Refinance Home Mortgage Guide

If you’re in the market to refinance your home mortgage loan and search for 30 year mortgage rate information on the internet, you’re bound to find a lot of confusing and conflicting information. How do you sort through the obvious crap and find honest rate information that does not include needles sales markup like the bogus mortgage rates you find on bankrate.com? Here are several tips to help you separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to hunting for the lowest 30 year mortgage rates when refinancing your home loan.

Where Do Mortgage Rates Come From?

The first thing you should know about mortgage rates is that they come in two flavors. There are the retail mortgage rates quoted to 98% of homeowners that don’t know any better and the wholesale rates offered to brokers by big mortgage companies like Countrywide. You might think you can bypass the broker and their markup by going to a wholesale lender directly; however, every lender out there has a wholesale division and a retail division. Contact lenders directly and you’ll always be dealing with their retail division and the same unnecessary markup of your mortgage rate that you’re trying to avoid.

How to Make Sense of 30 Year Mortgage Rates

Before diving into 30 year mortgage rate quotes there is some terminology you need to be familiar with. The first term I’ll cover is the discount point. Most people know about discount points…a fee you’ll pay to buy down your mortgage rate. What you might not know is that genuine discount points go directly to the wholesale lender…unlike the origination points people frequently overpay to the person arranging their loans. If you ever come across a “discount point” that is paid to the broker and not the lender this is a bogus charge that you should never agree to pay. Your broker quoted you a much higher rate then you qualified and pocketed your discount points.

Banks do the same thing…you might think your bank or credit union is getting you a good deal. What you probably don’t know is that banks are exempt from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and never have to disclose how much of your rate is marked up to boost their profit margins.

The next term I need to cover is the so called “par mortgage rate.” What is a par mortgage rate? This is simply the 30 year rate that doesn’t require you to pay any discount points to get it and does not create any money for the broker. By not creating any money for the broker this means it has not been marked up for Yield Spread Premium. You can’t always get par rates when refinancing your home loan but you can come pretty close if you know where to look.

Mortgage brokers are the only way to get genuine par rates because they alone have access to the rates offered by wholesale lenders. The trick is to find a mortgage broker willing to give you access to wholesale rates without marking them up for a commission. Remember that bank mortgage rates always have markup built into them and will typically be half a point (or more) higher than rates offered by wholesale lenders. This is why you should never take out a mortgage loan from your bank or credit union.

The last term I’ll cover today is Yield Spread Premium. This is the commission created for the broker when you lock and close at a higher than par mortgage rate. You may be required to pay discount points to the lender to lower your rate; however, when it comes to creating cash for your brokers “bonus” it’s paid because you’re agreeing to a higher 30 year mortgage rate than you need to. Avoiding Yield Spread Premium needs to be your priority when refinancing your home loan.

Here are several examples how 30 year mortgage rates are quoted on rate sheets from a mortgage broker and a bank so that you understand how the broker and the lender profit from your loan

When your mortgage rate is quoted higher than par a cash bonus is created for the broker. Rate sheets usually show this cash with parenthesis; however, your rate sheet might show this with a minus sign. When your 30 year mortgage rate is quoted below par, discount points are required to secure this rate for your loan.

One thing to note here is that Yield Spread Premium only applies to mortgage brokers. When the markup is done by your bank this is pure profit and goes by the name Service Release Premium. As you can see in the previous example the so called “par rate” for the bank is .5% higher than the one offered by a broker. This is why you’ll never get a wholesale rate from your bank or credit union.

How do you find a mortgage broker willing to refinance your mortgage with a par 30 year mortgage rate without charging you garbage fees? Check out my free video tutorial series on this site and you’ll discover how to do this with an easy to follow step-by-step video guide.

If you’re considering refinancing your mortgage and have less than perfect credit, there are steps you need to take before applying to improve your credit. Mortgage approvals are becoming more difficult these days even for homeowners with good credit. If you are going to have your application for refinancing approved you will need to improve your finances not only to get approval, but to qualify for the lowest possible mortgage rate. Here are several tips to help you refinance with bad credit.

Check Your Credit History First

The first thing you’ll need to do before contacting a mortgage broker is to request copies of your three credit reports and carefully check for errors. Your credit records are maintained by three separate companies that do not always share information. These three credit agencies are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. You don’t have to pay for these reports as Congress passed a law requiring each of them to provide you with one free copy of your credit history every 12 months. You can request these free credit reports by visiting the website annualcreditreport.com.

