With the current “mortgage meltdown” we hear so much about these days, your average consumer thinks that the days of 100% financing have gone by the wayside. True, you are hard pressed these days to find a bank or lender that will want to carry a second mortgage that combined with a first mortgage adds up to 100% financing. That’s because if there is a default, sitting in second lien position is particularly dicey. Too much risk is involved. And since, in recent history, that scenario of the 80/20 combo was the most common 100% financing vehicle available to a certain group of consumers (non first time homebuyers), there’s a misconception out there that 100% options are all but dried up.
But, a-ha! There is hope for someone who has great credit but prefers to invest his/her assets elsewhere when rates are so low. It’s called the Flex 100. And it can apply to purchases and refinance transactions.
I heard an analyst mention on television the other day that mortgage money is so cheap right now it’s like a sale at Macy’s. That made me chuckle, but it’s true. In which case, why not invest your money elsewhere if you qualify for 100% financing. After all, the homes are still appreciating in most areas, but not at the stellar rate we saw in the past.
The Flex 100 requires you to invest $500 of your own cash towards the transaction, so I guess it’s technically not 100% financing, but it’s pretty darn close. And no, you don’t have to be buying your first home to get this deal. You can actually have owned a home in the past three years! However, it does apply to financing your primary residence only. You can’t get this deal for that nice cabin in Gatlinburg you want to use on the weekends or for that great rental down the street you think you can get a good deal on. You’ve got to live in the house to qualify for this financing.
But you can do a refinance, as long as it’s not a “cash-out,” meaning you’re not paying off debt or taking equity out of the property. It must be a rate term refinance only. However, you can pay off that second mortgage or home equity line of credit you hate, IF you obtained that 2nd lien mortgage when you got your first mortgage (a piggy back closing, we call it). Or to make it clearer, you originally had that 80/20 combo mentioned earlier. If you got that home equity mortgage a month or two after your initial closing to build a deck or payoff a credit card, than it that won’t work for a Flex 100 refinance.
What about your credit score? Well, it will affect the price you get, but there is no “minimum” credit score required for this program. You just have to get an approval through the automated underwriting system required. But be realistic – if you’ve got “iffy” credit, you probably won’t get an approval. A borrower with a credit score below a 620 would probably have to have a low loan to value or debt to income ratio for a chance of an approval.
A Flex 100 may or may not make sense for you. But hey, at least you know it’s an option. Your lender should be able to help you determine if this opportunity to flex your mortgage muscle makes sense for you.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/mortgage-articles/100-home-loan-financing-flex-your-muscle-324506.html
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Creating a Personal Budget
While most of us will utilize plans for vacations, plans for the holidays, or plan out our weekly to-do lists, often times planning how we spend our money is something we never get around to doing. Simply put, a budget is a plan, not necessarily an elaborate plan, for where to put our money. How much to spend, how much to save, what are the items needed, what are the items wanted and differentiating between the two.
To begin to get control of day-to-day spending, begin by journalizing one month’s expenditures. Don’t change your spending habits; just jot them down for one month. Afterward, examine your list. Highlight the necessities and the nonessentials. Now, comes the tougher part, identify nonessential expenses that you would like to decrease. Often, just seeing how much is spent without awareness of the amount of outflow is enough to jump start you on your way to increasing your cash flow by trimming a little to begin with and create new budgets, in increments, to get to your overall goals. Allow yourself to keep some of the little extras you enjoy so that your budget is realistic and not a burden. Also, think in terms of perfecting your budget over the course of several months so that you will not feel the uncomfortable limitations of too drastic a change to your lifestyle. You want the budget to work for you over the long term.
First, let’s identify a few areas to cut expenses and allow you a base line to use during months two and three:
1. After you see what your nonessential expenditures are for one month, break the month down into an average per week expenditure. Take out cash, a bit less than you spent the previous month. Use this allotment for your nonessentials for the upcoming month. If you run out before the week is up, the end is in sight, and you can make it a few days without that extra latte.
2. Look at how many times you eat out each week. Make a plan for the first month for eating out, but with fewer days allowed for eating out. Pick days that you know will be easier for you and stick to it.
3. When shopping, go to the clearance areas first, then the discounted sales areas. Buy what is on sale. Develop the habit of checking the clearance areas on a regular basis. Build your wardrobe this way, piece by piece, not buying a whole outfit at once.
4. Take an afternoon to shop and compare prices of your telephone, cable or satellite company, garbage pickup service, credit card interest rates and terms, etc. to find better rates, including the bonuses often given for switching.
5. Withdraw cash only from your bank’s ATM machines to avoid extra charges.
6. Make a list before going shopping and stick to the list. You may want to comfort yourself in the store by knowing you can always return if you absolutely must to get other items not on the list. Chances are you won’t, more money saved while avoiding the uncomfortable angst of this transition period. You want to succeed, do what works at the moment to avoid impulse spending.
