Getting The Best Mortgage Payment Protection Quote

By Christopher Wright

Congratulations on your decision to fulfill your dream of home ownership, & I know you can't wait to click on through to the online mortgage quote link. But wait! There is one other thing you need to consider. Mortgage payment protection insurance.

A mortgage isn't like a car where you finance it for up to five years and then trade it in for another car. A mortgage is one of life's most expensive and emotional investment. We're talking up to 30yrs...not just 3yrs-5yrs. Since it is such a long term commitment, you really need to consider what happens in the case of an unforeseen incident.

This is what the purpose of obtaining this coverage is all about. Some policies will include critical illness (ex: strokes, hart attacks, etc) along with traditional life insurance. This subject makes me think of one of my previous lives where I was an insurance agent for about 5yrs (I still have nightmares about that time period).

If you simplify the transaction, you'll see that a mortgage payment protection policy is just a term insurance policy with added riders. The riders being accident, sickness, and/or unemployment. One of the biggest mistakes I see home owners make is not shopping for better rates and coverage. Most of the time, when dealing with the life coverage portion, lenders will only offer a policy that covers your mortgage balance. This type is called a decreasing term policy. Its designed to mimic your home mortgage., Since the amount outstanding on your mortgage decreases with time, so will the amount of your life insurance. Its a strange situation. Your coverage amount decreases, but your monthly payment remains the same.

Here's a better option. Ask for a quote on their policy with the same riders, except ask for a level term policy. This type of insurance policy's coverage stays level for entire term and usually the cost isn't that much more than a decreasing term. Before accepting any mortgage payment protection quote, search the Internet. Many people have found prices that were 50%-60% cheaper!

Good credit..or bad credit, you CAN get a mortgage. Don't let your dream home pass you by. Let over 2000 lenders fight for your business and make your dreams come true. Click here Mortgage Payment Insurance into your browser.

Your Partner In Success,

Christopher Wright, Financial Cancer Specialist
Free Credit Repair

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Wright

Tips for Lowering Your Mortgage Payment

By Groshan Fabiola

If you are interested in paying less money for your mortgage, you are probably trying to lower your mortgage payment. There are a few different ways you can lower your monthly mortgage payment. You can change the term of your mortgage. Since the balance of your mortgage is spread out over a longer period of time, your payment is lower.

If you have a thirty year mortgage and one of your financial goals is long-term savings, you may want to consider shortening your term to twenty or even fifteen years. Your payment will be higher, but you will pay much less in interest over the life of the loan, saving you thousands of dollars in the long run. In addition, you can lower your payment by refinancing an interest-only loan.

With an interest-only loan, the minimum amount you are required to pay is the amount of interest for a certain period of time, though you can pay as much principal as you like. One helpful too is the refinance calculator that will allow you to see how you could lower your monthly mortgage payment. Keep in mind that it is important to consider what mortgage rates are doing. Since mid-2004, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates several times and is expected to keep raising rates in the near future.

This means that if you have an adjustable rate mortgage, it may adjust to a rate that's higher than a fixed-rate mortgage. You should consider refinancing to a fixed-rate loan. Additionally, you need to consider how long you plan on being in your home. Many people move within nine years so it may not make sense to pay a higher interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage when you are not going to be in the home that long. Doing so may be costing you money.

Consider refinancing to an ARM instead. You will get a lower rate as well as lowering your monthly mortgage. You also have to think about the fact that if you are only going to be in your home for a few more years, it may make sense not to refinance out of your ARM. The equity you have in your home can act like a savings account that you could access through a home equity loan or a cash-out refinance.

This is usually done when you want to finance an important home improvement, pay for college or pay off high-interest credit card debt. Whatever your reason, this may be the right option for you.

The interest you pay on a credit card is not tax-deductible and you pay a higher rate than you would on your mortgage. Consequently, credit card debt is often referred to as bad debt whereas your mortgage is considered good debt. Using your home equity to pay off your high-interest credit card debt can save you money in the long run.

