In July, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 3% for the first time in history. And while many Americans have rushed to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, others question the hype. Are today’s low mortgage rates truly a bargain?
Continue reading Lowest Mortgage Rates in History: What It Means for Homeowners and Buyers
These days, it seems like everyone’s looking for ways to save money and stretch their income further. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to reduce your household expenses without making radical changes to your standard of living. When combined, these small adjustments can add up to significant savings each month.
Here are 20 things you can start doing today to lower your bills, secure better deals, and begin working toward your financial goals.
Continue reading 20 Ways to Save Money and Stretch Your Household Budget
Homeownership offers many advantages over renting, including a stable living environment, predictable monthly payments, and the freedom to make modifications. Neighborhoods with high rates of homeownership have less crime and more civic engagement. Additionally, studies show that homeowners are happier and healthier than renters, and their children do better in school.
But one of the biggest perks of homeownership is the opportunity to build wealth over time. Researchers at the Urban Institute found that homeownership is financially beneficial for most families, and a recent study showed that the median net worth of homeowners can be up to 80 times greater than that of renters in some areas.
So how does purchasing a home help you build wealth? And what steps should you take to maximize the potential of your investment? Find out how to harness the power of home equity for a secure financial future.
Continue reading The Power of Home Equity
Finding a mortgage lender for a purchase loan or refinance is not a problem. Selecting someone who will help you find the best loan product for your situation even if it means sending you to another lender, is paramount.
There is a huge advantage to be able to sit across the table from someone you’re doing business with and look them straight in the eye. It’s difficult to make an informed decision based on a website and a phone call.
Continue reading Selecting a Lender
Even if you’re having a professional help you with your income tax return, you need to provide them with information on the money you spent that might be deductible. Look at the following list of homeowner tax tips to see if any of these things need a little more investigation to determine if they apply to your situation.
94% of purchasers last year opted for a fixed-rate mortgage at some of the lowest rates in home buying history. Yet, some of them will pay more in interest than necessary based on the time they’ll own the home.
If a person only plans to be in the home a few years, the adjustable-rate can offer significant savings.
Not only is the interest rate on the adjustable-rate lower than the fixed in the initial period, amortization on a lower interest rate amortizes faster than a higher interest rate.
Rising interest rates are great if you are renewing a certificate of deposit but not so much when you’re borrowing money. With interest rates on the rise as well as home prices, housing affordability is a concern for would-be homeowners.
A rough rule of thumb is that a person’s or family’s housing should not exceed 28% of their monthly gross income. While rental rates and home prices have been consistently increasing, mortgage rates have been soaring in the past month. In one week, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, they jumped by .5%.
This means that people have to pay a larger percentage of their income for housing unless their incomes have been increasing at an equal pace. A $200,000 mortgage would be over $100 more per month if closed in July compared to closing at the interest rates available in January of 2013.
If rates increase by .5% by the time you close on the same size mortgage, payments would increase by almost $60 per month. In order to keep the payments the same, a borrower would have to put an additional $11,000 down to lower the mortgage amount.
Check out how your payment would be affected if interest rates continue to rise.
Although The National Association of REALTORS® suggests that housing is more affordable now than one year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors® that is not the case in California. Their May 2013 statistics show the largest year-over-year price gain in at least the last 33 years. Also, with all of the variables in play including inflation that were not addressed in this piece, it is unclear how long conditions will remain “affordable.”
We’re constantly bombarded by lenders to refinance our mortgage under a variety of programs. The volume of offers can almost make you numb to the rational consideration.
There are common rules of thumbs that homeowners and agents use such as not refinancing more often than every two years or there must be at least 2% savings from your previous mortgage rate may not always be accurate.
The reality is that if you can refinance for a lower rate and you’ll be in the home long enough to recapture the cost of refinancing, it should be considered. The costs of previous refinancing that haven’t been recaptured by monthly savings may need to be added to the costs of the new refinance.
Take a look at the chart that shows the average rates according to Freddie Mac for 2012. They are lower today than they were in January of 2012 and for the ten years before that.
Refinancing may save you a substantial amount of money, especially if you’re going to be in your home for a long time. It is definitely worth investigating. To get a quick idea of what your savings could be, use this refinancing calculator.