Oct
19
Easy Home Loans
Filed Under Home Loans | Comments Off
webmaster home
These days its fact that its not hard to get home loans. Either its home equity loan or its mortgage loan and availability of easy home equity loans is in full bloom. These loans are uncomplicated, tenable, easily available, very flexible and tailor-made for homeowners. The best part about all this is that almost every loan lending or financial institution offers them.
Most home buyers have to borrow money in order to purchase their home. Few have enough money sitting in the bank, or in other easily saleable assets, to pay the entire cost of the home at once. (Even those few who do have enough money usually find it financially advantageous – perhaps for extra tax relief — to borrow some of the money.) The home loans they receive is called a mortgage. Generally, a mortgage is a loan of money to the home owner secured by a “lien” on the real estate.
Own house is the dream of every person. For a middle class person, it is considered as a life time achievement as it requires quite a huge amount of money. Banks play a pivotal role in fulfilling this basic need. The products they offer and the services they provide are of immense use to people who intend to have their own house. For a safe and beneficial home loan, proper awareness over the products, policies, terms and conditions of the bank is most important as ignorance may result in more payments to the bank in terms of principal and interest components.
A mortgage is a security document that allows the borrower to keep title of the property while using the property as security or collateral for a loan. The lender then places a lien on the property in the event the owner does not pay the agreed payment. When the borrower pays off the loan, the lender gives the borrower a satisfaction of mortgage that removes the lien from the property. About half the states in the U.S. use mortgage foreclosure as the means of satisfying the loan balance.
Mortgage allows investors to pool money in a trust to lend to individuals and companies. They secure their borrowing by a mortgage over residential or commercial properties. The trust collects the interest paid on these loans and then distributes the interest, less charges, as income to investors.
Borrowers should bear in mind that there are two different kinds of mortgage points-discount points and origination points-and that lenders do not all charge the same amount for these different types of points. Discount points refer to an amount of money paid to a lender to obtain a loan at a specific interest rate. These points are like pre-paid interest on a loan that a borrower takes out for a new home, with each point equalling to 1% of the total principal amount of the loan. Origination points are used to pay for the costs of obtaining the loan in the first place. They are much less popular than discount points, as they do not provide borrowers with any valuable benefits and are not tax deductible. Borrowers are therefore better off trying to get a loan that does not require them to acquire these kinds of points.
These days its fact that its not hard to get home loans. Either its home equity loan or its mortgage loan and availability of easy home equity loans is in full bloom. These loans are uncomplicated, tenable, easily available, very flexible and tailor-made for homeowners. The best part about all this is that almost every loan lending or financial institution offers them.
Most home buyers have to borrow money in order to purchase their home. Few have enough money sitting in the bank, or in other easily saleable assets, to pay the entire cost of the home at once. (Even those few who do have enough money usually find it financially advantageous – perhaps for extra tax relief — to borrow some of the money.) The home loans they receive is called a mortgage. Generally, a mortgage is a loan of money to the home owner secured by a “lien” on the real estate.
Own house is the dream of every person. For a middle class person, it is considered as a life time achievement as it requires quite a huge amount of money. Banks play a pivotal role in fulfilling this basic need. The products they offer and the services they provide are of immense use to people who intend to have their own house. For a safe and beneficial home loan, proper awareness over the products, policies, terms and conditions of the bank is most important as ignorance may result in more payments to the bank in terms of principal and interest components.
A mortgage is a security document that allows the borrower to keep title of the property while using the property as security or collateral for a loan. The lender then places a lien on the property in the event the owner does not pay the agreed payment. When the borrower pays off the loan, the lender gives the borrower a satisfaction of mortgage that removes the lien from the property. About half the states in the U.S. use mortgage foreclosure as the means of satisfying the loan balance.
Mortgage allows investors to pool money in a trust to lend to individuals and companies. They secure their borrowing by a mortgage over residential or commercial properties. The trust collects the interest paid on these loans and then distributes the interest, less charges, as income to investors.
