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Refinancing Your Home In Singapore

Dec 23

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

When it comes to housing loans, many people do not refinance. A fundamental number are oblivious they have the choice of switching their loan to another financier; others are simply apathetic. They stick with their very first loaner and the “reward” for such loyalty tends to be higher interest rates. Due to the magnitude of mortgages and the tenure that the housing loan is amortized over, the interest we are talking about here can easily extend from 1000’s to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Take a look at the following components to see whether it’s time for you to consider refinancing.

Current Mortgage Interest Rate
It is definitely a positive indication for you to explore refinancing when your current interest rate is higher than available housing loan packages on the market. A first step to take is to go back to your current bank or financial institution and ask them to revise your package, otherwise known as repricing. If your lender comes back with an offer, it will usually be better than your current one. You can then compare this offer with offers from other lenders to see whether you should switch or stay put.

Lock-in and Clawback Periods
When you take up a mortgage, there may be a lock-in period where your mortgage lender will charge you a penalty fee, normally a percentage of your outstanding loan amount, if you were to fully repay your home loan. Almost all loans also come with a clawback period where the lender will claim back “freebies”, such as legal subsidies, that they “gave” you when you take up your home loan (Note: lock-in period is separate from clawback period). It may not be valuable for you to refinance due to such costs.

Loan Quantum
The larger your loan amount, the larger your savings for the same decrease in interest rates. For example, 1% on a loan of S$100,000 is much less than 1% on a loan of S$500,000. However, fixed cost to refinancing, which comprises mainly of legal fees, do not vary much with loan quantum. The difference between your existing and refinancing interest rates, therefore, has to be bigger for a comparatively smaller home loan as fixed cost eats into a more fundamental portion of your interest rate savings.

Perceived Interest Rate Movements
Your view on how interest rates is moving can be a factor when thinking whether you should refinance. If you are currently on a fixed rate package and think interest rates are dropping, you may want to refinance to a floating rate package. Conversely, if you are on floating rates and believe interest rates are skyrocketing, converting to fixed rates may be a solid choice.

Individual Financial Assessment
If there is a change in your financial state, you may want to vary your package particulars via refinancing. For example, you are starting your own business and do not want unpredictability in other areas. Give some consideration to taking up a fixed rate package. Maybe you want cash to invest in different property. Consider increasing your loan quantum. Or your monthly income has increased and you want to reduce interest loan payments. Contemplate reducing your loan tenure.

Consider calling us today if you are looking for refinancing in Singapore. We can save you a lot of money plus give you the latest advice all for free.

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Mortgage Advice – Where Do I Find It?

Dec 16

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

When you want mortgage advice, where do you look for it? You could of course discuss it with your colleagues at work or your friends at the pub. Informal mortgage advice certainly has its place. And if somebody has been through the process recently, they may know what they’re talking about. But you can’t really sue them if it all goes wrong! If you are looking for mortgage advice that’s a little more formal, your local bank almost certainly employs someone called a “Mortgage Adviser”. If you ask to see this individual, he or she will be very pleasant and friendly, and only too keen to sit down and discuss a mortgage with you. The thing you have to bear in mind is that this person is employed by the bank to sell you THAT BANK’S products – not to advise you about what’s best for YOU. What’s more, the best mortgage for your purposes may be on sale at Better Bank down the road. But the mortgage adviser at Bigger Bank isn’t going to tell you about it. This means that even if the bank where you go for mortgage advice doesn’t happen to stock the most suitable product for you, they will still try to sell you one of their products.

They aren’t going to say “Well actually, none of our products is exactly right for you – try Better Bank down the road. They’ve got just the thing!” Their mortgage adviser’s job might be on the line for saying this as he/she is employed to sell that bank’s products! So where should you look for your mortgage advice? You need to be looking for someone who:

- deals with the whole product range;

- has nothing to gain or lose by recommending a specific product or steering you away from another product;

- has the experience and knowledge to give you the right kind of mortgage advice. You can often find somebody with these qualifications by looking for an Independent Mortgage Broker or Independent Mortgage Adviser. But before dealing with anyone, check that he/she has the necessary experience and qualifications. As you are often reminded, buying a home is probably the biggest transaction of your life. You can’t afford to take chances with your mortgage advice – make sure you find the person best qualified to provide it.

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I Don’t Need Mortgage Advice

Dec 16

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

Do I need mortgage advice, or can I go it alone? If you are at the beginning of the house-buying process, this is the question you may be asking. Whether you can do without mortgage advice rather depends on your situation.

