Mortgage Closing Costs - Mortgage Settlement Costs
An annual survey of mortgage closing costs in the fifty states brings up some substantial differences in its 2006 edition. The survey is partial to some extent, because it does not reflect taxes, other government costs or escrow fees. Nevertheless, it can provide an accurate sense of the variation that you will find from state to state on charges that are involved with every home loan settlement. ... Read mortgage refinance article
Cash Out Refinancing To Get Out Of Debt
Cash-out refinancing is a way of accessing home equity by taking out a new mortgage with a larger principal than the current one. The difference in principal in the two mortgages is available to you to use as cash to use for almost any purpose you choose.
You can use cash-out refinancing to obtain a new mortgage with a higher principal than what you owe. Let's suppose your home is worth $200,000, and you owe $100,000 in principal. Your equity is $100,000. If you have a $50,000 balance on a credit card that carries an 18 percent interest rate, you can refinance to a mortgage with a principal of $150,000 and receive the difference between your old principal and your new one in cash. In this case, the amount would be $50,000. You may then use that money to pay off your credit card.
Once this is done, you will no longer have credit card debt and, therefore, will have no monthly credit card payment. You will also have a better interest rate on your debt, so you will save quite a bit in interest each month. Even though you may pay more in your mortgage payment, you will be out of credit card debt, so you will have more money free each month.
To use cash-out refinancing you should:
1. Assess your debt load.
2. Talk with a lender about using cash-out refinancing.
3. Apply for the loan, go to closing and pay off your credit cards with the cash-out refinancing.
4. Save money each month by paying less in interest.
5. Control your spending.
The key to using cash-out refinancing is to be sure that you curtail your spending. If you use this strategy, but go back to your old spending habits, then you will have made a mistake. Not only will you have increased your mortgage, but you will have high interest credit card debt again. You can easily dig yourself back into the same hole, but this time you will not have the option of using your home equity to help yourself out. Also, remember that the loan is secured to your home with cash-out refinancing. That means you can lose your house if you default on the loan.
If you do use restraint with your spending, however, then cash-out refinancing can be a wise way to consolidate your debt. It can cut back your monthly debt expenses and allow you to pay off your high interest loans with a lower interest rate mortgage. Be sure to carefully consider whether cash-out refinancing is a good option for you before making your decision.
A friend called not too long ago to ask about mortgage elimination programs.
The only kind of mortgage elimination with which I'm familiar are those involving house payments made for an agreed upon term.
This is not the kind of mortgage elimination to which my friend referred. And this was the third call in a year asking about programs that get rid of debt without declaring bankruptcy or paying bills (with a clean credit rating, no less).
To get information about this "get your Deed of Trust without fulfilling the contract you signed -- don't pay any more mortgage payments" program, I called a couple of mortgage bankers. They, too, knew little or nothing about mortgage elimination programs. Actually, after looking into the numbers of people paying fees to get them and reading the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) Bulletin on the subject, mortgage banker training should be done on this topic.
Mortgage elimination representatives try, on their Web sites, to explain why people who have mortgages with banks do not need to pay them back. These "experts" say if you borrowed for a mortgage, you have been deceived into thinking you owe the bank money for that loan. Their reasons given as to why you should believe this concept center on long explanations about how banks use signatures on loan documents as an asset - as a means of creating money. There are other reasons, too.
Your signature, they say, is an asset and the bank uses it to create money... money the bank loans to other people and earns money. Since the bank did not tell you it was going to use your loan to gain access to Federal Reserve funds, the bank violated contract law, they say. Because of your signature - because of your loan - the bank now has access to ten times the amount of your loan in Federal Reserve funds so it can make more loans and earn more money.
Their explanations are difficult to understand. Almost all of what they say is factual or close to factual. They do leave out some interesting things (like the third party who gets paid by your mortgage loan... a contractor or an individual sells you your house, not the bank).