Overall, remember to reduce stress by starting with a snapshot of where you are spending money now, make a budget in increments, allow yourself a few luxuries as you go, don’t be too hard on yourself. You want the budget to work over the long term. Create successes for yourself in the beginning, reevaluate over a period of several months, and a new lifestyle will emerge where you will be more in control of your spending and have less wasteful spending that will generate more cash flow for you as well.
Author Resource:- Phil Rogers is a recovering Credit addict going on 15 years of living debt free. He now spends his spare time paying forward his knowledge to those who need help with debt reduction, set up a personal budget, or otherwise seeking Debt Reduction Advice
Article From Free Reprint Articles
To begin to get control of day-to-day spending, begin by journalizing one month’s expenditures. Don’t change your spending habits; just jot them down for one month. Afterward, examine your list. Highlight the necessities and the nonessentials. Now, comes the tougher part, identify nonessential expenses that you would like to decrease. Often, just seeing how much is spent without awareness of the amount of outflow is enough to jump start you on your way to increasing your cash flow by trimming a little to begin with and create new budgets, in increments, to get to your overall goals. Allow yourself to keep some of the little extras you enjoy so that your budget is realistic and not a burden. Also, think in terms of perfecting your budget over the course of several months so that you will not feel the uncomfortable limitations of too drastic a change to your lifestyle. You want the budget to work for you over the long term.
First, let’s identify a few areas to cut expenses and allow you a base line to use during months two and three:
1. After you see what your nonessential expenditures are for one month, break the month down into an average per week expenditure. Take out cash, a bit less than you spent the previous month. Use this allotment for your nonessentials for the upcoming month. If you run out before the week is up, the end is in sight, and you can make it a few days without that extra latte.
2. Look at how many times you eat out each week. Make a plan for the first month for eating out, but with fewer days allowed for eating out. Pick days that you know will be easier for you and stick to it.
3. When shopping, go to the clearance areas first, then the discounted sales areas. Buy what is on sale. Develop the habit of checking the clearance areas on a regular basis. Build your wardrobe this way, piece by piece, not buying a whole outfit at once.
4. Take an afternoon to shop and compare prices of your telephone, cable or satellite company, garbage pickup service, credit card interest rates and terms, etc. to find better rates, including the bonuses often given for switching.
5. Withdraw cash only from your bank’s ATM machines to avoid extra charges.
6. Make a list before going shopping and stick to the list. You may want to comfort yourself in the store by knowing you can always return if you absolutely must to get other items not on the list. Chances are you won’t, more money saved while avoiding the uncomfortable angst of this transition period. You want to succeed, do what works at the moment to avoid impulse spending.
Overall, remember to reduce stress by starting with a snapshot of where you are spending money now, make a budget in increments, allow yourself a few luxuries as you go, don’t be too hard on yourself. You want the budget to work over the long term. Create successes for yourself in the beginning, reevaluate over a period of several months, and a new lifestyle will emerge where you will be more in control of your spending and have less wasteful spending that will generate more cash flow for you as well.
Author Resource:- Phil Rogers is a recovering Credit addict going on 15 years of living debt free. He now spends his spare time paying forward his knowledge to those who need help with debt reduction, set up a personal budget, or otherwise seeking Debt Reduction Advice
Article From Free Reprint Articles
Monday, May 11, 2009
125% Equity Home Loans=============
If you are a homeowner in need of a home equity loan but you have not yet built up any equity in your home, don't despair. A 125 percent equity home loan may be the answer.
A 125 percent equity home loan is a second mortgage loan that allows you to borrow up to 25% more than the value of your home. For example, if your home is worth $100,000 and you owe $100,000 on the mortgage, this loan program would allow you to still borrow up to $25,000.
The 125 percent equity home loan is offered by various online lenders. Each lender has their own qualification and loan term guidelines but generally this is a credit score driven loan program. Credit score driven means that you have to have a certain credit score to qualify for the loan. In addition, your credit score usually determines the maximum loan amount you may qualify for and the maximum cash in hand you may receive. Also, some 125 percent equity home loan lenders may require seasoning on the length of time you have lived in your home. Three months is normally the minimum.
When it comes to a property appraisal, most 125 percent home equity loan lenders do not require you to obtain one. They generally will use the purchase price of your home as the value if you have lived in your residence for 12 months or less. If you have lived in your home over 12 months, a recent tax assessment, simple drive-by appraisal, or automated value model (avm) can be used. An avm is a computer generated assessment of your home's value which is based on recent home sales of comparable houses in your neighborhood.
For more information on 125% home equity loans, or to compare rates and programs of 125% home equity loan lenders visit http://www.equityloansource.com
Levetta Rivera is a successful mortgage broker and publisher of the following financial websites: http://www.equityloansource.com and http://www.militaryvaloan.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levetta_Rivera
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