4azrefi.com Refinance information, Mortgages, Finacial Information

If you have been paying any attention to the national news as it pertains to the mortgage crisis, you have probably heard the term “HOPE” once or twice. In passing it sounds like a simple part of a sentence; there is “HOPE” for homeowners who are struggling in the current economy. However, the HOPE topic here is actually an acronym that stands for H O P E and is the term given to a law passed in Congress effective October 1, 2008.
What Does HOPE Do?

HOPE was created by Congress to help those at risk of default and foreclosure refinance into more affordable, sustainable loans. HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) is an additional mortgage option designed to keep borrowers in their homes. If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments, HOPE for Homeowners may be able to help you, by refinancing your loan into a new 30-year or 40-year fixed-rate loan with lower payments.
How Does HOPE Work?

It is envisioned that the primary way homeowners will initially participate in this program is through the servicing lender on their existing mortgage. There are four ways that a homeowner in distress can participate in HOPE:

1. Homeowners may contact their existing lender and/or a new lender to discuss how to qualify and their eligibility for this program.
2. Servicers working with troubled homeowners may determine that the best solution for avoiding foreclosure is to refinance the homeowner into a HOPE for Homeowners loan.
3. Originating lenders who are looking for ways to refinance potential customers out from under their high-cost loans and/or who are willing to work with servicers to assist distressed homeowners.
4. Counselors who are working with troubled homeowners and their lenders to reach a mutually agreeable solution for avoiding foreclosure.

For more information on HOPE or how to participate, visit the Housing and Urban Development’s website, or contact your mortgage lender directly and speak with a consultant about whether they are participating in the program and if your mortgage qualifies.

Mortgage loan interest rates have plummeted in recent years, leaving many homeowners eager to refinance and capitalize on the potential interest savings. Other homeowners may wish to refinance because they fear future interest rate increases on their adjustable-rate loans and would prefer the security of a fixed-rate mortgage. Regardless of your motivation, refinancing your mortgage can be a rewarding decision when done properly. To help you through the process, we’ve created a five-step guide to mortgage refinancing.

1. Think about the pros & cons. Refinancing to a mortgage with an interest rate that is just 0.5% lower than your current rate can save you up to hundreds of dollars each month. However, there are considerable costs and risks associated with refinancing. You will need to cover a substantial amount of up-front costs that will take years of savings to recoup. You should plan to remain in your home long enough to pass the break-even point.

2. Get the paperwork ready. Mortgage refinancing requires a great deal of paperwork, so start gathering the necessary documents now. You will likely need to provide your income tax statements, recent pay stubs, bank statements, and other documents that prove your income and assets. You might also want to check your credit score before you apply. The best refinancing rates are only offered to borrowers with excellent credit ratings.

3. Look around for lenders. You will be doing yourself a disservice if you apply for a refinancing loan with only one lender. Instead, apply for quotes on mortgage refinance loans with at least two or three lenders. If, however, you are happy with your current mortgage lender, you might begin your refinance loan shopping with that bank. Once you receive an offer, see how it stacks up against the offers of one or two other banks to ensure that you’re getting the best deal. Also remember that you do not have to limit yourself solely to traditional banks. You might also shop for refinancing loans from credit unions or mortgage brokers.

4. Request an accounting of all fees. Refinancing loans have up-front costs, such as application and appraisal fees, as well as closing costs, which can add up to several thousand dollars or more. When you are comparing loans, ask each potential lender for a detailed accounting of all fees associated with the refinancing mortgage. By law, your lender has to provide you with an estimate of these fees within three days of receiving your application.

5. Stay detail-oriented. Once you find the right mortgage loan for your needs, remember that mortgage rates fluctuate even on a day-to-day basis. To prevent the rate you were initially offered from rising, ask your lender to lock in the rate until you close on the loan. Additionally, be sure to save enough money to cover closing costs and leave yourself a little leeway. The estimate your lender provides early in the process will not be exact, and you don’t want to be caught off-guard if the estimate was too conservative.

An important part of your mortgage can actually be how you handle the refinancing. Refinancing can really come in and help you save a good chunk of money. But it is important to make sure that refinancing works for you and saves you money. But what happens if you have bad credit? How do you work out your refinancing then? Here are some things to watch out for to handle your refinancing.
Things I Need to Consider

* Can you raise your score in the future?

if you can raise your score up a good amount then you might want to wait on refinancing because a larger credit score will help you save money. Bad credit can make you pay higher interest. Instead of looking into refinancing right now you should take advantage of some debt consolidation for your other debts. Repaying debts and showing you can take care of those helps you raise your credit score. Finally, when your credit score is up enough to make a substantial difference, start your refinancing process.