Borrowers should bear in mind that there are two different kinds of mortgage points-discount points and origination points-and that lenders do not all charge the same amount for these different types of points. Discount points refer to an amount of money paid to a lender to obtain a loan at a specific interest rate. These points are like pre-paid interest on a loan that a borrower takes out for a new home, with each point equalling to 1% of the total principal amount of the loan. Origination points are used to pay for the costs of obtaining the loan in the first place. They are much less popular than discount points, as they do not provide borrowers with any valuable benefits and are not tax deductible. Borrowers are therefore better off trying to get a loan that does not require them to acquire these kinds of points.
Oct
18
What’s the Low Down on Loan to Value?
Filed Under Home Loans | Comments Off
Kristin Abouelata - Home Loans
It’s not very often that a borrower takes into heavy consideration what his loan to value is when shopping for a loan. In fact, if the subject is brought up by the customer, it’s mostly in relation to avoiding paying monthly mortgage insurance. But sometimes, a loan to value can affect even more aspects of your loan – like pricing and approval!
What is loan to value? Well, it’s exactly what it says. The loan amount compared to the value of the home you are buying or refinancing. For example, if you are buying a $100,000 home, and your loan amount is only $50,000, your loan to value or “LTV” is 50%. It’s also very common to refinance a home to obtain a lower LTV and drop mortgage insurance that was before required.
Different types of loans have different minimum requirements for LTV’s. With primary residence purchases, for instance, an FHA loan can have as high as a 97.75% LTV (soon to change to 96.5% in 2009). A conventional loan can have as high as a 97% LTV (but more common is 95% LTV). VA and Rural Housing loans can have 100% LTV’s. People who have cash to put down on the property they are buying and financing with a conventional loan oftentimes try to amass 20% of the purchase price in order to avoid mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance is required when your LTV for a primary residence is above 80% and is issued by independent mortgage insuring companies like Genworth Financial or PMI. Fannie and Freddie, the big purchasers of conventional loans, will require one of these or other approved companies issue mortgage insurance unless the loan has an 80% LTV. And if you’re refinancing the home you live in? The whole grid of acceptable LTV’s changes for the most part, with a few exceptions. And furthermore, if you’re talking about investment properties, it’s another can of worms.
But when else does LTV mean something? Consider when a loan specialist prices your loan. Oftentimes there are pricing differentials based upon the loan to value. For instance, if you carry mortgage insurance and your LTV is 85.01% or higher, you might actually get a better interest rate than if you had an 85% LTV (but don’t get too excited because your monthly mortgage insurance will be higher). Or if your LTV is 60% or lower, you might also get a better interest rate. If you are close to tipping the scales on one of these ratios, it may be to your benefit to ask your loan specialist how close you are to a pricing break one way or another. You’d be surprised to find out it might change your mind as to how much money you decide to put down on your loan.
And guess what else? A low loan to value may be the difference between loan approval and loan denial. Why is that? Because if you are investing enough of your own money into the equity of a property, chances are you won’t default on the loan. And if you do, it’s probably a last recourse. Not to mention, the lender who holds the note won’t lose money because there is enough equity in the property to cover foreclosure costs, re-sale costs and any value loss from an upside down market. The lender is covered. So, the lender will consider the loan less risky and a higher debt to income ratio is tolerated when reviewed with a high credit score.
It’s not very often that a borrower takes into heavy consideration what his loan to value is when shopping for a loan. In fact, if the subject is brought up by the customer, it’s mostly in relation to avoiding paying monthly mortgage insurance. But sometimes, a loan to value can affect even more aspects of your loan – like pricing and approval!
What is loan to value? Well, it’s exactly what it says. The loan amount compared to the value of the home you are buying or refinancing. For example, if you are buying a $100,000 home, and your loan amount is only $50,000, your loan to value or “LTV” is 50%. It’s also very common to refinance a home to obtain a lower LTV and drop mortgage insurance that was before required.
