Those who can't afford a down payment of at least 20 percent of the home loab must pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
Those who can't afford a down payment of at least 20 percent of the home loab must pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
View Home Purchase Loans RSS feedWant to buy a home, but can't afford 20 percent down? With some creative financing, you may be able to avoid having to purchase private mortgage insurance.
Buying a home can be fiscally aggravating. Not only must you make payments for the duration of the loan, you also have to make a significant down payment and cover closing costs and other fees before even getting that far.
Those who can't afford a down payment of at least 20 percent of the home loab must pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). PMI offers lenders some security if you default on your loan later on. It also allows borrowers with less than the standard deposit greater access to home ownership. Unfortunately, PMI usually adds at least one half percent of the mortgage cost to your bill. Fortunately, new loan options help to avoid the insurance altogether.
Piggyback loans, or combo loans, are a form of financing that buyers use when they can't afford the standard 20% down. Piggyback loans are really two loans, the first loan covers 80% of the selling price and the second loan helps with the down payment. According to The Wall Street Journal, the second loan usually will have a higher interest rate, but the payments combined should still be less than a single loan with PMI.
You can also find other variations of the piggyback loan. For instance, an 80-10-10 loan is one in which the first loan equals 80 percent of the cost, the second loan covers 10 percent of the cost - as in half of the down payment - and the final 10 percent comes from your own pocket. It's always best to pay whatever you can upfront to avoid finance charges. Crunch the numbers with your lender and find what works best for you!
Some politicians are in favor of providing assistance to the millions of homeowners who are facing default as a result of poor decision-making and falling home prices. Others are dead set against it. Let's see where the American people stand.
An open letter to all of the lawmakers and taxpayers who think a mortgage bailout is what we need to solve the housing crisis.
To get borrowers to leave a house--and leave it in good condition--mortgage lenders around the nation have begun offering cash for keys. Some lenders are paying out upwards of $3,000.
Democrats unveiled a new plan last week that will allow the FHA to buy $300 billion in delinquent, underwater mortgages. The initial cost to taxpayers is estimated to be $20 billion.
The worst housing slump since the Great Depression is prompting all manner of new bailout plans. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke encourages banks to forgive portions of mortgage debt, the Democrats propose using billions in federal dollars on buying up bad loans, and the Bush Administration is prepared to dump bank losses on the taxpayers' shoulders.
Should mortgage borrowers at risk of losing their home be given a bailout? What about lenders who face lost profits? Four recent polls ask Americans where they stand on these issues.
Many people may be losing their homes to foreclosure because of legitimate financial crises, but there are even more people losing their homes because of lender follies as well as their own greed and stupidity. Here are five stories in particular that will be sure to induce fits of eye-rolling.
If you have followed the news at all over the last few months, then you know that the public has been spoon fed a spate of tearjerker news stories that are meant to paint struggling mortgage borrowers as victims. These stories talk about the importance of staving off foreclosures and helping people who need it, but they very rarely touch on the truth of the matter: most mortgage borrowers were reckless and do not deserved to be rescued.
Are you familiar with home loan terminology like adjustable rate, credit score and interest-only? Knowing this home loan jargon can help you become a savvy home buyer and allow you to better understand a realtor or lender. Read this article for explanations of these home loan terms.