MORTGAGE RATES » Home Mortgage Loan News

If you are a veteran who qualified for a VA home loan when you first purchased your house, you may be able to get special rates and terms that are not available to civilians when you want to refinance your home. Special programs, such as the Interest Rate Reduction Loan (IRRL), or VA Streamline Refinance, allow eligible veterans to obtain the lowest fixed interest rates available, with little or no cost out of pocket.

This program for American veterans is considered one of the most attractive loan programs available for refinancing, for several reasons.

There is no Out of Pocket Closing Costs:

There are two options for avoiding out-of-pocket costs with this type of refinance program, and you can ask your lender which one is right for you. The first option is to accept a slightly higher interest rate, and let the lender pick up the closing costs. The second option is to get the lower interest rate, which is generally the lowest rate available for US veterans. If you choose this option, the closing costs will be rolled into the balance of the loan. You will eventually pay these costs back, but they will continue to accumulate interest over the life of the loan. This may be cost-effective in comparison to the first option, depending on how much you are borrowing for your refinance home loan. Talk to your lender and see which option works for you.

No Credit Check:

It is almost unheard-of for a lender to give you a mortgage with no credit check, but the VA streamline refinance is a rare exception to that rule. If the borrower has qualified for a VA backed loan in the past, and has remained current in their mortgage payments, the borrower will qualify for the mortgage with no credit check.

The rational for this is that the VA is already underwriting the original loan, which the borrower qualified for in the past. It is in the best interest of the lender, as well as the borrower, to do everything they can to make it easier for the borrower to meet their obligations.

Lowest Interest Rates:

Traditionally, the VA home loan programs have had the lowest fixed interest rate in the mortgage industry. If you are able to qualify for this program, or if you already have an ARM loan from the Veterans Administration, this may be the best mortgage choice for you.

With an interest-only mortgage, you have a fixed period of time in which you have the option of paying just the interest on the loan every month. Or, you can pay the interest plus as much principal as you would like above the minimum payment. If you decide to make the interest-only payments, your monthly payment will be lower than it would otherwise be with a payment that included interest and principal. For this reason, interest-only loans may be an attractive option when you are looking to refinance your home.

However, it is important to keep in mind that eventually, your principal will become due and the loan payments will increase. Once your interest-only period ends, your monthly payments will reset to a more standard payment that includes interest and principal. The period of time a loan is interest-only varies, but some available terms are 3, 5, 7 or 10 years. The loan itself can be either a fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage with a term of 30 years. Interest-only is an option on a loan that affects a certain period of repayment obligations. It does not affect the interest rate, or whether that rate is adjustable or fixed.

When is An Interest-Only Loan A Good Idea?

If you are looking for an option that gives you flexible payments for a certain period of time, refinancing your home with an interest-only loan might be a good alternative for you. With more control over your cash flow every month, you can put use that money for a high-yield investment, pay down debt, or use it for college tuition.

An interest-only loan may also be a good option for people who intend to sell their home in a short amount of time. Even in a traditional mortgage, your payments are likely to be mostly interest for the early years of the loan. If you prefer to have a flexible monthly payment and are not concerned about the possibility of your payments going up precipitously later on, an interest-only loan might be a good idea. Keep in mind, however, that if you are not making payments against the principal on the house, your equity at resale will only be the amount of appreciation on the property.

One way a homeowner can access the equity in their home is by taking out a cash-out refinance loan against the property. In this type of loan, the homeowner takes out a new mortgage against their house, replacing the old mortgage, for an amount greater than the amount they currently owe on the...

With very few exceptions, one of the first things a potential lender will ask you for when you are apply for a home loan is your permission to run a credit check. If you have some concerns about your credit history, you might want to think about what some people call "no credit check mortgages."...

While mortgage interest rates have lowered significantly in the past few months, homeowners are cautioned toward refinancing without careful consideration . According to a recent survey conducted by Freddie Mac, rates on the 30-year loan fell to 4.96% in mid January the lowest rate on record. So...

Its no doubt that 2008 will be remembered as an all around terrible year for consumers, Wall Street, and most of all, the US housing market . In fact, much of the turmoil in the economy could be attributed to the collapse in home price values at the end of 2007. From there, a lack of credit and...

The term refinance refers to the practice of obtaining a new primary mortgage to replace your original primary mortgage. Generally, the purpose of refinancing is to get better rates and terms than you had on your original mortgage.

Refinancing a mortgage is different from getting a second...

If your credit is less than stellar, you probably already know that you will have a difficult time getting the best interest rates on a mortgage refinance. Here are a few things you should know about applying for bad credit refinancing.

First, your interest rates will typically be much...

What is the best fixed rate mortgage for you? The answer to that question will be determined by your own special circumstances and needs. Are you refinancing your home to a better rate? Are you a first time home-buyer? Are you taking out a second mortgage to fund a special project, such as a...

If you have filed a Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the bad news is that this filing will remain on your record for seven to ten years. However, if you are a homeowner, the good news is that this does not necessarily mean you will be unable to refinance your mortgage for that entire time. It...