Real Estate Networks

Mortgage rates are determined by a lot of factors, such as the credit score of the borrower, down payment, amount of the loan applied for, and the policies of the lender. Low interest rates on California home loans are usually offered to borrowers who have a high credit score. In fact, applicants with good credit may even qualify for zero down payment home loans. They may even qualify for a no documentation loan or a stated income loan. Both these options are preferable for borrowers who are self-employed or cannot have their income verified.

Homebuyers have a choice of opting for several loan terms, which can be for fifteen years, twenty years, thirty years, or forty years. A suitable combination of a type of loan and down payment ensures low interest rates. This further enables the borrower to lock in the rates. A fixed rate is a great option for saving interest if the loan is for a long term. If rates rise later on, then over the long term, this results in significant savings.

It is necessary to read through the terms and conditions carefully, as all the information about the various interest rates needs to be clearly understood. Sometimes, a company might offer loans at a lower rate of interest but charge a high processing fee, negating the effect of any discount. Conversely, a company may claim to have no processing fee but a high rate of interest, or higher monthly payments.

To purchase mortgage for a new home, borrowers can approach mortgage lenders as well as brokers. To get multiple quotes from different lenders is advisable before borrowers complete and submit the mortgage application for approval. Mortgage brokers can automatically provide multiple quotes, as they represent many lenders. Therefore, with a mortgage broker, borrowers can compare various mortgage options, and select the one with the lowest mortgage rate.

e-CaliforniaMortgageRates.com California Mortgage Rates provides detailed information on California Mortgage Rates, California Home Mortgage Loan Rates, California Mortgage Interest Rates, Best Mortgage Rates in California and more. California Mortgage Rates is affiliated with e-CaliforniaMortgageLenders.com California Mobile Home Mortgage Lenders.

This is the “answer” to a question I received this past week concerning a class of commercial real estate loans called “mezzanine” debt. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t worry. It’s usually used by fairly substantial commercial real estate developers and investors in situations where the existing debt doesn’t go far enough to get the property financed. Mezzanine debt is the modern-day equivalent of second trust deeds.

First, you need to understand that “modern” commercial lenders are a jealous lot: Most of them, whether bank, CMBS* mortgage bank, and sometimes life insurance companies won’t allow a junior lien to be recorded against a property where they have a first trust deed. There are several reasons for this, but the bottom line is that real estate investors would have needed a great deal of cash to get larger transactions done until the mezzanine lenders showed up. Here’s an example:

A real estate investor has owned a large shopping center for 5 years and wants to sell it. When he bought it, he got a 75% LTV loan of $6 Million on his $8 Million purchase price using a Conduit* loan from a mortgage bank. Rates went down from the time he bought it, and it has appreciated to $16 Million in the same time, and his commercial loan balance is now $5.5 Million. Because this is a Conduit loan, our seller would face a prepayment penalty in the range of $600,000 to $1 Million! And since they don’t allow second trust deed on the property, the Buyer would have to come up with over $10.5 Million to buy it! Not.

Mezzanine mortgage lenders get around this problem by lending on collateral other than the property. Commercial loan Conduits require borrowers to create a special entity, usually a LLC, to own the property to protect them in the event the borrower files for bankruptcy. The Mezzanine mortgage lender uses the membership interests of the LLC as collateral for their loan instead of the property. So in our example, the Mezzanine lender steps up with a loan as large as $7.3 Million (this would bring the combined loans to 80% of the purchase price), depending upon the lender’s debt service requirements. Voila! Purchase accomplished!

Mezzanine lenders also play an important role in large construction loans, too. Unfortunately, these types of commercial loans aren’t available to regular mortals. The smallest Mezzanine loans tend to be in the $2 Million the $3 Million range. But it’s good to know they’re there when you do need one!

*CMBS: Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities, usually arranged by major Wall Street investment banks who are referred to as “conduits.”

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Craig Higdon, “The Investment Property Insider,” works as a commercial mortgage broker. He publishes the weekly “Investment Property Insider” e-zine ( InvestmentPropertyInsider.com InvestmentPropertyInsider.com). Sign up now and get a complimentary report on commercial financing techniques.

The American Dream of home ownership resides in all of us.

We all want a nice home in a nice neighborhood for our children to enjoy with friends and family. We want our own backyard…our own garage…our own paint colors…our own real neighborhood for our children to enjoy with their friends.

