Archive for June, 2008
This summer marks the Tenth anniversary of the buy-to-let mortgage. In July 1996 Mortgage Express (part of the Bradford & Bingley group) were the first to trial a dedicated buy-to-let mortgage product, and currently has a market share of approximately 20 per cent.
Buy-to-let mortgages evolved after new legislation within The Housing Act gave landlords more power to evict tenants who were not keeping up with their rent. In September 1996, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) launched these loans via a panel of lenders, and hence the buy-to-let mortgage arrived in the UK property marketplace.
Relaxation of criteria reflects the realisation that buy-to-let is not as risky as lenders first thought. There are now around 70 lenders offering the buy-to-let product however albeit that around 50 per cent of all buy to let loans are written by the 6 members of the ARLA panel:Paragon, GMAC, Mortgage Express, Birmingham Midshires, NatWest and The Mortgage Business.
A risk analysis of buy-to-let versus residential shows residential loans have a higher risk profile. Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that 0.68 per cent of buy-to-let mortgages had been in arrears for more than three months, compared with 0.97 per cent of normal loans.
High house prices and a growing population have meant that more people are now renting for longer, fuelling the demand for rental property. Amateur and novice landlords alike who have enjoyed success after dipping their toe into the water with one or two properties now have the confidence to further increase their portfolios.
Over the past decade the sector has enjoyed exceptional growth, to now represent approx. 8 per cent of total housing stock in the UK. The first mortgage deals were inflexible, commercial style products with high interest rates, up to 4 per cent over Bank of England base rate, and low loan to values up to a maximum of 75 per cent. Historically, rental cover had to equal 130 per cent of the mortgage to protect both the lender and the landlord against voids and the higher risk.
Landlords now benefit from an average loan to value of 85 per cent, and rental cover now averaging 125 per cent of the mortgage payment. Although lending is available to 90 per cent and rental cover at 100 per cent.
Recent research revealed that 83 per cent of landlords plan to increase or maintain their portfolios in the next six months, showing that the appetite for investment remains. The average property portfolio has increased from three per landlord in 1996 to seven this year.
Buy-to-let lending has grown from
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Who needs a mortgage? Well, nearly everyone in North America who plans to own their own home. Interestingly enough, when you look at the Latin roots of the word “mortgage”, you’ll find two terms - mortuus which means death, and gage which means grip. So the term “mortgage” actually means death grip pretty fitting when you think about it.
Nobody WANTS a mortgage, but most people do find themselves needing one in order to purchase a home. Very few people would consider themselves “mortgage experts” however - and most of those who would call themselves that are the ones selling a mortgagewhich means that they’re probably not your best bet for solid advice.
When looking for a mortgage, many creatively named fees tend to show up, such as an “underwriting fee”, a “document review fee”, “loan preparation or origination” fee, and more. These fees are unnecessary, and often not included in a mortgage broker’s ‘good faith’ assessments beforehand. Depending on your broker, they may present you with the new fees in addition to your mortgage as indicated in their assessment, and give you the “take it or leave it” ultimatum.
By that point, most people are either tired and frustrated with the mortgage shopping process, or they feel that they have no other option, and are concerned that they may not get the house they’ve set their hearts on if they keep looking elsewhere, so they accept the additional charges.
In most cases, your best bet is to deal with a direct lender rather than through a middleman like a mortgage broker. Look for a no-cost, no-fee mortgage, and ensure that all fees are reflected on the “good faith” assessment performed by your lender before you accept the mortgage.
The last point to keep in mind is the length of the mortgage - a longer mortgage means lower monthly payments but more money out of your payment overall. So the faster you can afford to pay off your mortgage, the better - comparing a $300,000 mortgage at 6.5% with a 25-year term to the same mortgage with a 40-year term, the monthly payment would be around $2,000 and the total interest payments would be around $300,000 in the 25-year mortgage.
In the 40-year mortgage, monthly payments would be around $1,750, but the total interest paid out would top $534,000. So shorter is better. There are many pitfalls when finding a mortgage, but with some time and effort there are resources available to help you. Be sure to look around online for more info on effective mortgage shopping.
Seymore Hennigan has worked in finance for many years. When he is not crunching numbers or advising his family and friends on their investments, he writes for mortgageguide101.com - an online guide to mortgage lenders, interest rates, mortgage calculators and more.
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Bad credit loan mortgages or non-status mortgages are purposely intended to serve people with a bad credit history. According to a recent survey, one fifth of all adults are not able to qualify for a standard mortgage as a result of a previous or current bad financial situation.
Credit history is based on information retrieved from sources including Public records such as electoral roll information, court judgments and bankruptcies; and Information provided by financial institutions and other lenders such as banks that provide credit accounts and lending facilities.
In order to calculate the potential risk in providing loans to the person, most lenders use independent credit reference agencies to gather and assemble this information since they are permitted by law to review a mortgagee’s credit report before granting approval.
Bad credit rating usually results from failure to pay off outstanding debts or other credit payments on time, due to factors such as outstanding rent or mortgage arrears, county court judgments (CCJ) or bankruptcy. There are also other reasons that can result in a bad credit record which include:
1. Foreclosure
2. Heavy medical bills
3. Settlements arising due to Judgments /divorce
4. Multiple credit cards
5. IRS debt
Bad credit mortgage is designed for people who are unable to take out a mortgage from high-end mortgage providers. However, there are several providers who are willing to take a risk and provide loans for individuals with bad credit ratings, but at a higher rate or lower maximum amount.
Normally, a bad credit mortgage loan has an introductory interest rate that is fixed for 2-3 years, which is substantially higher that the rate pertaining to a conventional 30 year fixed rate loan. This is due to the extra risk the lender has to take, because with a bad credit, the borrower’s probability of default on the home load is higher than someone with good credit. However, after the initial period, the interest rate on a bad credit mortgage will adjust periodically.
There are also a few factors that most lenders of bad credit loan mortgages will look into, before granting the loan mortgage to people with bad credit history. This includes:
1. Employment history and income stability
2. Current monthly debt
3. Value of the property and
4. Down payment
Since loan requests from people with bad credit do not fit under the standard underwriting guidelines, fees charged by lenders on bad credit mortgage loans are also significantly higher than those charged in a conventional or standard home loan. This can range from 1% to 6% of the total loan amount.
Since individuals who get a bad credit mortgage usually do so mainly because they want to put their credit back into good standing, or as an opportunity to clean up credit history, the higher interest rate need not necessarily lasts for 30 years. Additionally, if the monthly loan payments are in time for two consecutive years, the bad credit mortgage can be refinanced with a conventional loan at a much lower interest rate.
Bad Credit HQ
http://badcredit-hq.com/
Helping you to get your finances back under control
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