5 Reasons You Might Need To Consider Non-Traditional Financing

Private Money financing refers to loans collateralized by real estate, where the source of the funds used to close Real Estate transactions come from private investors.

The decision by the investors to make a loan is based primarily upon plenty of equity in the real property securing the loan thus reducing the risk of loss.

The ability to repay, and the borrower's character is also considered along with how the borrower will pay the investor back in time.

Private Money loans are needed when a borrower or a property falls outside the standard underwriting rules of conventional lending sources like banks or other lending institutions.

The Primary Decision For Private Money Is Typically Based On The Simple Three-Four C's Of Private Money Lending:

1. Capacity to repay the loan back
2. Credit/Character of the borrower
3. Collateral or property type

With risk of loss lessened, a loan may be a sensible deal from the Private Money Lender's point of view, but it remains discarded to institutional lenders. To meet the continuing financing needs of these borrowers, an ongoing demand for private money has been created.

Mortgage brokers and bankers solicit and process these types of loans but the private investors are the ones that underwrite and close these private money loans.

After a loan request is processed and underwritten, the loan is funded by a loan investment product arranged by a Private Money Specialist. Private investments may come from individuals, entities, or pension funds. Your private money investor or a private servicing company will service each loan until it is paid off or the property is sold.

The Reason Why People Need Private Money:

1. Loss of bank loans, including denial due to:

• Use of cash out

• Not perfect credit

• Needing stabilized income

• No reserves

• Not operating with a bank account

• Debt ratios to high

• Property type or condition

• Borrower type (i.e. trusts)

2. Borrower's election to avoid the excessive loan conditions of an institutional loan saving time

3. Private Money Lenders ability to arrange loans secured by property types unacceptable to Institutional lenders

4. Borrower's circumstances make it difficult to obtain institutional loans

5. Property's characteristics make it difficult to obtain an institutional loan

If any of these scenarios sound familiar to you or you need more information about Private Money Loans contact me directly and I will help answer questions about Private Money loans.

Creative Ways To Recycle Everyday Household Items

Every week the trash truck comes to pick up our garbage and unwanted items, which are promptly taken to landfills. Instead of filling landfills and just buying new items to stuff our homes, we can help the earth and recycle everyday household items.

Below are a few fun and creative ideas for recycling things around your home that you might be ready to trash.

Coffee Table Into Bench

If you just purchased a new coffee table, don't give away the old one — repurpose it. Find a space in your home where you could use some additional seating, like at the end of your bed or in the entryway.

Push it up against the wall so that any drawers and shelves are facing out. Then add some cushions and pillow. Tada; a bench!

Copper Piping Into Bathroom Hardware

Whether you're going for a modern industrial look or a French country theme, old copper piping can add an attractive and interesting conversation piece to your restroom.

Utilize a U-shaped piece of piping as a toilet paper holder and long pieces of pipe as towel racks. Polish the copper and then seal it with spray lacquer so that it keeps its sheen.

Light Bulbs Into Decorations

Recycle filament light bulbs with a fun little craft project for your children. Grab paint, twine, glitter and glue. You can make flower pots and hang them in the yard as a simple green accent. Use the twine to create loops for hanging.

Pillowcase Into Shopping Bag

Take an old or vintage pillowcase, lay it flat and cut the top corners off of the open end. You'll want to cut the corners off in a half-C shape so that that there is only about a two-inch strip left in the middle at the top.

Sew that two-inch strip together and you've got your handle. This reusable shopping bag rolls up tight and is easy to wash.

Drawer Into Dog Bed

The size of your animal will dictate the size of drawer you should repurpose. A cat might like a kitchen drawer while a bigger dog would use a large dresser drawer. Strip the wood off the drawer and repaint. Remove the hardware.

Maybe stencil your pet's name on the front of the drawer. Then create a mattress using foam, batting and a soft and durable material.

Before getting rid of that broken side table or trashing those carry-out chopsticks, take a second look and tap into your creative side to see if you might be able to recycle and give them a second life. 

Factors To Consider When Applying For A Home Mortgage

Owning a home can be a sign of independence and success. It allows you to build up equity and the mortgage interest and property taxes are tax-deductible. What can you do to make a home affordable for you?

Reputable lenders look at a list of criteria to decide how much they'll loan you. 

