Refinance > Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key

Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key

by: Tristan Hunt

If you are buying a house, the first thing you need to figure out is how much of a down payment you can afford to make. This may seem like the sort of advice your father would give you, but rest assured there are a few reasons why knowing what you can put down and where you?ll get the money can make all the difference when shopping for a house and a mortgage to finance your new purchase.

Before you pick up your local newspaper and browse the real estate section looking for a new house, call up your banker, your accountant, or your spouse and find out how much you?ve got in savings and liquid assets to make the down payment and pay the closing costs on your mortgage.

First you must consider the source of your down payment, because this affects how much of the down payment your lender will actually attribute to you the applicant for the purpose of qualifying you for loan programs and determining your rates and payments. If the money is from your savings and securities / investment portfolio, be sure you can prove it. If you have employer retirement tax deferred accounts, 401(K) 403(b) accounts etc. and would like to use those as a source to finance the down payment, the lender will likely have several special conditions and limitations on the treatment of those funds. If you are receiving the down payment in part or in total as a gift, your lender will have another set of rules which will affect your payments. How you pay for closing costs will also have some affect on your final rates and payments; the more you take from a third party like the seller, the more risk the bank assumes.

A rule of thumb about size: the bigger the better when it comes to your mortgage down payment, at least from the perspective of programs, rates and payments. The more you put down out of your own savings, the lower your payments and the broader your selection of loan programs. An added benefit is that more money down means that any blemishes on your credit report or a low score count for less and less the more you pay upfront, and you also reduce your income requirement by improving your debt to income ratio. By knowing how much you can put down, you will know in advance how much house you can be qualified to purchase by your mortgage lender, get that mortgage pre-qualification letter, and know what to put in your purchase offer with your realtor, lawyer and seller when it?s time to make an offer. By finding out what you can afford to put down, you can get a head start on knowing your overall homebuying budget, financing options, and also have time to take care of the documentary requirements, seasoning and time-sensitive pre-requisites associated with closing your deal, saving you weeks if not months of wasted time sorting out these matters after you?ve found the house of your dreams.

So find out what you can put down and where you can get it from, contact a mortgage broker to find out what you can afford and what you can do with your down payment and documentation to get the best rates, payments and terms, and then take a pre-approval letter from the broker with you to start shopping for homes with a full knowledge of what you?ll be asking for and writing on the contract.

About The Author

Tristan Hunt is a seasoned financial professional with a wealth of experience in the mortgage & wealth management industries. Visit Tristan and the whole RefinanceOne Mortgage team at http://www.RefinanceOne.net for advice about refinancing mortgages, debt consolidation, investor loans for real estate or buying a house with a home loan.

Cash Out Refinance - Things To Know About Refinancing Your Mortgage To Get Cash Out

Cash Out Refinance - Things To Know About Refinancing Your Mortgage To Get Cash Out

by: Carrie Reeder

A cash-out mortgage allows you to refinance your mortgage and pull out part of your equity. Before deciding how much to cash to use, be aware of the impact of PMI and equity amounts. However, you may find the benefits of refinancing outweigh the costs.

Cash-Out Mortgage Basics

With a cash-out mortgage, you can refinance for lower rates or to just get part of your equity out. Once the refinancing process is completed, you will end up with a check. You can decide to take up to 90% of your home?s equity in some cases. However, cashing-out a large percent of your home?s value will impact your refinancing rate and might require you to carry private mortgage insurance (PMI).

The Cost Of PMI

Just like with a regular mortgage, you will be required to carry PMI if you take out more than 80% of the home?s value. PMI protects the mortgage...

Cash Out Refinance - Things To Know About Refinancing Your Mortgage To Get Cash Out

Refinance > Cash Out Refinance - Things To Know About Refinancing Your Mortgage To Get Cash Out

Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

by: John Mussi

If you find yourself paying more each month in loans than you think you should, you might want to consider refinancing one or more of your outstanding loans. By refinancing, you might be able to save money on interest rates, extend the amount of time that you have remaining to repay the loan, and even receive better loan repayment options than the ones that you currently have.

