Thursday, January 29, 2009

1st Home Buyers' Guide To Choosing The Right Mortgage

By Alexandria P. Anderson

First time home buyers often are befuddled when it comes to choosing the best mortgage package. In addition, there is no guarantee of getting your preferred mortgage loan even if you are working with a mortgage professional. First time homebuyers must not sign away the loan they qualified for but instead consider a smaller, more affordable loan.

How does this happen? Loan officers will qualify you for a loan based on your income ratio and not necessarily how much you're prepaid to pay in housing payments each month. If you borrow the entire loan amount that you "qualify" for, it's likely that your monthly payment will be pushing your monthly budget to the max.

To prevent yourself from borrowing up to the limit that the loan officer presented, you can set your own loan amount limit. This can help you effectively manage your housing expenses based from your income bracket. There are several ways to find the right mortgage for your newly-purchased home:

1. Consider the tax benefits. Some mortgages are 'interest only' loans which means you can deduct the entire payment on your taxes for that year. However, loans that are designed with a negative amortization scale won't allow you to deduct interest from your monthly payment.

2. Think long-term. If you're planning on staying in the home for 30 years or more, you will be a good candidate for a fixed-interest rate loan. While these types of loans may have a slightly higher interest rate than ARM loans and other loan products, they will protect you from changing market conditions. Still, there are some drawbacks of the fixed interest-rate loan. Barron's Smart Consumer's Guide to Home Buying points out that the demands of the escrow account associated with the fixed interest-rate loan may cause your payments to increase.

3. Ask about other home payment options. Flexibility in your mortgage loan's payment can help you maximize your funds. For instance, there are mortgage loans that allow making extra payments toward the principal balance without worrying about a penalty. You may inquire about this type of loan so that you would not be problematic of your debts in the future.

4. Look for ways to keep payments low. Even when the lender offers you a large loan, consider cutting back on the loan amount so that you can keep the payments within an affordable range. A low interest rate, long loan term, and the ability to make interest-only payments are a few ways to keep payments as low as possible and within your budget range.

5. Avail yourself of mortgage insurance. Not all first time homebuyers have available funds to serve as down payment, though it can create a difference to your monthly payments and loan amount. When you have mortgage insurance, you can have funds for your down payment. In some instances, mortgage insurance can help you apply for an attractive product minus any down payment. - 18256

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