If you live in California or Florida, it’s is definitely harder to qualify for mortgage loans in these areas than other areas that have been less affected by the housing slump. The same “no money down deals” that used to be so popular in these states are now gone. In their place, you will find some that houses in these areas will require at least a 10% down payment, if not more. This may seem hugely unfair for some when they realize the same is not true for other areas of the United States where the housing market has not declined as much. In those areas, you can still get mortgage loans with only 5% down.
Your Credit Score Is More Important
Credit score requirements for mortgage loans have risen. A good score will have to be above 720, which is fairly high. If you don’t meet the new, more stringent credit score requirements, the bank may still offer you a loan – after you pay substantial upfront fees. As if that weren’t enough, you will be offered a higher interest rate to compensate for any deficiencies in your credit reporting. This may make it difficult to qualify for a higher amount after you take into account more money to pay for fees and monthly payments.
What About Previous Data?
If you qualified for a loan before the new rules, you may have some nasty surprises ahead of you. Mortgage loans approved in the past can easily be affected, with the most common problem being how much of a cushion you need to buy the house. If you qualified with a 5% down payment, you might need 10% now. Since the percentages are based on the total cost of the home, the borrower may be facing an addition of many tens of thousands of dollars they need to come up with before closing. This is why many people are finding that even if they qualify, they are caught short.
Check Your Local Market and Lenders
The situation is not the same in every state in the union. Be sure to check your local real estate market and lenders. Lenders are becoming more aware that some areas have resisted the downturn and they are not as concerned about fallout in housing prices there. This can impact the types of offer that are available in your area versus some place like Florida. As long as the market is good in your area, you will probably have more choices in mortgage loans and favorable terms than other more affected areas.
There are a number of different mortgage loan products out there, but they all have one thing in common: they have either a fixed or variable rate of interest tied to them. The subprime loans that have been implicated in the housing bust were variable rate loans that adjusted at set intervals and were sold to mostly people with poor credit or who sought out jumbo loans. So, even though a loan has a variable rate, it doesn’t necessarily make it a subprime loan and sometimes people get confused about that. They think that the reason people are in trouble are because they had Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). While that is one of the factors involved in people whose payments rise, subprime loans were targeted to people who couldn’t get a fixed rate mortgage because of either poor credit or a lack of income. Otherwise, an ARM is just another type of mortgage loan that uses a variable rate. If you understand how it adjusts and you don’t buy too much house, even this type of loan can still be attractive to some.
A Fixed Rate Mortgage Loan
A fixed rate mortgage loan has an interest rate assigned either when it was locked in or at closing that remains the same for the life of the mortgage loan. If mortgage rates are rising, it is a good idea to lock in a rate when you are approved for a mortgage. Otherwise, by the time you get to closing the rates may have climbed significantly. However, it is difficult to time mortgage rates as they can fluctuate due to various factors.
The advantage of a fixed rate mortgage is that you always know what your payments will be, within a certain range. You may have adjustments for insurance or property taxes, but for the most part the payments will be pretty constant throughout the life of the loan. Since the fixed mortgage rate is at historically low levels right now, many people like the idea of buying in with a fixed rate and not worrying about what might happen to the index later that can drastically change their payments.
A Variable Rate Mortgage Loan
A variable rate loan is one in which the interest rate is tied to a particular index and adjusts on a set schedule. There are a variety of mortgage loans with variable rates, not just ARMs. You can have a hybrid loan or even two-step mortgages that adjust after a specified period of time. Be sure to read the terms of your loan to ascertain when the rate is due to change and how it will impact your monthly payments so there are no surprises in the future for you.
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