Register Real Estate Advisors

• Mortgage Term – Mortgages are generally available at 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms. The longer the term, the lower the monthly payment if the same amount is borrowed. However, you pay more interest overall if you borrow for a longer term.
• Fixed or Adjustable Interest Rates – A fixed rate allows you to lock in a low rate for as long as you hold the mortgage and is usually a good choice if interest rates are low. An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is designed so that interest rates will rise as interest rates increase; however they usually offer a lower rate in the 1st years of the mortgage. ARMS also usually have a limit as to how much the interest rate can be increased and how frequently they can be raised. ARMS are a good choice when interest rates are high or when you expect your income to grow significantly in the coming years.
• Balloon Mortgages – Balloon mortgages offer very low interest rates for a short period of time – often 3-7 years. Payments usually only the interest, so the principal owed is not reduced. However, this type of loan may be a good choice if you think you will sell your home in a few years.
• Government-backed loans – Government-backed loans, sponsored by agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration ( http://www.fha.gov ) or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ( http://www.va.gov ), offer special terms, including lower down payments or reduced interest rates – to qualified buyers.
Slight variations in interest rates, loan amounts, and terms can significantly affect your monthly payment. For help in determining how much your monthly payment will be for various loan amounts, use my handy mortgage calculators. I offer over 15 different calculators to service your needs.

This information is reprinted from Realtor Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of Realtors, copyright 2005, all rights reserved.

Would you like to know how much your mortgage payments will be?  I offer over 15 calculators for FREE on my website.  You can even email the printable results directly to your inbox or someone else to share.  To aid in your decision-making process when buying a home, you can use my handy calculators to calculate your monthly payment with PMI, insurance, and property taxes.  You can also “peek into the future” to see the remaining balance of your mortgage after several months or years of payments.  There’s a mortgage length calculator that allows homeowners to determine what their savings will be if they make larger monthly payments.  Ever wondered how much you will pay for every $1,000 of your mortgage loan?  I have a calculator for that!  I offer an affordability calculator so you can find out how much you can borrow from a lender.  You can calculate your tax savings after a home purchase.  The financial analysis inclues first year as well as total tax savings.  Is your old APR (Annual Percentage Rate) too high? Find out if you should refinance by estimating the benefits of refinancing using my calculator.  Learn how you can cut current monthly debt payments using money from your Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC.)  Do you need to know how much money you must earn to purchase the house of your dreams? I offer a calculator that will help you figure it out.  What is better: take a second loan or pay PMI?  Housing market moving up too fast? Figure out how much you can afford with an interest only mortgage loan.  Interest-Only loans can drastically cut your mortgage payments, but what if you want to pay something toward your principal? Figure all of this out using my calculators.  Can’t decide which loan offer is better? Input your numbers to lock-in the best offer.  You heard that bi-weekly payments can significantly decrease the time of mortgage payoff?  Ioffer a calculator for that, too.  Still renting an apartment and thinking about a home purchase? I have a calculator that can help you make the final decision.  All of my calculators are FREE and the results can be emailed directly to you so you can easily share or print out the information.  Click Here to get started.

 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Cox Newspapers http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/2009/09/30/0930subprime.html ) – As of yesterday, borrowers with bad credit or no verifiable income will not be eligible for a home loan.  The new rule, approved as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, requires lenders to prove a person’s ability to repay a loan before awarding one.  This guideline mostly concerns subprime or high-interest loans for people with weak credit.