This List Includes:

• Credit score
• Existing assets including cash
• Car leases or loans
• Credit card balances
• Debt consolidation loans
• Home equity loans
• Installment loans
• Student loans
• Other monthly debts
• Size/source of your down payment

If you'd like to get an idea of what you can afford before talking to a lender, here are a few tools you can use to decide whether a home is within your budget.

Here Are Some Guidelines:

• As a rule of thumb, your house hunting budget shouldn't be more than 2.5 times your pre-tax annual income.  If you earn $50,000 a year, your budget for house hunting should be around $125,000.

• Your Housing Expense Ratio, which is principal, interest, taxes and insurance shouldn't be more than 25% to 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.

• Your Debt-to-Income Ratio should be no more than 36% of your pre-tax monthly income.  This is the ratio between how much you owe and how much you earn.

• Use an online calculator to figure how much home you can afford.

"Qualifying for" and "can afford" are two different things.  Shopping for a home within your budget will save you a lot of heartache now and in the future.

If you'd like help determining how much mortgage you can really afford, call your trusted mortgage professional today.

Are 50 Year Mortgages A Good Financing Option?

When most people are taking out a mortgage on a property, they select either a 15 or 30 year mortgage loan. However, there is a new mortgage option that has been available to home owners since 2006 and that is the 50 year mortgage loan.

Although a half-century might seem like a very long loan term, there can be some advantages to taking out a five-decade mortgage. Here are some of the pros and cons to taking out a mortgage that you repay over 50 years.

Advantages

The main benefit that you will experience with a 50 year mortgage is the ability to take out a larger loan and buy a more expensive house that you might not have otherwise been able to afford. This means that you can enjoy a better standard of living with lower monthly payments.

A 50 year mortgage might also make home ownership easier to qualify for as a first time homebuyer. On a monthly basis, it means that you will have more room in your budget for paying for other expenses.

Disadvantages

Of course, the major disadvantage to a 50 year mortgage is that you will end up paying much more interest over the loan period. Also, you will build equity in the home very slowly and you will not gain back much equity if you sell the home a few years on.

Also, often 50 year mortgages will come with higher interest rates than their 30 year counterparts. You can usually expect to pay an extra 0.25% or more than you would if you took out a 30 year mortgage, which can really add up over time.

It might be advantageous to take a 50 year mortgage with low payments in the beginning, with the aim to refinance and reduce your term in the future when you are earning more money and can make higher mortgage payments.

A 50 year mortgage can sometimes be advantageous, but ask yourself if you really want to wait until you are in your 70s or 80s before owning your home! If a 50 year mortgage is the only way you can afford your mortgage payments, you might be considering a home that is beyond your price range.

To find out more about the right mortgage term for you on your property, call your trusted mortgage professional today. 

When Should You Shred Your Financial Documents?

How do you know what happens to your documents when you put a piece of paper in the trash? It can be difficult to know who is seeing it and what they are doing with it. It isn't very common to burn trash anymore; therefore you can be sure that your paper garbage or recycling is likely to pass through several hands on its way to a landfill or recycling center.

Step-By-Step, Your Documents Can Get Pilfered

Every step that occurs once the trash leaves your control has risk that someone will find personal information they can use to cause you harm. One way to safeguard personal information is to shred it before it goes into the trash.

Shredding devices are available at most office supply stores. Cross-cut shredders provide more security than strip-cut shredders. You may want to consider one depending on your level of concern. Shredding services or shredding events are often offered by financial institutions or community organizations.

Properly destroying sensitive personal information is a key step in helping to keep your identity secure. You really should shred any documents containing personal information, but be cautious not to shred financial documents that you may still need.

To Shred Or Not To Shred, That Is The Question...Or Maybe It's When To Shred

The Better Business Bureau offers these guidelines on when to shred:

• Deposit, ATM, credit, and debit card receipts can be shredded once the transaction appears on your statement
• Canceled checks, credit card statements, and bank statements with no long-term significance can go through the shredder after one year; if used to support tax returns, keep them for seven years 
• Monthly bill statements can be shredded one year after receiving, to allow for year-to-year bill comparisons (another good way to monitor your budget!) 
• Credit card contracts and loan agreements should be saved for as long as the account is active
• Pay stubs can be shredded yearly after reconciling with your W-2 or other tax forms
• Documentation of investment purchases or sales should be kept for as long as you own the investment and then seven years after that; shred monthly investment account statements annually after reconciling with a year-end statement
• Always shred documents with Social Security numbers, birth dates, PIN numbers or passwords, financial information, contracts or letters with signatures, pre-approved credit card applications, medical and dental bills, travel itineraries, and used airline tickets.