We want our own American Dream, a place we can call “home” and a mortgage that is ours..

We all know what we want %u2013 that is the simple part.

The real challenge is discovering how to get what we want without having the wrong home loan program haunting us for years to come.

Therein lies the challenge.

Smothering us are people who claim to know what is best for us: Realtors, loan officers, mortgage brokers, and rent-to-own home specialists. They all claim to have the answer for us about financing our new home.

How do we know what is really best for us when pursuing home ownership? To whom do we listen for advice?

The answer to your question is …?

The answer is that you should listen to all of them. You are pursuing your America Dream and the paper you eventually sign will encumber or make you responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars for many years.

This is a huge decision and is by no means an easy or simple process. You should not complete the learning process in one weekend or with only one source of information.

Do not automatically believe that the %u201Cbest%u201D way for you to purchase your new home is the traditional way by getting a loan officer or mortgage broker to get you approved for a terrible loan program, telling you that this is the only way for you to get your home.

You really do have options for purchasing your new home, without getting hammered by a mortgage on which you will pay dearly for years.

Options exist, and this fr.ee e-course will present some important considerations for getting the keys to your new home without taking a loan with an outrageous interest rate, an equally outrageous down payment requirement, and obscene fees for closing the loan with damaged credit.

How bad can a %u201Cterrible%u201D loan really be?

If your situation varies slightly from the items below, you will pay dearly for the privilege of getting your own loan right now. If your situation varies a bit more toward the “bad/ugly” side from the items below, you will suffer an even worse loan. Consider the following factors before signing the mortgage paperwork for your new home:

Is your middle score from a tri-merge of Equifax, Experian, and Transunion a 620 or better?

The term “tri-merge” means that you have pulled your credit report from each of the three top credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.

Without a 620 or better credit score, a loan officer or mortgage broker will shop among “B” or sub-prime lenders for a mortgage supporting your damaged credit file.

For some lenders, you must achieve a 680 score in order to meet the “A” lender credit score requirement.

Are your debt-to-income ratios in line with Fannie Mae or the Freddie Mac benchmark ratios, i.e. 41%?

What this means is that underwriters (risk assessment gate-keepers for lenders who determine whether you receive the money for your new home) for banks, credit unions, etc generally utilize Fannie Mae or the Freddie Mac benchmark ratios. Loan underwriters will allow 41% of your total monthly gross income to go toward all expenses including housing, medical payments, judgments, collections, child support, auto payments, credit cards, etc.

For instance, your monthly gross family income is $6,000 or $72,000 gross income per year. Your monthly debt, not including groceries, utilities, or entertainment, equals $586.00. Total monthly obligations divided by monthly gross income must equal 36% to fall within Fannie Mae Standard Eligibility Guidelines.

The amount of monthly housing payment this formula claims you can afford is $1574.00 (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance). For example, let’s say your gross monthly income is $6,000. We multiply your $6,000 (gross monthly income) x 41% (allowable debt) and that gives us $2,460 in monthly allowable debt.

We now must deduct your $586.00 in monthly debt from the $2,460 and the resulting $1,874.00 is the maximum monthly payment allowed by the lender.

Generally, the “better” loan programs adhere to Fannie Mae Standard Eligibility Guidelines for underwriting the loan and determining risk to the lender.

However, many other loan opportunities exist, and that defines the value of a mortgage specialist — your mortgage specialist must ask you lots of questions to find out exactly how long you envision living in your new home and what you believe your future earnings potential will be. By asking the right questions, listening carefully to your answers, and knowing the requirements of various loan programs, a mortgage “specialist” can recommend the most appropriate loan program.

Whatever you decide, you must research enough to know what questions to ask.

Perhaps you have decided renting to own your new home is the best solution right now.

Benefits of Renting to Own Your New Home

You choose your new home in your desired neighborhood or choose a nice home in a nice neighborhood from existing inventory.

You enjoy your new home as if it is your home, i.e. your colors, your backyard, and your newly installed swimming pool, fence, landscaping, etc.

You enjoy a reasonable monthly payment and a very reasonable down payment on your new home.

You get the time you need by renting while repairing your damaged credit.

You work with one of our mortgage specialists during the lease term to match you with the most appropriate loan program and to educate you about home financing.

You lock in the future purchase price of your new home. You pay a monthly payment not inflated and not gimmicky, that is you won’t face an inflated monthly payment in order to get a monthly rent credit.

