Posts Tagged ‘Mortgage Rates’
A Mortgage Calculator Can Help You Make a Better Deal
A simple but effective solution for your home loan calculation is a mortgage calculator. Mortgage Calculator helps you determine your monthly payments on your mortgage. You can calculate your PITI Payment (Principle, interest, taxes and insurance). All you need to do is to fill the template, and within seconds you get all the numbers in front of you. With mortgage calculator you can do all your calculations by yourself and can become your own mortgage broker. The biggest advantage of a mortgage calculator is the ability to find out what you can afford. Another advantage is the fact that it allows you to play with numbers. If you can make slight adjustments to your monthly payments or loan term, you may be able to make a claim for a larger loan. A mortgage calculator will also allow you to compare mortgage rates that save your time. It is a well known fact that a free mortgage calculator will save you hours behind a mortgage consultant. If you use this tool you may be able to save your precious time.
A mortgage calculator tool is
a financial tool which will help you work out the figures prior to taking a financial decision or at every step of the mortgage transaction. The mortgage calculator gives you the luxury of playing with the interest rate, amount of deposit, and loan term to figure out what you can afford, and how to arrive at the loan amount that you can afford. While you figure out the maximum you can afford to pay, it helps you avoid financial problems in the future. Mortgage calculators are easy-to-use tools to help you with simple calculations for your home buying and home financing needs. The best way to make the right choice is to evaluate and compare and this is where mortgage calculator can help you the most. Mortgage calculators should be viewed as a first step asset to obtaining a mortgage, but know they have their limitations. When trying to restructure a mortgage, or when entering into a new one, the mortgage calculator can help you understand what you can do, and what you cannot afford. For example, a calculator does not look into your credit worthiness or the impact a credit default has on the interest rate.
Before the invention of mortgage calculators, the amount was computed on the basis of multiple interest rate tables. These complex tables required in-depth knowledge and understanding of calculation procedure to compute mortgage rates. Nevertheless, mortgage calculators make the calculations easier and much well-organized. Now, in the mortgage calculator tool, you start with determining your balance or principal. This figure is how much of the house you’ll actually be paying on. Next, you will select how many years your loan will be amortized over. Then you enter your interest rate and press the “calculate” button.
The calculator will give you your estimated monthly mortgage payment based on the information you have provided. Thus, a mortgage calculator is a financial tool which makes your loan calculations simple and fast so that you can evaluate and compare prior to taking decisions on your mortgage. There are a wide variety of mortgage calculators available. Some of them are mortgage closing cost calculator, mortgage amortization loan calculator, home loan mortgage calculator, amortization table calculator, amortization schedule mortgage calculator, refinancing mortgage calculator, interest rate mortgage calculator, mortgage rate refinancing calculator, adjustable rate mortgage calculator, debt consolidation calculator; etc. All you need to do is select the right one that will work out figures with respect to your own situation.
What Are The Pros And Cons of a Mortgage Refinance Loan
When you refinance your mortgage you are replacing it with a new mortgage loan. As with most things, a refinance mortgage loan offers pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks.While there are many pros to refinancing your loan, you will probably be considering refinancing because you will save money by refinancing into a lower rate mortgage loan.
Since there is a lengthy application for a mortgage refinance (just like the one you went through for your original mortgage) you need to balance the pros and cons to make an informed decision if mortgage refinancing is right for you.
Because of this application and the fees involved, you have to carefully decide if you really want to go through everything associated with a mortgage refinance.
There are many possible pros and reasons why you may want to refinance your existing home loan into a new loan.
What are the Pros of Mortgage Refinancing?
- Refinance into a low rate mortgage loan. Interest rates for mortgage loans are always changing and so interest rates may one day be much lower than the rates you are locked into with your mortgage you already possess. The interest rate is a major factor in the dollar amount of your loan and the length of the life of the loan.
- If you are locked into an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) loan and you know that the interest rates are going to rise you can refinance your loan to a low rate, non-adjustable interest rate.
- Avoid paying a higher rate if you have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage and you know that interest rates are going to rise
- If you want to build equity as fast as possible you can refinance your loan into a mortgage loan with higher monthly payments and a shorter loan life.
