Welcome to Mortgage Refinance


Saturday, July 21, 2007

House Mortgage- What Coverage You Need

In many instances, people do not give much importance on homeowners insurance shopping than in home buying since they are still in a cloud 9 with their new purchased house. The result is, new homeowners end up getting an insurance policy with too little coverage or paying more than what they should have. This mistake of course is not yet realized after a fire or other loss.

Moreover, people are often mistaken with the thought that the cost of their homeowner’s insurance policy should equal to the cost of their house or the house’s current market value. Others let the broker to take care of their homeowner’s insurance policy, which in turn creates a problem since brokers can only help with the decision making on what policies you should but do not exactly know what type of policy you and your house require. Thus, it is very important to take the first hand and identify types of coverage you need in order to ensure that you protect your most important asset.

The types of insurance coverage you need may include protection against theft, fire, earthquake, hurricane, or other natural calamities and accidental damages called insured perils.

There are certain degrees of protection that a homeowner’s insurance can give to your home.

First, there is the guaranteed replacement. Although this type of coverage is rarely offered by many companies, this is the best protection you can get. Say your home is originally worth $200,000, but over the years you have made some improvements to it: a new patio; a landscaped garden; and a kitchen expansion. These increase the value of your home plus the appreciated value, say $400,000. If your home was destroyed by a fire, the guaranteed replacement assures you that you get the $400,000 condition of your home. Since, it seems to be obvious that you are a winner in this type of coverage, the guaranteed replacement costs higher than other types of coverage.

Second, is the actual cash value. This type of policy covers cost of replacement the property or the house at its depreciated value at the time of loss.

Then, there is the extended replacement cost. This type of coverage gives you the actual cash value plus an extended replacement cost. Suppose that the amount of replacement costs $150,000 with an extended replacement cost of 200%. At your claim, you will get the replacement cost plus the extended replacement cost: 100% for the RC and another 100% for the ERC totaling to $300,000.

Same with the house coverage, there is also a level of protection to your property.

The actual cash value replaces your personal property at the cost of its original amount minus depreciation.

The replacement cost coverage replaces your lost personal property at its current market value. If you opt for this type of coverage, you will have to pay for additional premium compared to the actual cash value coverage.

The guaranteed replacement demands higher premium but it does not apply any cap or maximum pay-out. Increasing your deductibles will help you lower your premiums and make this coverage affordable.

Another coverage you should look into is personal liability coverage. A typical insurance coverage includes $100,000 worth of personal liability coverage. This can be used to pay out medical cost and legal expenses if a guest or a member of your family is injured at your home. Many mortgage lenders and insurance professionals would require or advice you to get $300,000 to $500,000 worth of personal liability coverage. This can be acquired with extra amount. You may also consider purchasing a personal umbrella coverage which begins once your liability coverage is exhausted. For example, your guest sues you for $700,000 for a severe injury he had at your home. After your home policy pays out $500,000, your personal umbrella will take care of the remaining amount. Personal umbrella costs a couple of hundred dollars annually but will give you somewhere close to a million dollars worth of coverage. This small investment will definitely give you a peace of mind.

Home, personal property, and personal liability are the most important coverage you need to have for your homeowner’s insurance. Discuss with your insurance company or broker what options are offered and the cost of each coverage.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) is a type of reverse mortgage which allows seniors to convert the portion of the home equity into cash. The homeowner can stay in the home while the homeowner uses the home equity. With the cash, the homeowner can use the cash into any expenses such as medical, home improvements, and home repairs.

This reverse mortgage type is one of the three basic reverse mortgage types. It is also known as Federally Insured Reverse Mortgage. Hence, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) backs the Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. The FHA works under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The banks, credit union, mortgage companies, and savings and loan companies can provide the services. FHA must approve the financial institution before the financial institution can offer this type of reverse mortgage.

There are four requirements for homeowner to quality. First, the homeowner must be sixty two years old or over. Second, the home is a principal residence of the homeowner. Third, the homeowner received reverse mortgage counseling. Fourth, the homeowner owns the home. Or, the home is almost paid off.

The reverse mortgage counseling is a free counseling from HUD. The HUD wants the homeowner to know the consequences, and benefits before the homeowner uses the reverse mortgage. For a while, the homeowner pays for the reverse mortgage counseling. Now, the HUD instructed the financial institution to deal with homeowner that dealt with free reverse mortgage counseling only.