Using your home equity, rather than your credit cards, to finance expensive purchases can also be a smart move.

Deciding on when to refinance your mortgage will depend on the circumstances of your situation: how long you'll be in the home, what your financial goals are, whether interest rates are dropping, and so on.

For more resources about Interest rate or even about Home loans and especially about Home loan please review these links.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Groshan_Fabiola

The Best Reverse Mortgage Payment Plan

By Tim Paul

Reverse mortgages are products available only to senior citizen homeowners (over age 62) that allows them to take cash equity from their homes to use for living expenses. Under a reverse mortgage, the lender makes loan payments to the borrower and the loan is repaid when the house is sold or the homeowner dies. The HUD/FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is by far the most popular type of reverse mortgage.

The HECM program offers borrowers a variety of options by which they can elect to be paid the borrowed funds:

• line of credit - by far the most popular option which allows homeowners to draw funds as needed;
• lump sum - similar to a regular home equity loan with funds paid at closing;
• term - fixed payment for specified number of years (e.g. 10 years);
• tenure - equal monthly payments for as long as the borrower remains in the home
• combinations of the above

Nearly four out of five HECM borrowers (78%) opt for the line of credit payment option. There are two big reasons why people feel this is the best choice:

First, funds are drawn only when needed and interest accrues only on funds actually drawn-down. This maximizes flexibility and minimizes interest costs. Second, the untapped balance of the line of credit actually grows at a healthy rate until the funds are drawn. This means the size of the loan available to the homeowner can grow.

With features like this it's not hard to see why the line of credit option is so popular. But is this really the best deal for seniors?

Increasingly, research suggests that the lowly tenure payment option - selected by only five percent of borrowers - may be the best financial choice. The tenure option provides guaranteed equal monthly payments for as long as the borrower lives in the home.

For example, studies, such as done by Met Life and the Society of Actuaries, consistently find that a large majority of both retirees and pre-retirees underestimate life expectancies. According to Met Life, not only do people underestimate longevity, they do not view it as a financial risk. Just 2 of 10 (23%) people understand that longevity is the greatest financial risk facing retirees. Inflation is a very significant financial risk, selected by 41% of respondents, but it is important to note that longevity risk is exacerbated by inflation risk.

Like an annuity, the tenure payment option provides a regular monthly income stream that can help protect borrowers from outliving their resources.

Another study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College concludes that the HECM lifetime income plan (tenure option) is the best financial choice for seniors under almost all scenarios:

"We find that over a wide variety of assumptions about asset returns, the optimal strategy for all but the most risk tolerant households is to take a reverse mortgage in the form of a lifetime income. We are informed by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association that only a small minority of borrowers choose this option, as most choose a line of credit. Our findings appear to be yet another manifestation of the widely documented reluctance of households to annuitize their wealth in retirement. There are substantial differences in reverse mortgage equivalent wealth among strategies, and in our base case a household with average housing and financial wealth...would be 33 percent better off taking a lifetime income at age 65 relative to taking a line of credit when financial wealth is exhausted." (From "Optimal Retirement Asset Decumulation Strategies: The Impact of Housing Wealth, Wei Sun, Robert K. Triest, and Anthony Webb - November 2006 -

To be sure, there are good arguments against choosing fixed payments. For one, over time inflation will erode the purchasing power of fixed monthly payments. Also, if the homeowner is forced to sell because of declining health or other factor, the loan must be repaid and the monthly income stream stops.

Still, as the reverse mortgage marketplace continues to grow, it is important that potential borrowers consider all payment options. The overwhelming popularity of the HECM line of credit payment option may be more a sign of a "follow the crowd" mentality, not sound financial decision-making.

Tim Paul is a financial management executive with more than 25 years experience. His websites focus on personal finance issues including HELOC Loans and providing unbiased reverse mortgage information to senior homeowners.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Paul

Is Cheap Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance Possible?