* Look at the rates

Like I stated earlier, if you have bad credit you can often times be subject to higher rates than normal. Unfortunately this is one of the negatives about your position, but this does not mean that you have to settle for what is given to you. Shop around and look at the rates you will be given. Find the one that is best for you. It may take a little longer, but it will be well worth the trouble. Saving money should be a priority over jumping into a refinancing plan. You do not want to end up hurting yourself even more because you rushed things.

* Do you need to do this?

Refinancing for the sake of refinancing can be more harmful then good, especially if you have bad credit. Make sure you sit down and decide if you feel this is a good idea. This is truly a decision you can make only after you find out all the scenarios. See how much it will cost you, and see what you pay now. Then compare how this will affect you long term because you might actually find that refinancing is not something you need to do. Plus you just do not want to waste your time with a new refinancing plan that you may change in the next couple of years anyways.
Refinancing Will Bad Credit Can Help You

So after all your options have been identified you can then make a well informed decision. Refinancing with bad credit can really be a great thing that can save you money. Anytime you can save money in your credit situation then you need to do it.

In most cases, purchasing a home means looking for a mortgage. Having a good FICO score is important to get a good interest rate on your mortgage. FICO scores are also important to qualify for a loan in the first place. In uncertain times when the credit markets are tightening, it is crucial that your FICO score is as good as it can be. If your credit is not as good as you would like it to be, you might want to take steps to improve it now, so that you will qualify for a loan when you need it.
What is a FICO Score?

FICO is an acronym that stands for Fair Isaac & Company. This is the company that developed the standard for computing your credit score. A FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. The FICO score has evolved and changed over the years, but it generally reflects your payment history, the amounts that you owe, the length of your credit history, type of credit that you use, and new credit that you take out. Your FICO score can also be lowered if you have too many inquiries. Your FICO score is used by lenders to determine whether to loan you money, and at what rate.
Low FICO Scores Could Mean Mortgage Rejection

When you are applying for a loan, the lender will pay close attention to your credit rating. If you have a high FICO score (usually above 680), your lender will believe that you are likely to pay off your loan, and will give your application a very light review. If your credit score is lower, but still acceptable, you will need to spend more time in the underwriting process. If your score is lower (around 640), your lender will be less willing to give you a loan. Scores in the low 600s or below might result in a complete rejection of your loan.

Since the credit market has tightened up recently, it is becoming even more difficult to qualify for a loan. Buyers used to be able to purchase a home with no or little money down, but that is changing. Most buyers are now being required to put down larger down payments. Additionally, borrowers with credit scores that used to be approved are now being turned down in larger numbers. If your FICO score is low enough, you probably will not get that loan that you used to want.
What to do if Your FICO Score is Too Low

If your FICO score is too low, you can take some steps to improve it so that you can get approved for the mortgage that you want. The first thing to do is make sure that you pay all your bills on time. Late payments will put a large dent in your credit score. As you make on time payments, late payments of the past will start to affect your score less. If you have credit cards that are close to the limit, pay down your credit cards. You should aim to use less than half of your available credit. Your lender might also take other factors into consideration when they decide to approve or deny your loan, such as how long you have lived at your current address, and how long you have worked at your current job, so if you are trying to get approval for a mortgage, you want to ensure that you are stable in these areas of your life as well.

Securing a mortgage loan from a private lender isn’t really so private. In the cases of certain mortgages, the loans also are backed by the Federal Housing Agency as a protection against defaults. The time has come when FHA may need some protection of its own.

As more people reenter the housing market, they struggle to come up with a down payment. That more than likely makes them candidates to seek federally backed loans. In fact, about a quarter of the mortgage market loans currently are protected by the FHA. These mortgages have jumped from 530,000 in Fiscal 2007 to 1.7 million so far this year. The Government National Mortgage Association, which securitizes the loans, has raised its mortgage-related issuance from $85 billion to $287 billion.

Don’t think these debtors only have low incomes. The FHA pool also includes homeowners who earn good money. While the maximum loan is $271,050 in places where real estate is relatively inexpensive, high-priced markets such as California and New York allow the borrower to get up to $729,750.

