Locking In California Mortgage Rates
Fernando at the copier.
We will lock in the best mortgage rate available for you.
Locking In California Mortgage Rates A rate lock is a legal commitment between the lender and the borrower. The lender promises a loan at a specified interest rate. The borrower may promise to pay certain points and fees (this is especially true if the lock is for more than 30 days). Both parties agree to do their best to close the loan on or before a specified date. If the loan isn't closed by the deadline, the contract expires. We will do our best to lock you into the best deal for which you qualify. |
Under what circumstances would that happen?
Well, some people simply cannot afford their payments anymore. They decide to go out and buy themselves a more expensive car, buy themselves some toys, run up their credit cards, get themselves in more debt, and now they can't afford the payments anymore. There is no chance for loan modification. People that decided to pull out thousands and thousands of dollars of equity in their home for the purpose of going to Hawaii and Las Vegas, buying things, just paying off other debt -- there might not be a chance for loan modification.
Who makes an ideal candidate for loan modification?
An ideal candidate is somebody is trying to modify is their original purchase loan. It is usually somebody who got a 100% loan, or a lot of times 80/20, and usually it is an adjustable mortgage. So mainly the best candidates are people that bought in the last three years because they still have their original purchase loan. It's a short-term fixed and the loan is about to adjust. They bought at the top of the market so they have no chance of ever refinancing because their home is now worth a lot less than what they paid for it. Those are the people that are the best candidates for a loan modification.
Is this a good time to buy or refinance?
It's actually a great time to buy or refinance. For first-time buyers, the government has some incentives. The federal government is offering a $7,500 tax refund to first-time homebuyers. That is an actual refund, not a tax deduction, and again certain people qualify for it, but again they are in the majority. So if you are buying a home at $200,000, you will eventually get back a good percentage of your down payment from the government.
Another thing is we have experienced a huge decline recently in home values. We are trending along the bottom of the market -- I am not going to say we are at the bottom but we definitely near the bottom because we are no longer seeing those aggressive month-to-month $50-grand and $30-grand declines. It's become a little bit more conservative. There are areas, especially the affordable areas, where there are multiple offers on homes. I will give you an example. Out in Fontana, there is a certain zip code where I have been personally involved with some clients. We see multiple bids going on, and some of these are bank-owned homes. A home comes out onto the market for $150,000 and there are 12 offers on it, so it goes for $175,000. That's a good sign that the supply and demand issue is starting to resolve itself.
Refinancing still a little tough if you don't have equity in your home.
California Mortgage Home Loan Brokers,
a Los Angeles mortgage company
Attn: Michael McKown
575 Elm St., Suite #18
Long Beach, CA 90802
818-845-0579 Local
888-632-9939 Toll Free
E-mail to Michael