Closing on a home is an undeniably stressful experience. Trying to move on the same day you close just adds to the stress unless you prepare.

Get Moving

A very high percentage of people move on the day they complete the purchase of their new home. They’ve just come through an experience that can be very tense, yet they pitch into an activity that’s very tiring and requires a gazillion decisions to be made. It would be helpful if the move could take place the next day. Everyone in the family should be prepared for the time line in advance.

Allot enough time for packing. Allow more time than you think you’ll need. Be sure each family member has a few special possessions with them and not among the things handled by the movers. Yup, Linus had his blanket and most of us have the equivalent.

The year I was fifteen, my family moved for the sixteenth time. My mother was very good at setting up a household in a new location with a minimum of fuss. She always carried a set of sheets and blankets for each bed with her. (All containers were marked with the name of the room they were destined for.)

The first order of business was to set up each family member’s bed and make it. It was reassuring to know your bed was ready for you when you had exhausted yourself. The second place Mother focused on was the kitchen. Getting that organized and ready to function was a high priority.

I highly recommend Mother’s plan if you’re moving. It will give you some feeling of order and that can mean a lot on a stressful day. I’ve seen it successfully implemented many times.

That’s about it. Recognize you’re tackling a tough, big, exciting change. Discuss it with your family. Take your time. Have a plan. Keep your cool. You just purchased a home so be happy!

Raynor James is with www.fsboamerica.org – providing FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit www.fsboamerica.org/buyer.cfm to see homes for sale by owner.

Do you want to invest in profitable property or simply buy a new home at a bargain price? If so, you want to consider property auctions.

Properties sold at auction are often owned by mortgage lenders after repossessions, former council / housing association homes or have being empty for some time after the owner passed away.

In each case, the owner has put the property on auction for a quick sale and this can lead to some great deals on the market value.

Finding an auction

As auctions tend to cater for property professionals, rather than the general public, advertising and awareness of auction houses is limited.

A good place to start is looking through the telephone directory, yellow pages or searching on Google or Yahoo.

Another good tip is to keep an eye out for For Sale signs outside homes. Where the board says ‘for sale by auction’, call the telephone number provided. You will either get through to an estate agent acting on behalf of the auction house, or you will get through to the auction house directly.

If you get through to an estate agent, ask them for the contact details of the auction house. The estate agent may be reluctant to do this, so it is worth being persistent.

Once you are able to make contact with the auction house, ask to be put on their mailing list. Although there is likely to be charge for this, you will begin to receive details of properties due for sale.

Before you bid

Having identified the property that you want to buy, you will need to arrange finance. For most people this will mean approaching a mortgage lender and it is important to do this in advance of the auction.

Remember once you win a bid, you are legally bound to purchase the property and you need to be able to pay within a set number of days.

The mortgage lender will require a basic valuation of the property, but it is advisable to invest in a full survey as the property may be at auction due to structural problems, which the basic survey would not pick up.

Before bidding for your desired property, you may want to attend a few auctions to get a better idea of the experience.

Winning your bid

Set yourself a price limit, but do not get carried away and bid beyond it. Having had a valuation done, you will have a good idea of the market value and should not go above the amount agreed with your mortgage lender.

If your bid is successful, you will be legally bound to purchase the property and will need to put down a 10% deposit of the property’s selling price. You will be asked to sign a contract, which you would have seen before the auction and the seller will be legally bound to complete on the day.

Finally you will need to pay the remainder of the selling price within an agreed period, such as 28 days.

Congratulations, you have just picked up an auction deal.

Property search – find property for sale and rent, plus access our full range of property articles, guides and advice – Visit www.ukpropertyportal.co.uk

We hear every day how important it is to own real estate. What we don’t hear is how to make sure we get the best rate possible and save our selves thousands and thousands of dollars over the term of our mortgage. Not everyone is blessed with the best credit and a huge down payment. So, how does one basically get the best deal on their mortgage or refinance?

1) Find out your credit score on all three credit bureaus. Don’t ever let a loan officer tell you what your credit is. They are schooled in finding ways to make extra money off of you. The better educated you are, the harder it will be for the loan officer to pull a fast one on you. If you do have some issues, clean them up first. It isn’t hard to get some dings off your credit and this will save you a lot.

