Posts Tagged ‘subprime mortgage’

Get Rid of Your Subprime Mortgage with a Refinance Loan

December 16th, 2010

Get Rid of Your Subprime Mortgage with a Refinance Loan

Subprime mortgages may seem like a good idea at first glance, but a couple of months or years, depending on your loan term later and you may have realized just a bit too late that youre not ready to meet their requirements. Thankfully, theres one quick way of getting out of this predicament and thats by refinancing with a second and better mortgage.

What Are Subprime Mortgages?
Subprime mortgages are offered to people with bad credit. Theyre usually the last resort for borrowers since they come with high interest rates and loan application costs. Not only that, but youll also be subjected to balloon payments and prepayment penalties. Of course, subprime mortgages arent completely bad. Since they dont take exception to low credit scores, they could be your only means available for your financial needs.

Pay Off Your Subprime Morttgage with a Refinance Loan
Here are five quick steps to help you pay off your subprime mortgage with a refinance loan.

Step 1 Know the right time to refinance with a second mortgage.
Timing is critical and especially when your existing mortgage comes with an adjustable interest rate. The best time to refinance with a second mortgage is right before your interest rate adjusts to a higher one, before your pre-payment penalty is called in, and certainly before your loan expires and youll be required to make a balloon payment.

If you dont know the answers to these questions, you can always contact your creditor and ask. Dont worry; they wont take exception to it. Theyll probably think youre just modifying your budget to cover your monthly dues.

Step 2 Assess your credit rating.
Have you done anything to improve your credit rating since the last time youve checked? If you havent yet, there are many things you can work on immediately to repair your credit. Firstly, you can close revolving credit accounts that only put you in greater financial debt. Paying on time can also help.

Be warned: if you take this step lightly, you might not be eligible for the best mortgage refinance rates. If you believe DIY credit repair tips arent enough, you can always ask help from a professional.

Remember as well that youre entitled to one free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus, namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, every year. Take advantage of that!

Step 3 Establish a steady source of income.
Creditors always love people with steady sources of income; its music to their ears because it ensures that their borrowers will always have enough money to at least cover their interest payments.

If you want to qualify for a second mortgage and eliminate your existing loan, you need to submit proof that you have a stable and steady source of income. If you are only receiving cash income, make sure to provide documentation certifying the constancy of your cash receipts.

Step 4 Assess your homes equity.
How much of it is left? How much of it remains untouched? If youve used at least ninety percent of your homes equity, you might not be eligible at the moment for the best mortgage refinance rates. You need to work on reducing the size of your existing mortgage before applying for a second mortgage.

Step 5 Shop, Compare, and Apply
If alls well and ready then the only thing left to do is shop for rates, make comparisons, and submit your application!

When Should I Pay Points On My Sub-Prime Mortgage?

March 20th, 2009


Mortgage brokers and loan officers make the majority of their income when your loan closes.

They are compensated either by you, by your lender, or by the seller (in a purchase transaction). If you are barely able to come up with the down payment and closing costs on a purchase or in desperate need of all of the proceeds from your cash-out refinance, you probably can’t afford to spend a lot of cash to lower your rate. One “point” is equal to exactly 1% of the loan amount.

If you are offered a “no closing cost” or “low closing cost” loan, your are basically financing those closing costs over the term of the loan. Make sure that you know how much you are paying in closing costs when you are quoted an interest rate. Closing costs can vary greatly and if you are getting competing offers from different lenders, make sure you know the interest rate, closing costs, loan type, etc. Not only do you need to be comparing apples to apples, you need to be comparing similar types of apples.
Recommmended Mortgage Lenders:

Lending Tree
- Bad Credit OK
- Purchase, Home Equity & Refi
- This company provides up to 4 loan offers from one application. They provide quick approvals and are one of the largest loan companies on the web. We recommend applying here first.

Paying Points Means a Lower Interest Rate

Generally, the more you pay in points, the lower your interest rate, and vice versa. For example, if you are quoted 7.5% with no points, and your broker plans on making a 1% commission on your loan, your rate was probably available to your broker at 7.0%.

The lender will quote your broker or loan officer at a wholesale rate and you pay a rate that may have been marked up, similar to paying for merchandise at a retail store rather than paying direct from the manufacturer. The lender will offer to pay your broker what is referred to as a yield spread premium in exchange for charging you a higher rate. On a $200,000 loan, for example, if your rate is available for 7.0%, you can offer to pay one point in cash at a cost of $2,000. If you are purchasing a home, that $2,000 can be paid by you directly, by a friend or relative, or even by the seller if you or your real estate agent can negotiate that in the purchase contract. If you are refinancing your home, that $2,000 can come from the proceeds of the new loan or paid by you in cash.

When Should You Pay Points?

There is no golden rule to determine when paying points down makes sense and when it would be better to pay a higher interest rate. The general rule of thumb has been that if you plan to keep your loan for more than five to seven years, it’s best to pay points to lower your rate. However, this is always a case-by-case basis, depending on the loan amount, the monthly savings on a lower interest rate, etc. Ask your broker to give you different options of paying points versus paying a higher interest rate. There are a large number of point/rate possibilities Your broker should be able to give you fairly sound advice on what option is best for you. Much of it depends on how long you plan on retaining the loan.

Paying Money Upfront Can Save You In the Long Run

If you can afford to pay points at closing and plan on retaining your loan for at least five years, paying money upfront may save you a lot in interest. Generally it makes more sense to pay points on a fixed rate mortgage, rather than paying points to lower a rate that will be adjusting in two or three years anyway. If you can afford the monthly payment that comes with the higher interest rate, it is often more feasible to finance those origination/broker fees into the loan, especially if you do not plan on keeping the loan for a long time. This is especially true for first time homebuyers with less than perfect credit who need all the cash they can get to make a down payment.

Recommended Refinance Lenders:

Lending Tree
- Bad Credit OK
- Purchase, Home Equity & Refi
- This company provides up to 4 loan offers from one application. They provide quick approvals and are one of the largest loan companies on the web. We recommend applying here first.

Paying Points When You Refinance For a Lower Rate

If you are refinancing primarily to lower your rate, you will probably want to use proceeds from the loan to pay for the closing costs which can include points. If you have some equity in your home available and want to reduce your interest rate, this is an excellent way to lower your monthly housing payment.