- If you are just looking for a standard mortgage product, and you have access to the Internet, you could probably get by without mortgage advice. Using the Internet you can compare the different lenders’ offerings and choose the best deal. The only problem might be that you may find the sheer numbers to choose from make the process confusing and overwhelming, and you may realise that you can’t possibly go through the whole lot of them. Bear in mind also that it’s not always a good idea just to pick what looks like the cheapest deal. You can’t always be sure you are comparing like with like. Some lenders may be offering special discounted rates just to get your business, and when the discount period is over you could end up with a more expensive product.

- If you have your eye on an unusual property to buy – whether it’s a mediaeval manor house, an old windmill or a converted chapel – you could really benefit from mortgage advice. Lenders of standard mortgages are sometimes a bit wary of very unusual properties and you would do much better with a specialist lender. A mortgage adviser would help you to find the right one.

- Perhaps you have a bad credit history and you are wondering whether you can get a mortgage at all. In this situation you would really be unwise to look on the Internet. A lot of lenders advertising “bad credit mortgages” are only out to make money out of you, and will try to convince you that they are your only hope of getting a mortgage. As a result you could end up paying far more than you need. You really must have good mortgage advice to help you find a product that’s right for your needs.

- You may be having difficulty saving for a deposit and finding house prices are going up faster than you can save. In this situation, one solution might be to borrow a 125% mortgage – that is, 125% of the property’s value. This would enable you to get the house and enough to cover the extras including furniture. However, obviously this is not for everybody and you need to consider all the pros and cons very carefully before you go down this road. It is essential to obtain good mortgage advice if this is what you have in mind. There is no compulsion to get mortgage advice, whatever situation you are in. You can always try going it alone. But you can make things so much easier and cheaper by taking advice – is it really worth struggling on alone?

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Daily financial update October 16, 2009

Nov 26

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

North American markets opened lower this morning after disappointing quarterly results from heavyweights General Electric and Bank of America. GE beat average bottom line estimates but revenue was clearly lacking, while Bank of America posted a $1 billion dollar loss due to increasing loan write-offs. Google and IBM both posted better than expected results after the market closed yesterday. Only 10% of S&P500 listed companies have reported Q3 earnings so far but the vast majority have surpassed average forecasts. A gauge of consumer sentiment unexpectedly declined last month which is also weighing on indexes. The TSX is down 40 pts. The Dow is off 104 pts.

The Canadian dollar is retreating after almost hitting 98 cents on Wednesday night. The US dollar is strengthening this morning due to the weak economic and profit reports, pushing the C$ down to US$.9633. Bond yields are down a touch to 2.85% for the 5-year Canada and 3.46% for the ten. Gold is flat at US$1051.10/oz. Oil prices have posted a strong weekly gain due to a weak US dollar, an unexpected drop in US fuel stockpiles, and a resumption of hostilities in Nigeria (the fifth largest supplier of crude to the US). Oil is off a quarter this morning to US$77.81/barrel.

The increase in bond prices over the last two weeks resulted in most lenders increasing the interest rates on their fixed term mortgages. At this time we are seeing most lenders in the 4.24% to 4.35% range for their five year fixed terms however I still have one lender who is offering a rate of 4.04% with a 120 day rate hold.

Variable rate remain right around prime and with the five year fixed term mortgages going up some more people are considering the vriable because of the savings.

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Fixed Mortgage Rates Rise Slightly in Latest Survey

Nov 25

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This week the current fixed rates rose very slightly, but despite that, Freddie believes that continued low rates are helping boost the housing market. July sales rose for the fourth consecutive month to an annual pace of 5.24 million in July, the most since August 2007.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rates rose slightly from last week, with an average of 5.14 percent and 0.7 points for the week ending Aug. 27th. Last week the same mortgage was at 5.12 percent with 0.7 points. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.40 percent, with 0.6 points.

The 15-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 4.58 percent with an average 0.7 point. This is down from last week when the same mortgage rate averaged 4.56 percent with 0.7 points. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.93 percent, with 0.6 points.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) currently average 4.67 percent and 0.6 points. Last week the same mortgage rates were at 4.57 percent and 0.6 points. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.03 percent, with 0.6 points.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.69 percent this week with 0.6 points. This is unchanged from last week, but last week rates carried only 0.5 points. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.33 percent, with 0.7 points.

