Once you have managed to buy yourself a house, you will realize that getting loans is far more uncomplicated. You might ask: "Why should I be looking for loans?" Why? Well, there are many other expenses that you will encounter: education, travel, renovations, weddings, and so on and so forth.

Now, if you are a homeowner, you would be taking a look at secured loans, which lenders obviously choose over unsecured loans. Why this preference? Well, secured loans are given based on a security or collateral like a house. So, if the situation occurs where you are unable to repay the loan, the bank will take over your property and retrieve the money from it. Of course, the chances of this happening are rather slim. A little planning is all that it takes to keep your finances in order.

Loans are the way to go in this day and age if you are looking for a means to pay for the larger investments of your day-to-day life. If you are able to apply for a secured loan, it makes life so much more facile for everybody. If you are still repaying the mortgage on the home that you bought, you should seriously contemplate about taking up a home equity loan.

Now, cutting out the jargon, what do we understand by a home equity loan? Let us assume that you bought a house for a certain value with a mortgage loan. You would have made some payments on that mortgage. Now, the difference between the amount that remains to be paid and the current value of your house constitutes your equity. You can free this equity to take other loans to cover other expenses.

If you ask me, the thought of a home equity loan is quite cool. After all, the house is just lying there. Why not make the best use of it? With a home equity loan, one is able to free that equity and pay for other kinds of expenditure. It is certainly quite facile.

There are many sites on the World Wide Web that discuss the ways and means of applying for different kinds of loans. If you are a homeowner looking through information on how to get a loan to support higher education for your children, you will find thousands of web pages ready to help you get that info and that loan. Of course, you will have to browse through the many loan offers and deals that are available with a fine tooth comb. However, as long as you remain persistent, you will come across a great homeowner's loan to suit your requirements.

It is the rented houses that we inhabit that become home till we finally save up enough money and buy that house of our own. Not that there is any great problem in staying in a rented apartment. But there is always that niggling feeling that this is not a place that we can call our own; that it belongs to somebody else. You cannot make any long term modifications in the house. Making major renovations will in all likelihood not be permitted. You do not even have the desire to invest in that perfect couch merely because carrying it around from one rented apartment to another would be such a nuisance.

Rented houses are all right if you feel that it is a temporary state of affairs. However, as soon as we feel settled in our jobs, our families, and our lives in general, the impulse to return to a place that we can call our own begins to rise. John Denver sang, "Take me home country roads / To the place I belong." We all want to belong somewhere. And that sense of belonging does not really come when you are staying in a rented apartment. The only way to get that sense of belonging? Purchase property that you can finally call your own.

Of course, shifting from the status of a tenant to that of a homeowner is not a cakewalk. For one, purchasing property is a suggestion that you are ready to settle down to a more stable living pattern. Could we call it the first sign of ageing? Perhaps. And which of us is willing to reveal how old we have really become? Moreover, purchasing a house, no matter how small it is, will definitely make you short of cash. Add to that the fact that most of us cannot purchase a house without getting adequate help from a financial institution.

However, thanks to the popularity of loans these days, the shift from tenant to homeowner has become fairly easy. It is no longer such an uphill task to get your loan application selected. Unsecured loans are found in large quantities and it is quite facile to find cheap loans in this day and age. Of course, unsecured loans do not only go into the buying of a house. You could also use them for debt consolidation. Loan taking has become very facile. And as a result, so has buying a house. You no longer have to be a tenant if you are hoping to get a place that you can call your own. Thoroughly research the loan markets to select the best mortgage loan for you.

In many Ohio mortgage refinancing situations, you may have the choice of two loan alternatives for different amounts. To compare the alternatives, you should know the cost of the additional money borrowed. Two Ohio mortgage refinancing examples are offered to illustrate this comparison.

Ohio mortgage refinancing example 1. You need to raise $20,000 from the equity in your Ohio home. Should you get a new first Ohio mortgage to replace the existing one or add a second mortgage onto the existing Ohio mortgage?

You need to calculate the cost of the $20,000 cash raised. Suppose your old Ohio mortgage has a balance of $50,000, an interest rate of 9%, and 25 years to run. A new loan of $70,000 has an interest rate of 11 % and runs for 25 years. Alternatively, you could get a second mortgage loan of $20,000 at 12% interest and keep the old loan.

First you need to calculate the monthly payments under the new first Ohio mortgage loan. By referring to a table of mortgage payments such as those found in Barron 's Mortgage Payments—available in book form at most libraries and book stores—you find the payment for a $70,000 loan at 11% and 25 years to be $686.08.

The payments on your existing loan are $419.60. Subtract the old from the new Ohio mortgage payment amount ($686.08 - 419.60 = $266.48). Now find a page in the tables where the payment for $20,000 (the additional amount of the new loan) is close to the difference in payments ($266.48).