I believe it is neither moral nor legal to agree to pay a mortgagor a certain number of monthly payments, then decide to not pay.
Common sense tells me mortgage eliminations are likely to be schemes, not reputable business opportunities. And, after reading the explanations of how and why these "experts" can - for an upfront fee - make your mortgage payment go away and get your Deed of Trust released to you, I'm highly skeptical. On the other hand, there are numerous people who claim to have had their Deeds of Trust released to them using these programs.
Also on the other hand, I read the Comptroller of the Currency's Bulletin. When the OCC takes a legal position, they usually use words like "will," "is" and "can."
The subject of this Bulletin is "Illegal Financial Activity." Christian Business Network
The OCC's Bulletin is directed to everyone from chief executive officers of all national banks to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System... nine Very Important Groups, in all. The subject: "Debt Elimination Schemes using Fictitious or Worthless Bonds, Due Bills and Bills of Exchange.
"Please be advised that worthless instruments entitled ''Bond for Discharge of Debt,' ''Bill of Exchange,' ''Due Bill,' ''Redemption Certificate,' or other similarly titled documents continue to be presented to financial institutions, mortgage companies, credit card issuers, and retail establishments throughout the United States in an effort to eliminate legitimate debts. Many of these schemes are premised on baseless or fraudulent claims against the United States Treasury, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Internal Revenue Service, or other federal or state agencies." (See also OCC Alert 2003-7 and OCC Alert 99-10).
The OCC Bulletin then says "The creation and presentment of these fictitious instruments MAY be a violation of Title 18, Section 514, Fictitious Obligations, or other federal criminal statutes and any person(s) using such fictitious instruments with the intent to discharge valid debts MAY be subject to criminal prosecution. (Upper case added.)
Why is the word MAY, not IS or ARE, used?
Several mortgage elimination companies promise to pay your mortgage loan with Cashiers Checks. Is that why the OCC used the word "MAY?"
Do I think it is possible to eliminate mortgages on properly closed mortgage loans before they are paid in full? No. But I've been wrong before.
I do know national banks are advised by the OCC to contact the FBI if such payment attempts are made I do know that honesty is usually the best policy. I do know how define "moral" and "immoral."
Does the bank gain access to Federal Reserve funds so it can make loans to other people because of any loan you have with them -- house, car, home improvement, etc.? Yes. Does the bank thus profit on the funds made available to it via your loan? Yes.
If you think you have been deceived, hire a lawyer and go to court. File suit against the bank or mortgage company and try to change the way things are done. It is a lot less worrisome than partaking in some scheme to eliminate a debt you have agreed to pay.
This is a case of saying "it all depends on what you definition of 'is' is." Is that the classless ballpark in which you want to play the game of life?
3. Five Reasons to Get a New Mortgage
If you are on the fence about mortgage refinancing, there are a number of great reasons to refinance your mortgage regardless of what interest rates are doing. With mortgage refinancing you can reduce... Read mortgage refinance article
4. Mortgage Loan Shopping
The number of people running around to catch hold of the ideal mortgage has the best options online. It is said that over the next 5 years, ten to twenty percent of mortgages will mainly be Internet-b... Read mortgage refinance article
8. Mortgage Broker Refinancing Service
If you are considering using a mortgage broker for mortgage refinancing, you need to read this discussion to avoid overpaying. Mortgage brokers can be an excellent resource for comparing mortgage offe... Read mortgage refinance article
With the amount of competition in today's home lending market, we are constantly being tempted to refinance our mortgages. We are tempted with special deals includ... Read mortgage refinance article
10. Home Mortgage Refinance Loan Secrets
The "Conforming Loan Limit" is the maximum amount traditional mortgage lenders will loan for your home mortgage refinance loan. If you need to borrow more than this amount you will need to refinance u... Read mortgage refinance article
Cash Out Refinancing To Get Out Of Debt
Debt consolidation services in Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Debt consolidation services in Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.