What this bailout plan does is, unfortunately, pretty limited. It won’t help out everyone. What the bailout does on the level of the individual borrower is to freeze the borrower’s mortgage for five years. This keeps the interest rate of the mortgage down for a period of time so that the borrower can get their finances in order and dig themselves out of their situation. Unfortunately, there are a couple of stipulations on this program.

The first stipulation is that it only applies to people who have less than 3% equity on their homes. People with higher equity are simply out of luck. The second qualification is that the borrower must be no more than 60 days late paying their mortgage. Needless to say, for people who are already in severe trouble and have been missing payments aren’t helped at all by this.

In addition to the above qualifications a buyer would have to prove that he or she couldn’t afford increased interest in their mortgage. The government buyout plan also only applies to subprime mortgages – but there are many people struggling with prime mortgages who face financial difficulties, too. Unfortunately, this leaves a lot of people who were looking for a little relief out of luck.

The ultimate problem with this bailout program is that it only serves to delay inevitable outcome. The bottom line is that if you are living in a home that you can’t afford to live in, even if the government bailout helps you, you may still find yourself in trouble. Unless a significant financial change or a reduction in the interest rate or principle is in the wings, you chances are at the end of the five-year freeze you still won’t be in a good place.

Another perceived problem with the government bailout program is that it works to reinforce the behavior that put the housing market in the crisis it faces today. Subprime lending encouraged people to try and buy houses that they couldn’t really afford, and the bailout program is helping those same people. Meanwhile, people who had made smart choices about buying a home, but faced some other financial problem are left high and dry.

The unfortunate bottom line is that if you can’t pay your mortgage, chances are that the government bailout isn’t going to save you from foreclosure. Unless you have good reason to believe there’ll be a change in your financial fortune, it may be time to start preparing for the worst.

I am not referring to a 15 year mortgage, nor am I talking about a bi-weekly or some type of mortgage reduction program.   Yes if you can afford the payments the come with a 15 year loan, the by all means go for it.   It will not only get you out of mortgage debt faster, but will save you thousands of dollars in interest charges and help you accumulate wealth sooner, as you enjoy the benefits of you home appreciating in value.

Fixed rate mortgages have always been my recommendation to first time home buyers, because they are less risky than adjustable rate mortgages.   One of the main causes of foreclosure is an adjustable rate mortgage, which has adjusted on a home owner to the point where the mortgage payment is no longer affordable.  The most common fixed rate mortgage is the 15 year or 30 year fixed rate mortgage loan.  But this doesn’t mean there aren’t other options, did you know that you can also get a 20 or even a 25 year loan.  The loan program I want to focus on today is the 25 year mortgage.

The first reason is the 25 year loan comes with the same interest rate as a 30 year loan, as well as the payment difference is minimal which will allow you similar payment  relief as the 30 year loan, but saving you thousands in interest charges.  Illustration below for a $200,000 mortgage loan:

Many of my competitors usually don’t mention this 25-year option because of two reasons first, they usually don’t know this loan option exist and secondly, they lose the interest payments over the life of the loan.

For example, on a $200,000, the rate is the same whether you go with a 25 year or 30 year mortgage loan and the payment would be about $86 higher per month with the 25 year loan, but over the life of the loan, you will save over $49,000.   Now I am sure you could find a few things to do with an extra $49,000.

The $86 per month is less than one dinner out, per month for a family of 4! Does that type of mortgage interest you?

Even if you plan on staying in the home short term, for let say only 5 years, you will save about $1000 in interest charges but because of the additional $86 per month, you would have paid well over $6000 towards your principal balance when calculated over the 5 year period.

This is the reason why it is important to work with a mortgage expert that has your best interest in mind, especially if you’re a first time home buyer.  And experience mortgage expert can guide you through the entire loan process, which will in turn save you a lot of headaches and money.  And since this is such a large transaction we are not talking about chump change, we are talking about thousands of dollars that could otherwise be used to build wealth.

