Show Me the Money: Mortgage Programs for Financially Challenged Home BuyersWritten by Kevin Onizuk
The purchase of a home is a dream for millions of people. This dream may be a symbol of success they plan to achieve or a symbol of security they hope to provide for their family. Unfortunately, issues of bad credit, no credit, no savings or inadequate savings can leave people feeling hopeless about their chances of finding a mortgage. There is hope, however, as more lenders create purchase programs for potential homebuyers with a variety of financial issues. The key to uncovering all of your options is to work with a knowledgeable, attentive and trustworthy mortgage broker. A great mortgage broker will listen carefully to all details specific to your situation and educate you about all of your choices. The purchase programs I will discuss in following paragraphs are excellent examples of types of opportunities currently available on market. I will show you how your dreams of homeownership can come true. No Credit Or Down Payment, No Problem! One of most popular programs offered at my company, Breakwater Mortgage, is called Dreamaker. This program has been created specifically for potential homebuyers with no savings and little to no credit history. In order to qualify your household income must be no more than HUD median income for your particular area. This program allows you to purchase with no money down, even if you have limited credit. Issues of no credit can be addressed through an enhanced credit evaluation, which allows lender to consider your rent or lease payments, your utility payments and any other payments you have made each month for at least one year. You are eligible for a regular market interest rate, despite fact you are not paying a down payment, and no reserve savings are necessary. Always investigate to see if seller can assist with closing costs. Buyers using this program must enroll in a required homebuyers class to be educated about responsibility of being a homeowner and this program is only available to purchasers buying a primary residence. Mortgages That Go The Extra Mile! Another opportunity for homebuyers with high debt and no down payment are 103% and 107% Purchase Programs, these are mortgages that finance your closing costs, and can be combined with debt consolidation loans. In both of these programs lender actually gives buyer a loan for more than just purchase price of home. There are higher interest rates involved with these, but you can always refinance in future. The 103% program allows buyer to include closing costs in actual mortgage so there is little/no out of pocket expense at time of purchase. The 107% program helps buyer pay closing costs, as well as other monthly debts that need to be consolidated to make overall monthly payments more affordable. The extra 4% is cash you can use to eliminate numerous monthly payments and create one mortgage payment. This makes recovering from debt simpler and easier. The 103% and 107% programs are available to buyers purchasing their first home or a secondary home. No mortgage insurance is required.
| | Rental Properties - 10 Tips For Better Cash FlowWritten by Steve Gillman
What if you want better cash flow from your rental properties? You can't just raise rents arbitrarily. If tenants leave, income goes down, not up. There are other ways, though, including ones listed below. 1. Install coin-operated washing machines. Even if you don't have money to do this yourself, you can find a company that will do it for you, and share income with you. 2. Rent extra parking space. When I got tired of a renter's extra car, I just started charging a weekly fee. Then I didn't mind so much. 3. Raise rent. Okay, we did dismiss ARBITRARY rent hikes as a cash-flow solution, but check on rates for similar units. Are you renting at below-market rates? 4. Rent storage sheds. Especially if your apartments are small, your renters may need a place to store their things. Don't let them spend their money elsewhere. Put a few sheds on property. 5. Enforce late fees. It is perfectly fair to have a fee for late payment of rent, and guess what? Those who are chronically late usually don't even mind - they just don't look at these things same way as others.
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