2) Get all your documentation together. This may sound trivial, but you wouldn’t believe the number of people that don’t do this well, and pay steeply with higher rates and points as a result. You should, as a habit, keep a file of your tax returns, assets (bank account statements, mortgage payment receipts (if you have a current mortgage), business license (if you are self employed), etc… The better you can document your income, assets, and employment, the higher your chances are for getting lowest interest rates. Yes, there are such loans as SIVA (Stated Income and Verified Asset, VISA (Verified Income and Stated Asset, and No Doc, but you will pay higher for these and some may require additional points, money down, and additional or more strict requirements (like minimal credit scores to qualify). Be sure to ask your lending institution as to the requirements as each is different.

3) If you do not currently own a house, get pre-approved before making offers. Real estate agents are in the business of selling and will place an offer faster than you can blink an eye. Remember, its your earnest money you are putting down (usually $1,000) and if you don’t qualify or can’t close in time you can lose it. Just like with credit card offers, pre qualified means absolutely nothing. On a high demand real estate listing most sellers won’t take an offer if you aren’t pre approved. In many cases, they will not negotiate favorably with you without a letter of approval from your bank or lending institution. Carry your preapproval with you when you house shop and watch what hurdles homeowners will go through for you.

4) Do not lie and be upfront about what you can and cannot document. Don’t waste the loan officers time and yours with assets or income that you cannot document. If you lie, they will catch you when they examine your loan prior to funding and you won’t be able to close. Also be wary of lenders that promise things you shouldn’t be able to qualify for. Shop around – you should be getting similar numbers for your qualifications. If a offer is too low, or too good to be true, then it probably is. Don’t be afraid to use internet lenders – American Home Mortgage is a great company with a great reputation for straightforward business practices and lower cost mortgage and refinance loans. There are still quite a few mortgage scams out there. Be sure to look up your mortgage company with consumer reporting agencies just to make sure. It is better to be safe than sorry.

There you have it – how to qualify for the best terms and save big on a mortgage or refinance.

Lenders who offer 100% financing typically offer them as a loan broken down into two pieces – a first loan for the first 80%, and a second loan to cover the final 20%.

The reason the loan is broken up is that the borrower does not have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) on either loan. A typical 100% loan has this PMI charge as an additional charge to compensate the lender for the risk involved in 100% financing. For a lending institution a 100% loan on a property offers them no equity “cushion” in case the value of the property goes down.

Some lenders offer a single 100% loan without a PMI payment, but their interest rate is usually higher to compensate them for this.

Typical 80/20 loans have one interest rate for the first 80% and usually a higher rate for the final 20%. Both of these loans have different risk profiles. A lender can sell the two different loans to different types of loan investors – the 80% can be sold to those with a lower appetite for risk, while the final 20% is sold to investors with a higher appetite for risk. The loan for the first 80% gives it the loan first dibs on the property if the loan goes under. They are paid first, and if there is any money left over then the final 20% is paid. It is the secondary nature of the final 20% loan that requires a higher interest rate to compensate for this risk.

An 80/20 loan is a loan structure. The loan itself can come in many forms. The first 80% loan can be a regular loan, an interest-only loan, a 30 year fixed loan, a loan that is fixed only for the first 2 years, etc. There are also many different types of loans that the second 20% loan can be. It can have an interest-only feature to keep its cost down.

For most people the mortgage industry seems to speak a foreign language, with terms and acronyms that are vague and unfamiliar. And of course, when dealing with large sums of money such as those found in a home mortgage, you want to try to understand the language as much as possible in order to avoid making mistakes. So here is a little primer on some of the most important terms used when getting a mortgage or home loan.

There are four types of mortgages that are generally available and those are fixed rate, adjustable rate, convertible and special loans.

Fixed Rate Loans – usually these are found in either the 30 year loan or 15 year loan category, and this simply means that you pay a fixed payment each month over the course of either the 30 years or 15 years.

Adjustable Rate Loans – this is where your payment can fluctuate depending on the prevailing interest rate at the time. If interest rates rise, then your payment goes up and if interest rates fall, your payment goes down instead.

Convertible Loans – these are loans that may start out as either a fixed rate or an adjustable rate mortgage, and then can be converted over to the opposite kind of loan instead. Many people will use this type of loan to start out as an adjustable rate mortgage and then convert over to a fixed rate mortgage when interest rates are at their lowest.

Special Loans – these include FHA loans for first-time homebuyers and folks with credit problems, and also VA mortgage loans for veterans of the Armed Forces and their families.

There are other terms that you need to know when it comes to getting a home mortgage as well and they are:

Appraisal – this is where you pay an independent person to correctly assess the value of your home using excepted market calculations.

Closing costs – these are fees that are usually payable when the mortgage papers are signed that pays for the transfer of the ownership of the home.

