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FastFind Mortgage™ is your fast and easy resource for learning about mortgages. Whether you are looking for mortgage refinancing, a home equity loan/second mortgage, debt consolidation, or just want to purchase a home, we have the answers that can help to get you there. FastFind Mortgage™ provides answers to questions about student loans, debt consolidation, and even contains a mortgage calculator. We have created four broad categories of mortgage offerings: Purchase Visit our Purchase section if you are looking for a mortgage for a new or pre-existing home. This is directed at home purchasers who are buying property and would like a mortgage to pay it. Refinance Visit our Refinance section if you’re a homeowner that already has a mortgage on your home and are unhappy with the interest rate, loan terms, or just want refinance a loan to get some cash. Refinancing can be a very effective way to lower payments and ensure that you’re paying the current market rate. Debt Consolidation Visit our Debt Consolidation section if you’re a homeowner and want to take money out of your home to consolidate other bills and reduce monthly payments. By doing so, you can turn multiple loans into one, more manageable, loan. Home Equity Loan/ Second Mortgage Visit our Home Equity Loan/ Second Mortgage section when you want a line of credit tied to your home’s value or need a secured loan. A home equity loan is useful for making home improvements like a new deck, kitchen remodeling or even a pool. If you found this page through a search engine, click on our logo above or Click Here to get to our main site.
How Mortgage Loans Can Save You Money on Your TaxesOne of the major benefits for homeowners is the ability to itemize deductions for: mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and points. Deducting Mortgage Interest Mortgage interest on a primary residence is usually fully tax-deductible, unless your mortgage balance exceeds $1 million or you took out a mortgage for reasons other than buying, building or improving a home. To claim this deduction, you should fill out Schedule A, labeled “Itemized Deductions.” Your mortgage lender should send you a 1098 form that tells you how much mortgage interest you paid for the year. You should record your interest deduction on line 10 of the Schedule A form. Late payment charges may also be deducted as home mortgage interest if they weren’t received for a specific service related to your home loan. You can also deduct mortgage prepayment penalties if you pay off your mortgage early and incur a prepayment penalty. You can deduct that penalty as home mortgage interest (subject to the same requirements for late payments). Deducting Real Estate Taxes Real estate taxes, which are annual taxes based on the assessed value of a property, can also be tax deductible. You may be able to find out the amount of your real estate taxes by looking at your mortgage interest statement if your taxes and homeowners’ insurance were placed in an escrow account when you closed on your mortgage. If real estate taxes aren’t included, you could review your cancelled checks to determine your total real estate tax deduction. Deducting Loan Points Paid on a Purchase The points you pay on a purchase mortgage are deductible the year you made the purchase. You can deduct any points you paid and that a seller paid on your behalf*, if you meet the following criteria: - The mortgage loan was secured by your primary residence and the loan was used to buy, improve or build the home
- Paying points, and the amount of points paid, is not an irregular practice in the seller’s geographic area
- Loan points were computed as a percentage of the loan principal
- Loan points were clearly delineated on the buyer"s settlement statement
- You put cash into your home purchase in an amount at least equal to the points you were charged
*When a seller pays points for the buyer, or in other words, buys the mortgage rate down, the buyer gets a lower mortgage interest rate. Deducting Loan Points Paid on a Refinance If you refinanced last year, you may be able to write-off any points you paid to buy down the mortgage interest rate. To do so, you deduct the points proportionately over the life of the new loan. For example, if you took out a 30-year loan, you would deduct 1/30th of the points you paid each year. Leveraging the Points on Multiple Refinanced Loans Many homeowners may have overlooked an important opportunity. If you refinance an existing loan on which you paid points, you can deduct those points because you paid off the mortgage. Let’s say, you refinanced in 2001 and paid points. You can deduct 1/30th of those points in that tax year. However, rates continued to drop, so you refinanced again in 2003, paying off that 2001 loan. The remaining points from the 2001 refinance, the points that haven’t yet been deducted, can now be deducted in full since that mortgage loan has been paid off. Deducting Interest on a Home Equity Loan The interest on a home equity loan may be tax deductible up to $100,000. However, if your home equity loan when combined with your first mortgage amount increases the debt on your home to an amount more than the property’s actual value, there may be deductibility limits. Usually, you can deduct the smaller of interest on a $100,000 home loan or your home’s value less the amount of your existing mortgage loan. If you found this page through a search engine, click on our logo above or Click Here to get to our main site.