There are five requirements for the home to qualify. First, the home is a principal residence. Second, the home can be a single family residence. Third, the home can be one to four units as long as the homeowner occupies one unit. Fourth, the home is manufactured or mobile home. Fifth, the home is FHA condominiums.

The maximum claim amount of reverse mortgage depends on the age, home value, and interest rate. For example, the interest rate is nine percent. The homeowner who is sixty five years old can use twenty six percent of home equity. The homeowner who is seventy five years old can use thirty nine percent of the home equity. The home owner who is eighty five years old can use fifty six percent of the home equity.

The homeowner receives the home equity in the form of monthly payment, credit line, lump sum payment, or combination. The home secures the reverse mortgage. The homeowner do not repay as long as the homeowner lives in the home. The homeowner still owns the home. It is still the responsibility of the homeowner to pay the repairs, maintenance, property tax, and insurance.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

HOME::Real-Estate/Mortgage-Refinance

With mortgage interest rates dropping rapidly over the last few years, more people than ever are considering refinancing their homes to save them money and give them a lower interest rate.

To find a refinance mortgage rate that is ideal for your situation, you will need to know four things; your current mortgage rate and outstanding balance; your mortgage rate for a new loan; how long you plan to own your home; and your potential refinancing costs.

While you may be able to refinance your mortgage it is not always in your best interest to refinance. If you can lower your overall interest rate or reduce the duration of the loan while ensuring that you will own the property long enough to recoup the costs to refinance, then it may be beneficial for you to refinance. If the benefits are not there; don’t refinance as it will not be worth it to you.

For a multitude of reasons you will not own the property long enough to make back the refinancing costs. If this applies to you and your situation - refinancing may not be a good choice. Another reason it would not be a good idea to refinance is if you could take the money you would use to pay refinancing costs and invest it in something else with a higher yield or rate of return on your investment.

If you are considering refinancing start immediately to look for a lender. Be sure to inquire about their fees as fees vary greatly from lender to lender. Make the effort and take the time to see what options each lender makes available to you. In most cases, the difference between saving money and losing money on a refinance depends entirely on the lender you choose. Choose wisely.

Another reason people refinance is to get cash out of their home. If this is the reason you are refinancing then you need to make sure that how you use the cash is beneficial to you both short-term as well as long-term. An excellent way for you to use the cash is to improve the value of the home by doing updates such as putting on a new roof, adding new windows or new siding. Another good use of the cash is to payoff high-interest unsecured debts or loans and in effect “consolidating” these smaller and often more-expensive loans into one refinance payment.

To summarize, you need to know why you want to refinance as well as what refinance rate will save you the most money. Additionally, if you get any cash payments from your refinance deal, use them wisely by paying off high-interest debt or doing renovations or repairs that will add value to your home.

How to Find the Best Lender When Mortgage Refinancing

Most homeowners collect half a dozen mortgage quotes, pick the one with lowest interest rate, and walk away thinking they’ve got a good deal when refinancing. The problem with this approach is that you are simply getting the best of the worst retail loans available. Here are several tips to help you refinance your mortgage with the lowest wholesale rate possible.

What exactly is the “best” lender when refinancing your mortgage? Ask five different homeowners what makes a good lender and you’ll surely get five different answers. If you’re in the market to refinance your mortgage the best lender is the one that gives you the lowest interest rate and fees for your situation. How do you make sure that you get the lowest rate when refinancing? Find a mortgage company that doesn’t charge you Yield Spread Premium when refinancing and you’ll be ahead of 97% of homeowners out there.

Never heard of Yield Spread Premium? This markup of your mortgage interest rate only serves to give your loan originator a fat bonus check. You’re already paying a perfectly reasonable origination fee for this person’s work; however, your interest rate is marked up for a second commission. Yield Spread Premium is added to your interest rate because the wholesale lender behind your loan pays 1.0% of your mortgage amount for every .25% you agree to overpay. That’s a lot of money and a perfectly legal incentive for ripping you off.

Despite the ridiculous truth about this markup and the raging debates in Congress, most homeowners have never heard of and happily pay Yield Spread Premium when refinancing their mortgages. The good news for you is that by learning to recognize Yield Spread Premium you can avoid paying too much when refinancing your mortgage. You can learn more about avoiding Yield Spread Premium when refinancing with a free mortgage toolkit.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) is a type of reverse mortgage which allows seniors to convert the portion of the home equity into cash. The homeowner can stay in the home while the homeowner uses the home equity. With the cash, the homeowner can use the cash into any expenses such as medical, home improvements, and home repairs.