- Raise money for your own use. You can make home improvements (which will increase the value of your home), you can buy a needed car, you can start a business or raise funds for your business, or take a trip with your family.
If you previously had a bad credit score and you couldn’t qualify for a mortgage home loan with a decent interest rate and you have now worked to improve your credit it is possible for you to get a better interest rate on a loan.
As with everything, there are also drawbacks to refinancing your mortgage so you need to take them into consideration and balance the pros and cons of everything involved when it comes to mortgage refinance.
What are the cons of a Refinancing Mortgage Loan?
- You will lose the seniority of your mortgage. As your mortgage ages, more and more of your monthly payment is applied to building equity; at the beginning of your mortgage, your mortgage payments are paying off interest and not building you as much equity. If you refinance your mortgage you will lose any seniority years you gained towards your mortgage payment going to building equity and not paying off interest, and you will have to start all over again, with more of your payment going towards interest and not equity.
- If you’ve had a mortgage for a long time, you should probably not refinance your home’s mortgage loan. As your mortgage ages more and more of your payment goes towards building equity in your property. If you refinance you will start all over again with your mortgage loan and more of your payment will go towards paying interest again.
- The costs and headaches of refinancing a mortgage may not outweigh the savings you will achieve if you know or think you may be moving in the next few years.
- You may have to pay fees and penalties to cancel your existing mortgage loan. However, if you are refinancing with the same lender you may be able to get these fees waived or heavily reduced.
If after weighing all the benefits and drawbacks to a mortgage loan refinancing option you decide a mortgage refinance is for you then please visit us (links below) for more information.
Why The Lowest Mortgage Rate is Not Always The Best Rate For You
Many times I am contacted by mortgage clients asking about what my best mortgage rate is. It is common to believe that everything is an apples vs. Apples comparison with regards to mortgage rates, and that the lowest rate is always the best deal. However, this is often not the case.
Borrowers often overlook the terms of the mortgage, or do not receive disclosure of items that are not attractive to an offer (particularly from Canadian banks). Below are some of the situations where taking the lowest rate will often cost you money in the long run:
-Many times the bank will not even approve you for the amount you need to buy the home you want. However, there are other “A” mortgage lenders out there who will approve you and also give excellent rates.
-I have also had clients who were with a bank who required that the money was taken from an account at their institution, which is not where they banked, and they found it very inconvenient to have to transfer money every month.
-Your mortgage lender may offer you a low rate to get into the door, and then when it comes time to renew your mortgage provide you an offer that is significantly higher than the market is offering. At that time it may be difficult for you to get an approval elsewhere and you could be stuck with their offer.
-If you get a variable mortgage with the intention to lock in to a fixed mortgage rate at a later date, many bank lenders will only give you posted rates when you lock in, meaning your interest rate will be much higher.
-Do you want mortgage life insurance coverage to protect yourself in case of death or disability? Many lenders including all the banks offer coverage that is strictly tied to their institution, so if you become sick during that coverage and try to move your mortgage, they will discontinue coverage and you will be paying much higher premiums to be re-insured elsewhere.
-Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) mortgages are often reported on the credit bureau, particularly with the banks and credit unions. It is generally much more favourable to have a HELOC mortgage that is not reporting on your credit bureau, as it is more favourable for your credit score. This could save you money and allow you to borrow money easier in the future.
-Sometimes a lender has a product that works with a strategy that is of benefit to you but may not offer the very lowest rate to get those benefits. An example of this would be the TDMP mortgages, which is a structure to make your mortgage tax deductible in Canada, and can help to create a great deal more wealth than a lower rate may offer.
Save Money on your Mortgage, Not Just on Your Mortgage Rate
These are just a few examples of things that could cost you much more money than saving .1% on your rate will give you. Keep this in mind next time you meet with your banker about your mortgage and often it is best to seek a second opinion from a mortgage broker who can give you helpful advice.
Jeff Evans is a mortgagebroker with Centum Innovative Financial Inc. In Vancouver, BC, Canada. Since becoming a mortgage broker in 2007, he has helped many clients to save money on their mortgage refinancing, and to help them be approved at the best rates and best terms on their home purchases with “A” mortgage lenders.