No Cost Mortgage – a Real Deal or Not?

With the onset of 2008 we have seen mortgage interest rates begin to fall. When mortgage rates fall, misleading mortgage advertising schemes seem to show up in the media all around us. For example, I recently watched an advertisement on Television for “The Real No Cost Mortgage”. I shudder each time I see or hear advertising about this type of mortgage because it is misleading and deceptive. The sadness in this for me as a 12 year mortgage broker veteran is that this type of advertising is indicative the bad apples that contributed to a great degree to the mortgage industry meltdown in 2007. I am going to say it right off the bat: There Are No “No Cost Mortgages” on the Planet!” Is this clear? All mortgages have costs associated with them. This is the end of the story.

Most “no cost mortgage” loan programs are designed the same way: the interest rate of your loan is increased to cover the costs associated with your mortgage. There are a select few mortgages that have very little costs associated with them: these are home equity lines of credit – or HELOCS. Often you can get these little or no cost loans at your local credit union or small community bank. Additionally, these loans typically only allow you borrow up to about 90% of your home’s value. Credit Unions are small enough that they perhaps can offer to pay some of your costs as a courtesy to earn your business. The larger banks simply cannot pay or give you these costs for free or it would set them back a few dollars.

With these small second mortgages and HELOCS aside, the rest of the mortgage market is primarily made up of larger first mortgages. As I previously stated, these mortgages have costs associated with them such as: paying a processor to process your loan, the cost for an appraisal, the underwriter, the title insurance policy, your credit report, tax and insurance escrows, and of course the money that your loan officer makes in commission. All of these fees in one form or another get paid, and guess who pays them? That’s right, you do. You will pay these fees one way or another.

So what is the catch to this type of advertising? As I previous pointed out, the mortgage company charges you a higher interest rate. If you are paying a higher interest rate, then your monthly payment is higher. So your higher payment month after month pays your closing costs over time. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing if you know what you are getting into. Where I have a beef with this type of advertising is that it is not telling you the whole truth. You do have closing costs and the mortgage company is charging you a higher interest rate to compensate for those fees – and they do not tell you this in the advertising. They lead you down some fantasy of a no cost mortgage, or a free mortgage, and ultimately charge you a higher interest rate than you would normally get if you paid your costs either with your loan proceeds in a refinance or out of your pocket in a purchase mortgage. The misleading advertising got you to call them.

Initially, this loan can be good if you are low on cash. Hey, it is not a bad loan in the short term. Let’s just say that the interest rate that they charge you increases your monthly payment $150 a month for a no cost mortgage. After 30 months, or 2.5 years you have paid $4,500 extra. What if that was the amount of your closing costs when you first got the deal? Well, for the first 30 months you saved money and were better off. However, once you hit month 31, you are now paying more for your mortgage’s closing costs than you would have if you had paid them up front when you got the mortgage.

Another thing to be careful about with this type of mortgage is that it is very easy for a mortgage company to charge you more than might have been able to charge you because their profit is made in the interest rate and in the slightly higher interest rates. With this said, it is hard to tell how much a mortgage company makes on your loan given your payment increases slightly over what you could have been paying if you had paid your own closing costs.

So, the next time you hear of this kind of mortgage program, make sure you ask about the difference in your monthly payment between paying your own closing costs, or for paying a higher interest rate. If you know you are only going to be in the home for a few years and then you are going to sell the home, then a no closing cost mortgage might good for you. If you are planning on staying longer and you know you are going to refinance in the near future, then this loan might be good for you too. But, if you do not want to refinance in the future, or be forced to have to refinance to get out of a no cost mortgage when it starts costing you money then the no cost mortgage probably is not right for you. Make sure you take a look at all your options. Do not let a slick mortgage person tell you that this loan saves you money – as this is not necessarily the case.

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Is Real Sugar Better for You Than Refined Sugar?

“Is real sugar better for you than refined sugar?” There is quite a debate raging on this subject. Opinions are flying on both sides of the debate. To fully form an informed opinion, you need to know how sugar is “refined.” Then you will understand the answer to the question.

Refined sugar is nearly pure sucrose that is obtained from raw sugar sources such as sugar cane and sugar beets. Sugar cane provides the bulk of refined sugar because it is the more easily grown of the two source crops. The next steps in the process will help you to answer the question “is real sugar better for you than refined sugar?”

Sugar is normally refined in two major ways: affination and carbonization. Affination involves mixing raw sugar with high fructose syrup. This liquid mixture is fed into centrifugal chambers. The liquid is spun until it separates into liquid and sugar crystals. The sugar crystals are higher in sucrose content, but have an unacceptable level of contaminants, so carbonization is then used. In carbonization, the sugar is mixed with a liquid to make a 50/50 solution. Milk of lime is then added. The milk of lime mixes with the solution and calcium carbonate is formed. The calcium carbonate attracts the contaminates and discolorants so they can be removed. In some cases phosphorus is used instead of milk of lime. Knowing that all of these chemicals are added, it is not hard to answer the question “is real sugar better for you than refined sugar?”