By Simon Lance Burgess

It is possible to get cheap mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) but you have to know where to go for the premiums. Historically, the cover that is sold alongside mortgages from the high street lender can add hundreds or even thousands of pounds onto the cost of the mortgage more than it need to if you had gone with the specialist in payment protection products.

Cheap mortgage payment protection insurance is taken out if you wish to safeguard against the possibility that you might come out of work if you should suffer from an accident, sickness or unemployment by such as redundancy. If this were to happen then you would still have your mortgage repayments to make and this adds stress and anxiety at a time when you don’t need it. Providing that cheap mortgage payment protection insurance would be suitable for your needs then it would ease the stress and worry by giving you a tax free income after you had been out of work for a set period of time. This will vary from provider to provider but usually ranges from the 31st day to the 90th day of being out of work and would be backdated to day one with the majority of insurers.

The cover would then keep paying out each month for up to 12 months and with some providers for up to 24 months. You do however have to check the exclusions to ensure that cheap mortgage payment protection insurance would be suitable for your needs. Some of the usual reasons which could stop you from claiming include being in part time work, retired or if you have an illness at the time of taking out the policy.

The exclusions caused many of the problems when in recent years the Financial Services Authority investigated and fined several well known high street names before the Office of Fair Trading turned the sector over to the Competition Commission. The Competition Commission are conducting an in-depth inquiry into the sector which will end in February 2009.

If you want the safety net that cheap mortgage payment protection insurance can provide then get quotes from a specialist and make sure that you understand the terms and conditions in a policy before you buy.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of cheap mortgage payment protection insurance, income protection insurance and loan protection insurance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Lance_Burgess

Mortgage Payment Amount – How is It Calculated?

By Louie Latour

There are a number of factors that determine how much you monthly mortgage payment will be. These factors include: the amount you borrow, the duration of the loan, the amount of your down payment, points you paid, the closing costs you paid, and the state of your credit.

Your loan amount is the main factor involved in determining the repayment amount. Obviously the more you borrow, the higher your payment will be; however, the amount you borrow could impact the interest rate you pay. If you borrow above the conforming loan limit regulated by the government you will pay a premium interest rate to the lender.

The duration of the loan also affects the payment amount. Mortgages with shorter term lengths come with lower interest rates. The lower the duration of the mortgage the less risk there is for the lender. Mortgages with longer term lengths come with higher interest rates due to increased risk.

The down payment you make affects your mortgage payment amount by reducing the principal balance and affecting the interest rate. Points paid at closing also reduce the interest rate; points are pre-paid interest paid at closing in exchange for a lower interest rate. Other factors that affect the monthly payment include the closing costs. If you take a “no closing cost” deal you are actually financing the closing costs in the form of a higher interest rate. Higher interest rates translate to higher monthly payments.

The state of your credit will affect your payment amount by influencing the interest rate you receive. Your credit history along with your debt to income ratio is used by the lender to determine the interest rate you will qualify for. If you have good credit you will receive a better interest rate and a lower monthly payment.

To learn more about factors that affect your mortgage and how to save money, sign up for a free mortgage guidebook.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Tucson Mortgage Refinance

Louie Latour has twenty years of experience in the mortgage industry as a mortgage broker. He is the owner of Mortgages Refinance Advisor, a mortgage help site devoted to saving homeowners money with a free guidebook “Mortgage Refinance: What You Need to Know.”

Sign up for your free guide today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Louie_Latour

How To Calculate Mortgage Payment Levels

By James Grantworth

Once you have taken the decision to get a mortgage you need to be able to work out how much you can afford to pay.

You can do this by performing a mortgage payment calculation. There are certain considerations when you calculate mortgage payment levels that suit you that you need to keep in mind: How much mortgage can I afford? What type of mortgage should I get? What kind of loan payment schedule suits me best?

