Online home mortgage quotes are very similar to the quotes given by mortgage brokers in “the real world,” except lower. With the reduced cost due to a simplified application process and reduce overhead for office space and personnel, online mortgage lenders can offer financing with no fees or lower interest rates.
Looking At Fees
Fees are the hidden costs of loans. Mortgage brokers are paid in fees or points on the mortgage loan. The advantage of a mortgage broker is that they find the best mortgage rates for you. So even with their fee added into the loan, you still can expect to save money.
Online mortgage brokers have automated much of the mortgage loan process, reducing costs. As a way to stay competitive, many of these lenders have eliminated or reduced their fees.
Interest Rate Quotes
Both traditional and online mortgage brokers can give you an instant generic interest rate quote to narrow your choices from a mortgage lender. However, to get a true quote, you will need to provide detailed personal and financial information. With a traditional mortgage broker, the process can take a couple of days to process the information and meet with the mortgage broker to review rates.
Online mortgage lenders connected all their databases to be able to provide you with a near instant quote. Occasionally there can be delays in processing your information if you have recently moved or changed names or jobs.
Difference Is Sales Styles
Online and traditional mortgage brokers differ in their sales style when relaying quotes to you. A traditional mortgage broker will use sales tactics to pressure you to complete the mortgage application right there. Many people feel the need to make a quick decision rather than taking the time to process the information.
Online mortgage lenders offer a different approach; they provided the information, then wait for you to take the next step. After requesting a mortgage quote, you will receive rates either through the website or through email that you can review at your own pace. You can choose to apply with a specific mortgage lender, or decide that none of them are best for you.
To view our list of recommended mortgage lenders online, visit this page:
Recommended Mortgage
Lenders Online
Should property investors still be buying properties in the current property market? This article endeavours to explore this question and answer it once and for all.
In the last few months many lenders have made it increasingly difficult for new entrants to break into the buy to let market. The credit crunch has hit lenders hard and in response they have hit the buy to let investor harder.
Banks don’t trust each other and therefore are no longer freely lending money to each other; this is having a knock on affect on their lending to the general public and investors. The number of mortgage products available has decreased by almost 75% since April 2007. Significant players like mortgage express have pulled key products leaving many buy to let landlords wondering how to make their next property purchase stack up.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be claiming that they can be the solution to the property investor financial problems and that they can still offer products like instant remortgaging. Investors have become weary of these deals and promises because they know some of these deals maybe bordering on the fringes of what is lawful.
Should you be buying properties at the moment?
Well it depends on what your strategy is. Are you a buy to let investor who is in this for the long run? Can you handle the negative comments in the media and not have a heart attack every time you hear the words “Property Market Crash”. If you answered yes to both these questions, then you should still be buying.
However, you should be analysing your strategy, as it might need tweaking in the current market conditions. By following the guidelines below you stand more of a chance of building a robust portfolio at this time.
Focus on buying for more than 25% below market value. Focus on buying lower value properties with good rental yields and positive cash flow. – Stay away from anything off plan, or anything that it is difficult to get comparisons for. Don’t release equity and put it all straight into your next purchase, begin to build up a bit of a cash reserve to help you weather any storms if things get any worse. NEVER, miss a mortgage payment. At the moment if you miss a mortgage payment on any of your properties, you are probably going to decrease your financial options even further. Lenders are being more stringent with applicants than they used to be and the odd blemish on your credit file that you might have been able to get away with before may now stop some of your mortgage applications in their tracks. Buy properties where you are able to simply and easily rearrange the internal structure. Doing things such as moving internal walls around to create added value such as an additional bedroom, could be crucial at the moment. Do everything you can to entice the buyer. Consider advertising that you will pay stamp duty and all legal fees, this can be the difference between success and failure in the current market place.
For the investors that understand the property and financial markets and learn how to work with them in any and all conditions, the next few years promise to be times of learning and expansion, not contraction. Yes there are difficult times ahead, but out of huge challenges can come tremendous growth.
If you have hit an impasse, use all your powers to work out how to push through it. Maybe you need to learn a new skill such as lease options, sale and rent backs or investing abroad. Be adaptable, be resourceful, ask questions, learn from others, do joint ventures, make up your mind to push forward not go backwards.
This is when the men get separated from the boys, the novice investors from the professionals and tomorrows property multimillionaires from the “I could have been somebody” crowd.
Mortgage rates have a lot to do with how well the economy is performing. When mortgage rates go up, people can no longer afford to invest money in new properties. This, of course, brings a slow down to the building trade and it also means less money will be flowing through the economy.