Different types of loans have different minimum requirements for LTV’s. With primary residence purchases, for instance, an FHA loan can have as high as a 97.75% LTV (soon to change to 96.5% in 2009). A conventional loan can have as high as a 97% LTV (but more common is 95% LTV). VA and Rural Housing loans can have 100% LTV’s. People who have cash to put down on the property they are buying and financing with a conventional loan oftentimes try to amass 20% of the purchase price in order to avoid mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance is required when your LTV for a primary residence is above 80% and is issued by independent mortgage insuring companies like Genworth Financial or PMI. Fannie and Freddie, the big purchasers of conventional loans, will require one of these or other approved companies issue mortgage insurance unless the loan has an 80% LTV. And if you’re refinancing the home you live in? The whole grid of acceptable LTV’s changes for the most part, with a few exceptions. And furthermore, if you’re talking about investment properties, it’s another can of worms.
But when else does LTV mean something? Consider when a loan specialist prices your loan. Oftentimes there are pricing differentials based upon the loan to value. For instance, if you carry mortgage insurance and your LTV is 85.01% or higher, you might actually get a better interest rate than if you had an 85% LTV (but don’t get too excited because your monthly mortgage insurance will be higher). Or if your LTV is 60% or lower, you might also get a better interest rate. If you are close to tipping the scales on one of these ratios, it may be to your benefit to ask your loan specialist how close you are to a pricing break one way or another. You’d be surprised to find out it might change your mind as to how much money you decide to put down on your loan.
And guess what else? A low loan to value may be the difference between loan approval and loan denial. Why is that? Because if you are investing enough of your own money into the equity of a property, chances are you won’t default on the loan. And if you do, it’s probably a last recourse. Not to mention, the lender who holds the note won’t lose money because there is enough equity in the property to cover foreclosure costs, re-sale costs and any value loss from an upside down market. The lender is covered. So, the lender will consider the loan less risky and a higher debt to income ratio is tolerated when reviewed with a high credit score.
Oct
18
Does the inflation decide the changes in interest rates?
Filed Under Home Loans | Comments Off
Mathangie
Does the inflation decide the changes in interest rates?
Observably countries do adjust interest rates when there are fluctuations in key economic factors or indicators. It is always believed that monetary policy of a country, inflation, the Supply and demand of money funds are the significant causes that decide the changes in interest rates.
Out of these above three indicators, inflation is the most common factor that makes severe impacts on interest rates of a country. Interest rates influence the level of inflation. Inflation and the interest rates have a positive relationship between them. There is a simple economic reasoning behind this.
Interest rates create direct opportunities and even obstacles in the credit markets. When there are high interest rates, we can observe a decline in the money borrowing rates. As a common thought a country’s government will always have an ultimate aim of achieving high employment, unwavering prices and a constant growth in the economy by adjusting the interest rates. Since low interest rates encourage citizens’ purchasing and consuming habits in a country, a drop down in interest rates will increase the consumer spending and also it may stimulate a growth in the economy.
Most of the economists who believe in practical concepts say that an excessive economic growth will be anyway harmful to a country. A rapid growing economy might lead to a hyper inflation ending with high unemployment and high prices. Automatically it will reduce the level of consumer spending and the growth rate of economy resulting with extremely sky-scraping interest rates. On the other hand having incredibly low inflation is also not healthy for a well performing economy. An interest rate policy must be reasonable. So we can obviously say that the inflation might be controlled by the fluctuations of interest rates.
When looking at the other side inflation also decides the change in interest rates. Countries’ monetary policies are made up to encourage both local investments and the foreign investments. When there is a high inflation rate, that country’s investors will have a problem with the actual value of money. The actual return that they gain after some years will be really low after some years. In order to save investors’ real wealth and to encourage them, economy should increase the interest rates with the level of inflation. The long term bond holders face severe problems with inflation and the rates of interest.
Let’s assume that a country is facing a hyper inflation just like what happens in the Zimbabwe economy at present. After experiencing a very high rate of inflation, lenders will want to have high interest rates as they have a necessity to get back their actual wealth. If a country does not increase interest rates with the level of inflation, the lenders will be the losers and the borrowers will be gainers from it.
Anyhow an interest rate policy of a country is supposed to encourage the saving habits of that country’s citizens. So the deposit and lending rates differ with the level of inflation. If the country does not increase the interest rates with the increased level of inflation, people will realize that the actual value for their savings come down. It may discourage the saving habits. So there will be a decline in the saving rates.