As always it is best to start at the beginning. How much mortgage can I afford: answering this question is easy - but you must be honest with yourself! Look at your earnings and savings and your expenses. How will these be affected by a mortgage? Some expenses like rent will disappear when you are a homeowner but a mortgage will bring other expenses (you may have removal costs and you will almost certainly have legal costs). An online financial calculator will allow you work out exactly how much you can afford to commit to in a mortgage.

Now you must decide what kind of mortgage is best suited to your needs. There are various types of mortgage but do not let this put you off - the choice makes it easier to find a mortgage that suits you best.

The two most common types of mortgages for homeowners (commercial mortgage rates are applied to business premises) are repayment mortgages and interest only mortgages. You can also have a combination of the two.

With a repayment mortgage you pay off part of your mortgage every month but with an interest mortgage only the interest is paid off each month. When you consider what type suits you remember that an interest only mortgage rate (always calculate loan interest as well) will be considerably smaller. Although this will appear attractive you will need to be able to pay of the rest of the loan at the end of your loan payment schedule. You can do this by investing money - but poor investments will lead to a shortfall and you will need to take advice at how to invest money so that it grows with your mortgage.

When you have settled on a mortgage that suits you (you will find a weekly mortgage calculator allows you to break your finances down better than a monthly breakdown) there are other still a few more things to consider. What are your mortgage closing costs? These might make the final amount you pay much higher - especially if you pay your mortgage offer quicker than the original loan payment schedule. Are you able to claim any discounts like small business tax deductions? What are the bank loan rates (an interest rate calculation will help you here)? You might also be affected by mortgage loan origination - check your mortgage provider is dealing with your mortgage themselves and not farming it out as this may increase the amount you pay. It is always best to shop around and find the best deal!

When you calculate mortgage payment levels that suit you should know what you can afford. After that it is easy to calculate a payment that is tailor made to suit you best.

James Grantworth is the Marketing Director for Let Mortgages Limited, a company specializing in Buy To Let Mortgages for the investor who wants to build a portfolio quickly & with the absolute minimum capital investment. For full details of our 'no money down' Buy To Let Mortgage deals visit: http://www.letmortgages.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Grantworth

Discount Points Lowers Mortgage Payment

By Dennis Estrada

Discount points are paid upfront to lower the mortgage. Borrowers often confuse between origination fee and discount points. Although the calculation of origination fee and discount points are the same, both are two different cost of borrowing. The origination fee is paid for the privilege of acquiring a mortgage. Ask your mortgage consultant if you need to pay origination fee too.

How to calculate discount points?

Discount points usually range from 1 to 3 points where each point equals one percent. For example, the borrower pays $1,500 upfront ((1% / 100) * $150,000) on a 1% discount points of $150,000 mortgage.

How much is the monthly mortgage payment with or without discount points?

On a $150,000 principal, 6.5% interest rate, 1 discount points, and 30 year mortgage, the monthly mortgage payment without discount points amounts to $948.10. Using 1 discount points, the borrower pays only $851.68 monthly mortgage payment which saves the borrower $96.42.

When you do get back the discount points?

Recoup time is how long to get all the money back with discount points upfront. The borrower gets $1,500 back in 16 months ($96.42 x 16). The borrower benefits from discount points if he does not leave and refinance before the recoup time on his home. Let's say the borrower locks the mortgage on a five year mortgage term. The borrower pays $851.68 for five years which put $5,785.20 ([$948.10 x 60 months] - [$851.68 x 60 months]) back on his pocket.

General Rule

Discount Points are options. It is up to the borrower to decide whether to buy discount points. With planning and shopping, the borrower indeed can save money. Not to mention, the IRS allows the discount points as a tax deductible.

Dennis Estrada is a webmaster of mortgage calculators website which calculate the monthly payment, bi-weekly payment, affordability, refinance, annual percentage rate, discount points, and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Estrada