Welcome to Mortgage Guide
Mortgage Protection Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
The Mortgage Loan Basics
from: Deb St. George - HomelessInKingCounty.comThere are a number of different mortgage loan products out there, but they all have one thing in common: they have either a fixed or variable rate of interest tied to them. The subprime loans that have been implicated in the housing bust were variable rate loans that adjusted at set intervals and were sold to mostly people with poor credit or who sought out jumbo loans. So, even though a loan has a variable rate, it doesn’t necessarily make it a subprime loan and sometimes people get confused about that. They think that the reason people are in trouble are because they had Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). While that is one of the factors involved in people whose payments rise, subprime loans were targeted to people who couldn’t get a fixed rate mortgage because of either poor credit or a lack of income. Otherwise, an ARM is just another type of mortgage loan that uses a variable rate. If you understand how it adjusts and you don’t buy too much house, even this type of loan can still be attractive to some.
A Fixed Rate Mortgage Loan
A fixed rate mortgage loan has an interest rate assigned either when it was locked in or at closing that remains the same for the life of the mortgage loan. If mortgage rates are rising, it is a good idea to lock in a rate when you are approved for a mortgage. Otherwise, by the time you get to closing the rates may have climbed significantly. However, it is difficult to time mortgage rates as they can fluctuate due to various factors.
The advantage of a fixed rate mortgage is that you always know what your payments will be, within a certain range. You may have adjustments for insurance or property taxes, but for the most part the payments will be pretty constant throughout the life of the loan. Since the fixed mortgage rate is at historically low levels right now, many people like the idea of buying in with a fixed rate and not worrying about what might happen to the index later that can drastically change their payments.
A Variable Rate Mortgage Loan
A variable rate loan is one in which the interest rate is tied to a particular index and adjusts on a set schedule. There are a variety of mortgage loans with variable rates, not just ARMs. You can have a hybrid loan or even two-step mortgages that adjust after a specified period of time. Be sure to read the terms of your loan to ascertain when the rate is due to change and how it will impact your monthly payments so there are no surprises in the future for you.
Mortgage Protection News
Buffett tried to buy ResCap before bankruptcy: report - Orlando Sentinel
 Financial Times | Buffett tried to buy ResCap before bankruptcy: report Orlando Sentinel Residential Capital filed for bankruptcy protection in federal court in Manhattan last week. At the same time, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc , which is majority-owned by Fortress Investment Group LLC , struck a deal to buy substantially all the ... S&P Raises Outlook For Ally On ResCap Restructuring Ally Financial's ResCap mortgage unit seeks bankruptcy protection Buffett Said to Have Sought ResCap Purchase Before Bankruptcy |
Is the CFPB Creating a “Seismic Shock” Through LO Comp Rule Making? - Reverse Mortgage Daily
 JD Supra | Is the CFPB Creating a “Seismic Shock” Through LO Comp Rule Making? Reverse Mortgage Daily “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering putting strict limits on a creditor's ability to price its mortgage loans, and on a consumer's ability to choose among pricing options,” an attorney with K&L Gates explains in a memo. CFPB Mortgage Reforms Disappoint Some Consumer Activists Loan originators not barred by Dodd-Frank compensation rules from receiving ... |
Residential Capital seeks Chapter 11 protection - BusinessWeek
 New York Times | Residential Capital seeks Chapter 11 protection BusinessWeek By TOM KRISHER Residential Capital LLC, a perpetually troubled mortgage subsidiary of government-owned Ally Financial Inc., has filed for bankruptcy protection. The filing early Monday will separate the money-losing operations of Residential Capital, ... Residential Mortgage seeking Chapter 11 protection Former subprime lender ResCap files for Ch. 11 |
Mortgage-Bond Transparency Plan Meets Resistance From Traders - Bloomberg
Mortgage-Bond Transparency Plan Meets Resistance From Traders Bloomberg The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's latest plan to increase transparency in a corner of the $6.5 trillion mortgage-bond market is meeting resistance from Wall Street's largest lobbying group. Investors and dealers are concerned that the level ... |
U.S. Banks Sold More Swaps on European Debt as Risks Rose - Bloomberg
 Bloomberg | U.S. Banks Sold More Swaps on European Debt as Risks Rose Bloomberg US banks increased sales of protection against credit losses to holders of Greek, Portuguese, Irish, Spanish and Italian debt in the last quarter of 2011 as the European debt crisis escalated. Guarantees provided by US lenders on government, ... US Banks Sold More Swaps on European Debt as Risks Rose |
Insurance you don't need - Wink News
Insurance you don't need Wink News When they were closing on their mortgage, they were offered a Borrowers Protection Plan. "I said is that like life insurance? If anything happens to my husband?" recalled Pam. They thought they were making a wise choice to protect their home when they ... |
Federal regulator questions state's mortgage bills - Monterey County Herald
 News10.net | Federal regulator questions state's mortgage bills Monterey County Herald By DON THOMPSON AP Attorney General Kamala Harris discusses her package of homeowner mortgage protection bills during a conference committee hearing at the Capitol in Sacramento. SACRAMENTO — The federal government's main regulator of home loans is ... Brown Defends Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Raid With Talk of “Balance” |