Eventhough inflation and interest rates have a positive linear relationship; there might be some exceptional situations. There are situations where there were no relationships between interest rates and inflation and even negative relationships. This happens rarely when natural disasters take place.
Does the inflation decide the changes in interest rates?
Observably countries do adjust interest rates when there are fluctuations in key economic factors or indicators. It is always believed that monetary policy of a country, inflation, the Supply and demand of money funds are the significant causes that decide the changes in interest rates.
Out of these above three indicators, inflation is the most common factor that makes severe impacts on interest rates of a country. Interest rates influence the level of inflation. Inflation and the interest rates have a positive relationship between them. There is a simple economic reasoning behind this.
Interest rates create direct opportunities and even obstacles in the credit markets. When there are high interest rates, we can observe a decline in the money borrowing rates. As a common thought a country’s government will always have an ultimate aim of achieving high employment, unwavering prices and a constant growth in the economy by adjusting the interest rates. Since low interest rates encourage citizens’ purchasing and consuming habits in a country, a drop down in interest rates will increase the consumer spending and also it may stimulate a growth in the economy.
Most of the economists who believe in practical concepts say that an excessive economic growth will be anyway harmful to a country. A rapid growing economy might lead to a hyper inflation ending with high unemployment and high prices. Automatically it will reduce the level of consumer spending and the growth rate of economy resulting with extremely sky-scraping interest rates. On the other hand having incredibly low inflation is also not healthy for a well performing economy. An interest rate policy must be reasonable. So we can obviously say that the inflation might be controlled by the fluctuations of interest rates.
When looking at the other side inflation also decides the change in interest rates. Countries’ monetary policies are made up to encourage both local investments and the foreign investments. When there is a high inflation rate, that country’s investors will have a problem with the actual value of money. The actual return that they gain after some years will be really low after some years. In order to save investors’ real wealth and to encourage them, economy should increase the interest rates with the level of inflation. The long term bond holders face severe problems with inflation and the rates of interest.
Let’s assume that a country is facing a hyper inflation just like what happens in the Zimbabwe economy at present. After experiencing a very high rate of inflation, lenders will want to have high interest rates as they have a necessity to get back their actual wealth. If a country does not increase interest rates with the level of inflation, the lenders will be the losers and the borrowers will be gainers from it.
Anyhow an interest rate policy of a country is supposed to encourage the saving habits of that country’s citizens. So the deposit and lending rates differ with the level of inflation. If the country does not increase the interest rates with the increased level of inflation, people will realize that the actual value for their savings come down. It may discourage the saving habits. So there will be a decline in the saving rates.
Eventhough inflation and interest rates have a positive linear relationship; there might be some exceptional situations. There are situations where there were no relationships between interest rates and inflation and even negative relationships. This happens rarely when natural disasters take place.
Oct
15
Federal Funds Rate and My Finances
Filed Under Home Loans | Comments Off
Manuel Davis Jr.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about the federal funds rate. This is something that dominates headlines whenever there is a change in this rate. Most recently the Federal Reserve made a huge rate drop. The 1st drop was 3/4ths of a percent, then shortly after by another ½ percent bringing the rate all the way down to 3%. Why such the hype? How does this affect individuals finances?
What is the Federal Funds Rate?
The federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks lend balances to other depository institutions, usually overnight. This rate is the rate that banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve, or in other words, it is the lowest possible rate that banks can charge on interest. Changing this rate is one of the primary tools that the Federal Reserve uses to regulate the supply of money in the US economy.
The Effect of lowering the Federal Funds Rate
By lowering the rate, borrowing becomes cheaper for banks and with competition among the banks they will pass this savings onto their customers. This will make borrowing cheaper for individuals because the rate at which banks can lend is less and the default risk also goes down because there is not as much interest to pay by the individual. The purpose of lowering the Federal Funds rate is to create a domino effect that will eventually stimulate the economy. The cycle it is suppose to follow is this: the Federal Reserve lowers rates, banks lower rates, individuals will borrow more money, the borrowed money buys goods, the sellers of the goods make more money and deposit into banks, banks have more money to lend, then repeat this cycle and the economy is stimulated.
What this means to most individuals in the near and distant future?