When you find a match, look at the Ohio mortgage interest rate for that needs there may be less expensive ways to get the money. Many Ohio home equity loans do not require full payment of these fees and charges; so you should shop aggressively.

If you are refinancing to get a lower interest rate, the front-end costs of Ohio mortgage refinancing mean you must realize substantial savings in monthly payments to make the deal worthwhile. These savings come in the form of reduced monthly payments, so that you should consider how long you will likely remain in the home when considering the Ohio mortgage refinancing.

The crime of mortgage fraud has developed quite a bit in this country over the past few years. Sometimes called real estate fraud, this type of crime is wreaking havoc across the country as perpetrators get better and better at it and their methods develop and have become quite complex. Two distinct types of mortgage fraud have arisen to take the forefront of this disgusting practice. Let's have a closer look at the two major types of mortgage fraud and how they operate, perhaps in knowing about them you will be better able to arm and protect yourself against their occurrence.

The first type of fraud that we will look at involved the falsifying of information in order to illegally procure mortgage funds. Typically one person will apply for mortgage funding for a home that is purposely listed at an exorbitant price. In this kind of scenario they home has already been purchased by an accomplice at a lower price. Once the transaction is complete the borrower and the seller disappear with the difference in funds and this leaves the lender stuck with a low priced home that is not worth what it was said to be.

Title fraud is the other common form of fraud currently being perpetrated at a notable rate. This kind of fraud concerns home owners more as usually what is done is criminals used forged and stolen documents to assume the identity of a home owner and then borrows money against the home's equity. This is typically done only to those with good credit and if done correctly can leave a home owner with little to no equity in their home.

This kind of property crime is on the rise as it is so often only discovered after the crime is complete and those involved are long gone. It seems that current financial practices can easily cover up any paper trail long enough to allow the perpetrators to abscond. For this reason, mortgage related crimes have drastically risen in the past years. What does this mean to the average borrower? Increased rates for borrowing for one thing. Sure precautions can be laid out to try to prevent this kind of crime but it is the average borrower that will end up paying for these precautions. And, as stated before it is hard to prevent something that is usually not found until long after it has been done.

Let's say that so many types of mortgages are available right now! What are they? They all start from some basic mortgages and then each bank upgrades them to look more appealing to the customer. Some underwriter will change the mid FICO score to 580 instead of 600 and call it "The American family Mortgage" etc...

Here are the basic mortgages available to purchase a house or to refinance:

1- 30 year fixed: Fixed rate for 30 years and the house if yours. Some banks will let you do 25 and/or 20 year mortgage;

2- 15 year fixed: Fixed 15 year. Some banks will give you a better rate than a 30, sometimes a 0.25% cheaper. Yes it does make a difference on 15 years.

Those might be available Interest Only if your FICO score qualifies. But be careful! As we know it some house markets lost a lot in last year or two and if you were into a Interest Only (I/O) then you might not be able to refinance since the value of your house is now less than what you owe. That means your loan to Value is over 100% and most of the banks don't like it. The I/O is sometimes available for 5 or 10 years, that means you have to start paying principle after that period. The I/O could be good if you owe let's say $100,000 on a $200,000 mortgage (30 year fixed at 6.5%) and you are having a bad year financially, you could save your house! Here's an example:

$200,000 Mortgage 30 year fixed at 6.5% Monthly Payment: $1264.10

If you refinance $100,000 at 7.5% your monthly payment will be : $625.00 per month. If you have to do this and you do have a few bucks a month, put it on your principal directly!

3- ARM: Adjustable Rate Mortgage, 2-3-5 year fixed and then it goes adjustable. That is a killer if you ask me. If you have a choice, don't do it! Once you go adjustable, your rate can go up 1% to 2% and move every 6 months! That is why the foreclosure rate is so high right now!

4- Pay Option Arm: It is a program many companies uses to get your business. You saw or heard commercials like "1.5% on your next refinance, we can do it!!!". Be careful!

That program offers you 4 ways to pay monthly but the interest rate may change monthly and your payment will change also:

A) Minimum payment, in this case 1.5%. What you need to understand is that the difference in the interest between 1.5% and your current rate will be added to your principal. It is call Negative Amortization! That means every year, you will owe more. Not good!

B) Pay Interest Only

C) 30 Year fixed

D) 15 Year fixed

To me it is primary good for someone buying a house to flip it. You will be fixing that house for 6 months and you will resale it and make a profit. During those 6 months, you will pay the minimum payment and with the profit, you will pay back your mortgage and the negative amortization.

An 80 20 mortgage is also called a zero down loan or no money down loan. It is actually two loans, a regular home mortgage which constitutes 80% of the price of the home and a second mortgage or home equity loan that consists of 20% of the cost of the house. The idea behind this type of loan is avoiding mortgage insurance (PMI) by using the home equity loan as the down payment.