This reverse mortgage type is one of the three basic reverse mortgage types. It is also known as Federally Insured Reverse Mortgage. Hence, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) backs the Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. The FHA works under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The banks, credit union, mortgage companies, and savings and loan companies can provide the services. FHA must approve the financial institution before the financial institution can offer this type of reverse mortgage.

There are four requirements for homeowner to quality. First, the homeowner must be sixty two years old or over. Second, the home is a principal residence of the homeowner. Third, the homeowner received reverse mortgage counseling. Fourth, the homeowner owns the home. Or, the home is almost paid off.

The reverse mortgage counseling is a free counseling from HUD. The HUD wants the homeowner to know the consequences, and benefits before the homeowner uses the reverse mortgage. For a while, the homeowner pays for the reverse mortgage counseling. Now, the HUD instructed the financial institution to deal with homeowner that dealt with free reverse mortgage counseling only.

There are five requirements for the home to qualify. First, the home is a principal residence. Second, the home can be a single family residence. Third, the home can be one to four units as long as the homeowner occupies one unit. Fourth, the home is manufactured or mobile home. Fifth, the home is FHA condominiums.

The maximum claim amount of reverse mortgage depends on the age, home value, and interest rate. For example, the interest rate is nine percent. The homeowner who is sixty five years old can use twenty six percent of home equity. The homeowner who is seventy five years old can use thirty nine percent of the home equity. The home owner who is eighty five years old can use fifty six percent of the home equity.

The homeowner receives the home equity in the form of monthly payment, credit line, lump sum payment, or combination. The home secures the reverse mortgage. The homeowner do not repay as long as the homeowner lives in the home. The homeowner still owns the home. It is still the responsibility of the homeowner to pay the repairs, maintenance, property tax, and insurance.

House Mortgage- What Coverage You Need

In many instances, people do not give much importance on homeowners insurance shopping than in home buying since they are still in a cloud 9 with their new purchased house. The result is, new homeowners end up getting an insurance policy with too little coverage or paying more than what they should have. This mistake of course is not yet realized after a fire or other loss.

Moreover, people are often mistaken with the thought that the cost of their homeowner’s insurance policy should equal to the cost of their house or the house’s current market value. Others let the broker to take care of their homeowner’s insurance policy, which in turn creates a problem since brokers can only help with the decision making on what policies you should but do not exactly know what type of policy you and your house require. Thus, it is very important to take the first hand and identify types of coverage you need in order to ensure that you protect your most important asset.

The types of insurance coverage you need may include protection against theft, fire, earthquake, hurricane, or other natural calamities and accidental damages called insured perils.

There are certain degrees of protection that a homeowner’s insurance can give to your home.

First, there is the guaranteed replacement. Although this type of coverage is rarely offered by many companies, this is the best protection you can get. Say your home is originally worth $200,000, but over the years you have made some improvements to it: a new patio; a landscaped garden; and a kitchen expansion. These increase the value of your home plus the appreciated value, say $400,000. If your home was destroyed by a fire, the guaranteed replacement assures you that you get the $400,000 condition of your home. Since, it seems to be obvious that you are a winner in this type of coverage, the guaranteed replacement costs higher than other types of coverage.

Second, is the actual cash value. This type of policy covers cost of replacement the property or the house at its depreciated value at the time of loss.

Then, there is the extended replacement cost. This type of coverage gives you the actual cash value plus an extended replacement cost. Suppose that the amount of replacement costs $150,000 with an extended replacement cost of 200%. At your claim, you will get the replacement cost plus the extended replacement cost: 100% for the RC and another 100% for the ERC totaling to $300,000.

Same with the house coverage, there is also a level of protection to your property.

The actual cash value replaces your personal property at the cost of its original amount minus depreciation.

The replacement cost coverage replaces your lost personal property at its current market value. If you opt for this type of coverage, you will have to pay for additional premium compared to the actual cash value coverage.

The guaranteed replacement demands higher premium but it does not apply any cap or maximum pay-out. Increasing your deductibles will help you lower your premiums and make this coverage affordable.

