There are certainly many advantages to a home loan refinance. If you have been in your home for awhile, there is a good chance that you have built up quite a bit of equity in your home. Even if it has not been that long since you purchased your home, if you live in an area where prices have appreciated considerably, you could still have a significant amount of equity in your home to tap into for a home improvement, purchase or to use for debt consolidation.
If you are considering a home loan refinance, it is important to know what you should expect. In some ways, getting a home loan refinance is not much different from getting your first mortgage with the exception that you already have the house! You will want to make sure that you look for the best terms and interest rates. In a similar fashion, the lender will want to make sure you are credit worthy before they approve you for the loan.
One of the first questions the lender may ask is why you are interested in refinancing. Be honest with the lender, because this may help him or her to design a home refinance package that perfectly suits your needs. Even if you are planning to consolidate your debts with your home refinance, be sure to mention this when you apply.
Be prepared for the fact that the lender will run a credit check on both you and any co-borrower in order to determine the level of credit risk you present. This is part of the process of becoming pre-approved in the home buying process. The lender will check your credit score and also check your credit report to determine the number of delinquencies you may have, the number of open accounts you have and the balances on those accounts.
The lender will also be interested in your income and various expenses. This is to ensure that you will be able to actually afford the proposed home loan payment. The underwriting guidelines for every lender are different; however, the general rule of thumb is that a prospective buyer should not have a debt to income ratio that is higher than 36%. Additionally, lenders usually prefer for your total housing expenses not to exceed 28% of your income. Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule. In certain circumstances, lenders will approve loans for buyers who have a debt to income ratio up to 40%. You can usually qualify with a higher debt to income ratio if you are able to make a larger down payment and/or if your credit rating is good enough.
To ensure there are no surprises when you sit down with the lender to discuss your home loan refinance, it is a good idea to check your own credit score in advance and be certain there are no mistakes or discrepancies before you submit your home loan application. If you do find any discrepancies, take the time to have them fixed before you apply for a home loan refinance.
By: Alan Lim
Posts Tagged ‘Credit Risk’
Refinance Loans For Bad Credit
January 6th, 2010
When does the question of refinance arise? Obviously when the cost of the current loan is very high and the repayment terms are not flexible leading to a bad credit situation. When a person with a bad credit applies for a loan, he is either denied a credit or is charged abnormally high rate of interest to cover his bad credit risk. This is when he resorts to refinancing of his current loan to a more flexible and low rate loan option.
Refinancing as an option:
Refinancing as an option is considered only when the benefits arising from refinancing are better than the current loan. Low rate of interest and flexibility in repayment are two most sort after aspects of a refinancing loan. The second loan namely the refinance loan should enable the borrower to develop a good credit score by paying his dues in time, which can happen only with a flexible repayment option and a reduced repayment amount extending the loan term.
Secured Loan:
A secured refinance loan offers the borrower the preferred benefits of flexibility and low interest rate. Mortgage loans are one of the most and best secured loan refinancing option available to the borrower. These loans offer the borrower the advantage of minimum monthly payments thereby better credit score. These minimum monthly payments are an outcome of the extension in the repayment term of the loan. As the loan is secured by way of a collateral security, the interest rates are generally low. While the rates are generally fluctuating you have the advantage of maintaining a fixed rate mortgage or an adjustable rate mortgage depending upon the financial position of the borrower.
A mortgage loan also offers the advantage of a opting for a minimum term. This option is highly advantageous of the fact that you can save plenty of dollars on interest payment due to lower repayment term.
By: Steven Copper