Toll Brothers Inc. is using a subprime tactic to lure new home buyers, offering a 3.75% interest rate for seven years on conforming loans. Many companies are expected to copy the concept, in spite of how badly the economy collapsed because of it.  During the housing boom, home buyers were tempted by loans that offered shockingly low rates, only to see them reset higher, sometimes very quickly, which resulted in crippling payments two and three times the original amount.  People who were banking on a home increasing in value were sorely disappointed.  This tactic is once again being used by mortgage companies to attract prospective homeowners, ignoring how this very tactic crushed large portions of the nation’s economic vitality.

If you would like to witness for yourself just how bad the financial carnage is, go to the office of any loan modification attorney and see the long lines of people hoping they can get some help in avoiding foreclosure and stay in their homes.  People with ARM loans which have adjustable interest rates watched their monthly payments spike, often sapping them of any financial security they had.  People paying two or three times as much for their monthly mortgage payment meant less money spent on food, clothes, healthcare, cars, etc.  This hurt homeowners as well as the economy as a whole.  The number of foreclosures in certain neighborhoods, especially in California, went through the roof, as people from San Diego to Eureka and from Needles to Santa Monica had to walk away from homes they’d lived in for years.

California loan modification attorneys have seen serious fallout from all the foreclosures; people who were once pillars of their community had to move to lower income housing in other neighborhoods because they could no longer afford their mortgage payments.  Sometimes, whole communities seemed to be uprooted, and entire blocks were just covered in “for sale” signs.  City and state governments were crippled because they were not bringing in property taxes and as a result municipal services shut down.

Much of this was caused by subprime mortgage practices, and the thought of these practices returning is terrible.  California loan modification attorneys have been working night and day since the economic crisis began to help people affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, and other homeowners as well.  Foreclosures ruined entire communities, and even with loan modification attorneys working tirelessly, sometimes it seemed like a never ending battle.  For many people facing foreclosure however, a California loan modification attorney might just be their best friend.  Loan modification attorneys can negotiate with lenders, file paperwork and effectively fight to keep people in their homes and off the streets.  Trying to do a loan modification on your own might be a losing battle because of how much work it takes.  However, having a seasoned loan modification professional could save you tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.

Visit us at http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

Legal Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided for general information and advertising purposes only and is not intended to convey a legal option nor legal advice for any particular case or situation. Nothing in this article shall create an attorney-client relationship. Nothing sent to this law office via e-mail shall constitute an attorney-client relationship. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to be a guarantee or prediction of result. Prior results are provided for general information purposes only and do not guaranty, warranty or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.   Results achieved depend on individual circumstances and not everyone will qualify or be successful in restructuring their mortgage loan.

Author: Greg Feldman

Ah, remember the good old days when the Federal Funds rate was 1% and the Prime Rate was 4%? This was the case in 2004. It’s amazing what a couple of years can do. The change began in June of 2004 with the first of the Federal Reserve rate hikes. We didn’t know it at the time but that rate increase was to be the first of many. By June of 2006 the Federal Reserve had increased the rates seventeen times.

The Beginning of the End

As interest rates went up mortgage applicants began to turn towards adjustable rate mortgages to minimize their home payments. There is a bit of irony in this fact. Adjustable rate mortgages, by definition, adjust. And in an upward rate environment those adjustments will result in higher future interest rates for borrowers that opt for adjustable rate home loans. One might have expected borrowers to run in droves towards fixed rate mortgage products. But exactly the opposite occurred.

The Rush to ARMs

There were reasons for this behavior. As interest rates were moving up real estate prices continued to soar. Home buyers found themselves purchasing in price ranges that they never would have imagined just two or three years earlier. In order to make their new giant mortgages affordable these buyers resorted to any home loan that promised a low payment, even if it was for a limited amount of time.

The Price Paid

For a while these loan programs provided manageable payments, but the tides of change conspired to place these borrowers in unexpected discomfort. As the adjustment dates arrived borrowers found that their interest rates were increasing the maximum amount allowed. In some cases the increase was manageable, but in almost all cases the first increase was followed by additional increases scheduled to occur either every six or twelve months. Literally millions of borrowers have watched their mortgage payments double.

