Before you even step foot in the real estate market, looking at homes for sale, you need to find a lender. Once you do, you need to secure a pre-approval letter from them that lets the seller and/or real estate agent know that you are pre-approved for the loan. Without this letter, many sellers won’t even waste their time showing you the home. They only want serious buyers that they know have the ability to secure financing (or pay cash).Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click … [Read more...]
The Steps to Writing a Financial Hardship Letter for a Mortgage
If you are asking your mortgage lender for help because you can’t make your payments, you may need to write a financial hardship letter. This letter lets the lender know the exact circumstances of what happened to cause you to fall behind.Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.Your hardship letter must be very detailed and include the points that lenders look for when deciding if you are a good candidate for a loan modification.Keep reading to learn more about the … [Read more...]
Max LTV for Stated Income Loans
Stated income loans are still around, contrary to what many people believe. These loans may not look the same as you remember, but there are still ways for borrowers that can’t verify their income the traditional way to secure loan funding.Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.Just how much can you borrow and how do the loans work? Keep reading to find out more. Who Can Get a Stated Income Loan? First, let’s discuss who can even obtain a stated income loan. Typically, … [Read more...]
5 Common Debt Consolidation Mistakes to Avoid
Before you even step foot in the real estate market, looking at homes for sale, you need to find a lender. Once you do, you need to secure a pre-approval letter from them that lets the seller and/or real estate agent know that you are pre-approved for the loan. Without this letter, many sellers won’t even waste their time showing you the home. They only want serious buyers that they know have the ability to secure financing (or pay cash).Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click … [Read more...]
The Top Ways to Choose the Right Mortgage
You are ready to buy a house – congratulations! Before you start, though, you need to do the hard work of finding a mortgage. If this is your first home, you may not even realize how many mortgage programs are available today. It’s more than choosing the right interest rate or even the right term – you have to put all of the pieces together to choose the right loan.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here. The Type of Loan First, you must choose the right type of loan. The choices … [Read more...]
Can you Deduct HELOC Interest Payments on Your Taxes?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the standard deduction for taxpayers. It increased the deduction enough that many people take the standard deduction. If you don’t itemize your deductions, you can’t write off interest on any loan, let alone your HELOC.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.Assuming your deductions exceed the standard deduction limit, can you deduct the interest payments on your taxes any longer? The Previous Ruling Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you could deduct … [Read more...]
The Steps to Making a Success Offer on a Home
You’ve decided on a home and are ready to make the offer. Do you know what you are doing? Do you know what sellers want?Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.Even if you work with a realtor (which we recommend), it’s important to know what makes a great offer. We outline the steps for you below. Get a Pre-Approval Before you look at homes, find a reputable lender and get pre-approved. This step saves a lot of time and frustration.Sellers will take your offer more … [Read more...]
What is a Closed-End Home Equity Loan?
If you want to tap into your home’s equity, you have a few options, one of which is the closed-end home equity loan. A closed-end home equity loan is like your standard mortgage with monthly payments and a finite term.Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.Keep reading to learn how it works. How the Closed-End Home Equity Loan Works The closed-end home equity loan gives you the chance to tap into your home’s equity. Let’s say you borrow $100,000 of your home’s equity … [Read more...]
Refinancing with a Stated Income Mortgage
The stated income refinance loan lost its power during the first few years after the housing crisis. Lenders were too afraid to offer anything but purely mainstream loans for fear of borrowers defaulting on their loans. After the release of the Qualified Mortgage Guidelines, borrowers got even stricter with what they would offer borrowers. No one wanted to be accused of providing loans that were not “Qualified” according to the new guidelines. Fast forward a few years and banks have loosened up … [Read more...]
Employment Verification for Stated Income Loans
In the past, stated income loans required very little verification. You stated your income, proved your credit score and provided assets – this was all the lender required to approve you. Then the housing crisis happened and the stated income loans took the brunt of the blame. Most lenders refused to offer stated income loans at all. After a few years, guidelines relaxed a little and portfolio lenders started offering stated loans. Today, you can find them at a variety of lenders; however, they … [Read more...]
