November, 2017

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What Is An Adjustable Rate Mortgage Or Arm

Copyright 2006 Jason P Bertrand

An adjustable rate mortgage is a mortgage loan that is fixed for a set period of time and then adjusts based on the rates during the adjustment period. Some common adjustable rate mortgage loans terms are 1/1, 3/1, 5/1, 7/1, and 10/1. The first number in what appears to be a fraction is the amount of time the rate stays fixed. The second number is the amount of time between adjustments. For example a 5/1 Adjustable rate mortgage would stay fixed for 5 years and then adjust annually.

An adjustable rate mortgage generally offers a lower rate than a fixed rate loan initially; however, it could adjust to a higher rate than the initial fixed rate mortgage would have been. An Adjustable rate mortgage, also called an ARM, is very good for a person that knows specifically how long they will be living at a specific residence. In other words, a person who knows for a fact that they will be moving in four years would benefit from a 5/1 ARM because they would be moving out of that home and mortgage prior to the first adjustment period.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans also have an adjustment cap and a lifetime cap. For example a 5/1 arm could have an adjustment cap of 2% and a lifetime cap of 6%. So in a worst case scenario, a 5/1 Arm with a 2/9 cap and an initial rate of 5% would stay fixed at 5% for five years. At the five year mark the rate could adjust a maximum of 2% to 7%, after another year it could adjust 2% to 9% and after the next year could adjust to 11%. 11% would be the lifetime cap and therefore the adjustable rate mortgage could not increase any more. If the rates go down however, the rate could adjust lower after any given year.

There is however a floor rate which is the minimum rate the loan could ever achieve. In other words if the loan started at 5% and the floor rate was 4% the interest rate would never drop below 4%.

The difference between a fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgage is the fact that a fixed rate loan may start at 6.5% instead of 5% so for the first 5 years one would be receiving an interest rate 1.5% below that of a fixed.

Know What Happens Is Your Do Not Pay Your Mortgage

The different choices available to Canadians struggling to fulfill their financial mortgage obligations is determined mostly by what type of lending procedures are practiced in their province. Properties in Ontario, Newfoundland, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island have mortgage agreements that initiate the primary recoupment process using the power of sale. In the provinces of Manitoba, Quebec, Alberts, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, the courts supervise a Judicial sale to recover the money owed. Although it is referred to as a Mortgage Foreclosure in Nova Scotia, the method is essentially the same as a Judicial sale. In Ontario, both options are available to financial institutions who are facing delinquent payments.

The power of sale provision in the mortgage contract gives all those who sign the contract a personal liability on the loan and can be done without a court’s involvement. Fifteen days following the borrower’s notification of the mortgagee’s intention to enforce the power of sale, communications are sent to anyone with an interest in the home, such as statutory lien holders, advisors or claimants of any subsequent encumbrance. Timing is dependent on whether the power of sale agreement is contractual, giving the borrower 35 days to remit the full amount — or a statutory power of sale which allows the borrower 45 days to sell the property and pay the balance.

Lenders are not able to proceed with their collection until this redemption stage is completed. This gives the borrower a opportunity to sell the property on the open market and clear the mortgage in full from the proceeds. This allows the borrower a chance to liquidate the property on the open market and with the proceeds repay the lender in full. The conditions of power of sale demand that both parties attempt to get the largest possible selling price with a paper trail to prove it or face legal action. If you are unable to recuperate the full amount of the equity in your house, the legal action can be taken from the lender for the balance.

As the name implies, a Judicial sale demands that the mortgage holder apply to the court to be allowed to sell the property. The judge then mediates the discussions between the mortgage holder and mortgagee, assigns a timetable for a resolution and mediates any disagreements that arise. The emission of an order absolute by the courts relieves the mortgagor of needing to be accountable to the lender’s ability to reclaim the entire amount owed from the liquidation of the house. With an order absolute, any other lenders or second mortgages have to be compensated from the sale of the property by the primary mortgage holder.

The idea of both mortgage procedures — the power of sale and Judicial sale — is to allow the mortgagee a fair chance to keep their house by settling the overdue amount. If further money cannot be secured under this timeline, payment extensions can sometimes be discussed or a longer redemption period allowed before the home is given to the lender.

What Is A Reverse Mortgage

What is a reverse mortgage? This is a question that is being asked by a lot of people. The answer is that this type of mortgage is for anyone that is over sixty two years of age that owns their home free and clear.

These are the two main factors that determine whether you are eligible for reverse mortgage or not. Basically you can get cash from the equity you have in your home. You can get a small loan or a larger sum of money depending on what you need to survive everyday easier.

This type of loan was put into place to help the elderly survive when their income becomes reduced drastically and most are unable to work.

There are two ways that the money can be paid to you: in one lump sum or as scheduled payments. There will not be a monthly payment that is required for getting money this way. The payments will begin only when one of three things happen which are below:

1. When the person who owns the home passes away and the house is sold on the market. Selling the house will ensure that the loan is paid off using the proceeds of the sale.

2. If you decide to sell the home before passing away then the same will hold true. The loan will be paid off using the proceeds from the sale of the house.

3. When the person who owns the home has to be put into a full time care facility the loan will be need to be paid in full. Again this can be achieved by selling the house. You also have the option with this to rent or lease the property instead and then the payments will be made to the holder of the loan.

Before deciding to get this type of mortgage loan you need to do your research on it and be sure you understand as much as you can about it so you can decide if this is your best solution to secure the money you need to survive. Also talk to a mortgage lender to help you make the smartest choice possible.

