Mortgage Loans

Although you may see many different types of mortgage loans, they all belong to two different families: Fixed Rate Mortgages and Adjustable Rate Mortgages. Here is some basic information on the two types of mortgages.

Fixed Rate Mortgages

Fixed Rate Mortgages are the most popular type of loan. They offer a monthly payment that is known and does not change for the life of the loan. Most fixed rate mortgages are for terms of 15-30 years, with some as long as 40 + years. When choosing a longer loan term, beware of the interest rates. Although it might be lower payments when you choose a 30 year loan term, you will probably be paying higher interest payments.

Adjustable Rate Mortgages

An Adjustable Rate Mortgage is a loan in which your interest rate on the loan is periodically adjusted based on a variety of indexes. For example: a 3/1 ARM loan would offer a fixed rate for the first three years, adjusting once a year thereafter. The lender sets the interest rate by adding a margin to the index rate (I.E.: COFI, CD, Libor, Etc.).

Two Common Index Rates:

• Cost of Funds Index (COFI) - a regional average of interest expenses incurred by financial institutions, which in turn is used as a base for calculating variable rate loans.
  
• Certificates of Deposit Index - calculated by averaging the previous 12 rates of the 3 month CD rate.
  

For more information on every aspect of buying and selling your house, visit www.123SellHouseNow.com.

What is a Short Sale?

In a short sale, a seller arranges with their mortgage lender to accept a price lower than the amount they owe on the property. The lender typically agrees to forgive the rest of the loan. This helps the seller to avoid foreclosure, the buyer to pick up a property for less than normal, and the lender to avoid having to unload a property.

Things that you need to know before starting a short sale:

• It’s not necessary to be behind on payments for the Lender to agree to a short sale, but there does need to be a valid hardship. Many banks will require the borrower to be behind on payments. Check with your bank before doing anything that could hurt your credit.
• Short sales do affect your credit scores. The damage is not as extensive as a foreclosure, but it will still be on your credit.
• Property taxes still have to be paid as a part of any accepted short sale. It depends on the lenders policies as to who pays it, but it will be paid.
• Interest is accrued until the date a loan is paid off. You may have as much as 30 days of interest on top of the balance owing. This will need to be paid off with the short sale.
• It may be very difficult if not next to impossible to get a mortgage during the next 12 months. However, if you have paid all your other bills on time, your credit score will probably improve rather quickly.
• You need to have a buyer for your property in order to complete the short sale process.
• Should there be multiple mortgages on a property, all mortgage companies will need to agree with the short sale offer.
• Make sure to have the lender agree in writing to forgive any deficiency so they will not give you a 1099 for the difference (deficiency) of the loan amount and what the property ultimately sold to the buyer.
• “Squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Banks are inundated with requests for short sales so don’t wait for them to respond. Call them periodically to help the process along.
• Short sales are not a “short” process. They may take months to finalize all of the details.

For more information on all aspects of your home when buying or selling, visit www.123SellHouseNow.com.

How to Conserve Energy During the Summer.

Summer began on June 21st, and www.123SellHouseNow.com is giving you tips on how to conserve energy and money during the HOT summer months.

1. Turn your refrigerator down, and make sure the energy saver switch is turned on. The refrigerator should be set at 37 degrees. The freezer should be as close to 3 degrees as possible.
2. Buy energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your most-used lights. Although they cost more initially, they save money in the long run by using only ¼ the energy of an ordinary incandescent bulb and lasting 8 to 12 times longer.
3. Turn down your water heater thermostat. Thermostats are often set to 140 degrees when 120 is usually fine.
4. Clean or replace air filters for your air conditioner as recommended. Energy is lost when air conditioners and hot-air furnaces have to work harder to draw air through dirty filters.
5. Weatherize your home or apartment. You can use caulk and weather stripping to plug air leaks around windows and doors.
6. Close blinds and curtains enough to keep the sun from heating up your house. The southern and western sides of your house or apartment are most important.
7. Install proper ventilation in your attic to accrue the trapped summer heat to escape.
8. Ensure you have the proper amount of insulation in your attic to help keep the cool air in and the hot air out.
9. Install a programmable thermostat to ensure your house is being cooled only when it needs to be.
10. Ceiling and floor fans cost less to run than an air conditioner and can be concentrated on the only rooms that need to be cooled instead of the whole house or apartment.

For more information on all aspects of your home when buying or selling, visit www.123SellHouseNow.com.

Home Buyers Checklist

Have you ever felt overwhelmed when previewing a house for sale? Have you ever wondered what you should be looking for when getting ready to purchase a new home? www.123SellHouseNow.com has created a checklist to help guide you through the home buying process. You can now know what to look for when home shopping. Click Here to get the printable version of the checklist.

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Date:
Asking Price:
Address:
The House
Age of House
# of Bedrooms/ # of baths:
# of Storage Closets:
Basement Finished/ Unfinished:
Attic:
Separate Dining area:
Fireplace (s):
Carpet in # of Rooms:
Hardwood Flooring:
Tile Flooring:
Laminate Flooring:
Electric or Gas Stove:
Oven:
Refrigerator:
Electric or Gas Heating:
Age of Heating System:
Age of Water Heater:
Central Air Condition:
Electrical System Condition:
Storm Windows/Screens:
Garbage Disposal:
Washer/Dryer Hookups:
Wall Conditions:

Wall Paper:
Roof Condition/Age:
Countertop Condition/Material:
Patio:
Yard Condition (Level, Slope):
Pool:
Garage/ Carport (1,2,3):
Driveway:
Fenced:
The Neighborhood
Schools:
Close to Transit/Air:
Traffic Volume:
Crime Rate:
Near Work:
Near Religious Centers:
Near Shopping:
Sidewalks:
Street Lights:
Garbage Collection:
Neighborhood Dues:
High Voltage Power Lines:
Busy Road:
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous

For more information on all aspects of your home when buying or selling, visit www.123SellHouseNow.com.