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week - November 4, 2013

Last week's economic news came from a variety of sources. Most significant was the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee statement after its meeting ended Wednesday. The statement indicated that the Fed saw moderate economic growth. FOMC did not taper its purchase of MBS and Treasury securities.

The FOMC statement announced the committee's intention to closely monitor economic and financial developments "in the coming months," which suggested that the FOMC is taking a wait-and-see position on reducing its $85 billion monthly asset purchases.

Mortgage Rates, Jobless Claims Fall

The Fed's asset purchase program, also known as quantitative easing, was implanted in 2012 with a goal of stabilizing mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates.

The National Association of REALTORS® reported that pending home sales fell by 5.60 percent in September. Uncertainty over the FOMC's decision concerning tapering its asset purchases during its September meeting and concerns over a then potential government shutdown.

These were noted as primary reasons for the drop in pending home sales, which are measured by signed real estate contracts. Pending Home Sales are used for estimating future closings and mortgage loan activity.

Tuesday's economic reports included the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for August. Home prices increased by 12.80 percent year-over-year in August as compared to 12.30 percent year-over-year for August 2012. August's reading shows a dampened pace of rising home prices.

The Conference Board, a research organization, reported that consumer confidence fell from a reading of 80.2 in September to 71.2 in October. A reading of 75.00 was expected, but consumer confidence crashed as the government shutdown and its consequences diminished consumer and investor confidence.

According to ADP, a payroll administration firm, private-sector payrolls came in well shy of the expected 150,000 new jobs with a reading of 130,000 jobs. October's reading was also lower than September's reading of 145,000 new jobs.

Weekly jobless claims brought good news; new jobless claims came in at 340,000 and fell by 10,000 new claims from the previous week's 350,000 new jobless claims. Expectations had been for 335,000 new jobless claims.

Freddie Mac reported that average mortgage rates fell. The rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped by three basis points to 4.10 percent, with discount points down from 0.80 percent to 0.70 percent.

The average rate for a 15-year mortgage fell by four basis points to 3.20 percent, with an uptick in discount points from 0.60 percent to 0.70 percent. The rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage dropped by four basis points to 2.96 percent with discount points unchanged at 0.40 percent.

What's Coming Up

There is no housing or mortgage economic news scheduled this week other than Freddie Mac's PMMS due on Thursday.

Reporting for this week includes Leading Economic Indicators, Weekly Jobless Claims, Non-farm Payrolls and the National Unemployment Rate will be posted. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index will be released Friday.

This week's economic reports are expected provide a general gauge of the economy and information about how consumers are responding to recent economic events and news. 

Recent Government Activity And Its Effect On Mortgage Interest Rates

Mortgage rates typically are tied more to the yields on the 10-year Treasury note more than any other indicator. With the government in flux as the shutdown happened and ended, mortgage rates are also changing.

Overall, mortgage rates have decreased because of a lack of confidence in the government's ability to get its finances under control.

Although rates spiked in September when the Fed hinted that they would not be purchasing as many bonds, they quickly released an announcement that they would actually be maintaining their current purchasing habits.

The Time Is Ripe For Homeowners

Since then, mortgage interest rates have been dropping back down to their previous levels. With 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgage rates continuing at very low levels, the time is ripe for homeowners to purchase or refinance.

In the day following the reopening of the government, mortgage rates continued at their low levels, which surprised some economists. The stock market went down and yields on the 10-year Treasury note also decreased, which both suggest a lack of confidence in the government.

Despite their ability to come to an agreement, investors and economists note that it is just a temporary fix, and there will likely be anothershowdown looming. Rates may remain low for a little while, but as the government begins releasing more economic data, mortgage interest rates could increase if the data shows growth in the economy.

Buyers Expect An Increase Of Applications

The government shutdown did have an effect on the volume of applications for government mortgages, like FHA and VA loans. Both reached a six-year low, largely because there were no staff on hand to answer questions over the phone and the offices were running on skeleton crews.

As the offices are back up and running again, buyers are expected to increase their volume of applications because those who had been delaying their applications now need to get the ball rolling on their home purchases.

Amidst all of the uncertainty, one thing is quite clear. It's unlikely that interest rates will drop significantly lower than they are now, so buyers looking to get a mortgage and homeowners looking to refinance may be best off locking a rate soon rather than waiting.