Another coverage you should look into is personal liability coverage. A typical insurance coverage includes $100,000 worth of personal liability coverage. This can be used to pay out medical cost and legal expenses if a guest or a member of your family is injured at your home. Many mortgage lenders and insurance professionals would require or advice you to get $300,000 to $500,000 worth of personal liability coverage. This can be acquired with extra amount. You may also consider purchasing a personal umbrella coverage which begins once your liability coverage is exhausted. For example, your guest sues you for $700,000 for a severe injury he had at your home. After your home policy pays out $500,000, your personal umbrella will take care of the remaining amount. Personal umbrella costs a couple of hundred dollars annually but will give you somewhere close to a million dollars worth of coverage. This small investment will definitely give you a peace of mind.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Explained

Adjustable-rate mortgages were heavily sold by mortgage brokers and bankers the last 5 years and many borrowers looking for low payments eagerly signed the loan papers. At the time ARM mortgages offered low introductory interest rates and low payments for the borrowers the took them. The downside to all the ARM mortgages sold during that time is that from now through 2012 many homeowners will see their ARM mortgage rates will begin to adjust and their monthly payments will increase. At the time when ARM mortgages were being sold many homeowners did not understand the loan that was being offered to them, instead of asking the right questions many just signed the loan papers! Years later they are in for a big shock when the mortgage rate adjusts for the first time and their payment is hundreds of dollars higher then the month before! Many home owners will turn to refinancing to save them from increased payments and financial stress, but they should still understand the ARM mortgage they currently have. Not only will this help them determine the right time to refinance there existing ARM mortgage but also closely examine any of ARM program offered to them in the future.. Adjustable rate mortgages have their own language and terms that can confuse the potential borrower. Here are some key adjustable rate mortgage terms that you should know as a borrower. Use these definitions to your advantage when applying for your next mortgage.

1. Interest Rate Cap. The interest rate cap is the highest the ARM mortgage can adjust up to over the life of the loan.. Many of these caps are as high as 14% for a sub prime ARM

2. Periodic Cap. The periodic interest rate cap is the maximum the interest rate can increase or decrease at each adjustment period. An adjustment cap of 2% is common for most adjustable mortgages.

3. Loan Index. A number that is added to the margin of your adjustable mortgage to determine your interest rate. LIBOR is a common index that stands for the London Inter Bank Offering Rate. It is the average interest rate that London banks trade on deposits. Generally the LIBOR index is the most volatile, it can fluctuate the biggest amount and the most frequently.

4. Initial interest rate. This is the initial interest rate on the mortgage note. The introductory interest rate for ARM'S are generally much lower then a standard fixed rate mortgage. Your initial interest rate is locked in for a set period of time, generally 2-10 years. After that, it will adjust to the current rate which is arrived at by adding a Margin and Index.

5. Loan Margin. A margin is a constant numerical value that the lender adds to the index (LIBOR, MTA, COFI, etc.) associated with your adjustable rate mortgage in order to compute your interest rate. As the index value changes, so will your interest rate.

6. Rate adjustment. The act by a lender of changing the rate charged on an adjustable-rate loan. The loan contract specifies when the rate adjustment is made. The new rate is the combination of the index and a margin, subject to a periodic cap.

7. Loan Recast. Loan recast is specific to Pay Option or Pick a Pay type negative amortization ARMS. When the loan recasts the payment structure is reset so the loan is still paid in full at the end of the amortized time frame. Many pay option ARMS will recast at 5-7 years or when enough interest has been deferred that the loan balance is at 110-125% of the original loan amount

These terms should help the average borrower understand their adjustable mortgage a little bit better and plan accordingly. Although the ARM does have advantages the fixed rate mortgage is still the best for borrowers who intend to stay in their homes long term.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Is It A Good Idea To Pay Points On A Mortgage?

When you go to closing on a mortgage, you have a number of options available to you. One of these is to pay points so that the interest rate can be reduced. Here is what you need to know to help you determine if you should pay points on your mortgage.

A mortgage point is equal to 1% of the total cost of the mortgage. So, if you are getting a mortgage for $150,000, then it will cost you $1,500 per point. For each 1% of interest, there are 8 points. In other words, it will take 8 points to bring down the interest rate one full percent. Each point paid will reduce the interest percentage by 0.125%. Usually, you can see some savings if you bring it down even one point.

Paying points at closing can reduce your interest and bring you savings, but not everyone can benefit from it. Generally, you would need to stay in your house for a number of years - it really will not help if you are not going to stay long.