Real sugars are those sugars that are in their natural forms and come from fruit, grain, and vegetables. These sugars are usually not “refined” in anyway. Some of the sources of these sugars are honey, molasses, and agave. Sugar cane and sugar beets can provide this type of sugar if they have not been processed. Normally the source syrup is boiled and dried to produce sugar crystals. Some examples of this type of crystal sugar are demerara, muscovado, and turbinado. These sugars are yellowish or brown in color and tend to clump when exposed to air.

The best course of action is to only consume naturally occurring sugars in their natural forms. That is difficult to do. If you have to use added sugar, then it is obvious that real sugar is best. Answering if real sugar is better for you than refined sugar is kind of a no-brainer. Carbohydrates in their natural forms are easier for your body to digest, use, and eliminate. The chemicals added during processing and refining are harmful and should be avoided whenever possible. Consuming real sugar will lead to a more healthy and balanced diet and a healthier you. Is real sugar better for you than refined sugar? Yes, most definitely!

Commercial Mortgage Real Estate Loans

CommercialMortgage.net  pay the closing costs for commercial mortgage and commercial real estate loan amounts over $1mm, closing costs reimbursement not to exceed $10,000 per loan.

If you are wondering to buy a property but short of finance is the hang-up for you, than don’t get upset because there is a plausible solution for it. That is: Commercial Real Estate Loans. Through such type of loan assistance, you can effortlessly procure property for a business purpose that too at a competitive interest rate.

Chiefly, commercial real estate loans are used for business purpose but it can be also utilized for the agricultural use, shopping centers, apartments, hotels, automobile dealerships, office buildings and for many other commercial purposes.
No doubt, through commercial real estate loans, one can obtain considerable amount of money and buy the properties that they would like to but in order to obtain them, you are required to keep your one of your property as Collateral to be on the safer side of the real estate lender who will be providing you with such a large sum of money.

The main reasons behind opting for Commercial Real Estate Loans are its wealth of benefits that it provides. Besides rendering stability & high return on investment, it provides investment security. These are the two weighty points that draw an individual to get the hold of owner occupied commercial real estate loans. Longer duration period for repayment is the added advantage of acquiring commercial Real Estate Financing .

Sources that furnishes with the commercial real estate loans are: Bank, Financial Institutions and Large Building Societies. The most unsurpassed way to acquire commercial real estate loans is through internet. To bag a lucrative deal, bit research is required to be necessitated. And so, make sure that you carry out a thorough research and have in-depth knowledge of the lender, as in; if he is reputed and authorized.

This article has been provided courtesy of commercialmortgage.net. Commercial Mortgage is a Commercial real estate loan division of Griffin Capital Funding offers owner occupied commercial real estate loans and owner occupied commercial loans with no personal guarantees, favorable loans rates and good terms.

The Real Cost of your Cash-back Mortgage Option

If you look at the most stressful events in a person’s life, buying a home is on the top ten list. After all, it’s a big decision – both emotionally and financially. Many home buyers go through an anxious period after they’ve arranged for their mortgage and get ready to move into their new home. Knowing you’ll get a pocketful of cash would sure help, wouldn’t it?

That’s a big part of the attraction of cash-back mortgages. A plump cheque is a psychological boost to home buyers who have just made one of the biggest financial commitments of their lives. As mortgage brokers, we like to work with our clients to ensure that they look beyond the temporary “feel good” of the cash, and weigh their options wisely.

Remember that the cash-back option comes with a trade-off: if you choose not to take the cash back, you can get a lower interest rate. Over time, you could see substantial savings in interest payments.

So, start with the most important question: What will the cash be used for? Is this purchase a priority, and is it worth the difference in the rate? Perhaps you have a plan to take advantage of the cash-back to purchase the household appliances for your new home. The extra $3,000 for new kitchen or laundry appliances may be an urgent immediate need and a higher priority overall than the lower interest rate for your mortgage term.

But here is the second question to discuss with your mortgage broker: What will be the impact of the rate difference over time? You’ll need real-life figures to work out the details for your personal situation, but let’s look at an example*:

Let’s say that your cash-back option pays 1% of the mortgage amount on a two-year deal, 3% on five years, and 5% cash back on a ten-year closed mortgage. And let’s assume that you’re looking at borrowing $100,000 for a 5-year term, amortized over 25 years. Not long ago, you might be looking at the difference between cash back and a rate of 6.60%, or a discounted interest rate of 5.29%.

So what’s the bottom line? Your cash-back option would give you $3,000 up-front, but over your 5-year term, you would pay a little over $6,300 more in interest costs than you would have with the discounted rate. The exact cost of the cash-back option in this example is $3,330.44 – paid out over 5 years.

Is that a good deal? It depends. Did you get the much-needed appliances for your home… or use the funds to manage a high-priority expense? Then you probably got good value from the option. If – five years later – you can’t remember where the money went, then perhaps you didn’t make the best trade-off.

What happens to a real mortgage when a debtor files for bankruptcy?

I’m a creditor whose debt is secured by a real mortgage. I’ve received recently a notice that the debtor has filed for bankruptcy under chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy code. What will happen to both my loan and my mortgage? Will I be enjoined from foreclosing the mortgage? The insolvent debtor by the way is an individual, not a corporation. Please prvide legal basis.

Thank you.