Looking for a Way Out

Before long these home owners discovered that they needed to do something to relieve the budgetary pressure of their ballooning payments. We have seen many of our Florida mortgage customers in this situation asking to refinance into another adjustable rate mortgage for relief, only to discover that adjustable rates are no longer priced below fixed rate mortgages. Other borrowers have opted for negative amortization loans, temporarily postponing the day of reckoning when the combination of falling home values and their increasing principle balance force them to either face a much higher monthly payment, or sell their home.

A New Option

We have another suggestion. There is an exciting new hybrid mortgage product available. Say hello to the new thirty year fixed rate interest only mortgage. This program has a very attractive low interest-only payment combined with the stability of a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. In addition, the interest only period lasts for a full 10 years. This is a fantastic option for borrowers looking for affordability without the payment risk associated with an adjustable rate program. As one might expect from the above description, during the first 10 years of the loan the payment will be interest only. For the remaining 20 years the payment will include principle and interest and will amortize over the remaining term.

Principle Reduction for Lower Payment

An additional nice feature of this program is the ability to reduce your principle and cause a commensurate reduction of your monthly payments. These principle reductions may be made any time during the initial 10 year interest only period. The very next scheduled monthly interest payment will be calculated on the adjusted outstanding principle balance, allowing you to enjoy a reduced monthly payment. Any principle reductions made after the 10 year interest only period will not cause a recalculation of the monthly payment.

Never Worry About Rate Changes Again

It is worth emphasizing, that unlike the interest only mortgage programs of the past, when the interest only period has ended the interest rate does not change. From year 11 onward you can continue to enjoy the security of your fixed rate mortgage amortized over the remaining twenty years of the loan. As Florida mortgage brokers we have found that this feature is very attractive to our many retired customers that feel the need to have a predictable mortgage payment.

Are You Ready?

This program is available for both conforming loan amounts as well as for jumbos up to two million dollars. And, unlike so many of the adjustable rate products in the market, this mortgage does not carry a pre-payment penalty. So, if rates drop in the future you can refinance without facing a prohibitive penalty. If you have been on the roller coaster of an adjustable rate mortgage and are ready for some stability, but would still like to enjoy a minimal payment, this just might be the right choice for you.

Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Patterned closely after an existing law of the same name in Pennsylvania, the bill’s overriding intent is to provide mortgage payment relief to people who have experienced financial hardship. The act, if written into law, would enable the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide mortgage assistance to financially distressed homeowners, while prohibiting a mortgage lender from commencing any legal action against the homeowner while they are receiving assistance under the act.

The official name of the bill, H.R.3142 – Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Act, was introduced and sponsored by Representative Chaka Fattah (D) of Pennsylvania, and was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services on July 9th, 2009. At the time of this writing, no official action has been taken on the bill since that date.

Who Would Qualify

The Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance bill, as is currently written, allows HUD to make payments on mortgages (1-4 family residential properties only). Each of the following eight criteria must be met in order for a person to qualify for assistance.

• Mortgage lender has sent to the mortgagor holder a notice of intent to foreclose
• At least 2 full monthly installments due on the mortgage are unpaid after the application of any partial payments that may have been accepted but not yet applied to the mortgage account
• The mortgagor is suffering financial hardship due to circumstances beyond the control of the mortgagor which render the mortgagor unable to correct the delinquency on the mortgage and unable to make full mortgage payments before the expiration of a 60-day period beginning on the date that notice was sent to the mortgagor in accordance with section 3(b) of the the act
• There is a reasonable prospect that the mortgage holder will be able to resume full mortgage payments not later than 36 months after the beginning of the period for which assistance payments are provided and to pay the mortgage in full by its maturity date or by a later date agreed upon by the mortgage lender
• Property is the mortgage holders principal place of residence
• The mortgage holder does not have a mortgage on any other residential property
• The mortgage holder has applied to HUD for assistance.
• The mortgage holder has not been more than 60 days delinquent on a residential mortgage within the 2-year period preceding the delinquency for which assistance is requested, unless the mortgagor can demonstrate that the prior delinquency was the result of financial hardship due to circumstances beyond their control

What Qualifies as Financial Hardship?