On the other hand, when mortgage rates go down, more people are able to buy homes. The further down rates fall, the lower the income needed to buy homes. When homes are being bought, the building trade flourishes and this stimulates the economy in many ways.
Remember high interest rates?
It’s been 20 years since we’ve seen double-digit mortgage interest rates. Going back to the late ’70s and early ’80s, double-digit mortgage rates were the norm. It wasn’t until about 1985 after the Reagan administration had put an end to stagflation and the misery index that haunted the Carter years, that mortgage rates found buoyancy at around 7%.
Since that time, mortgage rates have fluctuated between 9% and about 5.5%. All in all, it has been a long stable interest rate environment that we have enjoyed over these past years.
Higher or lower?
Now, the question is where do interest rates go from here. By reading the charts, we will attempt to predict their future movement, just as if we were reading the commodities charts to get a handle on which way the price of soybeans were headed. Then, we’re going to make a prediction about another commodity that is sure to be shocking!
At this time, it is wise to make a disclaimer. First, no one can truly predict the future and second, any world event can change what the future looks like now in a heartbeat. Also, you can’t overlook the fact these unforeseen world events can happen out of the blue. With that behind us, let’s take a look at charts.
The past 18 years
Throughout the ’90s, interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages ranged between 9% and 7%. At the time George W. Bush took office, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 8.75 %. From here, it eased downward steadily through the first George W. Bush term. It actually hit a low of 4.75% in late 2003. Here, interest rates ranged between 6.5% and about 5.5% for the next 3 years. This was an uncommonly stable interest rate environment and it was one of the reasons the housing market became red hot, and yes, overbought.
In 2006, the trend broke above 5.5% to about 6.5%, but rates never went any higher. Now, the interest rates are hovering around six percent and trending downward.
Reading the charts
The technical trader, that is, one who trades commodities by reading charts, would certainly believe interest rates, since they are heading downward, would have to once again test the low of 4.75%. It will be important to see if a double bottom is made at 4.75%. If this bottom is made, interest rates will go up.
Because of underlying fundamentals of the market, for instance the Fed trying to lower interest rates to stimulate the housing market, it seems much more likely interest rates will break through the 4.75% low once they arrive there. If they do, a new downward trend will be on the way. Just how much lower interest rates could get, is anybody’s guess. However, it certainly isn’t out of the question we could see 4% 30-year fixed mortgage rates sometime before this downward trend ends.
4%!
Historically speaking, 4% is a very low interest rate, but at this time it truly looks like we are much more apt to see 4% than a higher number, like 7%. So, for what it’s worth, this is my prediction. We will see the interest rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage somewhere down around 4% before an inflationary aspect of the economy takes over.
Where you think this inflationary aspect will come from? Well, here is another prediction and you may find it more astounding than the first one!
The impossible dream
It’s all over for the crude oil rally. Crude oil is overbought! There is no reason for crude oil to be trading above $100 a barrel. Like the tech stock boom of the ’90s and the housing market bubble of a couple years ago, it is a rally that cannot be sustained forever!
It’s anybody’s guess as to what the true market value of crude oil is right now. However, to think it is somewhere between $50 and $60 a barrel would be logical. However, when prices fall they tend to go through the true market value before they float back up to it.
If this crude oil market bubble burst follows the same modus operandi normal market bubble bursts follow, I can’t see why it is impossible to see $35 a barrel crude oil again; at least for a little while.
What would this mean for the price of gas? Maybe $1.49 a gallon? Well this may seem totally out of whack with what we’re hearing constantly coming from our news reports day and night, don’t think it can’t happen.
Back to reality
Certainly, there will be a time when $100 will not be too high a price for a barrel of crude oil. There will come a time when $3.50 is not too much for a gallon of gas. However, the charts are telling us that time is not here yet.
So, cheap gas, like the JFK, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush tax cuts will stimulate the economy, and like the Bill Clinton Tariff agreements, it will make the cost of living lower which will make more goods affordable to the public. These things, though healthy for the economy, will bring on some inflation and this will break the interest rate downtrend.
I know these predictions seem pretty goofy and maybe they are! Still, my strategy is to believe they will happen and if they don’t, at least I’ll be happy believing them for now. Then again, if they do happen, we’ll all be happy!
Introduction
Interest rates for savers generally follow inflation trends and statistics show that these gains are always positive unless you are very unlucky. The reason why so many people invest in Banks is because they are usually a safe bet. Indeed, often your savings will be guaranteed.
Money in a savings account is usually a safe investment but the return can sometimes be limited for the investor when compared to other options.