The reason for this can be seen in the following example. This will show you how to determine how long it will take to break even. If you buy a house for $100,000 at 7.5% interest, then you would be paying around $700 per month. If you spend $1,000 to buy one point, this will reduce your interest to $7.375%, and now you will have a payment of about $691. The difference in your payments is now around $9. By taking the $1,000 that you paid, and dividing it by your amount saved ($1,000 / $9), that will give you an answer of 111, which is the number of months you need to live there in order to break even.

In the above example, you would need to live in that house for 9 years and three months to break even. This is why it is necessary that you want to live in your home for a while before you begin to realize any savings.

If you plan on staying for a shorter time period, then you may want to reduce your costs other ways. This can be done through paying a larger down payment, making sure your total indebtedness is low and your credit score high, or by simply paying more each month. In order to know which approach would be more beneficial, be sure to go online and find some good mortgage calculators to help you find out.

Also, when you go to get your mortgage, get a number of quotes from different lenders and find out which one offers the best deal. All you need to do is to compare them carefully in terms of interest rates, fees, total cost, and what options you have. Before long, you will find that choosing the best of the offers will enable you to save possibly thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the mortgage

Current Account Mortgage Information

A current account mortgage is a type of flexible mortgage product that combines several financial products into one single account.

As with any other mortgage product, a current account mortgage will be secured against the borrower’s home. Current account mortgages are not usually secured against investment properties.

The main difference between a current account mortgage and a standard mortgage product is that the current account mortgage will act as both the borrower’s home loan and current account.

Current account mortgages are often referred to as a “line of credit”.

The borrower will normally be required to have their salary or wage paid directly into the current account mortgage and will be allowed to withdraw money from the line of credit as required – within a pre-determined upper limit.

In addition to combining the mortgage with a current account, it can also be combined with credit cards, personal loans, and cheque book facilities in order to streamline the borrower’s overall banking facilities into one product.

As well as helping to streamline the borrower’s banking facilities, a current account mortgage can offer flexible features that standard mortgage products do not, which can further assist the borrower with managing their personal finances.

Because a current account mortgage is a type of flexible mortgage it can offer features such as overpayments, underpayments, drawdown of overpayments previously made, additional borrowing facilities, no (or low) redemption penalties.

In addition to flexibility, a current account mortgage can help the borrower save interest and pay off their home sooner. This is due to a combination of factors such as earnings being paid directly into the mortgage, daily interest rate calculations, and no high interest loans (e.g. credit cards) to pay off simultaneously.

A current account mortgage can, therefore, provide a borrower with many features for organising their personal finances and paying off their mortgage as soon as possible.

However, despite the benefits, it is important for the borrower to remain disciplined because excessive withdrawals will increase the overall cost and term of the mortgage and negate the benefits offered.

Because of this, careful consideration should be given before applying for a current account mortgage. Professional advice may be sought from an independent mortgage adviser.

Monday, July 16, 2007

How To Avoid Foreclosure

The first thing you'll want to do to avoid foreclosure is stay current on your mortgage payments. Of course this is obvious, but what may not be so obvious are the options you have for doing this. If you are already behind on your payments, there are some tips for you in in part two as well.

If the problem is truly temporary, and soon you'll be able to handle your payments again, borrow the money to keep up on your payments. Family may be able to help, but even if you have to pay a few hundred dollars in interest for credit card advances, it may be better than losing your home. Consider what you have to lose in equity, and you may find that it even makes sense to cash in some of your retirement account and pay the penalty. You may also be able to borrow from your 401k.

Don't start borrowing on credit cards and breaking into retirement funds if the situation isn't truly temporary, however. You'll just make matters worse. If the real problem is that the mortgage payment is just more than you can handle, you need to look at long-term solutions.

If you have maintained your credit rating to this point, you might find financing with lower payments. Lower payments can be because of lower interest rate, or a longer amortization period. Don't be tempted into lowering your payments with an adjustable rate loan that has a low initial interest rate. Unless your income situation changes dramatically, in a year or two you'll have the same problem all over.

Another option is to sell the home an move into a less expensive home. This works best if you have some equity in your home, to help you with both the down payment on the next one and with the transition costs. If you have no equity, you may have to consider selling your home and renting for a few years.

Already Facing Foreclosure?

