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Connecticut Home Mortgage Loan FAQ
Below is a list of Mortgage questions common to consumers. The definitions are provided by Wiki, the internets free encyclopedia. Remember, this is a world wide encyclopedia, if you have connecticut specific questions, please Contact Us any time!
What is a Mortgage Loan?
Mortgage loan is the generic term for a loan secured by a mortgage on real property; the "mortgage" refers to the legal security, but the terms are often used interchangeably to refer to the mortgage loan. Mortgage loans generally refer to a loan secured by residential property, often for the purpose of acquiring the residence. Mortgage loans may be lower priced than other forms of borrowing because the value of the property reduces risk for the lender.
What is Home Equity?
The concept of equity in a property refers to the value of the property minus the outstanding debt, subject to the definition of the value of the property. Therefore, a borrower who owns a property whose estimated value is $400,000 but with outstanding mortgage loans of $300,000 is said to have homeowner's equity of $100,000.
What is mortgage capital and interest?
The most common way to repay a loan is to make regular payments of the capital (also called principal) and interest over a set term. This is commonly referred to as (self) amortization in the U.S. and as a repayment mortgage in the UK. A mortgage is a form of annuity (from the perspective of the lender), and the calculation of the periodic payments is based on the time value of money formulas. Certain details may be specific to different locations: interest may be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year, for example; interest may be compounded daily, yearly, or semi-annually; prepayment penalties may apply; and other factors. There may be legal restrictions on certain matters, and consumer protection laws may specify or prohibit certain practices.
Depending on the size of the loan and the prevailing practice in the country the term may be short (10 years) or long (50 years plus). In the UK and U.S., 25 to 30 years is the usual maximum term (although shorter periods, such as 15-year mortgage loans, are common). Mortgage payments, which are typically made monthly, contain a capital (repayment of the principal) and an interest element. The amount of capital included in each payment varies throughout the term of the mortgage. In the early years the repayments are largely interest and a small part capital. Towards the end of the mortgage the payments are mostly capital and a smaller portion interest. In this way the payment amount determined at outset is calculated to ensure the loan is repaid at a specified date in the future. This gives borrowers assurance that by maintaining repayment the loan will be cleared at a specified date, if the interest rate does not change.
What is a Pre-Approval?
People interested in buying a house can often approach a lender, who will check their credit and verify their income, and then can guarantee they would be able to get a loan up to a certain amount. The people can then take a letter of pre approval from the lender, and when shopping for a home can have possibly an advantage over others because they can show the seller that they are guaranteed to be able to buy the house.
What is a Pre-Qualification?
Evaluating a set of standardized borrower and property (or other collateral) risk based pricing factors. Utilized to assess and mitigate risk for loan approval and underlying terms, or to decline the file.
Increased risk equals increased cost, usually through the interest rate of the underlying mortgage. The following factors and their derivatives affect the type, rate, and terms of a mortgage:
Loan Purpose, Property Type, Property Use, Mortgage Loan Documentation, Middle credit score (between the 3 major repositories, Equifax, Trans-Union, and Experian). Loan Amount, Real estate appraisal value, (Use Purchase Price, if loan is a purchase), Loan-to-value ratio, Debt-to-income ratio, and number of months of mortgage history.
What is Refinancing?
Refinancing refers to applying for a secured loan intended to replace an existing loan secured by the same assets. The most common consumer refinancing is for a home mortgage.
What are the advantages of Refinancing?
Refinancing may be undertaken to reduce interest costs (by refinancing at a lower rate), to pay off other debts, to reduce one's periodic payment obligations (sometimes by taking a longer-term loan), to reduce risk (such as by refinancing from a variable-rate to a fixed-rate loan), and/or to liquidate some or all of the equity that has accumulated in real property during the tenure of ownership.