Congress mandates FHA to keep 2 percent of its loans in cash reserves. With more people getting such mortgages, the reserves are likewise growing. But there’s a problem: If more people are defaulting on their loans, then FHA has to tap into the reserves to pay off foreclosures. So the reserves are shrinking. In fact, the agency already has fallen below the minimum reserves required.

The reasons for foreclosures vary. Some of the growing number of unemployed people could barely afford to buy homes after coming up with the required 3.5 percent down payment. Now they really can’t afford to be in the homes. The delinquency rate that was 12.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007 has spiked to 14.4 percent in the same quarter of 2009.

Then there are some people whose home values are less than whey they owe. They referred to as “under water.” They are simply closing their doors and walking away.

FHA has responded to the situation somewhat by raising the minimum down payment from 3.5 percent to 10 percent for borrowers with credit scores no higher than 499. But that’s not enough. What if everyone who qualifies is required to pay more than 3.5 percent? What if it increases to up to 20 percent, which is the portion that conventional mortgages require to avoid paying private mortgage insurance? The result could cost the U.S. economy the recovery of the housing market.

Maybe the solution is increasing the type of mortgage insurance that is paid over the life of the FHA loan. The fear is that would price first-time buyers out of the market. This segment is viewed as the driver of the market.

Whatever the choice may be, it won’t be easy living with the result. FHA is in a bad situation but waiting any longer for a remedy could make it far worse over the long term.

If you’re in the market for mortgage loans, then you probably already know just how important your credit score is. Not only will it play a significant role in determining whether or not you get approved, it can also have a dramatic effect on your interest rate. Those with less than stellar credit tend to get stuck with higher interest rates and less favorable loan terms. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t restore your credit before applying. Here’s a look at some simple tips that can help you restore credit quickly:

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Improve Your Debt to Credit Ratio – Do you have several credit cards that are at or nearly at your available credit limit? Even if you have a good payment history, these cards could be hurting your credit score. That’s because your overall debt to available credit ratio plays a big role in determining your score. Improve your ratio and you could see your credit score go up in a hurry.
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Check Your Credit Report – It’s estimated that nearly half of all consumer credit reports contain mistakes. Those mistakes could be hurting your credit score without you even realizing it. Fortunately, you can get a free copy of your credit report from any of the major credit reporting agencies online. Since it’s free, checking your credit report is definitely worth your time, even if you don’t think it contains any errors.
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Use Cash – We all know how convenient it is to use debit and credit cards instead of cash these days. However, more than a few studies show a clear correlation between overspending and carrying plastic. Many people have found that only carrying cash allows them to avoid taking on new forms of debt. Try for yourself and put any extra savings toward paying off debt.
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Pay on Time – One of the easiest ways to damage your credit score is to make late payments on debt. Do whatever it takes to ensure that your payments are made on time each month and you could see steady improvement in your score. Sign up for e-mail reminders or automatic payment services if you’re the forgetful type.
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Avoid New Lines of Credit – During this time, you may be tempted to open up a new credit card or take out another loan. However, unless it’s completely unavoidable, don’t do it. Just applying for a new line of credit can hurt your score, so focus on the debt you’ve already accumulated first and foremost. Once you’ve improved your debt situation and restored credit, you’ll find that opening a new line of credit is much easier.
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Don’t Declare Bankruptcy – If you’re serious about getting good rates on mortgage loans, then you know that you can’t afford to declare bankruptcy. By declaring bankruptcy, you all but surrender any chance of getting a decent loan rate in the near future. Bankruptcy absolutely ruins your credit score and you’ll feel the negative effects of it for years to come.

by Robert on May 16, 2010
Home Loan Refinance Rates

Are you searching online for the lowest home loan refinance rates and find that everyone claims to have the best rates but their loan offers are loaded with suspicious fees and cryptic disclosures? The internet can be an excellent tool for finding home loan refinance rates once you cut through the BS and find an honest mortgage broker to arrange your next home loan. Here are several tips to help you get the lowest home loan refinance without paying unnecessary markup or junk fees.
Best Home Loan Refinance Rates

What are good home loan refinance rates and do you know how to recognize junk fees and commission based markup? Most homeowners have never heard of commission based markup of their home loan refinance rates or the fee lenders pay for closing home loans with higher than necessary interest rates. This fee I am talking about is known as Yield Spread Premium and if you can avoid this unnecessary fee you’ll get the best home loan refinance rates without paying junk fees.
Avoiding Yield Spread Premium

How does Yield Spread Premium work and what does this unnecessary markup do to your mortgage payment? Yield Spread Premium is actually a fee paid by mortgage lenders to loan originators who lock and close home loans with higher than necessary interest rates. It doesn’t matter if your loan originator is a mortgage banker, broker, or an internet mortgage mogul, these loan originators typically receive one percent of your home loan amount for every .25 percent they markup your interest rate.