You get the title seasoned, thereby qualifying you for a refinance when you complete the home financing and get your home in your names.

Understanding exactly what home financing lenders want is critical to getting the best loan program. In Part ONE, you discovered the target middle credit score required by many “A” or “prime” lenders. You also learned about debt-to-income ratios utilized by mortgage brokers, realtors, and lenders/loan officers when adhering to Fannie Mae Standard Eligibility Guidelines.

Stay tuned for Part TWO — you will learn how to think like a lender in order to avoid unpleasant surprises when trying to get your new dream home.

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Mike Payne, a Realtor with Horizon Realty, specializes in providing asolution4you.com Rent to own Florida Home || Florida Rent to Own Homes.

Learn more about rent to own Florida @ asolution4you.com/buyourhomecover.html Rent to own Florida Home || Florida Lease Option.

To read other FR*EE special reports, visit asolution4you.com/resources/index.html Rent to Own Florida | Florida Lease Options.

I’m a landlord and I have had my share of strained relationship with my tenants. However, it has been pretty good for the most part because most of them clean up their messes, take good care of the house and pay their rent on time. They also inform me if they are having any problems with the house and leave on good terms.

However, I also have had a few really troublesome tenants every once in a while. For instance, the last tenant was really a trouble maker. I was forced to give him a 3 day eviction because he would not leave, no matter what I tried.

Normally, I do not want to give eviction notices, but I had no other choice. I had a feeling that he was going to cause trouble almost from the moment that he moved in. He seemed nice when I first met him, but he turned out to be a terrible manipulator. He was a thorn in my side for so long before the 3 day eviction.

That guy would have a story about why he could not get his rent in on time each month. It even got to a point where I would threaten him with a three day eviction every month just to get him to pay me. I gave him a lot of chances but I finally decided that enough is enough.

To tell you the truth, I heard about the 3 day eviction for the first time when his actions forced me to contact my attorney. I have to take some actions because the neighbors were complaining about a bad smell coming from the house. He was evasive at first when I asked him about it, but finally admitted that his cat had died and he had not gotten around to burying it.

I was amazed that he just left that dead animal sitting in his living room for weeks. The house was so filthy that I could not breathe when I went in. You can be sure that I was back with the 3 day eviction the very next morning. I thought that there would be a long court battle because I did not expect him to abide by the 3 day eviction. I was relieved when the 3 day eviction worked and he left without a fuss.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning lawinformationonline.com/legal-information/legal-issues/using-the-3-day-eviction.html 3 Day Eviction. Visit our site for more helpful information about lawinformationonline.com 3 Day Eviction and other similar topics.

Interest only loan is the one that gives you the possibility of paying only interest as your monthly payment. In that way you will pay a very reduced amount of money as your monthly payment; compared to the amount of money you would be paying if you add the principal to your monthly payments. Interest only loans can be 30-year fixed-rate mortgages or adjustable rate mortgages. You may find interest only loans on the market, for the first three, five, seven or even ten years. Home prices are continuously raising, so many buyers are choosing the interest-only loans option to reduce their mortgage payments and gain more financial freedom.

The biggest advantage of an Interest only mortgage is that you will have a reduced monthly payment; in that way you will count with extra money for other purposes. But, on the other hand, the disadvantage of it is the fact that you will not be paying anything towards the principal balance of your loan. It’s important to fully understand the risks, when you decide to buy a property with an Interest only Loan. For the lender, the big advantage is that all the lender’s money will be busy earning interest and none will be unprofitable return of principal, which the lender then has to lend to another borrower to keep earning interest.

During the interest only term your monthly payments are as low as they could possibly be, and you may qualify for a bigger property as well as for a bigger loan amount at the same time; and your whole monthly payment qualifies as tax deductible interest during the interest only period. If you are like most first-time home buyers, you will probably keep your property for a few years only, and then you will be moving up to a better home. Mortgage
principal reduction then isn’t important to you. An interest-only mortgage could be ideal for you.

It’s important to understand that during the period of time you are holding an interest only loan, your property is building equity just as if you would be holding a fix rate mortgage. The type of loan you choose to buy your property will not affect the equity of your home.

You may find an excellent source of information about Interest Only Loans at: findhomeloansonline.com www.findhomeloansonline.com

My name is Robert Moore, and on my over 10 years of experience working on the mortgage industry I have learned that the biggest mistake a borrower may make is to get a loan without getting enough knowledge of what is the best program on the market.