This will help out many individuals with their credit card interest rates because the prime rate, which directly influences credit card interest is highly correlated to the Federal Funds rate. From the domino effect, credit card lenders are also able to obtain a lower borrowing rate and therefore competition will force them to decrease their rates. This is one thing that individuals that carry balances on their credit card should be aware of because sometimes the lender will keep charging the same rate. An individual who is aware of this can most of the time, contact the credit card company and demand a lower rate.
The lowering of the federal funds rate will also decrease the interest earned in savings accounts and in CDs. This can force many individuals to seek better investment options for their funds because the interest earned in savings accounts and CDs is very minimal, most likely not even enough to keep up with inflation. This can also be good for the stock market because this can cause higher demand for publicly traded stocks, therefore driving up the prices and increase returns. (Also returns can go up from the domino effect created from the dropping of the fed rate, which also explains why there is a sudden surge in stock prices when there was an unexpected decrease of the federal funds rate)
One misconception about the fed lowering the Federal Funds rate is that it directly influences mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are much more complex in how they are determined than just by the Federal Funds rate. Mortgage rates are based on long term rates, while federal funds rate is a short term rate. Mortgages are priced like the stock market, if there is a expected drop in the federal funds rate, the mortgage rate will price it into the rate before the rate drop even happens. An unexpected rate drop can influence mortgage rates, but only by a small amount. The fed rate is an indirect factor in determining the long term rates. Even though it is only a small indirect factor, long term interest rates are very low right now and locking in a safe, low fixed rate at the current time may be a good idea.
Overall, the rate cut is a good thing for credit card interest and other short term loans, but on the negative side, savings accounts will not earn as much interest. If all goes as planned the economy will get the extra boost it needs to stay out of a recession, while also indirectly making a positive influence on long term interest rates and keeping inflation in check.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about the federal funds rate. This is something that dominates headlines whenever there is a change in this rate. Most recently the Federal Reserve made a huge rate drop. The 1st drop was 3/4ths of a percent, then shortly after by another ½ percent bringing the rate all the way down to 3%. Why such the hype? How does this affect individuals finances?
What is the Federal Funds Rate?
The federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks lend balances to other depository institutions, usually overnight. This rate is the rate that banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve, or in other words, it is the lowest possible rate that banks can charge on interest. Changing this rate is one of the primary tools that the Federal Reserve uses to regulate the supply of money in the US economy.
The Effect of lowering the Federal Funds Rate
By lowering the rate, borrowing becomes cheaper for banks and with competition among the banks they will pass this savings onto their customers. This will make borrowing cheaper for individuals because the rate at which banks can lend is less and the default risk also goes down because there is not as much interest to pay by the individual. The purpose of lowering the Federal Funds rate is to create a domino effect that will eventually stimulate the economy. The cycle it is suppose to follow is this: the Federal Reserve lowers rates, banks lower rates, individuals will borrow more money, the borrowed money buys goods, the sellers of the goods make more money and deposit into banks, banks have more money to lend, then repeat this cycle and the economy is stimulated.
What this means to most individuals in the near and distant future?
This will help out many individuals with their credit card interest rates because the prime rate, which directly influences credit card interest is highly correlated to the Federal Funds rate. From the domino effect, credit card lenders are also able to obtain a lower borrowing rate and therefore competition will force them to decrease their rates. This is one thing that individuals that carry balances on their credit card should be aware of because sometimes the lender will keep charging the same rate. An individual who is aware of this can most of the time, contact the credit card company and demand a lower rate.
The lowering of the federal funds rate will also decrease the interest earned in savings accounts and in CDs. This can force many individuals to seek better investment options for their funds because the interest earned in savings accounts and CDs is very minimal, most likely not even enough to keep up with inflation. This can also be good for the stock market because this can cause higher demand for publicly traded stocks, therefore driving up the prices and increase returns. (Also returns can go up from the domino effect created from the dropping of the fed rate, which also explains why there is a sudden surge in stock prices when there was an unexpected decrease of the federal funds rate)
One misconception about the fed lowering the Federal Funds rate is that it directly influences mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are much more complex in how they are determined than just by the Federal Funds rate. Mortgage rates are based on long term rates, while federal funds rate is a short term rate. Mortgages are priced like the stock market, if there is a expected drop in the federal funds rate, the mortgage rate will price it into the rate before the rate drop even happens. An unexpected rate drop can influence mortgage rates, but only by a small amount. The fed rate is an indirect factor in determining the long term rates. Even though it is only a small indirect factor, long term interest rates are very low right now and locking in a safe, low fixed rate at the current time may be a good idea.
