85 per barrel. Compare this with the $114 high price that it reached several months ago. The lowering oil price is evidence that there is re-balancing in the economy. When oil is cheaper, gasoline is more affordable. This will help consumers save more money.

Related articles

• Freddie Mac’s Housing Outlook August 2011 (johnmurphyreports.com)
• Top Tips on getting a mortgage! (moneyexpert.com)

Why is it Time to Refinance? Is it the best time to get a Mortgage Refinance?

Interest rates on mortgages have continuously declined to reach its lowest level in recorded history. This is a strong proof that it is already the best time for homeowners to consider refinancing in order to generate some savings.

The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was at an average of 4.39% during the end of the Aug 4 week. Similarly, the rate for a 15 year fixed mortgage decreased to 3.54% despite the reduction in bond yields and signs that show a weaker economic standing than what is expected said the Primary Mortgage Market Survey of Freddie Mac.

The president of Metropolitan Boston Real Estate, Nebury Street brokerage, said that this is good news because this will serve as a motivation for anyone who is considering refinancing knowing that the low rates won’t stay very long.

Here are the possible savings that homeowners can generate: for a mortgage of $250,000 with 5% interest, they could save about $160 monthly and $2,020 yearly if they refinance the loan for 4.39%. These savings provide a guaranteed cash in the bank during these present times when traditional savings account have nearly zero percent in returns and the gyrations in the stock market have exhausted the investment accounts.

Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst Greg McBride said that anybody who decides to refinance at these very low rates are sure beneficiaries of the economic concerns and Wall Street challenges.
The three lenders listed in Bankrate.com that offers 30 year fixed loans with less than 4.39% interest are AimLoan.com at 4.19%, Loan Depot at 4.25% and American Interbanc.com at 4.35%. All three are offered with zero points.

Albano said that even if the low rates are great news for most mortgage owners who pass the requirements of credit and equity to qualify for refinancing, potential buyers will still not leave the sidelines. He thinks that people who are observing the rates and decides that they are not ready to purchase at 4.5% will change their mind when the rates fall at 4.3%.

If you are looking to refinance your mortgage, then you may want to consider doing it soon. As you may know, last Friday, Standard and Poor’s downgraded US treasuries from AAA to AA+. This is the first time in history that the U.S. has had a downgrade.

Then, on Monday, Standard and Poors also downgraded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While it is unclear as to the final effects of the downgrade, many financial experts are prediciting that the cost of money will go up, effectively raising interest rates.

If this happens, it could be problematic for an already sluggish economy,a nd could further depress the already lagging housing market. Higher interest rates would effectively make home ownership more expensive.

As for those with bad credit or poor credit, these changes could put you completely out of the market. While the agencies push to regain their credit ratings, they may be forced to be even more conservative with lending practices, and that would make credit or loans for people with bad credit almost out of reach.

Related searches for should I refinance my home:

mortgage rates
mortgage calculator
current mortgage rates
current interest rates
countrywide

should i refinance my home now
current mortgage interest rate
should i refinance my home loan
refinance my home
should i refinance

will i refinance my home
must i refinance my home
need to i refinance my home
could i refinance my home
would i refinance my home

Related articles

• US debt downgrade could mean rate hikes for all (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• S&P Downgrade Could Feed Home Buyer ‘Anxiety’ (blogs.wsj.com)
• Economy sends mortgage rates down to new 2011 lows (hsh.com)

Obtaining a mortgage with bad credit

Obtaining a mortgage with bad credit these days is almost impossible. Because of the poor economy, and the problems the United States experienced during the credit crunch and the housing bubble bursting, banks and lending institutions are wary of lending money to anyone that has less than stellar credit.

If you have bad credit, and are wanting to get a mortgage to buy a house, one of the first things you should condider doing is getting your credit report. Once a year you can get your credit report for free from freecreditreport.com

When you have this, you can find out what is causing your credit to be bad. There may also

be mistakes on the credit report and you can get t hem fixed. By doing this, you can effectively raise your credit score.

A few things you want to do is pay off your debt. Right now, lending institutions are lending for people that have a low debt to income ratio. That means that you have to be making more than you are spending monthly.

Take a look at your spending habits and see if you are able to have enough left over to pay a mortgage payment, and have some left over.

In general, you should be planning on spending no more than 25-30% of your monthly income on a mortgage.

If you can’t do that, you may want to reconsider trying for a mortgage loan.

One of the things I like to suggest to people is to work on improving your credit score and save money at the same time. If you do this, you will have good credit when you buy your home, and will have the money saved.

Expect to have 20-25% of the purchase price of the home ready to make a down payment.

Also note that the better your credit score is, the lower interest rate you will qualify fo

r on the mortgage. This can save you hundreds of dollars monthly. Small changes to the interest make huge impact on the paymnets.

Ask yourself this…. do you really want to add more debt to your burded if you have bad credit? Why are you looking for very bad credit loans?

Ask youself how and why you got in this position in the first place. If you have made changes and made adjustments to your life style then good for you!

But remember, part of the credit reporting system is that your report is a snapshot in time. It is always moving and changing. And, part of the reason things tend to stay on a report for years is it takes time to change.

You want to show that you have sustained change to financial institutions.

So, before going out to see about obtaining a mortgage with bad credit, think about whether or not it really makes sense.

Here is a chart showing some things that are looked at when considering credit score and your ability to obtain a mortgage with bad credit.

Image via Wikipedia

http://youtu.be/xe0BHdxSdiU

Mortgage loans for people with bad credit

Military loans for people with bad credit

Related articles

• How to “Get and Keep” a good credit score, it’s all about your credit report! CreditCardNegotiations.com (sdfinch.wordpress.com)
• Every credit score is not created the same (usatoday.com)

Fixed mortgage rates remain unchanged while the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan stays close to 5%. According to Freddie Mac, the previous weeks have shown a rise in mortgage rates from 4.86 to 4.87%. In November of last year, it hit the lowest rate since the past 40 years of 4.17%. On the other hand, a 15-year fixed mortgage increased in average rate from 4.09% to 4.10%. Prior to this increase, the rate declined to 3.57% last November, the lowest since 1991.

Despite the decline in mortgage rates, home sales are not significantly improving. In fact, the latest homebuilder report from KB Home, a Los Angeles based company, showed a big decline in home orders for December to February. The company reported that there is a drop in their home orders by 32% compared to the previous year. Even the number of homes delivered also declined to 28%. This is also the case for Lennar wherein new orders decreased to 12% and home deliveries fell to 3%.

This decline in home sales and deliveries may be attributed to the reluctance of potential home buyers to move. This is because of stringent credit requirements, fear of unemployment and expectations for a further decline in home prices because of the rising number of foreclosed homes at the present time.

The average mortgage rates are calculated from the collected rates from different lenders all over the country every Monday to Wednesday of each week. This is calculated by Freddie Mac. The average mortgage rate of an adjustable rate for one year dropped to 3.22% from 3.26%. In the previous weeks, the rate fell to its lowest record since 1984 to almost 3.17%.

The calculation for mortgage rates excludes add-on fees or points. A point is equivalent to 1% of the total amount loaned. The average fee for a fixed loan of 30 years, 15 years and 1 year ARM is at 0.7 points according Freddie Mac’s survey. For a five year loan, the average fee is at 0.6 points.

Related articles

• Mortgage rates barely budge in latest week, stay below 5% (usatoday.com)
• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticks higher (marketwatch.com)