How Market Conditions Affect Mortgage Interest RatesWhile it may seem logical that if the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates that mortgage interest rates should go lower, this isn’t necessarily true. Here are a few reasons why home mortgage rates typically rise when the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates: When the Federal Reserve lowers “rates,” they lower the “Federal Funds” rate. That’s the interest rate large banks use to lend funds to one another. The Federal Funds rate is a “short-term” rate. Mortgage interest rates are “long-term,” up to 30 years. Long-term interest rates are sensitive to expectations about inflation. When short-term rates fall, like the ones the Federal Reserve controls, borrowing and spending usually increase, which can actually cause inflation. Longer-term rates, like mortgage interest rates, can rise when concerns about inflation increase. Markets are often ahead of the Federal Reserve. Mortgage interest rates are determined every day in active public markets. If those markets believe the economy is slowing, interest rates may fall as markets anticipate that the Federal Reserve might lower short-term rates. This happened in the last half of 2000 when mortgage rates began steadily dropping, even though the Federal Reserve left their short-term rates unchanged. The opposite can happen as well. Mortgage rates can rise well ahead of the Federal Reserve increasing short-term interest rates. While it’s almost impossible to accurately predict the future of something as complex as the U.S. economy, it’s important that mortgage consumers understand some of these market dynamics. Sometimes, a lack of understanding can cost you money. If you found this page through a search engine, click on our logo above or Click Here to get to our main site.
How to Use Home Equity for Debt Consolidation Sometimes it makes good financial sense to use the money that you have invested in your home, your home equity, to consolidate debt. Depending on your financial goals, it may help you: - Lower your total monthly payment amount
- Pay off your credit cards
- Consolidate many small payments into one
- Reduce the mortgage interest rate on your high-interest debt
There are a several ways to access the equity in your home to consolidate debt: Cash-Out Refinance When you refinance a loan to get cash out, you’re increasing the amount of your mortgage by refinancing your loan amount to more than you currently owe and taking the difference in cash. Depending on your current mortgage interest rate, you may actually be able to lower your payment and pay off other debt with the cash. It’s possible to lower your overall monthly payments with a cash-out refinance. Home Equity Loan A home equity loan is a second loan to tap into your home equity. Commonly referred to as a "second mortgage," a home equity loan allows you to get cash for your equity without refinancing your first mortgage and can be usually done in less time. Home Equity Line of Credit A home equity line of credit is very similar to a credit card except that it uses your equity as the revolving line of credit. You pay only when you use the money. You can get a home equity line of credit in as little as 10 days. When you use the equity in your home to consolidate debt, you don’t reduce the amount of your debt. Instead, you lower the interest rate that you pay on your mortgage. It’s important to not run up your credit card debt again. It may be a good idea to close your credit card accounts and keep 1 for emergencies only. If you increase your monthly cash flow by debt consolidation, think about saving, investing or paying down your debt faster. If you found this page through a search engine, click on our logo above or Click Here to get to our main site.
What are some Home Improvements that Can Pay Off?One of the smartest things you can do to increase the value of your home, your home equity, is to put it right back into your home. It’s a clear win-win: You enjoy the benefit of an improved living environment and visibly increase your home’s value at the same time. However, not every project will increase the resale value of your home. It’s best to stick with the ones that will give you the biggest return. Here’s how Remodeling Magazine rates top jobs in terms of a 1-year return on investment (ROI): Project | ROI | Average Price Tag | Minor kitchen remodel | 88% | $8,655 | Second-story addition | 83% | $73,553 | Bathroom remodel | 81% | $9,135 | Bathroom addition | 81% | $13,918 | Family room addition | 75% | $30,960 | Major kitchen remodel | 71% | $31,090 | Deck | 55% | $8,022 |
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Why Should You Refinance?When you have a clear objective in mind for mortgage refinancing, you’re more likely to choose a home loan that will help you meet your long and short-term financial goals. Here are a few good reasons that homeowners refinance their loans: Refinance to Lower Your Monthly Mortgage Payment Take advantage of lower interest rates to lower your mortgage payments. A percentage drop of just 1/2 to 3/4 of a percentage point can lower your mortgage payment. If you don’t refinance, you may be paying too much every month for your loan, and that’s never a good financial move. There are 3 ways mortgage refinancing can lower your payment. -
The first is simply to refinance at a lower interest rate. The second way is to change the term on your mortgage loan to lower your payment. Switching from a 15- to a 30-year term can significantly lower your short-term mortgage payment. But, if long-term savings are more appealing to you, refinancing from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your home loan. The third way to lower your payment is by switching from a traditional mortgage with principal and interest payments to a mortgage program that allows interest only payments.
Refinance to Access Cash Think of the equity in your home as a savings account that you could access through a cash-out refinance. You may want to finance an important home improvement that will increase the value of your home, pay for college or pay off high interest credit card debt. Whatever your reason, this may be the right option for you. Refinance to Pay Off Credit Cards And Other Debt Leverage the value of your home to save you money on high interest debt. The difference between credit card debt and a mortgage can, financially speaking, mean thousands of dollars. Credit card debt is compounded where the interest on a mortgage is simple, and often tax deductible. Using the equity in your home rather than credit cards to finance expensive purchases can save you money paid in interest in the long run. Be sure to consult your tax advisor. Refinance to convert an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a Fixed-Rate Mortgage Use the length of time you plan on being in your home to your best financial advantage. If you only plan on staying in your home for a few years, paying a higher interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage may be costing you money. Consider refinancing to an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) instead, and pay a much lower amount each month. However, if you have an adjustable rate mortgage and will be in your home longer than the initial 3 or 5-year fixed period, it might be a smart move to convert to a fixed-rate loan. If you found this page through a search engine, click on our logo above or Click Here to get to our main site.
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