Tuesday, August 29, 2006

New York Mortgages

Applying for New York mortgage


A person investing in real estate will tell you he feels like a yo-yo: One minute in full control and the next in the pits. Brokers do not welcome any queries if you are not pre-approved for a mortgage. For first-time buyers to enter the mortgage market without knowledge of mortgages is similar to setting sail for the North Pole without relevant preparation: you are out in the cold. It is an 80-20 loan mortgage suitable for high end prices where borrower goes for 100% home financing and without private mortgage insurance.


There is also the reverse mortgage. For first-time buyers to enter the mortgage market without knowledge of mortgages is similar to setting sail for the North Pole without relevant preparation: you are out in the cold. Along with traditional mortgages, New York mortgages offer programs requiring less documentation or income verification. It is an 80-20 loan mortgage suitable for high end prices where borrower goes for 100% home financing and without private mortgage insurance. There is also the reverse mortgage, offered mostly to senior home owners who would like to withdraw equity accumulated over the years.


The general procedure before applying for any New York mortgage is to select a property within your budget. Especially in New York where high housing prices has disproportionately greater effect on mortgage rates.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Reverse mortgages increasing rapidly

Lenders have tried for years to sell seniors on the concept of using reverse mortgages to draw tax-free income from the equity in their homes, to pay for health care, fund home improvements or just boost retirement cash flow. Apparently, these efforts are working.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – the primary backer of reverse mortgages in the nation – said the number of such loans it endorsed in Rhode Island nearly doubled through the first 10 months of the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30. HUD-backed reverse-mortgage loans in the state soared from 140 in the 10 months ending July 31, 2005, to 269 in the same period this year, an increase of 92 percent.

In Massachusetts, the fiscal year-to-date total more than doubled, to 1,899, from 820 in the year-ago period. And the U.S. total was 62,034 through July, up from 33,543 in the same period a year ago, proving the reverse-mortgage frenzy is a nationwide trend.

“The reverse mortgage is becoming a popular financial planning tool for helping seniors live more secure retirements,” said Darryl Hicks, associate director of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, or NRMLA, an industry group based in Washington, D.C. And the rise in real estate values over the past decade has given elderly homeowners more equity to borrow against to combat rising health care costs, property taxes and utility bills. Statewide, property tax levies have grown 50 percent to $1.7 billion since fiscal 1996, according to the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council.

Utilities costs also have skyrocketed. National Grid, the primary electricity utility in the state, has increased its standard rate 40 percent – from 6.7 cents per kilowatt hour to 10 cents – in just the past year, according to the R.I. Public Utilities Commission. And the average price of home heating oil – $1.65 per gallon only two years ago – had shot up to $2.59 as of Aug. 7, according to the R.I. State Energy Office.

“The reverse mortgage has become the solution for people that are trapped between rising [living expenses] and flat incomes,” said Chris Barnett, of Rhode Island Housing, a nonprofit lender that has been offering reverse mortgages since the loans became available in 1989. Rhode Island Housing originated 75 reverse mortgages with a total value of $11.4 million in its last fiscal year, which ended June 30, up from 63 such loans worth $9.3 million in fiscal 2005, according to Barnett.

Another reason for the increase in reverse mortgages, the NRMLA’s Hicks said, is more lenders are getting into the business and marketing the loans.

The Washington Trust Co. got into the reverse mortgage business in the first quarter of 2006 and launched an ad campaign to spread the word, according Elizabeth B. Eckel, the bank’s senior vice president of marketing.

“Demographically, this is an ideal location for reverse mortgages,” said Eckel, noting that the state has an above-average percentage of seniors, as well as high housing values. The Westerly-based bank’s marketing drive has focused on homeowners 62 or older (the federally mandated age requirement) with direct mailings, print ads, in-branch merchandising and seminars.

“Washington Trust is taking the lead,” said Brenda Archambault, the bank’s reverse-mortgage specialist. It has originated $8.5 million in reverse-mortgage loans during the campaign, she said, and is the first and only bank in the state to offer the product. Broadening the demographic for such mortgages, Washington Trust and others in the business have begun to offer “Jumbo” versions of the loans – not backed by HUD, but by Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp., a HUD-approved lender – without the same federal caps on loan amounts.

“Now, I’m seeing more people who are doing well financially and certainly can live with their existing retirement income,” said William K. White, president of Ocean State Reverse Financing Inc. in North Kingstown.

Yet the average senior who gets a reverse mortgage from Rhode Island Housing is anything but wealthy. Their average annual income is $14,900, Barnett said, and their average age is 74.

With demand rising, the industry is working with Congress to widen the appeal of the mortgages and lift some restrictions. Meanwhile, the government has begun viewing the loans as a way for seniors to become less dependent on Medicaid and other subsidized programs.

In July, the U.S. House passed a bill (now pending in the Senate) to raise loan limits on HUD-backed reverse mortgages to $417,000, according to the NRMLA, which has lobbied for the legislation. HUD currently caps such loans at $316,350 in the Ocean State, the group says.

In July, the R.I. General Assembly adopted legislation to remove language in the state law on reverse mortgages that had limited the terms of such loans to 10 years. The change means unlimited terms are now available.

Though borrowers are required to complete HUD-certified credit counseling to get approved for a reverse mortgage, advocates for retirees and seniors stress that borrowers also need to educate themselves before committing to such loans.

“People need to be able to process this information,” said Corinne Calise Russo, director of the R.I. Department of Elderly Affairs. “People need to say, ‘I know what this is about, and I know someone told me that this is a good idea, but do I really need this?’ ”

Barbara Peters, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island office of the AARP, noted that borrowers also need to be aware of the “high” fees on reverse mortgages.

