Tuesday, 12 July 2011

All About A Home Loan In Today's Economy

By Ryan Gilbert


A home loan is a guaranteed loan that utilizes real estate as to safeguard the indebtedness. Most individuals don't have the cash to pay for the total purchase price for a home. Rather, they use a down payment and also a mortgage to purchase a house. With time, the borrower will pay off the loan in affordable monthly payments. While the loan is in repayment, the lender will place a lien on the house to protect its security interest.

It is also feasible to get a second home loan or home equity credit line. With either of these products, they often use a second place lien behind the first home loan. After the first lien has been entirely paid off, the rest of the proceeds of the home can be used for the second lien. In the end lien holders have been fulfilled, the homeowner gets the remainder of the profits.

Qualification

To get a home loan, almost all loan companies require that debtors meet strict earnings and home collateral specifications before funding the loan. An important concept to learn is the financial debt to income (DTI) ratio. This is where all of the monthly minimum debt payments are divided by the monthly income. If the ratio is too high, the lender will not approve the credit.

Another essential qualification for getting a home loan is the loan to value (LTV). At present, no lender can make a loan that's more than the current appraised worth of the home. However, a few lenders might not exceed 60% to 80% of the LTV. Commonly, second homes and investment properties will have a more stringent LTV ratio that is lower than a loan on the owner's principal residence.

Escrow Account

Oftentimes, the principal balance on the home loan is not the only thing that is required to be compensated every month. Many borrowers will also be required by the lender to fund an escrow account for home taxes and homeowner's insurance premiums. The bank will pay the required taxes and insurance instead of the homeowner. There is a cushion amount above the actual amount needed within the escrow account also.

The monthly payment consists of one month's price of the escrow account, which can add hundreds to the month-to-month home loan payments. Likely borrowers should remember to include the escrow payment amount when estimating how much payment will cost.

Foreclosure

If the borrower doesn't make monthly mortgage payments, the lender can start foreclosure proceedings. In order to avoid foreclosure, the borrower will need to make all scheduled payments as well as any additional interest and late fees. The further behind a homeowner is on making payments, the harder it is to get out of foreclosure.

With respect to the form of loan and state laws, the lending company may be able to pursue the borrower's other assets if the foreclosure sale doesn't produce enough funds to pay off the loan. Also, a foreclosure is extremely damaging to a credit report. It is almost as serious as a bankruptcy. Borrowers should try to avoid foreclosure.




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