Banks aren’t required by law to disclose their markup of your home loan refinance rates so it’s almost always better just to avoid banks altogether when refinancing. Mortgage brokers on the other hand are required to disclose this fee; however, they always have clever ways of explaining their fees away. After all, it’s not coming out of your pocket right? Why should you care about a fee that’s not coming out of your pocket?

The problem is not who’s pocket the fee is coming out of but why the fee is being paid. Mortgage lenders don’t make the majority of their profits by sitting around collecting interest from your home loan payments. On the contrary, mortgage lenders make most of their profits by selling your home loan to investors on the secondary market. Lenders know that home loans with higher than necessary mortgage rates bring the highest profits from investors, this is why they reward originators who take advantage of people with Yield Spread Premium.
Wholesale Home Loan Refinance Rates

Avoid the commission based markup of your home loan refinance rates and you’ll have a wholesale or par mortgage rate. Par simply means you don’t pay discount points and there is no markup for Yield Spread Premium, which is the lowest possible interest rate available on any given day. So how can YOU get a par home loan refinance rate for your next mortgage loan? Getting wholesale rates is easier than you think. Check out my free Underground Mortgage Videos and I’ll show you how in five easy steps.
Register for my free Underground Mortgage Videos today. It’s quick, easy, and these videos could save you as much as $1200 per year for just 45 minutes of your time.

Here’s a short sample to get you started. This video exposes more of the truth about what mortgage fat cats call Yield Spread Premium.

Refinancing Mortgage Rates Scandal

by Robert on March 21, 2010
Refinancing Mortgage Rates

If you’re considering refinancing your home loan and are looking for the best Refinancing Mortgage Rates there are several things you should know about the rate quotes you find online. Refinancing your home can quickly slash your payments and help keep more cash in your pocket; however, junk fees and unnecessary markup can quickly turn the sweetest deal sour. Here are several of my best tips to help you find the lowest Refinancing Mortgage Rates without paying too much for your next home loan.
Best Home Refinancing Mortgage Rates

Where are the best mortgage rates available? Many homeowners don’t know good Refinancing Mortgage Rates when they find them because of hidden markup and fees. What is this hidden markup I’m referring to? It has to do with the way brokers and other loan originators make money when you refinance your home. It doesn’t matter where you go for a home loan; your bank, local mortgage brokers, and Internet giants like Lending Tree all markup Refinancing Mortgage Rates for extra profit at your expense. The type of markup depends on the type of lender; however, the end result is the same and you get stuck with a higher than necessary mortgage payment.

This is of course unless you can find someone willing to originate your home loan without marking up your mortgage rate, giving you access to wholesale mortgage rates. Finding the right person can save you as much as $1200 per year in unnecessary finance charges. Who’s the right person to arrange your next home loan? Let me first start with who the right person to arrange your next home loan is not.
Bank Mortgage Loans

Many of your neighbors think bank refinancing mortgage rates are a good deal because the bank cuts out the middleman. There’s no mortgage broker collecting a fee…what could be easier than transferring the money from your checking account every month for your mortgage payment? There are several problems with bank originated home loans the worst of which stems from the way banks are regulated when it comes to mortgage lending.

Mortgage lenders are regulated by your State’s consumer protection laws and most States do a very good job protecting you from predatory lending. Banks on the other hand are regulated by the Federal Government and are exempt from your State’s mortgage lending regulations. Federal Truth-in-Lending laws have so many loopholes and thanks to the Banking Lobby your bank is exempt from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act so your Bank is only required to provide you a work of fiction known as the Good Faith Estimate and an Annual Percentage Rate based on this estimate. Because of the loopholes your bank is not required to disclose any of their markup or profit margin on your home loan.

