 Points Mortgage Home Loans - "Mortgage Points” are upfront fees that you pay in order to lower your mortgage interest rate. One point is equal to 1% of the loan amount. In the past, it didn't make sense to pay points when refinancing your mortgage. However, enormous changes have taken place in the mortgage securitization process.
Higher upfront fees are being demanded for borrowers with credit scores below 740, and mortgage lenders don’t have as much flexibility when pricing loans. This means that the interest rate savings can be very significant when you pay upfront points.
When buying home, negotiate into your purchase contract for the seller to pay points on your behalf. In addition to the significant interest and payment savings you will enjoy, you will also receive a tax deduction this year for points paid by the seller on your behalf. If you are selling a home, offer to pay points for potential buyers as part of your marketing plan. This will make your home more affordable for potential buyers and help your listing stand out from others today’s real estate market.
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 How to Structure Real Estate Short Sale Transactions - A real estate short sale is when a home owner sells their property for less than what they owe on the mortgage, and the lender gives their permission to do this by forgiving the difference and/or releasing the mortgage lien on the property. Short sales are very common in many markets because of negative home owner equity due to the steep decline in house values.
If you are selling your home as part of a short sale transaction, make sure to negotiate for a release and full satisfaction of the mortgage from your lender. Depending on the laws of your state and your individual circumstances, lenders may be able to wait a year or two for you to improve your financial situation, and then file a deficiency judgment against you to try and recover the money that you still owe them. The only way for you to avoid this risk is to have the lender not only release the mortgage lien, but also agree in writing to a full satisfaction of the mortgage.
If you are a buying a home as part of a short sale, make sure the deal is closeable. It is estimated that approximately 30% of short sale listings are not closeable deals because the lender simply won’t approve it. In most of these cases that aren’t closeable, the first or second mortgage lender is expecting home sellers that have money to contribute something to the deal. One way to avoid getting caught up in the middle of this is to have your Realtor verify the status of the seller’s hardship package with their lender.
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Are you behind on your Mortgage Payments? The possibility of losing your home because you can’t make the mortgage payments can be terrifying. Perhaps you’re having trouble making ends meet because you or a family member lost a job, or you’re having other financial problems. Or maybe you’re one of the many consumers who took out a mortgage that had a fixed rate for the first two or three years and then had an adjustable rate – and you want to know what your payments will be and whether you’ll be able to make them.
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