Overall, the rate cut is a good thing for credit card interest and other short term loans, but on the negative side, savings accounts will not earn as much interest. If all goes as planned the economy will get the extra boost it needs to stay out of a recession, while also indirectly making a positive influence on long term interest rates and keeping inflation in check.
Oct
14
Fixed Rate Bonds vs. ISA’s
Filed Under Home Loans | Comments Off
Sam Gooch
It is difficult to know where to put your money these days to get the best returns, especially with the way the economy has suffered over recent months, pushing the Bank of England to make a string of cuts to its Base rate which have in turn been passed on to savers rates.
With the Base rate now down to the lowest level ever recorded, rates on normal savings accounts have been slashed, which has limited our saving options.
The two obvious choices in today’s savings market are Fixed Term Bonds, and Individual Savings Accounts (ISA). Although both types of savings accounts have their similarities, there are several advantages and disadvantages to each and it is this topic of discussion that this article will be focussing on.
Fixed Term Bonds
Fixed Term Bonds provide a rate that is fixed throughout the duration of the bond, giving savers a predictable income with no surprises. Once you have chosen a fixed term account, you are able to calculate exactly how much interest you will earn, minus the tax, to give you your end balance.
Most Fixed Term Bonds offer very high deposit limits, generally between £500,000 to £2 million, but some, such as ICICI, will let you invest as much as you like. You must deposit the full amount upon opening the account and cannot add to this once active.
There are no limits to how many fixed term bond accounts you can open within any one year, so unlike ISA accounts, if you decide to close your account for any reason, you can still invest any amount elsewhere at any time.
Fixed Term Bonds generally offer the highest saving rates available, but these tend to be on shorter-term bonds, as they carry less risk to significant rate cuts leading to banks and building societies paying you over the odds in interest for long periods of time.
‘What goes up must come down’
If you are extremely lucky – and do your research, you could open a fixed term bond before rates significantly fall, allowing you to earn well above savings rates offered to new and variable rate customers. If you cast your mind back to October last year, when the Base rate stood at 5%, you would be very happy with yourself if you were earning this kind of rate on your savings today, with the Base rate now at 0.5%.
A big element to a fixed term bond account is the “fixed term”. You must be realistic with your finances and only go for this option if you can afford to lock your money away for some time. If you find that you need to withdraw any amount from your account, the bond will close and in most cases you will lose any interest to accumulated to date.
As well as the possibility of rates falling during the life of your bond, you could see the opposite effect, with rates significantly rising, leaving you locked in at a low rate. It is always a good idea to look at recent trends in Base rate changes to enable you to make an educated prediction on the direction it’s headed. Many economists believe that rates will continue to fall during 2009, going as low as 0%.
Like any normal savings account, you have to pay tax on any interest accumulated, as this counts as income. The general tax rate is 20% for those earning less that £34,800 per annual, and 40% for anything above. There are other conditions to non-earners so check out the HM Revenue for more information.
Individual Savings Accounts
Individual Savings Accounts (ISA’s) offer a tax free alternative to saving. Unlike normal savings accounts, the interest you earn on an ISA is not subject to tax deduction. Every year you are entitled to add up to £3,600 to your ISA, and the interest accumulated from your total balance will be tax free for life. You can deposit up to £3,600 between now and April 2009, which is when your allowance is renewed.
Like many savings accounts, ISA’s offer a variety of options such as instant access, fixed rate, and base rate guarantees.
Unlike a fixed term account, most ISA’s allow you to deposit as many times as you like throughout the year, as long as you stay within your £3,600 annual limit. It is better if you can afford to deposit the full amount at the beginning of the tax year, as this will allow you to earn the maximum possible interest, but for those that would rather have the flexibility to save as they earn, ISA’s are great for making monthly deposits from a salary.