Dispute Inaccurate Information

If you find mistakes in your credit history you’ll need to dispute the error and allow enough time for the correction to be reflected in your credit score. It is not uncommon to have mistakes with one credit agency that are not reflected in the other credit agencies. Mistakes are common so it is very important to review your credit reports every year and follow that credit agency’s procedure for disputing inaccurate information as quickly as possible.

Pay Your Bills on Time

Late payments kill your credit score. Always make your payments on time, especially your mortgage payment. When paying your credit cards make sure you pay at least 20% more than the minimum payment that is due in a given month. Pay your credit cards down to at least 50% of the available balance. You can shuffle balances around between cards that have balances less than 50% if you don’t have the cash on hand to pay your cards down.

Work With a Mortgage Broker

Mortgage brokers have access to programs that you might not be able to find on your own. A good mortgage broker can help you not only improve your credit but can often work around your financial shortcomings to get your loan approved. You have to be careful when choosing the right person as brokers work for a commission and the loans that bring them the largest commissions are not necessarily the best loan for your situation. You can learn more about finding the right person to originate your mortgage without paying too much by registering for my free mortgage video tutorial.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to get approved for a mortgage loan even with good credit. Mortgage lenders have been tightening standards for approval due to the credit crunch of late…and the end of the crisis is not yet in sight. Here are several tips to help make sure you qualify if you’re in the market to refinance your home mortgage loan in today’s topsy-turvy mortgage market.

What Mortgage Lenders Consider

Mortgages lenders look at a number of factors to not only approve your loan but assign you a mortgage rate. The top aspects lenders look at are your past credit history and the amount of cash you have; however, the single most important factor is your credit worthiness. If your credit score is below 700 right now your only option could be one of the FHA programs. While FHA loans are great the downside for you is that you will be required to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). If you’re not familiar with PMI, this insurance protects the lender and the government from losses if you default on the loan.

The amount you’ll pay for PMI premiums depends on your credit history and can add hundreds of dollars to your monthly payment. While this is certainly a downside of Private Mortgage Insurance, if paying the premiums allows you to keep your home it’s certainly worthwhile.

How to Improve Your Credit Rating

To build a strong credit score you can start by paying down the balances of your credit cards so that you have not used more than half of your available credit. Suppose for example that you have a $5,000 limit on your cards…it is best not to exceed $2,500 in available credit. If you have used more than 50% of your available credit shifting the balances to other cards with less than half of the available credit used could improve your credit rating.

Pay More Than The Minimum Payment

Making the minimum payment every month will not help your financial situation. Set your own payment at least 25% higher than what you are due each month. This will not only improve your credit score but help pay down your balances as paying the card minimum will never get you anywhere. Don’t pay off your balances entirely…you want to show that you can use credit responsibly.

You can learn more about qualifying for a better mortgage and improving your credit score by registering for my free video tutorial.

Home equity loans are becoming a popular means of borrowing against the value of your home. There are actually two types of equity loans available called the “open end” and the “closed end” loans. An equity loan is one in which you take the equity in your home and use it for collateral so you can receive a loan.

Before you can qualify for a home equity loan you will most likely be required to have very good or excellent credit. If you meet these qualifications, this is how a home equity loan works.

When you apply for the loan there is a process that you must follow. You will start by filling out an application form. The loan representative will ask you to verify the information on your application and they will ask for any additional information that is needed. At this time they will also provide you with vital information such as the terms of the loan and the interest rates.

The details that you provided to the loan representative will be confirmed and then you will need to download an authorization form that will start the loan approval process. You will need to sign the application and fax it back.

The documents that you will need to provide to receive a home equity loan are listed below:

• W-2 Forms
• Proof of Income
• Proof of Homeowners Insurance
• Financial Analysis Worksheet
• Mortgage Statements
• Appraisal Forms for the Equity
• Bank Statements

Have this information ready when you first apply for the loan and it will save you a lot of time. Once all the information has been submitted it will be processed and then you will be asked to schedule a document signing. Make sure you understand everything in the documents before you sign so you don’t end up with any surprises later. The documents will be verified and validated and then sent on to the funding department. At this point the check will be issued and the loan is complete.

A home equity loan is a great way to receive the extra money you need to pay for any unexpected expenses that come along. It can be used for remodeling your home, medical bills, school expenses and so forth.