One of the biggest financial decisions in life is buying a home. Homeownership allows one to build home equity and deduct mortgage interest from their taxes. A home could potentially increase in value over time, and there are intangible benefits such as having greater control over renovations. When an individual buys a home, monthly expenses usually increase. Nevertheless, owning your home can be rewarding if you make the right decisions from the start.
Key Takeaways
- Make sure your credit rating is the best possible before you start shopping for a mortgage.
- Keep an eye on the lender’s fees. Some are unavoidable and some are negotiable.
- You may get saddled with a PMI fee. If so, get rid of it as soon as possible.
- Use a mortgage calculator to understand the costs associated with different loan terms.
Step 1: Polish Your Credit Rating
Preparation is half the battle in getting a mortgage. The first step is to obtain your credit report and find out your FICO score, meaning whether you will be considered creditworthy. Your score will be somewhere between 300 and 850.
Since 2010, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has required a credit score of 580 or above to qualify for an FHA loan with a 3.5% down payment. Those with a credit score between 500 and 579 must put down 10%, while borrowers with scores below 500 do not qualify. Other programs such as Fannie Mae set a higher minimum of 620 to 640 for mortgage applicants.
What to Do About It
If your score is low, work on paying down any high-interest debt. Pay your bills on time. Don’t apply for another credit card, but don’t close out any unused credit cards. Having credit available to you but not using it actually improves your credit score by boosting your credit utilization ratio. Also, check for any mistakes or discrepancies on your credit report and follow through to get them corrected.
Step 2: Shop for a Lender
Once your credit score is where you need it to be, shop for a lender. Assuming you are a good prospect, let three or four lenders compete for your business. Do not give each lender approval to access your credit report. Obtain a Loan Estimate (previously called the Good Faith Estimate) and analyze every charge. Only when you have selected a lender should you allow them to check your credit.
Important
Mortgage points are an upfront interest charge. Avoid them if possible.
Lenders’ fees to the borrower can be highly creative and negotiable. Fees such as loan origination, processing fees, and underwriting fees can often be negotiated down by at least 50% or even waived by the lender if they want your business.
Refuse to Pay Points
Avoid points if you can. When you pay points, you pay interest in a lump sum upfront to get a lower rate on a fixed-rate mortgage. One point equals 1%. That increases the amount of your down payment. Points are unnecessary additional charges by the lender. Refuse to pay them, or take your business elsewhere.
In some cases, it may be worth it to hire a real estate attorney to identify unnecessary costs. A knowledgeable expert can tell you which costs are customary and which could potentially be eliminated. For example, title insurance costs in some counties in Florida are the responsibility of the buyer (unless the seller agrees to pick up the costs). If you’re buying there, those costs should appear on your Loan Estimate. In any case, you don’t want any big surprises when you get the Closing Disclosure before the closing.
Step 3: Understand the PMI
Most lenders charge private mortgage insurance (PMI) if you make an initial down payment of less than 20% on your home. This insurance protects the lender, not you, in case of default on your loan. The PMI may be unavoidable if you can’t meet the 20% threshold. If you’re applying for a $300,000 loan with a 10 percent down payment, you can expect to pay at least $130 per month for the PMI payment. In general, you can expect to pay $30 to $70 for every $100,000 you borrow.
Cancel PMI Payments
However, you should know that when you reach a certain equity percentage in your home, usually 20%, you can cancel the PMI. And you’ll want to. Over 30 years, a $150 monthly PMI payment can add up to over $54,000. The lenders will not remind you that you can cancel the additional payment, so pay attention to how much you’ve paid off.
How to Avoid Paying PMI
Say you are looking at a $300,000 home and you have $20,000 for the down payment. Most lenders will require a PMI payment if you do not put at least $60,000 down, excluding the lending fees. For many first-time homebuyers, a $60,000 down payment is out of the question.
However, you can try to “piggyback” your loans so that two lenders take part in the loan. This could resemble an 80-15-5 type plan: you finance 80% on a primary mortgage, 15% on a second mortgage or home equity loan, and 5% as your down payment. By using the home-equity loan plus your down payment, you can leverage that amount against the purchase price of your home and cover the 20% down requirement, thus avoiding the PMI.
The home equity or second loan will most likely have a variable rate or a rate higher than your primary mortgage, so you’ll need to keep an eye on this loan and try to pay it off first. Home equity loan interest is also deductible on federal taxes if the loan was used to buy, build or substantially improve a taxpayer’s home. However, a married couple is limited to deducting interest on up to $750,000 in total mortgage debt.
Types of Loans
The 30-year fixed-rate loan is still the most common mortgage loan. Most homeowners prefer this type of loan because their monthly payments will remain steady.
A 15-year fixed loan is becoming more popular because it reduces the time horizon of the loan, which decreases the amount of interest paid over the life of the loan. Generally, these shorter-term loans have a lower interest rate because the lender is exposed to less interest rate risk than a 30-year loan.
A mortgage calculator is a good resource for understanding these costs.
An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) offers a low-interest rate for a set period of time. The interest rate can then be adjusted annually, or they may be listed as “3-1,” “5-1,” or “7-1.” With a “7-1” adjustable-rate loan, the amount of the loan will be fixed for the first seven years and then will be adjusted beginning in the eighth year based on current market conditions. Those are usually based on the one-year Treasury index.
How ARMs Work
Initially, the interest rates on ARMs can be anywhere from one to three percentage points below the conventional fixed mortgage. Whether an ARM is right for you often depends on how long you plan to stay in the home. In the case of the “7-1,” if you only plan to stay in the home for seven years, this may be the perfect loan for you. However, if you plan to stay in the home for longer and interest rates start to rise, your monthly costs can rise significantly.
It’s worth the extra effort to review your Closing Disclosure and compare it with the Loan Estimate before the closing date of your new home. If the figures are inflated or you see new charges, contact the lender and ask them to explain or correct the mistakes. Purchasing a home is a long-term commitment, so you want to fully understand all the terms of your loan and not overlook any hidden charges.
How Do You Read Your Mortgage?
If you already have a mortgage and you’re trying to make sense of your statement. You’ll typically see important items like your mortgage lender’s contact information, your account number, the amount due on your next payment, your payment date, the outstanding amount you owe, your interest rate, the escrow balance, and more.
Do I Have To Pay PMI?
If you’re putting down less than 20%, most lenders require you to pay Private Mortgage Insurance. However, once you’ve got at least 20% equity in your home, you can usually cancel it and save money on your monthly mortgage payment.
What’s the Best Type of Mortgage Loan?
The best loan for you depends on your personal situation. Some borrower benefit from a fixed-rate conventional loan while others might benefit from an adjustable rate mortgage. To determine what’s best for you, use mortgage calculators and speak to your lender about available options.
The Bottom Line
Mortgages might seem overwhelming at first, but choosing a loan that fits your situation can help you stay on top of payments. Once you have a mortgage, read through your statement for important details like your payments, interest rate, outstanding balance, and lender contact information.
Read the original article on Investopedia.