What exactly constitutes financial hardship? The bill specifically says that HUD may consider information regarding the mortgage holders’ employment record, credit history, and current income. A hardship may include, but is not be limited to, any one of the following items:

• Loss of job of a member of the household
• Salary, wage, or earnings reduction of a member of the household
• Injury, disability, or illness of a member of the household
• Divorce or separation in the household
• Death of a member of the household.

Repayment of Assistance

Any financial assistance provided to a homeowner under the proposed program is treated as a loan. As such, the homeowner is expected to reimburse HUD per the guidelines listed below. HUD, in order to secure its interest in the loan, will place a lien on the homeowner’s property.

• Housing expense is less than 35 percent of net effective income

  If the mortgage holders’ total housing expense is less than 35 percent of the their net effective income, they would be required to pay HUD the difference between 35 percent of the their net effective income – and their total housing expense unless otherwise determined by HUD after examining the mortgage holders financial circumstances and ability to contribute to repayment of the mortgage assistance.

• Housing expense is greater than 35 percent of net effective income

  If the mortgage holders total housing expense is more than 35 percent of the their net effective income, repayment of the mortgage assistance shall be deferred until the mortgage holders total housing expense is less than 35 percent of the their net effective income.

• When mortgage is paid in full

  Notwithstanding points (1) and (2) above, if repayment of mortgage assistance is not made by the date that the mortgage is paid in full, the mortgagor shall make mortgage assistance repayments in an amount not less than the previous regular mortgage payment until the mortgage assistance is repaid.

Mortgage Holder Obligation to Notify Homeowners

The program also would require a mortgage lender to send a uniform notice to any homeowner facing foreclosure. This notice would inform the homeowner of the relief services available not only through the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance program, but other agencies as well. The mortgage holder would be prevented from taking any legal action until 30 days have expired from when the notice was sent out. Additionally, should a homeowner qualify and be accepted into the program, no legal action could be brought against the homeowner as long as they are participating in the assistance program.

Outlook for the Bill

The homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance act has a long, hard struggle on its road to becoming law. The next steps in the process are as follows; Report by committee, House Vote, Senate Vote, and finally a signature by the President of the United States. Though it’s true that most bills do not become law, several members of the congress, including Senators Carl Levin (D, MI), Christopher Dodd (D, CT), and Arlen Spector (D, PA), and Representatives such as John Conyers (D, MI) have voiced their support for the bill.

Who is eligible for this program?

The provisions of the SSRA apply to active duty military personnel who had a mortgage obligation prior to enlistment or prior to being ordered to active duty (for Reservists). This includes members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, as well as commissioned officers belonging to the Public Health Service and those in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who are engaged in active service. Military reservists ordered to report for military service and those persons ordered to report for induction under the Military Selective Service Act as well as guardsmen called to active service for more than 30 consecutive days are also covered under the act.

In the area of home mortgage protections, the act limits the amount of mortgage interest that may be charged on home loans incurred by a service member (including debts incurred jointly with a spouse) before he or she entered into active military service.

Once requested by the home owner, mortgage lenders must reduce the interest rate to no more than six percent per year during the period of active military service. They must also recalculate future payments to reflect the lower rate. This provision applies to both conventional and government-insured mortgages.

It is important for those covered by the act to understand that this is not an automatic system. In order to request temporary interest rate reduction, you must send in a written request to the lender. This submission must include a copy of your military orders. The request may be submitted as soon as the orders are issued but must be provided to the lender no later than 180 days after discharge from active duty military service.

Some of those who are covered by the act may find that they cannot make the payments even at the lower rate. If this happens, the lender may let the member stop paying on the principal while the member is on active duty. They are not mandated to do this, but many of them will. The amount that is adjusted will still have to be paid but at a later time, once active duty service is completed or financial status of the member improves.

It is also important to know that many home mortgage lenders have other programs available to help those in need. If you or your spouse should fall into this category, contact your lender immediately and ask about loss mitigation options.

For those with FHA insured loans who are finding it difficult or impossible to make the required payments, FHA has special forbearance and other loss mitigation options that you may be eligible for.

Lastly, those covered under the act should know that mortgage lenders may not foreclose, or seize property for failure to pay, while a service member is on active duty. They may not do foreclose, as well, within 90 days after discharge without court approval. In order to get court approval, the lender would need to prove that the service member’s ability to repay the debt was not affected by his or her military service.

