It’s important to our readers that you find all the mortgage advice and credit advice you can possibly find.  So, I have taken the time to list a few places that you should visit and soak up all the mortgage advice you can take.

Hope this helps!

Mortgage Advice Forums- I personally subscribe to this forum and help answer questions that people may have.  Bruce Brown, the creator, is very good at responding to everyone’s questions and concerns when looking for mortgage advice.

Zillow- Great place to get all kinds of advice, not just mortgage or credit advice.  Zillow has been around for awhile now and has been very popular with real estate in general.  If you haven’t heard of them yet, take the time to browse over the available advice and go from there.

Mortgageloan.com – I personally get many questions from the site, because of the amount of people that go to it for questions and advice.  Great place to soak in some more mortgage advice and mortgage news.

Lexington Law – Credit Report Repair - Credit advice for anyone that needs help with correcting things on their credit report.  What’s great about them is that you can call their 800 number and talk to someone that will tell you if they can help you or not, right from the start.

Ask Max – Very helpful information when it comes to credit advice.  There is also advice about paying off debt or debt consolidation.  I even browse this for myself from time to time.

Equifax - Not just a place to pull your credit report.  They have a learning center that is very educational for credit advice.  It also very important you look into identity theft protection, since this is the highest form of theft today.

The ups and the downs…the ups and the down!

The mortgage rates continue on their typical roller coaster ride over the last few weeks.  At one point, we saw lenders at 4.5% on a 30 year fixed rate, then about a week ago the 30 year fixed rate was at 5.5%.  What a difference that can make on your mortgage payment!

Some of the best advice you will read about refinancing your mortgage will talk about lowering the interest rate.  Yes, low interest rates are what you should focus on, but don’t forget the many factors that should go into figuring out if a refinance benefits your situation.

What to focus on when looking to refinance.

Most of us live our lives month to month.  Why?  Our bills are due once a month and bills are a major part of our everyday life.  Because of this, most people just focus on the new monthly payment the mortgage refinance will give them.  There are other things you need to factor into your decision on whether or not you are going to refinance.

Here they are:

The amount of interest you will be saving over the life of the loan.

It’s a beautiful thing to be able to save $100 dollars a month on your mortgage payment.  That’s $1200 per year!  That’s a pretty nice savings.  Now, the amount of interest you will save over that first year will be in the thousands!  Tens of thousands over the many years you will have the loan.

Here is a good example of how much interest you can save with a refinance.

The amount of years you could reduce from the mortgage term.

This is something most people don’t even realize when they go to refinance their mortgage loan.  Some lenders will be able to put you in a 25 or 20 year mortgage loan and the interest rate is about the same.

For example, on a 150k mortgage at 5.5% on a 30 year, the payment would be $1135.58 (just principal and interest).  On a 25 year loan with the same terms, the payment is $1228.17.  That difference is only $92.59 per month!

Most of us won’t even consider refinancing the mortgage without saving $100 per month, so if you don’t need the savings, then reduce your term by 5 years.  You’ll be 5 years closer to the American Dream…owning a home free and clear!

 The amount of closing costs vs the interest rate.

Most lenders will be able to offer you higher closing costs for a lower interest rate.  Sometimes you can take a higher rate in exchange for lower closing costs.  You should take the time to look into paying more costs for a lower interest rate. 

If you have some equity in your home, you can even include those extra costs into the loan, so you don’t have to come out of pocket for those extra costs.  Take the time to figure out the amount of interest you will be saving, because if you are going to be in the home for the next 10 years or more, it could make a lot of sense to pay for a lower interest rate.  Here is a post that goes over an example on the amount of interest saved with a lower interest rate.

When looking at refinancing your mortgage, keep in mind that there are multiple factors when looking at the benefits of your refinance.

Don’t forget to check your credit report before applying for the refinance!

Since this blog has been around for almost 2 years now, many new readers may not be aware of some of the other helpful mortgage advice topics that have been shared in the past.  First time home buyers seem to be the type of buyers that are actively looking to buy a home this year, so much of this advice will be for the first time home buyer.  The more mortgage advice that can be absorbed the better. 

Every time I take on a new first time home buyer client, I take the time to educate them with the entire mortgage process.  This is a necessary, because the entire process of buying a home and financing it can be overwhelming.  If there isn’t someone to walk you through the entire process, then take the time to gather up all the mortgage advice posted here.

This year is now being considered one of the best years to buy a home, because of a large tax credit for first time home buyers, interest rates at record breaking lows, and home prices have dropped over the years.  These buyer benefits have helped many people decide that 2009 is a great year to buy a home.

I wanted to remind you of some of the other content on this site that could come in handy when looking to buy a home in 2009.  Use this mortgage advice to your advantage and you will be sure to find a great deal when buying a home this year.

Here are 3 posts worth your time to read:

What is a FHA mortgage loan? – This has become the most popular mortgage loan today.  A detailed look at what the FHA mortgage loan is.

Top 5 questions answered for first time home buyers. – Popular questions and answered that all first time home buyers should know!

Get your mortgage quote in writing. – Talks about what paperwork to look for when getting your mortgage quote in writing.

I cannot stress enough the importance of your credit scores, whether you are thinking about buying a home or buying a new car.  I’ve talked about understanding the simple steps to correct your credit scores, but some people still don’t realize the importance of the credit scores.

Your credit scores will have a major impact on the type of interest you will pay on your mortgage.  I’ve gone over how important your credit scores are in “Credit scores are very important, but how important?”.

Your credit scores will also have a major impact on whether or not you will get approved for a credit card.  It’s important to take the time to check your credit report for errors and get things corrected if needed.

As for mortgages today, most lenders are requiring a minimum of a 620 middle credit score for approval.  I say the middle score, because in the mortgage world we pull credit on all three major credit bureaus.  Of the 3 different credit scores, the middle one will determine approval and interest rate.

There is one mortgage program called Rural Housing, which allows below a 620 middle credit score.  The lowest middle scores I’ve seen get approved with this program lately is a 600.  In order to get a 600 middle credit score approved, you will need compensating factors.  Examples of compensating factors would be liquid assets, a lower debt to income ratio, larger down payment, etc.

As our economy slowly gets better over the next few years, lending guidelines will continue to be tighter.  Again, please take the time to look at your own credit report at least once a year.  Take a look at freecreditreport.com and get access to your credit scores, along with credit protection.

If you need help with fixing your bad credit, Lexington Law – Credit Report Repair is a very good company.  A bunch of my own clients have said their service is great and they will tell you upfront if they can help you or not.