When thinking about buying a home, the biggest roadblock for most buyers is the down payment. How large of a down payment do you need? The answer is it depends on the loan, the lender, and your priorities. But don’t worry! The size of your home down payment may not be as big as you think. So let’s talk about what a down payment is and how much you’ll need. What is a down payment? A down payment is...
Mortgages:
As you navigate through the process of buying a home and applying for a mortgage, you may have the opportunity to buy mortgage discount points. To understand if this is the right decision for you, let’s talk about what discount points are, how they work, and if they’re worth the cost. What are discount points on a mortgage? Mortgage discount points allow you to lower the interest rate of your...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/swsmwlu198?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 Equity is the value YOU own in property such as a house. It’s the difference between what’s OWED and what the property is WORTH in the current market. The example this video shows - you have a house worth $300,000 today and you owe the bank $200,000. Your equity would be...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/h8ina3eyzq?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 The Prime Lending Rate - sometimes just called “Prime” - is the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans. Some consumer rates - like ARMs - are set in relation to Prime. In the US, Prime is affected by the Federal Reserve lending rate to banks; historically,...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/6u3yi2ieus?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 Discount points allow you to lower your interest rate. While this video simplifies things to help you remember, “points” are essentially prepaid interest with each point equaling 1% of the total loan amount. Generally, for each point paid on a 30-year mortgage the interest rate is reduced by 1/8...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/gfxg0vvmyj?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 While this video simplifies things to help you remember, the loan to value ratio is the amount of money you borrow compared with the price or appraised value of the home you are purchasing. Each loan has a specific LTV limit. For example: With a 75% LTV loan on a home priced at $100,000 you could borrow up...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/rgqvpsvgfe?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 Well, as this story shows, the amount of the down payment the size of the mortgage loan, the interest rate the length of the repayment term and payment schedule will all affect the size of your mortgage payment. In bullets: down payment loan size interest rate - fixed or adjustable repayment term -...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/y2rurucekp?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 There are mortgage options now available that only require a down payment of 5% or less of the purchase price. You’ll see some pictures in this video to help you remember later - the larger the down payment, the less you have to borrow and the more equity you'll have. Mortgages with less than a 20%...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/lxybpoyq0k?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 As you’ll see in the video, a lower interest rate allows you to borrow more money than a high rate with the some monthly payment. Interest rates can fluctuate as you shop for a loan so ask lenders if they offer a rate "lock-in" which guarantees a specific interest rate for a certain period of...
http://videotap.wistia.com/medias/n2lq65amfk?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 The monthly mortgage payment mainly pays off principal and interest. But most lenders also include local real estate taxes homeowner's insurance, and mortgage insurance, if applicable. If you are refinancing compare what is and isn’t included in your financing options. Watch this video and it’ll...