For the first time home buyer, the excitement and the worry of owning a home go hand in hand. But, getting approved for a low rate mortgage loan for that home should be no question. There are many ways that you can secure a low rate on your first home purchase. What’s more, you likely have what it takes to make that happen. For the first time home buyer, taking steps as soon as possible to get the loan they need is important.

What Factors Into A Low Rate?

One of the first things to understand is how interest rates are determined for home loan purchases. Lenders have the ability to select the rate that they feel is fair for you, based on several things including:

• Your credit history: a good credit history, with some experience with both secured and unsecured loans is an important part of the process. Get a copy of your credit report to determine your credit.

• Steady employment and the means to repay the amount borrowed is also a consideration.

• A down payment can help to lower the interest rate that you get as well, and can be very important in helping you to secure that first time loan.

FHA Programs

The government believes, in many ways, that homeownership is a very important aspect of life in the United States and therefore has developed FHA loans that can offer help in securing that first loan. These loans are designed specifically for the first time home buyer and provide a lower interest rate than conventional loans. They also provide for fewer qualifications in getting a loan. In turn, your lender will get more security with federal backing of the loan.

For the first time home buyer, it is essential to consider how well you qualify currently for a home loan. Making improvements to your credit is important. Taking advantage of FHA programs can also be helpful in securing the loan that’s right for you.

mortgagesanity.com/2007/03/14/new-home-purchase-lenders/ List of Recommended Mortgage Lenders for First Time Home Buyers - We maintain a list of recommended mortgage companies online and update the list regularly.

mortgagesanity.com/2007/02/13/creative-mortgage-financing-alternative-ways-to-finance-real-estate/ Creative Ways to Finance Your Mortgage- Read this article to learn some creative financing techniques to finance your new home.

The pricing of a home can be one of the single most important aspects of a home sale. The price tag that you put on your home has the power to attract or repel buyers quite easily. The last thing you want to hear is the phrase “X dollars, for that place? Seriously?” Homes that are incorrectly priced have a tendency to not sell, quickly or at all for that matter.This is because they have priced their target market out of the bidding. What you are trying to achieve here is what is known as “fair market value.” Fair market value means that your home for sale is priced reasonably, for quick sale and that the asking price should draw buyers in.

The pricing of a home is usually seen to by a realtor for a variety of reasons. Primarily, they have access to the MLS database, a vast repository of listed homes and information on listed and sold homes in every area across the country. This allows them to make comparisons of your home against similar homes in your area based on things like rooms, bathrooms, yards, location and amenities. If your home gets priced too high for the neighborhood, then the sale could be problematic. if buyers can’t look at your listing and think; “Wow! What a deal!” The sale may take a bit longer than you expected.

This is why correct pricing is so important. One good idea is to have the pricing on your home done several times over to ensure that the price you have is right. If you have numerous realtors do a CMA on your home and they come back with vastly different prices then take the time to sit down with each and ask why they priced your home in the way they did. Perhaps their answers will give you some better insight into the sale of your home. In the best-case scenario you will be able to price your home around the top of it’s price group, thereby attracting a wide array of prospective buyers, including bargain shoppers from higher price groups. Don’t discount any buyers no matter what, they could be the ones that make the nice offer!

As a top Sarasota Realtor, Jim Hirschman is ready to help you get the most for your investment in

Shopping around for the best possible deal on your mortgage loans is very important. A difference of just a few percentage points will translate into thousands, if not millions of dollars in the long run. So before you take out a mortgage loans, you should try to find the credit source that offers the best rate.

You should be aware of the different types of mortgage loan interest rates as well.
Fixed rate mortgages have the same interest rate for the term of your mortgage. Most mortgage loans are of this variety.

Adjustable rate mortgages have interest rates that change periodically, based on either a contractual agreement or a change in an economic indicator, such as Treasury bill rates. Fixed rate mortgages are also called variable rate mortgages.

Graduated payment mortgages have rates that change depending on where you are on the mortgage loan’s timeframe. You have lower payments to make early in the mortgage, and higher payments in the later years.

Asking for a longer or shorter loan will affect mortgage loan interest rates as well. A mortgage with a shorter term, however, will save you money. The rule of thumb is, the longer the mortgage, the more money the mortgage company makes. So keep it short and sweet.

