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Submitted by: J Suffie

While you explore the refinancing options available to you, you might want to consider borrowing more than the amount needed to pay off your existing mortgage. You can use the extra money to make energy-efficiency home improvements that might help you save a significant amount over time. If you consider that the interest paid on your mortgage is most likely tax deductible and switching to energy efficient appliances will immediately lower your monthly bill you might see savings sooner than you think.

What is an Energy Efficient Mortgage?

An energy efficient mortgage is a type of additional mortgage that can be added to an already existing home mortgage. With this type of federally recognized loan, the borrower is eligible for unique benefits related to the purchase of an energy efficient home or energy efficiency remodeling. Benefits include eligibility for financing energy-efficiency measures as a part of your mortgage, updating your home with newer more efficient features and appliances, stretching debt-to-income qualifying ratios on additional loans, and qualifying for a larger loan. When debt-to-income ratios improve, a larger percentage of the borrower’s monthly income can be allocated to the mortgage payment. In short, that means the buyer has more borrowing power although his or her income has not changed.

How do I know if my home is energy efficient?

Before trying to gain approval for an energy-efficient mortgage, have a certified home energy rater come to your house and conduct an energy audit. The audit proves to the lender that the home has areas that could benefit from improved energy efficiency and lower the monthly power bill. The cost of improvements needed in these specific areas found to be energy inefficient can then be added to your mortgage.

The U.S. Department of Energy established guidelines for companies offering Home Energy Ratings. Rating should be in the form of a numerical score from 1 to 100. An additional rating based on a range of one to five stars may also be given as well as an estimated energy cost. A higher score indicates greater efficiency. The rater will also identify upgrades that are considered “cost effective.” These types of upgrades will save more money through energy savings than they cost to install. A Home Energy Rating conducted by a certified professional will usually cost between $100 and $300. The cost of the rating may be financed as part of the mortgage, covered by the lender, or paid for by the owner.

Am I eligible for an Energy Efficient Mortgage?

Any buyer who can qualify for a home loan can qualify for an energy efficient mortgage. Energy efficient upgrades can be done on most homes, and the loans are available to anyone regardless of location, home value, or existing utility set up. Energy efficiency mortgages can be added to government loans or conventional loans. Your lender will determine your exact benefits based on your home energy rating. In general, an energy efficient mortgage is available for older homes that qualify for upgrades as well as for homes not requiring upgrades in some cases. New construction can also qualify, check with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Alliance to Save Energy, or the Federal Citizen Information Center for more details.

About the Author: Buying a home?

Refinancing your mortgage

? There are lots of reasons why you may need to talk to a mortgage broker about a mortgage. Make sure you do your research first. Get all the information you need at: http://www.refinancingright.com

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Paint your home to get help on your home loan payments

by

Jessica Bennet

If you are finding it extremely difficult to make payments on your home loan regularly and the lenders are threatening to foreclose your property, then you should paint your house immediately. You may think that how painting your home can help you in mortgage payments and protect your house from foreclosure? Rather it is likely to increase your expenses which you can’t possible afford at present. But the truth is, painting your house will not only give it a fresh look but also can help you pay back your lenders. Read along to know how painting your house can help you get mortgage help.

Paint your home and pay back your lenders A leading advertising firm has come up with a unique and exciting offer for the homeowners. The company is offering to pay the mortgages of the homeowners in return of painting their houses. The company will paint the outside portion of the homeowners’ houses with several advertisements. This basically implies that after the painting is finished, the house will just look like a billboard, featuring various advertisements. This special offer is only available to the homeowners though. The house to be painted should not be rented or leased. Another rule is that, the homeowner can’t remove the painting from the house for minimum 3 months. After 3 months, the homeowner can request the firm to turn the house to its original color. If the homeowner is interested, then this unique offer can be stretched to 1year also. The company will make the monthly mortgage payments on behalf of the homeowner till the advertisements are displayed on the house. It does no, this kind of an offer is undoubtedly good news for the struggling homeowners. The advertising company has refused to work with the homeowners in those localities where it is illegal to paint the houses like a billboard. A senior member of the company has reportedly said that the company will not do anything which violates the laws. They will agree to paint the houses fulfilling all the criteria. He also added that the company is hopeful of getting positive response from the homeowners. Last but not the least, several distressed homeowners participating in a renowned mortgage community

have expressed their happiness on hearing this particular news. At present, they are more concerned about saving their cherished houses from possible foreclosures than the appearance of the homes. After all, this kind of an offer does not come often.

Jessica Bennet with her vast experience in the mortgage industry has been associated with the MortgageFit Community as a Mentor. Not only does she participate in the community forums to give her suggestions, but also makes her contributions through different articles on mortgage.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

By Alan Lim

Using a contract for deed for a home loan may be very advantageous for both the buyer and the seller, provided that it is prepared properly and smoothly.

Contracts that are not really drafted well might cause great difficulties that could affect either parties for many years ahead. Thus it is very important for both the seller and the buyer to carefully scrutinize all the limitations and possibilities afforded by the contract for deed prior to finally subjecting themselves to the arrangement, which is most effectively done with the assistance of different attorneys.

What is a contract for deed?

A contract for deed is basically the agreement to sell and buy a real estate property wherein the seller will hold the title until the time when the contracts provisions have been filled, usually upon full payment of the property. In this case, the buyer may already occupy the property and make the payments as stipulated. Upon completion of payment the seller will pass the title by recording the deed.

How does the contract for deed affect the buyer?

Contract for deed helps buyers save a lot of resources that they can allocate for other things. This happens primarily because the down payment involved with contracts for deed is usually very low, making it quite easier for buyers to be acquire ownership of real estate without having to expend much of their capital. This leaves them with more capital left that they can use to earn more resources or in other necessary activities.

However, since the down payment for contracts for deed is very small, this translates to higher rates for the remaining balance, which then means that a larger part of the principal price would be covered by the interest. This also gives the tendency for the amounts payable to be high as well, especially if the contract is written for a short duration.

Buyers would have no guarantee that they would be able to handle the amounts needed for payments in the future. For this, buyers should be certain about the cash flow they would get throughout the duration of their contract for deed. Otherwise, the property might get forfeited by the seller easily when the buyer is unable to do its part since the title is already with the seller.

Nevertheless, this agreement is still more secure for the buyer especially when compared to renting the property. The buyer may have the contract written to an heir or spouse that greatly eliminates the chance that the property would be divided should an estate settlement proceeding should be called for.

How does it affect the seller?

A great benefit of the contract for deed for the seller is that it allows the distribution of the tax reports for capital gains during sales over the contract period instead of just in the year the property was sold. While this does not at all entail the altering of the entire amount of the capital gains report, it typically allows the seller to make substantial tax savings.

As mentioned earlier, this agreement provides the seller the legal title for the property, as well as the deed. The property automatically belongs to the seller should the buyer fail to fulfill the provisions in the contract. All the payments made for the property would also be retained by the seller.

Some sellers see contract of deeds as the only way they can sell some of their properties that are difficult to vend. Most of such properties are those that could not conform with the traditional guidelines for lending.

However, the seller might not benefit from the low down payment allowed by the contract. If immediate money is a priority for the seller then this is something that a contract for deed would not be able to give. This arrangement may not be beneficial for sellers who need money more than they need tax breaks.

Depending on the situation, contract for deed may be a great arrangement for your home loan. However, before making any agreement of this kind, you must get sound advice from people who are knowledgeable about the topic. To know more about contracts for deed, you may get some consultation from your real estate lawyer and other real estate experts.

About the Author:

goodinternetmoney.com/homeloanbest

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