Shop Smart for Your Mortgage to Save Big Money
These days, foreclosure is rife in the US. That’s why shopping smart for a mortgage loan is a vital survival technique in this market. There is nothing wrong with owning a home and no one should be afraid to take this step, but getting a mortgage is probably the single biggest investment you will ever make. In this article, we’ll look at ways to protect that investment..
It is very rare that anyone buying property is able to purchase it outright. Virtually every home owner has to make use of a mortgage loan to facilitate this purchase. Mortgages are a long-term loan and generally run for between 15 to 30 years. Savings on these long-term loans add up substantially in the long run.
Three years is the absolute minimum period of time you should live in a house before selling it. If you don’t intend to do this, don’t buy! Moving and selling a house has a whole load of expenses attached to it and you shouldn’t be doing this every few years. A piece of property needs to have appreciated at least 15% before any thought should be given to moving and this does not happen in a period as short as three years.
Make sure you pay attention to your finances before even applying for a mortgage loan. This means seeing what you can afford, paying off high interest rate credit cards and other loans, and checking your credit report to dispute erroneous records. Pay all your bills on time in the period preceding your mortgage loan application as this reflects well on your credit report. A good credit score substantially increases your chances of obtaining lower interest on a mortgage.
Never take a loan which covers interest payments only, this is a bad decision. Take the loan over the longest possible period. This will mean that the interest rates are lower and so too will be the monthly capital repayments. In this instance shorter is not better! 30 year mortgages have lower interest rates and lower repayments which makes them more easy to afford.