Points – this is a value that typically relates to 1% of the total cost of the home being mortgaged.

Escrow – this is where money is often held by a neutral third party in a transaction of two or more people.

Pre-qualify – this is where a lending institution will state that you do qualify for receiving a home mortgage for a certain price range of home.

Pre-approval – this is where a lending institution has already run the necessary paperwork and approved a home mortgage loan for a certain amount.

There are other special terms and acronyms used by the mortgage industry, but the ones listed above are perhaps the ones that are most commonly used. Hopefully this will help you be more informed when you try to get your next home mortgage loan.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including real estate. You can find mortgage rate calculators and compare mortage interest rates and more by visiting our Real Estate website.

If you are transferring to the Kings Bay Georgia Naval Submarine base, more than likely you will need a lender to buy a home.

VA mortgages provide military homebuyers with 100% financing to buy a home. The veterans administration doesn’t provide the loan, they only guarantee it. The VA approved lender decides what the interest rate will be, how many points you will pay,etc.

There are numerous options when deciding on a rate. You may choose a fixed rate for 15 or 30 years, or an adjustable rate mortgage where the rate can fluctuate up or down. The rate on a fixed rate mortgage remains the same for the term of the loan. Adjustable rates are fixed for only specific terms such as 1, 3, 5 and 7 years. If you only plan to live in the property for a short period of time, this may be your best option. However, if you want the security of your payment remaining the same and you are unsure of how long you will live in the property, a fixed rate could be your best choice.

It is very simple to apply or pre-qualify for a mortgage online. Many lenders have a website with the tools provided to you at no cost to get pre-approved for a mortgage, or actually begin the process online. It is very simple to apply online! Just be sure that you will be able to provide the lender with documentation to validate your employment and assets that you stated when filling out the online application. Online applications generally take from 15 to 20 minutes to complete. To apply online, visit my website at www.thebestmortgageguy.com

Glenn Keller is a Kingsland Georgia Mortgage professional specializing in various types of home mortgages. Glenn Keller has many years of experience in conventional, VA and FHA mortgage loan programs. This information is deemed to be useful for homebuyers wishing to obtain mortgage financing. The views are the opinion of the author. Visit our website at http://www.thebestmortgageguy.com

If you are in the market for a mortgage there are steps you can take to improve the interest rate you qualify for. Here are the best tips for improving your credit score and your interest rate.

There are a number of factors that affect the interest rate you qualify for when shopping for a mortgage loan. Your credit is the factor you have the most control over. Before applying for a mortgage you need to go through your credit reports with a fine tooth comb and look for errors.

Credit reports contain a record of all your financial dealings with lenders. The reports contain records of your spending and borrowing habits and how you repay your debts. Mortgage lenders use this information to gauge how much of a risk you are for lending money to.

It is from these credit reports that your FICO credit score is derived. The FICO score is created by a company called Fair Issac Corporation; hence the FICO score. Mortgage lenders have lending guidelines in place based on an individual’s credit score. Your approval status and loan terms including interest rate will be largely decided by the state of your FICO credit score.

Your credit score is derived from a number of weighted factors. Here is a breakdown of the factors involved in creating your credit score.

35% is derived from your repayment history of on time payments

30% is derived from your debt-to-income ratio

15% is derived from the length of time you have used credit

10% is derived from the type of credit you use

10% is derived from the number of recent credit inquiries / recent activity

As you can see nearly all of these factors are directly under your control. Before you start applying for a mortgage you should take six months to concentrate on tuning up your credit. After you have gone through all three of your credit reports for errors, concentrate on paying down the balances on your credit cards and closing the accounts. This will improve your debt-to-income ratio and have a significant impact on your credit score. Make sure you are making all of your payments on time; you want to have at minimum six months worth of on-time payments on your credit history.

Ensuring you have good credit is the first step to qualifying for the best interest rate. Doing your homeowner and shopping for the best deal on your mortgage is the second step. To learn more about saving money on your mortgage loan, sign up for a free mortgage guidebook.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Tucson Mortgage Refinance

Louie Latour has twenty years of experience in the mortgage industry as a mortgage broker. He is the owner of Mortgages Refinance Advisor, a mortgage help site devoted to saving homeowners money with a free guidebook “Mortgage Refinance: What You Need to Know.”

Sign up for your free guide today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com

A fixed rate mortgage is the most common type of mortgage. With a fixed rate mortgage your payments will stay the same throughout the term of your loan, which is usually 15 or 30 years long. You will make the payments to the lender each month for the term.