For those not aware, points are pre-paid interest which is paid at the time the mortgage is taken out. At that time the home buyer is locked in that mortgage rate if approved and the later fluctuations don’t effect your rate after you are locked in.

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Mortgage refinance for jobless: Is it still possible

Nov 25

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

TheLoansStore offer best mortgage refinancing rate for refinancing mortgage loan, countrywide loan and home loan for the people with all credit situation.

Do lenders concern a mortgage refinance to people who lost their job?

As USA is passing through economical recession many US citizens have already lost their jobs because of this recession. Some companies are reducing their employees and some are reducing the salary. Is a refinance possible for the unemployed people? I would say ‘No’ because the lenders are not ready to take risks. Most of the major lenders were giving the mortgage refinance earlier but since people have defaulted on the mortgage, they have stopped giving the refinance to people with no job.

Is a refinance achievable for people who have made the mortgage payments even after being laid off?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about the home loan refinancing. Many people are making the mortgage payments regularly after losing their jobs. So they are wondering if the lenders would be ready to give them a refinance despite the unemployment. I know some people who have lost their jobs and they were paying the mortgage promptly. So they asked the lender about a refinance. They understood that the mortgage rates are very low and this is the best time to get a refinance. But their efforts went in vain.

The lender did not accept even after looking at the perfect credit report. So this clearly explains that employment is a very important factor to get a refinance and there is no way that you are going to get approved without a job. Some strange things have also happened to borrowers. Some of them were laid off during the refinance process. Recession has made several people’s lives hard. Since several plans have been introduced by the federal government to stimulate the housing market, let us hope for the best and wait patiently.

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Fast tracking to Mortgage free

Nov 25

Posted by admin in Mortgage Refinance

Just imagine as you’re going through your favourite coffee drive-thru this week that a well-dressed gentleman stops and offers you $11,000 for your medium double double. Who would hesitate? We’d take the cash. It’s not so far-fetched. In fact, if you take that coffee budget and apply it to your monthly mortgage payment a mere $30 extra per month -you could save yourself about $11,000 over the life of your mortgage.

Most of us can accept the idea that we must borrow money to purchase a home. We look for the best mortgage, and then just keep doling out the money for as long as it takes to pay it off. Most Canadians choose to amortize their mortgage over 25 years. That’s a long financial commitment, and it could more than double the cost of your home. But with good planning and a few smart tactics you should be able to enjoy your mortgage-burning party much earlier.

Here are a few strategies for fast-tracking your mortgage:

1. Increase your monthly payments. Rather than choosing your amortization period first, ask yourself how much you can afford each month. For example, you may feel that you can afford $1,000 per month. You’re delighted when your $125,000 mortgage only demands an $800/month payment (at a 6% interest). But make a monthly payment of $1,000 instead, and you’ll shave 8.75 years and almost $46,000 off your total interest cost.

2. Take advantage of lower rates. In addition to reducing the overall interest component of your mortgage, you can take the opportunity to pay down more principal faster simply by maintaining your original payment. You should even increase your payment if you can, to reap the benefits of the cheapest mortgage money in memory. Again, you could take years and thousands of dollars off your ontario mortgage.

3. Tie mortgage payments to your pay schedule. Many Canadians are paid on a bi-weekly schedule. If you accelerate your payments to bi-weekly instead of monthly, you could improve your own cash flow and fit in an extra payment each year. That means that you’re paying off principal faster leaving you with less interest to pay overall. It doesn’t seem like much but like putting your coffee budget to work the bi-weekly strategy can have you mortgage free four years sooner, with almost $22,000 in savings.

4. Use any bonuses, tax refunds or “found money” to pay down principal. This is especially valuable in the early years of your mortgage. If you receive an annual bonus or other lump-sum compensation, see if you can put it against the principal. An extra $1,000 per year is a great way to fast-track to mortgage-free!

5. Consolidate your loans into a new mortgage and use the savings to boost your payments. If you’re a homeowner with some equity, you can use your mortgage to consolidate your other loans: student loans, car loans, etc. Add the money you’ve been spending on loan payments to your mortgage payments, and you could see big savings in overall interest.

With ontario mortgage rates at historic lows, you should take the opportunity to get an expert mortgage analysis from an independent mortgage broker with access to mortgages from a wide spectrum of lenders. You’ve got a great opportunity to put some fast-track tactics in place. You’ll remember what a good decision you made at your mortgage-burning party.

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