You can learn more the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act online or at your military base.

Mortgage refinancing is the method of replacing a mortgage with some other financing. Often, this involves acquiring the necessary financing from some other financial institution at better terms than the current. But mortgage refinancing can also mean getting a new loan from the same financial institution at better terms.

In general, the purpose of refinancing a mortgage is to lower the cost of it.

Interest rates, as you know, change all the time. If you hold a mortgage with a higher interest rate and the interest rate changes and becomes lower, a refinancing might become favorable. Small interest changes can often mean large savings if an effective refinancing can be made.

Changing values of property

One interesting situation arise if your property has gained in value and you have a combination of mortgages at different interest levels. Typically, the more you borrow the higher the interest rates will be at “the top” of the value. For example, you might get up to 85% of the value at 5% interest rate but eveything you borrow above that will be at a higher interest rate.

Now imagine that your property has gained in value over the last couple of years and that you when you bought it borrowed let’s say up to 90% of it’s value. Since the property has now got a higher valuation, it is likely that your full mortgage falls below the 85% that carries the lower interest rate. So what you could do is go to your financial institution and ask them if you can refinance the part that was earlier above 85% since your full mortgage is now entirely below 85%.

Early payoff penalty

If the mortgage you wish to refinance is fixed, there might be an early payoff penalty. This varies with different financial institutions and mortages so it has to be checked for each situation. Still though, even when an early payoff penalty is considered it might be worth to refinance.

In some cases, though this might not be the case in your country or with your financial institution, the institution that refinances your mortgage for you might be willing to pay parts of your early payoff penalty. This is of course always given that they see some kind of profit from you as a customer higher than the penalty.

In the US, mortgages are more common to be fixed at longer terms (could be for example 30 years) while in for example many European countries it is much more common with a floating rate mortgage. This, and more, makes the conditions for refinancing different depending on where you are from and what your situation is.

And it could take almost thirty years, and if you refinance along the way over 40 years to pay off that mortgage.

And lets assume you are approaching retirement.

Just imagine your mortgage outlasting you in retirement. When you pass on the home on to your kids they think they have a home but may be saddled with mortgage debt as well.

You may think you are donating the home but the sad reality is that you are donating over mortgage debt.

So what if you have worked hard, saved and been extremely responsible with your finances?

Is there anything else you could do to get rid of the mortgage burden before retirement or send your kids to college without changing your current lifestyle?

There is a smart way out. And I will reveal this to you in this article.

Lets assume that your largest debt and your largest bill is

Your mortgage.

You dont have to pay all the interest that is due on the mortgage.

By applying and using a mortgage acceleration system , you will be able to slash your mortgage 10-12 years faster, reducing your interest burden without changing your lifestyle.

And when they approach retirement 35% of them still have over 20 years left in mortgage repayments.

To retire without the burden of debt the easiest step is to pay off your mortgage first.

By applying the methods of the mortgage acceleration , this is the easiest way pay off your mortgage.

By definition, mortgage acceleration is the practice off accelerating the pay down of your mortgage in record time and changing the time it takes to pay off your mortgage principal.

As interest on mortgages is compounded, early payments slashes the years needed to pay off your mortgage, which in turn reduces the amount of interest.

Most of us dont have the ability to make extra payments and have little wiggle room in our budgets each month. So this is where the mortgage acceleration steps in. Without spending more you can eliminate your mortgage payment.

It allocates your monthly repayment more towards principal and less towards interest costs.

And the biggest benefits of all, your mortgage could be paid off in less than 10 years. Imagine saving thousands.

This is how mortgage acceleration can be applied to your situation and change your financial life.

With this extra cash, you would be able to put your kids/grandkids through college, or purchase a second property for investment purposes or just have the extra cash to enjoy during retirement.

Start by asking yourself:|Here is where I would start:|Here is a question I would consider when starting off:

Have you asked your broker or banker how much you are scheduled to repay on your mortgage over the entire 30 year term?

Heres why you should be asking that first question.