Between origination and appraisal fees, insurance and closing costs, those who take reverse mortgages can expect upfront expenses of about 5 percent of the loan amount, according to the NRMLA. The group says borrowers then must also pay monthly services charges, which vary by lender, and annual insurance premiums of 0.5 percent of the loan amount.

White, of Ocean State Reverse Financing, said one of the challenges of the reverse-mortgage business is dispelling myths about the loans. For instance, he said, the lender cannot get paid on the loan until the last person on the mortgage passes away or moves out and the house is sold.

Yet seniors and financial professionals are becoming more familiar with the mortgages, White said. “It’s a product that is just starting to come into its own.”

Friday, August 25, 2006

Reverse Mortgages

A reverse mortgage, also called a conversion mortgage, lets homeowners to pledge the equity value of their home and derive an income out of it. Reverse mortgage loans are available to people over 62 old age of age. These loans aid homeowners meet some contiguous cash requirements while residing in their own home. In a regular mortgage, the place holder pays the depository financial institution monthly payments. But in a reverse mortgage, the lender makes payments to the homeowner.


There are no restrictions on how one can use the profits. The payments you get are tax-free. People generally use reverse loans to complement retirement funds, ascent houses, take vacations, wage off other debts, or even prevent foreclosures. In lawsuit the applicant desires to switch to a different topographic point within the first 5 old age of the loan term, reverse mortgages can become very expensive.


The major classes of reverse mortgages include federally insured reverse mortgages, single-purpose reverse mortgages, and proprietary reverse mortgages. The first type is insured directly by the federal government, and the last two are provided by groups licensed by the government, and Banks or private fiscal mortgage lending organizations. Each type has different advantages and disadvantages that need to be measured while applying for a reverse mortgage.


A single-purpose reverse mortgage, the lowest-cost type of reverse mortgages to attain, can only be used for one specified purpose. Examples include place tax deferral (PTD) mortgages and deferred payment loans (DPLs). A federally insured reverse mortgage, also called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), supplies the biggest sum cash benefits of all the reverse mortgage options. A proprietorship reverse mortgage is more expensive than other types, and its major benefit is the higher home value limits.


A reverse mortgage offers fiscal security while you enjoy the comfort of your home after retirement. However, these long-term mortgage plans must be selected with extreme care. The companies and lenders which manage regular and multiple mortgages supply reverse mortgages. Customers can buy the loan either as a hunk sum or a credit line. Before selecting a plan, it is wise to consult a fiscal adviser who can supply you and penetration on the professionals and cons of a reverse mortgage.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Reverse Mortgage Lenders

You've made the determination that you necessitate some other aid in meeting your monthly fiscal obligations. One of the best options for those over sixty-two old age of age who have their main place is a reverse mortgage. Instead of you paying the depository financial institution each month, the depository financial institution will actually pay you. The loan can be taken out as a hunk sum, a fixed monthly payment or as a line of credit.


You make not have got to pay back the loan until you sell your place or move out permanently. There are many reverse mortgage lenders such as Banks and credit labor unions that you can reach to obtain inside information about these loans. Rates may change so you will desire to check up on around with assorted Banks before deciding. There are respective types of reverse mortgage loans and they include the following:


Home Equity Conversion Mortgage - HECMs are the oldest types of reverse mortgage loans and the most popular. They are insured by the federal government through the Federal Housing Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The amount of money you can take out as a reverse mortgage loan depends upon your age, the appraised value of your home, current interest rates and the location of your home. The aged you are and the higher the equity (what it would sell for less what you still owe), the higher the loan amount can be. For 2006, the loan bounds for a place in a rural country is $200,160 while the bounds for high cost countries is $362,790.


Another reverse home mortgage product that you can obtain from a lender is the Fannie Mae Home Keeper. Fannie Mae is the largest investor of home mortgages in the country and a major investor in reverse mortgages. Fannie Mae developed its own reverse mortgage product as an alternative to the HECM to address the needs of customers who had a higher property value on their home. Home Keeper loans can be larger than HECMs because their mortgage limit is higher.


Another Fannie Mae reverse mortgage product is the Home Keeper for Home Purchase program. This is for seniors who wish to use the reverse mortgage loan to buy a new home. For example, let's say someone sold his home for a $60,000 profit and wants to buy a new house for $100,000. He could get a reverse mortgage using money from a Home Keeper loan so he would not have to use his savings to purchase the more expensive home.
The opportunities are endless for borrowing against the equity in your home from reverse mortgage lenders you can depend upon.


Friday, August 04, 2006

Consult a trusted mortgage-lending expert before making your decision

The bad credit home loan or bad credit mortgage makers target consumers with bad credit, in the belief that those people with credit problems will be desperate for credit.Wells Fargo, the third in the current Forbes list of top mortgage companies, has about 1,000 home-mortgage branches all over the US and in some foreign countries. Earlier, having bad credit was the greatest detriment to getting a mortgage approved. The common part of mortgage includes fixed rate mortgage and adjustable rate mortgage. You may have seen advertisements for a bad credit mortgage, a bad credit home loan or one that says bad credit okay .

In addition, it provides a pension for your retirement. You can often be automatically approved right in the office. For example, if you owe $50,000 on your mortgage and value of your home is $100,000 then you can refinance for $75,000 this gives you $25,000 in cash. The only thing for your lender to go on when approving your mortgage is your credit score; because of this you will need stellar credit to qualify for this type of no doc mortgage.

You want to maintain a debt-to-income ratio that is less than 20% of your monthly take home pay. Equity lines of credit ALWAYS come with variable interest rate. The broker will provide up to four offers. Credit reports are prepared by authorised credit reporting agencies, such as the Credit Reference Association of Australia.The credit reports are generally organized into three sections: credit lines that are clean, credit lines you were late on, and credit lines that are now closed.