Check out informationon lasvegasbuyeragent.com/loans/index.html Las Vegas Real Estate Loans that can help you save thousands.

Big cities provide the ideal environment for those wanting a stimulating and active retirement. So if the idea of spending your “golden years” golfing and fishing leaves you cold, don’t rule out the vast offerings of “big city” life. While New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, are certainly “pricey”, many attractive big cities are exceptions to this general rule. They offer retirees an opportunity to lower their cost of living while continuing to enjoy the amenities and excitement of a large city. Warren Bland, PhD has just compiled his list of “Top Ten Values for Big-City Retirement”. They are ranked from 1 to 10 based on their cost of living. All scored well on the 12 criteria utilized to evaluate places in his book “Retire in Style: 60 Outstanding Places across the USA and Canada”.

The top ten value cities, rank-ordered from lower to higher cost of living are:

1. San Antonio, TX
2. Pittsburgh, PA
3. Austin, TX
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Tucson, AZ
6. Denver, CO
7. Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Chicago, IL
10. Portland, OR

Dr. Bland’s model uses 12 criteria most important to retirees. They are landscape, climate, quality of life, cost of living, transportation, retail services, health care, community services, cultural activities, recreational activities, work/volunteer activities, and crime.

Bland is a well-known expert in his field. An award-winning geographer and university professor, he has been quoted in AARP Magazine, the NY Times, the LA Times, Consumer’s Digest, US News and World Report and many other leading media sources. Bland is no stranger to “big city” living. He and his wife split their time between Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Bland’s book, “Retire in Style, 60 Outstanding Places Across the USA and Canada” is available through all major booksellers, Amazon.com and through the publisher’s web site at www.nextdecade.com

In many real estate markets, especially along the East and West coasts, first time homebuyers are finding it harder and harder to purchase a home. As an exclusive buyers agent who works primarily with first time buyers, I have encountered the frustration of many buyers who couldn’t find the “home of their dreams” at a price they could afford.

The key to their frustration is in the phrase, “home of their dreams.” Most first time buyers today want, at a minimum, a new or near new, single-family, 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in move-in condition on a large lot in a good area of town. They want what their parents have, what their parents worked years to acquire. Sorry, kids, this type of home isn’t and never was a first time buyer home. This is a move-up home for those who bought small 2-bedroom, 1-bath bungalows or attached housing when it was affordable. Unfortunately, even smaller homes are unaffordable to many first time buyers today, especially if they have additional debt such as car payments, student loans and credit card debt.

So what’s a person to do to get into their first home?

1. Think older; think smaller. In the 1950’s, hundreds of thousands of vets returning from World War II purchased their first homes — small, 2- and 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes that families of 4 and 5 lived in for many years before moving to a larger home, a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home. These small homes are still around and ideal for first time buyers to get their foot in the real estate door.

2. Think fixers. There are plenty of homes out there that can be purchased for below-market prices just because they need updating. They’re perfectly livable and can be fixed up over time as the money permits.

3. Think shared housing. Compatible individuals who want to own a home can start out as co-owners of a home. Two incomes may allow both to get their foot in the door of home ownership that their individual incomes would not. Since this would be, more or less, a business arrangement, an agreement would have to be reached prior to purchase outlining each person’s responsibilities and obligations as well as the disposition of the property under certain described circumstances.

4. Think multi-family. A duplex or tri-plex allows you to live in one unit and rent out the other(s) to cover a greater part of the mortgage making owning more affordable.

5. Think manufactured homes. These aren’t homes on wheels. Modern manufactured homes on their own land are spacious, well-built with all the desirable amenities, and affordable. FHA financing lets you get into these with as little as 3% down.

There’s more than one way to open the front door to home ownership if you stop dreaming and come down to earth. Everyone has to start somewhere, and that usually isn’t at the top. Your first home is just that — A FIRST HOME. Statistics say you will own 5 homes in your lifetime. Some will own less; some will own more. However, if you wait to find the “home of your dreams,” you may never be able to afford a home of your own.

Candee Lynn Wilson is an Exclusive Buyers Agent - PortlandBuyersAgent.com PortlandBuyersAgent.com - and Internet entrepreneur in Portland, OR. She has been working with first time homebuyers for over 13 years. Her “saving” web sites, 101WaysToSaveMoney.com 101WaysToSaveMoney.com and MySavingPlace.com MySavingPlace.com, are helping thousands of people overcome financial adversity.
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