Now that you know the answer to the question what is a reverse mortgage; you will be better able to make an informed decision to help you in your time of need. If you are over the age of sixty two and own your home free and clear than taking advantage of this type of mortgage could mean the different between you surviving easily or struggling to survive.

Release Equity – A Suitable Option to Secure Your Financial Future

Equity release is the ideal means of securing a lump sum or steady flow of income by unlocking the equities out of your property. In reality anything that has capital value can be put to good use through the ‘release equity’ program. It is a very good option for the senior citizens who are in dire need of financial support in the post retirement period. The catch is that the equity release provider will use your property to get back his dues usually after your death and you may not be able to bequeath anything to your heirs. If you do not have any qualm regarding this issue, you can surely opt for release equity schemes to secure your financial future in twilight days.

There are some advantages and disadvantages of equity release options. Let us have a glance over them. In the post retirement phase, feeble financial condition pops up as one of the major problems. We grope in the dark in quest of help and suddenly stumble upon ‘release equity’ option. By availing an equity release scheme, we can secure the tax-free cash or a steady stream of sufficient income. Apart from providing us with strong financial support in future, the release equity option also brings about a significant reduction in the volume of inheritance tax . The market interest rate is of ‘floating’ nature and when it dips, the borrowers are allowed to resort to mortgage refinancing. If the economic condition takes a nosedive, the borrowers are well protected by the ‘No Negative Equity Guarantee’ facility. None of the release equity schemes requires the retirees to move out of their properties, instead it permits them to live in the same house till they expire.

There are certain disadvantages of the release equity policies. In case, the property value does not go up by leaps and bounds and the increase in value remains much less than the interest level, then your heirs will inherit a very paltry amount of money after you die. If you are a very benevolent person and wish to donate something to any charitable organization, then release equity program will curtail the amount that you have planned to bequeath to charity. In spite of these pitfalls, increasing numbers of retired persons are in favor of the equity release option.

Release equity is available in myriad forms such as lifetime mortgage, interest only, home reversion, home income plan and shared appreciation mortgage. One should go for the scheme that suits his needs. The ordinary persons are not expected to have profound knowledge of these various release equity plans. They are also unaware of the offers made by different equity release companies. In such a situation, help of an expert advisor may turn out to be of great help for the laymen. Every intending candidate wants to know how much cash he/she can extract out of the properties. To quench this query, the income-providers have come up with the equity release calculator . This calculator computes the exact amount that one can have by taking out the equities and converting them into cash. Calculation is based upon the evaluation of the property value at ongoing market rate and also the age of the candidate. A well-maintained property brings you a substantial volume of money. So always try to keep your house in fine fettle as no lender is willing to incur loss by providing money against a dilapidated property.

What Is Mortgage Acceleration

The typical homeowner may think that mortgage acceleration is the act toward reducing the indebtedness on residential property by making larger repayments or more frequent ones than the loan contract requires. The short answer would be this is correct. Mortgage acceleration simply put means to speed up the process for paying off the loan. The part that becomes a little vague, or downright mysterious, is just what method is the most effective to accomplish this.

Creative Methods for Mortgage Acceleration
There are several hot methods that have hit the mortgage marketplace in recent years that make even 15-year fixed rate mortgages with bi-weekly payments look like financial dinosaurs. Although critics of these financing methods claim them too good to be true, the actual review dictates that when conducted with the proper information and education, many of the proposed goals stated from applying mortgage acceleration tactics are reasonably achievable.

How Can These Practices Benefit a Homeowner?
Through restructuring a mortgage correctly, an average homeowner can repay the loan in seven to 15 years. There is no sacrifice in living expenses made and, in fact, can cut total debt in half. Hearing this statement elicits instant disbelief from most responders wondering if the statement is true, then why s it not prevalently known to all? Good question! Most believe there is some insidious catch to the practice, its probably fraudulent, illegal or, at best, quite unethical. Not true!

Mortgage History Shows Conservative Mindset
The lending of money has always been mostly a conservative activity. Yes, some venture capitalists take high risks lending money but require great rewards doing so. The home mortgage market has been relatively a conservative arena based upon business practices that basically benefited the lender first. Traditional mortgages 100 years ago called for a 50 percent down payment that our grandparents slaved years to save. Our parents faired a little better, but never dreamed of no-money down arrangements or ever saw a plethora of mortgage products such as adjustable rate mortgages or interest only mortgage loans. And more recently, use of negative amortization loans have become popular mortgage vehicles for short-term real estate investments. Traditional products like a 30-year fixed mortgage possess an amortization schedule that favours the lender. However, in recent years some clever people discovered inside lending institution secrets that could help consumers win the interest war.

Interest Only Mortgage Is Key
At the heart of any successful mortgage acceleration process is an interest-only loan. About 20 years ago in Australia, someone discovered that if an interest-only loan was obtained and repaid in a specific way will allow a consumer to pay down all personal debts three times faster than associated with conventional financing. It requires a great deal of discipline including gaining a month ahead for repayment of an interest-only loan and also associated depositing money, a pay check, into an interest-bearing account. Additionally, through making your loan repayments earlier than required, you can essentially prevent any additional interest from accruing.

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
This is the vehicle that allows a consumer to deposit money directly into an account that consolidates all your debt mortgage, credit cards, auto loans into one vehicle that allows you the draw off the balance of this loan using checks or a debit card.

Check with your trusted mortgage broker for greater details about mortgage acceleration.