By choosing a fixed rate mortgage you will be able to avoid the unstable real estate market. You will never have to worry about your payments going up and down wit the interest rates, this is appealing to buyers because you will be able to budget much easier. So if you are thinking about buying a home do it when the interest rates are low and choose a fixed rate mortgage. This way no matter how high the interest rates go you will never have to pay them.

Once you have decide to choose a fixed rate mortgage loan all you have to do is choose which one. The 15 year or the 30 mortgage? A 30 year loan is good because your payments will be smaller since the interest is spread out over a longer period of time. And with this option you can take all of the extra money that you save each month and invest it in investments that will bring a good return and even though you will be paying more in interest with the 30 year mortgage you will also be able to deduct more off of your taxes.

There are some drawbacks to the 30 year fixed rate mortgage though such as the fact that you will be building equity in your home much slower than with a 15 year mortgage. When you choose this type of mortgage the bulk of your first few years payments will be paying off the interest rather than the principle balance. And with this mortgage plan you will be paying significantly more in interest.

If you choose a 15 year fixed rate mortgage you will be able to build equity in your home much faster than with the 30 year though the payments each month will be higher. And the amount of interest that you will be paying overall for these loans is much les than with the longer term mortgage loan, which makes this an appealing choice to many. The main drawback to a 15 year fixed rate mortgage is that since the payments are higher you may not be able to afford as big of a house.

With a 30 year fixed rate mortgage you will be paying over double the amount of interest than with a 15 year mortgage. This could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the difference between the monthly payments on each type of loan is a few hundred dollars each month. Say it averaged out to about $350 a month, if you were to choose a 30 year mortgage and then invest the difference you could make a lot of money, a lot of money. You could then use this money to pay off the principle balance of your mortgage that much sooner.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today

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Reverse mortgages are gaining in popularity as more senior’s start looking for ways to supplement their retirement incomes. And as the interest in reverse mortgages increase, so are the cases of reverse mortgage fraud and scams. Many seniors are finding that they have lost thousands dollars of their hard earned equity to these reverse mortgages scams. Since reverse mortgages typically involve our largest asset (your home), this type of fraud can have a serious negative impact on your retirement. The following reverse mortgage fraud information will help you avoid becoming a victim of a reverse mortgage scam.

Reverse Mortgage Scams

The are several types of reverse mortgage scams that can end up costing you thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars in equity in your home if you become a victim.

Charging for free information on reverse mortgages

Several estate planning companies have been charging thousands of dollars for information provided free from HUD. Typically these companies charge for this information as part of an estate planning program. Seniors that sign up for these programs are unaware that these firms are collecting thousands of dollars by charging a fee of 6 to 10 percent of the total amount borrowed. These fees costs the victims $6,000 to $10,000 on a $100,000 reverse mortgage. HUD has recently issued a directive to lenders that issued reverse mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to stop doing business with these companies.

Pushing reverse mortgages as a way to pay for purchases

Some companies that sell large ticket items or services, like annuities or insurance products, may try to suggest using a reverse mortgage as a way fund these purchases. When the additional cost of the reverse mortgage is factored into the purchase, it ends up costing the homeowner much more than the benefit provided by the product or service.

Unethical reverse mortgage terms

Some lenders slip in excessive fees and terms into their contracts. These terms can have a serious effect a Seniors equity. In some cases, lenders have used shared equity or shared appreciation terms, which gives the lender the right to collect a portion of the appreciation when the home is sold or refinanced. The cost of these type provisions can run into the tens of thousands as the home appreciates. These rising cost provisions eat up equity without providing any additional benefit to the homeowner.

Protecting yourself from reverse mortgage scams

If you are looking into reverse mortgages, there are several things that you can do to protect yourself from falling victim to these types of scams.

1. Speak with a HUD approved reverse mortgage counselor. The counselor will help you understand reverse mortgages and help you evaluate your situation.
2. Obtain several offers from different reverse mortgage lenders in order to compare different options. The rule of thumb is to get at least three separate offers so that you have a good comparison of the terms offered.
3. Make sure you understand all the terms and conditions within the reverse mortgage contracts. Your reverse mortgage counselor can guide you through the contracts.
4. You generally have three business days after signing the loan document to cancel it for any reason.

If you suspect that a company is operating in violation of the law, let your reverse mortgage counselor know and then file a complaint with your State Attorney General’s office or banking regulatory agency and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov

Resource Box: Charles Kirkendall writes on a variety of senior financial issues. For more information visit reverse mortgages or the reverse mortgage blog.