As soon as you have done the calculation you will find that your mortgage amortization schedule works against you. It is set up in favor of the banks, where they end up collecting interest upfront. This is considered acceptable lending practice by your mortgage company and once you see this, you will soon find out why you end up working for the bank your entire life.

As you can see, the possibilities could be endless with the mortgage acceleration . Once you begin to visualize the various ways in which you can apply this to your situation, you will begin to understand the true power of this system. Just a few ideas and suggestions have been listed here for your review and benefit. Once you decide to reorganize your mindset around the mortgage acceleration , every extra $1 added to your HELOC is applied to accelerating your mortgage debt.

The mortgage acceleration is the ultimate retirement planner. You can set your retirement date and use this system to figure out when you would like to retire debt free or without a mortgage. You are in control. Your retirement can be set for any age and you dont have to work for the rest of your life to pay for that huge mortgage debt.

What you just learned about Mortgage acceleration techniques,you’ll love everything else you find at the Mortgage acceleration Calculator

Since mortgages are governed by home mortgage rates and mortgage rates are governed by some financial index (which keeps fluctuating all the time), the home mortgage rates keep changing all the time. It might so happen that the home mortgage interest rates, at the time you got your East Stroudsburg mortgage were much higher than what they are now (you will know this if you have been keeping a tab on the mortgage interest rates or even if you have been reading your newspaper regularly). In such a case you might again go back to the mortgage payment calculator (there are good mortgage payment calculators available on the Internet) and check if it a good time to get your East Stroudsburg mortgage refinanced. Sometimes the changes in tax policies might prompt you to do that. Similarly, if you are on an adjustable rate mortgage and the interest rates have gone pretty low, you might want to get your mortgage refinanced to a fixed rate mortgage.

That means you need to be vigilant, look for changes in the home mortgage interest rates, and evaluate if shifting to a new mortgage rate might be beneficial to you. Your East Stroudsburg mortgage calculations never stop

Why are such penalties applied?

In order to attract borrowers, lenders are often forced to compete by offering mouth-wateringly cheap deals in the first two or three years, sometimes for longer periods.

The hope is that borrowers will then stick with them not just through the course of the deal itself but for several years afterwards.

Clearly, if borrowers were to jump from one mortgage to a cheaper one whenever they wanted to, lenders could lose a lot of money. So they protect themselves by applying charges on those who do.

Either way, lot of borrowers don’t become aware of these charges right up until when they wish to remortgage or pay off their mortgage early.

However, with most early redemption fees being in the thousands, it is vital you know beforehand if you will be liable to pay up and how much the cost might be.

Redemption fees can be calculated in the following ways:

• Percentage of the original mortgage loan value
• Percentage of the balance still owing on the mortgage
• Percentage of the amount repaid
• Number of months’ interest

For short-term fixed or discounted mortgages of, say, two years, the interest penalty will generally be a set amount of months’ interest.

In the case of longer-term mortgage deals, the fee may be set on a sliding rate. For example, say you have taken out a five-year fixed mortgage.

The redemption fee might be:

• Six months’ interest for the first year of the mortgage
• Five months’ interest for the second year
• Four months’ interest for the third year
• Three months’ interest for the fourth year
• Two months’ interest for the fifth year.

There are two main types of redemption fee. The most common is one that applies throughout the lifetime of the deal itself. So, a two-year fixed rate mortgage may have penalties that apply during the deal period, but not after it has ended and you are back on the lender’s variable rate.

The five year-deal, above, is one example of this.

In some cases, especially where a very cheap deal is on offer, the lender may apply an “overhang”, committing you to staying with the mortgage even after the deal is over. So, you might have to stay on that lender’s variable rate for several years after the deal ends.

In most cases, unless the deal on offer is exceptionally good, it makes sense NOT to opt for a home loan with a long overhang.

The simple way to avoid any such costs is to look for a mortgage that doesn’t impose early redemption fees.

But it may be hard to resist a good deal, especially when variable rates are high. In that case, it is better to opt for a shorter fixed rate deal.

Although you may pay a higher APR in the short term, it may be better to do as you then have the flexibility to shop around for a cheaper mortgage at a time of your choosing.