Just about all mortgages require some form of mortgage insurance if you are unable to make a down payment of at least 20 percent. By obtaining a second mortgage or home equity loan for 20 percent of the homes cost you can circumnavigate this requirement by using that second loan as the down payment.

There are variations of this type of mortgage such as an 80-15-5 loan. This means that the borrower got a main mortgage of 80 percent of a home's purchase price, a piggyback loan for 15 percent, and made a 5-percent down payment. This can be a good option if you have some money for a down payment but not enough to cover the entire 20%.

The second mortgage can either be a fixed second mortgage or it can be a line of credit. If it is a fixed second mortgage then the interest rate is normally fixed for the entire length of the mortgage. Most fixed second mortgages are a 30 due in 15 which means that the second mortgage is amortized over 30 years, but is due in 15 years. The benefit of going with the line of credit as the second mortgage is that the interest rate is normally much lower than the fixed second mortgages rate. They can also be an interest only loan which could save you hundreds of dollars in mortgage payments every month.

The 80 percent first mortgage can be a fixed-rate (15-year or 30-year), adjustable-rate (usually 5/1, 7/1 or 10/1fixed period ARM) or interest-only loan. Typically, the interest rate on the second mortgage loan is higher than the interest rate of the first loan. But because the borrower doesn't have to pay mortgage insurance, the overall cost is less than a traditional mortgage even with the higher mortgage interest rate on the second loan.

Plenty of mortgage programs allow borrowers to buy houses with little or no money down, but they usually require private mortgage insurance, or PMI. Getting an 80 20 mortgage can be a good way to avoid the extra cost that PMI will add to your monthly payments.

Once you sign on the dotted line you have certain obligations to the lender for the money you have borrowed, and you also have rights as their customer. Understanding your obligations and rights can help you manage your mortgage better.

Borrower’s rights:

• In New South Wales, a mortgage broker must provide a Finance Broker Contract before they can approach lenders on your behalf. (It is expected that the other states will soon adopt the NSW system.)

• The lender must provide a credit contract, which sets out the terms and conditions of the loan in clear terms – especially the financial information. This is referred to as a Letter of Offer.

• The lender must advise clients and potential clients, either directly or via a newspaper advertisement, of any interest rate increases before they come into effect. This does not apply to a reduction in rates.

• The lender must advise of any repayment increases, at least 20 days prior to the change. This must be in writing directly to the borrower or their representative. This does not apply to a reduction in repayments.

• A loan statement must be provided to the borrower at least every six months.

• The borrower can dispute statements, and if necessary use a tribunal to have unjust transactions varied or cancelled.

• The borrower can pay out the entire loan early at any time (fees and charges may apply to some loans if you do this).

• The borrower can terminate a credit contract before drawing down.

• The borrower may have the repayment date extended in financially hard times.

• The lender must provide a payout figure within seven days of written request.

Borrower’s obligations:

• Be truthful and factual in all details provided in the loan application.
• Make all the repayments by the due date.
• Keep the property in good repair and not undertake any major alterations without the lender’s consent.
• Insure the property for its full value, and not do anything to void the policy.
• Do not sell, lease or mortgage the property without lender’s consent.

Florida, Alabama, and Georgia are the states where influx of population is now at the peak. The rich set of facilities available coupled with lower property prices are making is changing the Mortgage loan is something that everybody desiring to buy a house in will have to take resort to. Getting a mortgage loan was stiff in the past when lenders, especially banks and other financial institutions had pretty stiff set of criteria which the borrower had to fulfill in order to be eligible for a mortgage loan. Now the scenario is not that tough as conditions and eligibility criteria have become simpler. However, some basic obligations still need to be met. It is up to you how you prepare yourself with all relevant documents to get a mortgage loan at the earliest.

Following are the documents, which your lender will demand at the time of adjudging your eligibility for a mortgage loan:

Income verification: for this, if you are in service, you need to fill up w-2 forms, your current pay package, and tax returns. If you are self-employed, you need to submit your profit and loss statements and tax returns for the past two years) as well as extra income that you might have. This includes overtime, commission, veteran benefits, social security, etc. Once you have submitted your income proof, your lender will verify your income and also your assets, both movable and immovable. For this, you need to submit a list of all bank account details, account statements, list of stocks, investments, and saving bonds, etc. To judge your eligibility for a mortgage loan, your lender will also verify your credit history. For this you need to submit copies of credit card statements for the past six months, a list of all consumer debts, which includes furniture, student loans, car loans, and other installment loans with the creditor’s contact numbers and addresses.

Other than these, you also need to show evidences or copies of rental payments or mortgage. Have these documents ready and get your home mortgage loan at the earliest. You should, however, keep the fact in mind that requirement for documents that you need to submit might vary from lender to lender. Hence, ask your lender well in advance about what document take into account that different lenders may have different information requirements. For this reason, ask your lender well in advance about what document you would have to produce.