Buying a Home and committing to a Mortgage can be very scary! A
home mortgage loan is the largest debt that most Americans will
take on in their lifetime. As such, making the decision to take
out a mortgage is not one that most first time homebuyers take
lightly. Not only will your monthly mortgage payments probably
be the largest bill that you face each month, but the total
amount of debt realized with a home mortgage loan can have a
staggering, and sobering effect on the first time home buyer.
I can remember the months leading up to my decision to fill out
a mortgage application. I had nightmares about loosing my job,
not being able to keep up with my payments and finding myself
homeless. And those were on the good nights when I was able to
sleep at all!
Committing to a Home Mortgage Doesn?t Have To Cost You Your
Sleep Get the Best Rate on Your Home Mortgage Loan
Home mortgage interest rates hit record lows in 2004 and have
remained at record lows as we go through 2005. It is possible
today to get a thirty-year fixed rate home mortgage loan for
under five percent, and an adjustable rate mortgage can be found
for under four percent if you look hard enough! However, record
low mortgage rates do not mean that you should take the first
mortgage offer made to you, even if it sounds low. On the
contrary, it means that shopping around for the best mortgage
possible may be even more beneficial then during a high market
period.
If you solicit mortgage rate quotes from enough lenders and pay
attention to economic news, you might be able to secure a home
mortgage loan at an interest rate that you will not see offered
again in your lifetime.
Solicit Several Mortgage Rate Quotes
In order to get the best deal on anything in America, it is
important to shop around. Securing a home mortgage loan is no
exception to the rule. If you are the type of consumer who likes
to walk into the first store that you see and buy what you need
without comparing your options, then you might also be inclined
to accept the first home mortgage loan offered to you . Doing so
would be a big mistake. In order to get the best possible home
mortgage loan you will need to ?shop? and compare lenders.
Having a substantial down payment on the home that you wish to
purchase and applying for a smaller home mortgage loan is
another way to increase your chances of getting mortgage
approval. Again, this goes back to the risk involved to the
lender for financing your loan. Many mortgage lenders will
require that you have a 20% down payment on the home, and then
they will grant mortgage loan approval for the remaining 80% of
the purchase cost. This helps to offset the lender risk. In the
event that you are unable to keep up with monthly mortgage
payments and you default on the loan, the lender will have a
better chance of recovering his money through foreclosing on and
selling the home if the loan is a smaller percentage of the
market value of the home.
Therefore, if you can save 30% or more towards a down payment on
your home, you will be lowering the risk to the lender and
increasing your chances of getting mortgage approval.
You May Have To Accept a Higher Interest Rate on Your Mortgage
Loan If you wish to secure a mortgage despite your bad credit
history, and you do not have a sizeable down payment saved up,
you may have to agree to a mortgage at a higher interest rate
than that which is being offered to low risk borrowers. This is
because the lender will want to be compensated for his increased
risk level. This should not necessarily prevent you from taking
the loan, though. If you secure the mortgage and are diligent
about making timely payments, after paying on it for awhile you
will improve your credit history. Then you can refinance the
mortgage at a later date with a better rate offer.
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About the author:
For more articles by Michael Contaro, you can go to
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