On top of the lack of regulation, banks are in business just to loan money. I know it’s a very slight distinction from mortgage brokers who originate loans for a fee; however, it does make a big difference when it comes to refinancing mortgage rates. Banks make the majority of their profit by selling loans on the secondary market. Home loans with higher than market interest rates make a premium profit for the bank known as Service Release Premium and this is the reason you’ll never get a wholesale refinancing mortgage rates from your bank.
How to Get Wholesale Refinancing Mortgage Rates

It’s not as hard as you think…you don’t have to be a financial guru to pull it off, you simply need to find the right mortgage broker. We’ve already discussed the reason banks don’t offer wholesale mortgage rates to their customers. In fact, banks like Wells Fargo Mortgage are some of the worst predatory lenders around. The bottom line is that if you want the lowest possible refinancing mortgage rates you’ll have to find a mortgage broker willing to work for a flat loan origination fee, usually one percent of your loan amount, without marking up your mortgage rate for a fee known as Yield Spread Premium.

Remember that profit your bank realized when selling your overpriced home loan to investors known as Service Release Premium? Well there’s another fee out there, frequently abused by dishonest mortgage brokers known as Yield Spread Premium that’s paid by mortgage lenders to brokers that lock and close home loans with higher than necessary interest rates. Dishonest mortgage brokers try and explain away Yield Spread Premium by telling you not to worry about the fee since it’s not coming out of your pocket. Truth be told this fee is coming out of your pocket with a higher than necessary mortgage payment.

Want wholesale refinancing mortgage rates for your next home loan? You can get started by telling potential brokers that you understand how Yield Spread Premium works and won’t accept any home loan that includes the markup. Offer to pay them a reasonable loan origination fee of one percent and you’ll be on your way to saving $1200 a year on your next home loan.
Find out more about getting wholesale refinancing mortgage rates for yourself by checking out my free Underground Mortgage Videos.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll get. This video explains why nearly every one of your neighbors is paying too much for their home loan and how you can avoid falling into the same trap. Register today while this is still a free offer.

When you refinance, you pay off your existing AZ mortgage with a new one. Most Lenders require that you have at least ten percent equity in your home prior to refinancing an existing mortgage. Usually, if you are planning to maintain ownership of your property it may make sense to refinance.
Reasons to refinance your Arizona mortgage:

1. Interest rates may be lower now than when you originally got your mortgage. If interest rates are 1 percentage point below your current interest rate you should look into refinancing.

2. Maybe when you originally got your mortgage you took an adjustable rate mortgage, and now with mortgage interest rates lower it’s time to switch it to a fixed rate mortgage. Fixed rate mortgages can reduce your monthly payments if the interest rates have dropped sufficiently.

3. Perhaps you want to make some home improvements and need cash out to finance the changes.

4. Maybe you want to change the term of your current 30 year mortgage to a 15 year mortgage at today’s low mortgage interest rates.
What is a cash out mortgage refinance?

A cash out mortgage refinance is when you get a new mortgage for an amount higher than the current debt owed on your present mortgage. With a cash out refinancing you will receive a check after closing for the amount you have financed above the amount required to payoff your present mortgage.

Whether to refinance or not depends on a few factors. Today, the closing costs to refinance your mortgage will be about the same as those of your original mortgage. You need to have an idea how long you plan to stay in your home. If you don’t plan to own your property long enough to recover the new closing costs then it won’t make good financial sense to refinance.

Associated Press
Oct. 12, 2006 11:08 AM

WASHINGTON – The economy continued to grow in the early fall despite a “widespread cooling” in the once-hot housing market, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

The Fed’s latest survey of business conditions around the country found the economy expanding with growth being described as “moderate or mixed.”

However, the report found there was a distinct slowdown in housing with the majority of the Fed’s 12 regions reporting lower asking prices for homes, a softening in sales and The Fed said that reports from around the country “indicated widespread cooling” in housing markets with financial institutions finding that mortgage lending activity had tapered off. That decline in lending was being offset to some extent by an increase in lending for commercial projects in several districts, the Fed said.

The latest snapshot of the economy, based on reports from the Fed’s regional banks, will be used when central bankers next meet on Oct. 24-25 to consider what to do with interest rates.

It is widely expected that the Fed will for a third straight meeting leave rates unchanged, preferring to wait and see if the economic slowdown brought on by previous rate hikes will be enough to keep inflation under control.

Minutes released on Wednesday of the Fed’s deliberations in September found that Fed officials remained concerned about inflation. Those worries were seen as a signal that the Fed will not soon start cutting interest rates, something that financial markets had grown hopeful might occur given the spreading economic slowdown.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that housing was going through a “substantial correction” that he estimated would trim economic growth by a full percentage point in the second half of the year.

The economy grew by just 2.6 percent in the second quarter, less than half the pace of the first three months of the year, as it was battered by soaring gasoline prices, rising interest rates and the cooling housing market.