Found 21 blog entries tagged as Mortgage Terms.

You’ve finally decided you want to buy a piece of Santa Cruz real estate.  What do you do now?  Here are a few tips for getting the best deal for your money:

Check Out Your Credit
The first thing you’ll want to do is order a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus:  Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. 

Look for inaccuracies in:
• Name
• Address
• Creditors
• Late payments
• Delinquencies

After you’ve reviewed your credit report and know your credit score, you’re ready to make improvements to your report.  You can send a written “Notice of Correction” to the credit bureaus.  It can be up to 200 words.  If needed, you can explain why you fell behind on a particular debt, and every time a lender accesses the report, they’ll see your…

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Homebuyers have many choices to make when purchasing a Santa Cruz home and one of those choices has to do with the length of the loan.  There are pros and cons to both the 15-year mortgage and the 30-year mortgage and the answer may not necessarily mean that one is “better” than the other is; it simply depends on what the homebuyer’s needs are.

The 15-Year Mortgage

If you choose the 15-year mortgage, your monthly payments may be higher than a 30-year loan would be, but your interest rate will be lower.  Additionally, by going with the shorter loan, you will build equity faster than if you went with the longer loan. 

Equity simply means the amount of ownership in your Santa Cruz home.  If you have 25% equity, you own 25% of your home.  You pay a…

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Buying Santa Cruz real estate can be exciting.  It also can be somewhat daunting, even if you’ve done it before.  You will deal with mortgage options, credit reports, loan applications, contracts, points, appraisals, change orders, inspections, warranties, walk-throughs, settlement sheets, escrow accounts, recording fees, insurance, taxes...the list goes on.  No doubt, you will hear and see words and terms you’ve never heard before.  Just what do they all mean?  Here are the ABC’s of some typical real estate terms and their definitions:

Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)

A mortgage in which the interest changes periodically, according to corresponding fluctuations in an index.  All ARMs are tied to indexes.

Amortization schedule

A table which…

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It used to be that you spent 50 years at a company and 50 years in your Santa Cruz home, and when you retired, your home mortgage was (happily) paid off. Times have changed. Certainly, few people spend their entire careers at one company, and now many retirees are shrugging off the conventional wisdom of paying off their homes at retirement. 

Here are some points to consider if you are pondering using your savings to dispose of that mortgage on your Santa Cruz home:

• Home Value: If you are one of the unhappy folks who are underwater (that is, the value of your home is less than what you owe on the mortgage), then paying off the mortgage will secure your credit from any possible foreclosure issues should you have cash flow problems later. But paying…

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With the slump in the economy, many would-be home buyers are being more cautious than they might have been ten years ago. This is a good thing, especially if it’s their first Santa Cruz home. Smart buyers budget their income, do their market research and get their funds in order before they begin house hunting.

Whether you’re ready to purchase a new Santa Cruz home now or the dream is still a little ways down the road, take the time to prepare your finances now. Below is some advice to consider before starting your home search.

• Save, save, save! You’ll need to have a down payment of about 10 to 20% of the price of the home, unless you qualify for a Federal Housing Association loan. FHA loans usually only require a down payment of around 3.5% of…

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You’ve found the Santa Cruz home you want to buy, and now you’re ready to finalize your mortgage. But the multitude of closing costs associated with the mortgage is confusing. To help you navigate the mortgage world, here are descriptions of many of the charges you may incur when obtaining a mortgage to purchase your home:

Title Costs
• Recording fees for the deed: This pays the county clerk to record the deed and mortgage and change the property tax billing.
• Other state and local fees: This can include mortgage taxes levied by the state as well as other local fees.
• Pro-rated taxes: Taxes for schools and municipalities.
• Title search costs: Usually your attorney or title company will arrange for the title search to make sure there are no obstacles to…

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Before you start shopping for your new Santa Cruz home, take the steps required to get pre-approved for a home loan. Being pre-approved gives you a few advantages when you are shopping for a home:

• You know how much you can afford to pay for a home. This saves you time and reduces your frustration because you can look at only those homes that are within your price range.

• It makes you a more attractive buyer to sellers because they know you can get a loan to purchase their Santa Cruz home.

In order to get pre-approved for a loan, you need to:

• Find a lender. Shop around because terms and rates vary. Getting pre-approved does not obligate you to that particular lender.

• Provide your financial information. Be prepared to supply your…

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Whether you’re looking to buy or sell a home, finding the perfect Santa Cruz real estate agent can be tough. The process is often overwhelming and you want to ensure that you have the right person by your side — someone who’s trustworthy, hard-working and knows what they’re doing!

That is why it’s extremely important to do your research thoroughly when it comes to Santa Cruz real estate agents. You need to interview several agents, follow through on referrals and ensure they have the proper credentials.

All the acronyms after agents’ names can be confusing, so here are a few that describe specializations you might need:

• SRES – This stands for Senior Real Estate Specialist. The SRES designation is for agents who work with buyers and sellers over…

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Second mortgages on Santa Cruz homes are used by people who need to access the equity on their homes. Here’s some information to help you decide if a second mortgage is right for you.

What is a Second Mortgage?

A second mortgage is taking out a second loan on top of the existing mortgage on your home. The collateral for the second mortgage is your home. The loan process is similar to getting a primary mortgage, including the need to pay for appraisals and closing costs.

The maximum amount of the second mortgage is determined by the equity in your home. The equity is the difference between what you owe on the home and the current fair market value of your home.

Why Get a Second Mortgage?

People take out second mortgages on their Santa Cruz…

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If you get a mortgage for more than 80% of your Santa Cruz real estate’s fair market value, your lender will require that you pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). PMI payments are expensive at about 0.5% to 1% of the entire loan amount on an annual basis.

Obviously, it would be a good thing if you didn’t have to pay PMI. To help you achieve that goal, here are several tips to avoid paying PMI on your Santa Cruz real estate:

• Save for a big down payment: The easiest way to avoid PMI is to have a down payment of at least 20% of the value of the home you want to purchase.

• Borrow to get 20% down: Check with friends and family for down payment assistance. You can offer repayment with interest and still never pay as much as you would have to for…

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