In essence, refinancing a mortgage or other type of loan can lower the monthly payments owed on the loan either by changing the loan to a lower interest rate, or by extending the period of loan, so as to spread the re-payment out over a long period of time. The money saved can be used to pay down the principal of the loan, thus further reducing payments. Alternately, refinancing can be used to transform available equity in one's house into ready cash, available for other purposes or expenses.[1]
Another use of refinancing is to reduce the risk associated with an existing loan. Interest rates on adjustable-rate loans and mortgages shift up and down based on the movements of the various prime rates used to calculate them. By refinancing an adjustable-rate mortgage into a fixed-rate one, the risk of interest rates increasing dramatically is removed, thus ensuring a steady interest rate over time.
Refinancing a loan or a series of debts can assist in paying off high-interest debt such as credit card debt, with lower-interest debt such as that of a fixed-rate home mortgage. The net savings between the two interest rates can then be applied either towards further paying down the debt, or other purposes. In addition, non-tax deductable debt, such as credit card or car loan debt, can be transformed into tax-deductable debt such as home mortgage debt, potentially lowering one's taxes or shifting one into a more advantageous tax bracket. This type of arrangement is often associated with a Cash-Out Refinance. [2]
What are the risks of Refinancing?
Certain types of loans contain penalty clauses triggered by an early payment of the loan, either in its entirety or a specified portion. In addition, there are also closing and transaction fees typically associated with refinancing a loan or mortgage. In some cases, these fees may outweigh any savings generated through refinancing the loan itself. Typically, one should only consider refinancing if one stands to save a substantial amount of money from doing so, either in the short or long-term, or if there is a need to extend the loan in order to pay for unexpected costs such as medical expenses.
In addition some refinanced loans, while having lower initial payments, may result in larger total interest costs over the life of the loan, or expose the borrower to greater risks than the existing loan, depending on the type of loan used to refinance the existing debt. Calculating the up-front, ongoing, and potentially variable costs of refinancing is an important part of the decision on whether or not to refinance.
What are Refinancing Points?
Refinancing lenders often require an upfront payment of a certain percentage of the total loan amount as part of the process of refinancing debt. Typically, this amount is expressed in "points" (also sometimes called "premiums", with each "point" being equivalent to 1% of the total loan amount. Therefore, if the refinance option selected involves paying three points, then the borrower will need to pay 3% of the total loan amount upfront. Most refinancing lenders offer a variety of combinations points and interest rates. Paying more points typically allows one to get a lower interest rate than one would be capable of getting if one paid fewer or no points. Alternately, some lenders will offer to finance parts of the loan themselves, thus generating so-called "Negative points" (also called discounts).
The decision of whether or not to pay points, and how many points to pay, should be taken in consideration of the fact that with points, one tends to trade a higher upfront cost in exchange for a lower monthly premium later on. Points can be paid out of the cash saved by refinancing the loan in the first place.
What are the different types of Refinancing?
No-Closing Cost refinances: This refinance option reduces greatly upfront fees. You will pay few upfront fees to get your new mortgage loan. In fact as long as our prevailing market rate is lower than your existing rate by 1.5 percentage point or more, it is financially beneficial to refinance because there is little or no cost in doing so.
Cash-Out Refinance: This type refinance may not help you lower the monthly payment or shorter your mortgage periods. It can be used for home improvement, credit card and other debt consolidation if you qualify with your current home equity; you can refinance with a loan amount larger than your current mortgage and keep the cash difference.
What is a second mortgage?
A second mortgage is a secured loan (or mortgage) that is subordinate to another loan against the same property. More specifically, the second loan in sequence.
In real estate, a property can have multiple loans against it. The loan which is registered with county or city registry first is called the first mortgage. The loan registered second is called the second mortgage. A property can have a third or even fourth mortgage, but those are rarer.
Second mortgages are called subordinate because, if the loan goes into default, the first mortgage gets paid off first before the second mortgage gets any money. Thus, second mortgages are riskier for the lender, who generally charges a higher interest rate.
What is a rate lock?
A rate lock is a contractual agreement between the lender and buyer. There are four components to a rate lock: loan program, interest rate, points, and the length of the lock.
What is a full documented loan?
Full Documentation Loan refers to a loan where all income and assets are documented. It is typically referred to as a "full doc" loan in the mortgage industry and is a common type of loan used for financing a home purchase. A list of the various types of loans can be found in Mortgage Loan Documentation.
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