If you are already late on your mortgage payments, don't wait for things to happen. Get actively involved in solving the problem right now. You not only face being foreclosed on and losing your home, but if the home is then sold for less than you owe, you might be sued for the difference (depending on the terns of your mortgage loan). Both foreclosures and deficiency judgments can seriously affect your ability to qualify for credit in the future.

Call the lender and explain the situation. Depending on the type of loan, lenders can sometimes arrange a repayment plan (for back payments) that you can afford. They can sometimes arrange a temporary reduction in the payments, or even a temporary suspension of payments. (The latter isn't likely unless you have been laid-off from work and have a return date.) They can even occasionally modify the mortgage to reduce the payments, by lengthening the term.

FHA and other government-backed loans have other possibilities for avoiding foreclosure. Call and talk to a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Call (800) 569-4287 or TDD (800) 877-8339 to locate the nearest housing counseling agency. These agencies frequently have information on services and programs offered by Government agencies and lists of private and community organizations that might help you. They may also offer credit counseling, and the services are usually free.

If you definitely can't handle the payments, consider offering the lender a "Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure," if they'll accept it. This is when you voluntarily "give back" your property to the lender. It won't save your home, but it's less damaging to your credit rating than a foreclosure. Some lenders will allow this if you have no other viable options and you have tried unsuccessfully to sell the home.

Move fast and do what you can to resolve the situation. But unless you have had an unusually long period of unemployment, or you had large unexpected medical costs, the problem is probably rooted in you poor financial habits. In that case, be sure to learn your lessons, so you can easily avoid foreclosure the next time around.

Information About Variable Rate Mortgages

In this article I am going to give a simple and brief explanation about what are variable rate mortgages. I have been involved in the financial services industry for the last fifteen years and am aware that there are a lot of people out there who find the large range of different mortgage products to be quite confusing. I hope that this article will make things a little bit clearer.

There are a number of different types of mortgage including, a discounted mortgage, a buy to let mortgage, a one hundred percent mortgage, an adverse mortgage, a variable rate mortgage and a fixed rate mortgage.

With a variable rate mortgage, the interest rate and your monthly repayments can go up and down in line with the current Bank of England standard rate of interest. Every so often you may hear in the news that the bank has increased or decreased interest rates. This will in the majority of cases have a bearing on the amount you pay. Many people tend to choose these type of mortgages when interest rates are fairly high as they then believe that the likelihood is that they will start to fall. There is no point in fixing a rate for two or more years if you think that rate is likely to come down. The interest rate in the UK is now at its highest for around three years however in reality is still quite historically low. I personally believe that rate will continue to increase to 6.5% before starting to fall back to 5.75%. We may then see a period of stabilty at 5.75%.

I personally like to go for a discounted five year variable rate. This enables me to have a discount off the lenders standard variable rate and ensures that I only have to pay those annoying additional costs, such as the arrangement fee, every five years. Some would argue that five years is too long a period to tie your mortgage up for as there will be quite large redemption fees involved but this is how I like to do things. I am aware however that this type of mortgage would not be suitable for everyone.

What's so good about green tea you ask?

When obtaining a construction loan, it is essential that everything is done step by step and the process is not rushed. You do not want to pursue the construction of a home that you cannot afford. When you get pre-qualified for a loan you are given some idea of what your monthly payments will be.

The best construction loan lenders are those with experience. This is primarily because construction loans are more complex than your average mortgage loan. Many national banks have developed construction loan programs, but as always, you must be sure to compare the rates of numerous banks in your area. Before signing a contract towards the completion of your home, pay close attention to the bank’s lock-in policies and interest rates. Most of these loans are set at the prime rate or a general short-term rate.

In providing a construction loan of any kind, lenders want an explanation of the construction plan. Before they give you money to build on your property, they want to know that you will still have the capital to pay them back. Because construction loans do not fall under the standard guidelines of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac corporations, most construction loan lenders have a developed a separate system of interest-only payments during the construction process that are then due at completion.

The construction process is officially completed when the home receives its certificate of occupancy. Many borrowers use a construction-to-permanent financing program that allows them to transfer their construction loan directly into a mortgage when the home has its certificate. Such programs allow the homeowner to avoid the hassle of refinancing. There are many different types of construction loans out there and it is important to be aware of all your options. For example, often the property itself can be used as equity on the construction loan. For more financial tips in homeownership, there are a wide variety of accessible websites including http://www.1refinanceloan.com and http://www.1californialoan.com.