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Home Mortgages: Think Before You Borrow


In today's overheated housing market, lenders are making it easier and easier to get a mortgage. For example, some lenders have lowered the credit score needed to qualify for a mortgage. Others have increased the debt load that borrowers can carry or have made it easier for borrowers to get loans while providing little documentation. In some cases, lenders have even made it easier for people to borrow money to buy investment properties.

There are also many kinds of mortgages available today that were never available before. There are interest only mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) for 3,5 or 10 years and adjustable rate mortgages with balloon payments at the end of a five or ten year period.

There are even adjustable rate mortgages that have introductory rates as low as 1% and that give borrowers multiple payment options.

Lenders also used to loan only 80 percent of a home's value, meaning that the borrower had to come up with 20 percent as a down payment. So, if you wanted to buy a home valued at $150,000, you had to put down at least $30,000. This might have been difficult, but at least you started out with $30,000 in equity in your home.

This standard was then lowered to ten percent, meaning you needed only $15,000 to buy that $150,000 home.

Today, it's possible to find mortgage brokers who will lend 100 percent of the value of a house or even more than 100 percent.

This can be good news for families who, until now, might not have been able to afford a $10,000 or $20,000 down payment. But you need to be careful of. Some unscrupulous lenders may try to sell you a mortgage you can't really afford. Let's say your monthly take home pay (after taxes and other deductions) is $4,000. You find a house for $150,000 and a mortgage broker willing to lend 100% or the full $150,000. A 30-year fixed FHA loan (not including taxes and insurance) will have a monthly payment of about $851.00. The total monthly payment PITI (with taxes and insurance) would most likely be close to $1,000.

A good rule of thumb is that your cost of housing should not exceed 20 percent of your net monthly take home pay (after taxes and other deductions). This means that for a $1,000 monthly mortgage payment, your net monthly income should be at least $5,000. If your income were only $4,000 a month, you would be spending about 25% of your income on housing alone.

Before you make this kind of commitment, you should take a long, hard look at your other commitments, such as car payments, tuition, and insurance to make sure you can cover them as well as your normal living expenses.

Easy, no-down mortgages can be very tempting, but it's important that you understand the exact terms and that you can meet them without stressing your finances.

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MORE RESOURCES:

Center for Responsible Lending and Industry Groups Urge HUD to ...
MarketWatch - 16 hours ago
... to help the largest possible numbers of at-risk borrowers. This is not the appropriate time to permit the lapse of a viable mortgage refinance option.


Is Now the Right Time to Refinance Your Mortgage?
Eastside Business Journal, Washington - Nov 18, 2008
By Rick Hubbert How do you know when it is the right time to refinance? Some believe that if homeowners can shave one point (1%) off their existing rate, ...


Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Firstwatch column: Firstwatch: What's ...
Trading Markets (press release), CA - 19 hours ago
... counselors will be there to conduct loan workout sessions, provide information about financial literacy programs and offer mortgage refinance options. ...


De-Leverage Your Wallet
Motley Fool - 20 hours ago
I also caution against opening new lines of credit if you plan to get a loan (car, mortgage, refinance) in the next six months or so. ...


National housing crisis exacting heavy toll in Riverside County
Press-Enterprise, CA - Nov 11, 2008
By DUANE W. GANG Riverside County remains at the forefront of the national housing crisis with thousands of homeowners in the unenviable position of owing ...


Should Obama name FDIC's Bair as a Special Advisor for Mortgage ...
BloggingStocks - Nov 18, 2008
Although he has shown support for mortgage refinance programs aimed at achieving lower payments - - 'payment relief' in Washingtonspeak - - Paulson has ...


When refinancing mortgage makes sense
Chicago Tribune, United States - Nov 14, 2008
But you don't have to be in financial trouble to benefit from mortgage refinance, real estate experts say. "At this point, there are thousands of good ...


Mortgage Applications Down 43.4% Year on Year
HNN Huntingtonnews.net,  USA - Nov 6, 2008
By David M. Kinchen The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending ...


Local mall operator says it's at risk for default
Boston Globe (registration), United States - Nov 12, 2008
... on school loans are waived..and a government backed mortgage refinance program to give homeowners a chance to stay in their homes to pay their debts. ...


US Stocks Off to a Lower Start
TheStreet.com - Nov 11, 2008
Last Friday, JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote - Cramer on JPM - Stock Picks) announced a similar mortgage-refinance program, covering $110 billion in loans.

Mortgage-Refinance - Google News

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