Many homeowners across the country have a mortgage balance that is more than what their home is worth. This phenomenon is known as an “underwater mortgage.” Refinancing the mortgage is typically not the solution because a lender does not want to lend more money than the home is worth. Because underwater mortgages are a problem nationwide, several options are available to homeowners that are in this situation – options that allow the homeowner to stay in their home and the lender to continue receiving the mortgage payments due.
Posts Tagged ‘mortgage’
Mortgage Rates: Why What You See Is Not What You Get
November 10, 2011You’ve probably read articles or saw on the news about mortgage rates being at “historically low levels.” This news may have even caused you to act, calling up your mortgage lender and checking out a couple of other lenders. The mortgage rates that lenders are quoting you are low, but not as low as you expected. Find out why the rates you’re hearing about and the rates you are receiving as quotes don’t quite match.
How to Decide between a 30-Year and 15-Year Mortgage
September 30, 2011When buying a new home or refinancing an existing home, one of the many decisions that must be made is what kind of mortgage you’re going to get. With that decision, is the option of term – or the length of your loan (ex: a 30-year loan has payments spread out over 30 years). For most borrowers, this means choosing between the ever-popular 30-year or 15-year fixed-rate mortgage.
Before you decide what term is best for you, make sure you weigh the pros and cons of each to determine which option is right for your personal financial situation.
New Realities of Mortgage Refinancing (Part 2)
September 28, 2011In part one of this series, we discussed some of the new realities of mortgage refinancing in an interview with Quicken Loans Vice President and mortgage industry veteran, Stephen Luigi Piazza. The discussion continues here in part two, with more tips and trends that homeowners should know about if they want to refinance their mortgage today.
How to Do the (Operation) Twist
September 23, 2011In the early 1960s, a new dance craze gripped the nation: The Twist. Youngsters stopped slow dancing and started “twisting the night away.” At the same time, the American economy was slow dancing too and The Twist sounded like just the thing to get the economy moving.
Flash-forward to 2011, the economy has slowed again and the Fed is out of new dance moves. This has given rise to new talk of “Operation Twist,” a strategy used in the 1960s to spark a similarly stalled economy. Find out what it is and how it affects you and your wallet.
New Realities of Mortgage Refinancing (Part 1)
September 21, 2011With mortgage rates at record lows, many homeowners are looking to refinance their mortgages to save money on their monthly payments and/or pay off their mortgages faster. But what do people need to expect if they want to refinance? Is it still possible to get a home loan? Do you need a perfect credit score? What does it take to qualify, and what options do borrowers have for structuring their new loans?