There are many opportunities for investment depending on the level of risk an individual is prepared to take. These forms of investment might include stocks and shares, endowment insurance policies, pensions etc. We are focusing our attention on the property market where our expertise is.
Stability of Property Values
In real terms although property markets do suffer from peaks and troughs, property does increase in value in the long term. Recently in some areas, property prices have actually gone down, this is due to the economy which has an effect on supply and demand. An over supply of property can easily reduce property prices when the property market is struggling.
Property prices do go down but history has shown that they always recover and they are stable in the long term. Steady or significant increases in property prices are usually the norm.
Whilst there can be no guarantee that property prices will increase over say, a one year period it is generally accepted that a well maintained property in a reasonable area will appreciate in value.
Interesting Statistics
The following statistics make interesting reading:
50% of individuals mentioned in The Sunday Times Rich List made their money through investing in property. A property worth just EUR10,000 some 30 years ago would be worth around half a million Euros at today’s prices. Between 5th October and 6th November 1987 the FTSE share index fell by a massive 32.1%. (Published Bank of England Statistics) It would not be fair to say that money cannot be made on the Stock Exchange and no one could dispute that. Most people take professional advice before investing in the stock market which is advisable.
Property Investment
The most successful property investors usually research the market and build up a considerable knowledge before they invest. Speculators often make huge profits by predicting changes in the property market and investing for gain, often just at the right time.
Most individuals who invest in property do so based on their own research and experience. The success rate for property investments is usually quite high which is why it is such a popular and sometimes enjoyable choice.
Building up a Portfolio
When a property which has increased in value, or if the loan has diminished, equity can be released from that property. Many buy to let investors have successfully used their borrowing ability to build a property portfolio and many have generated substantial wealth for themselves.
Buying property enables the investor to secure borrowing which can then be used to make further investments in property; this cannot be said of most conventional types of investment.
Rental Income from a property can then be used repay the loan which in time also increases the value of the investment. As property prices increase, so to does the investment and the increased equity can therefore be used to secure more funds and increase investments in property.
Many individuals have also increased their gains by investing in property located in up and coming areas or by making improvements to properties. Property improvement will always enhance property value.
Short or Long Term Property Investment
Whatever type of investor you are, property should always be a good long term investment.
If you are purchasing that place in the sun you can still benefit from the same investment opportunities but perhaps also with the advantage of an increased income from holiday letting.
Buying an off plan property can be a lucrative short term investment because Developers usually sell the opportunities at less than the market value in order to attract investors. The reason for this is that the Developer will benefit commercially by the the Investor funding the development cost.
It is not unusual for Investors to make 20 per cent profit by the time they get the keys. The Investor benefits from the enhanced inflationary value of the property during the construction period because the price is fixed before construction. Some Investors are able to sell the property on before it is even finished.
Opportunities for Investment in the Property Market
Prices are probably lower now than they have been in real terms for a couple of years so now is a good time to invest.
We have many bargain properties and off plan property investments on our website, if you need any help deciding on the best opportunities why not contact us for advice.
Home Mortgage:
Home mortgage is one of the most preferred refinancing options. They are secured loans that offer lower interest rates and flexible repayment periods. Having a collateral security enables the mortgage lenders offer the lowest interest rates possible. Lower monthly repayment amount is another advantage of a home mortgage finance option. This is done by extending the repayment period according to the financial condition of the borrower.
Factors Affecting Interest Rates:
o Amount of Loan:
At the beginning of every year loan limits and their respective interest rates are fixed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Where the loan amounts cross the said limits their interest rates tend to increase.
o Term of Loan:
Shorter loan terms reduce the interest cost of the loan but increase the monthly pay out amount.
o Nature of Interest:
Opting for an adjustable interest rate might initially seem to reduce the cost in comparison with fixed interest rate, but over a period of time they tend to raise the cost as the rates increase.
o Size of Down Payment:
Where the down payment made is more than 20% of the loan amount, the interest rates are low, when compared to down payments of 5% and less. Higher down payment lowers the monthly liability.
o Closing cost:
These are the fees paid by the lender. You bear a higher interest cost if you do not wish to pay all the closing cost, thereby providing the lender with an additional interest over the term of the loan.
o Credit Quality:
Maintaining a positive credit score is essential for availing loans at a lower interest rate. The FICO credit score is considered before granting loans.
o Income Level:
The income level of a person determines his interest liability. Where the income earned is greater than his liability a lower interest rate is charged, while on the reverse a higher rate is charged in spite of a good credit score.