Though refinancing a loan is a fairly common occurrence in today's financial world, there are a number of individuals who aren't familiar with how refinancing works or whether refinancing is right for them? if you're one of these people, then the information that follows should help you to learn more about loan refinancing and how it can possibly help you.

Refinancing Defined

The first step to knowing whether loan refinancing is right for you is knowing exactly what refinancing is. In most cases of loan refinancing,...

Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

Refinance > Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

by: John Mussi

Refinancing Defined

The first step to knowing whether loan refinancing is right for you is knowing exactly what refinancing is. In most cases of loan refinancing,...

Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

Refinance > Saving Money with Loan Refinancing

Deciding if the Time Is Right to Refinance

Deciding if the Time Is Right to Refinance

by: John Mussi

Choosing to refinance a loan can be a major decision, especially if that loan is a major loan such as a mortgage or automotive financing. If you refinance your loan too soon, you might end up doing more harm than good and not be able to do much to correct it? but if you wait you might end up missing out on a good deal that isn't likely to return.

Before you make the decision to refinance, you should take the time to make sure that you understand exactly what refinancing entails and should look at the various signs to determine whether or not the time is actually right for you to refinance your loan.

Below you'll find some basic information on what refinancing is as well as information that might help you to make the decision as to whether or not it's the right time to take that step.

What Refinancing Is

Though the name may suggest that refinancing a loan is simply...

Deciding if the Time Is Right to Refinance

Refinance > Deciding if the Time Is Right to Refinance

Why Credit Cards are a Bad Idea

Why Credit Cards are a Bad Idea

by: Randy G. Hutchings

When you shop on the Internet or over the phone, it?s the only good way to do it ? what else are you going to do, post a cheque? Like anything convenient, though, credit cards have a flip side ? in fact, they have lots.

Can You Keep Track?

When you walk into that shop and hand over the card, the money is taken from the card, and the card goes back into your wallet. You still have all the things you started with ? there?s no less money in your purse or wallet to remind you of what you?ve spent.

Everyone has a tendency to underestimate what they spend, and smaller amounts can add up quickly on a credit card without you even noticing. It?s like taking the way phone bills work and applying it to everything you buy ? and that can?t be a good idea.

Money For Nothing.

Using credit cards is a great way of losing a percentage of your income to a credit card company in...

Why Credit Cards are a Bad Idea

Refinance > Why Credit Cards are a Bad Idea

Bad Credit Debt Consolidation Loans

by: Carrie Reeder

Are you looking to consolidate credit card or other debt? Do you have bad credit history? There are many options available online nowadays to help you consolidate your debt. Whether you are wanting to consolidate credit card debt or other kinds of debt, it can be overwhelming searching online to find the best ones for your situation. Here is a short overview of what kind of debt services are available online.

If...

debt consolidation Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key

Refinance > Bad Credit Debt Consolidation Loans

skirt Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key Refinance

Buying Petite Clothing Made Easy

by: Bridget P. Allen

All you girls 5? 4? and under, fight for your right for high quality fashionable clothes! Many petite women find it difficult to find properly fitting quality clothes. It?s only recently that designers target petite women with fashionable clothing.

This year, fashion is all about you and your style. Fashion is about confidence. If you feel great in an outfit, others can?t help but feel your vibes. ...

skirts Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key Refinance Buying Petite Clothing Made Easy

Refinance > Buying Petite Clothing Made Easy

horse Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key

Acura MDX: Redesigned for 2006

by: Joe Thompson

Known as the Honda MDX in Japan and Australia, the Acura MDX is a mid-size SUV built by Honda of Canada Manufacturing Ltd. It was introduced in the late 2000 as a 2001 model, and in 2003, it went on sale in Japan.

The new 2006 Acura MDX is a 4-door, 7-passenger luxury sport-utility vehicle that is made available in 5 trims, from the Premium to the Touring Package with Navigation System and Rear DVD. Standard...

dvd Refinance & Mortgage Tips: Your Down Payment Is Key

Refinance > Acura MDX: Redesigned for 2006