As with fixed term bonds, ISA’s encourage savers to leave their money without making withdrawals. However, rather than deducting the interest earned to date and closing the account, ISA’s simply give savers an annual deposit limit of £3,600, and once this has been reached, no more can be added, regardless of any withdrawals.
Because savers can get good returns from paying no tax on the interest they earn, ISA’s tend to offer lower rates than Fixed Term Bonds.
Most ISA’s are affected by cuts made to the Bank of England Base rate, so if you open an ISA when rates are high, you cannot guarantee they will stay high. Fixed rate ISA’s allow you to fix in at a rate for a specified term, but this does carry some risk, as rates change, especially over a long term.
Always check out what kind of compensation scheme is used by your proposed bank or building society to ensure that your savings are covered in full. For more information on this, see Which4U’s Top Ten Savings Tips.
The bottom line for all savings accounts is to ensure you are earning the highest possible returns on your money. Although ISA’s offer tax free interest, you may find that the difference in rates offered against fixed term bonds will in fact leave you worse off. Before making a choice, compare the savings market for the best deals, and use your new found knowledge of these accounts to make an educated decision on where to invest your savings.
One last thing to remember is to always make sure (where possible) you keep the interest rates paid on your account above the rate of inflation (incuding tax deductions), as anything below would result in your money actually losing value. Inflation is used to measure the rate at which prices will increase, so if this level is higher than the interest you are earning, your money will be slowly eroding.
It is difficult to know where to put your money these days to get the best returns, especially with the way the economy has suffered over recent months, pushing the Bank of England to make a string of cuts to its Base rate which have in turn been passed on to savers rates.
With the Base rate now down to the lowest level ever recorded, rates on normal savings accounts have been slashed, which has limited our saving options.
The two obvious choices in today’s savings market are Fixed Term Bonds, and Individual Savings Accounts (ISA). Although both types of savings accounts have their similarities, there are several advantages and disadvantages to each and it is this topic of discussion that this article will be focussing on.
Fixed Term Bonds
Fixed Term Bonds provide a rate that is fixed throughout the duration of the bond, giving savers a predictable income with no surprises. Once you have chosen a fixed term account, you are able to calculate exactly how much interest you will earn, minus the tax, to give you your end balance.
Most Fixed Term Bonds offer very high deposit limits, generally between £500,000 to £2 million, but some, such as ICICI, will let you invest as much as you like. You must deposit the full amount upon opening the account and cannot add to this once active.
There are no limits to how many fixed term bond accounts you can open within any one year, so unlike ISA accounts, if you decide to close your account for any reason, you can still invest any amount elsewhere at any time.
Fixed Term Bonds generally offer the highest saving rates available, but these tend to be on shorter-term bonds, as they carry less risk to significant rate cuts leading to banks and building societies paying you over the odds in interest for long periods of time.
‘What goes up must come down’
If you are extremely lucky – and do your research, you could open a fixed term bond before rates significantly fall, allowing you to earn well above savings rates offered to new and variable rate customers. If you cast your mind back to October last year, when the Base rate stood at 5%, you would be very happy with yourself if you were earning this kind of rate on your savings today, with the Base rate now at 0.5%.
A big element to a fixed term bond account is the “fixed term”. You must be realistic with your finances and only go for this option if you can afford to lock your money away for some time. If you find that you need to withdraw any amount from your account, the bond will close and in most cases you will lose any interest to accumulated to date.
As well as the possibility of rates falling during the life of your bond, you could see the opposite effect, with rates significantly rising, leaving you locked in at a low rate. It is always a good idea to look at recent trends in Base rate changes to enable you to make an educated prediction on the direction it’s headed. Many economists believe that rates will continue to fall during 2009, going as low as 0%.
Like any normal savings account, you have to pay tax on any interest accumulated, as this counts as income. The general tax rate is 20% for those earning less that £34,800 per annual, and 40% for anything above. There are other conditions to non-earners so check out the HM Revenue for more information.
Individual Savings Accounts
Individual Savings Accounts (ISA’s) offer a tax free alternative to saving. Unlike normal savings accounts, the interest you earn on an ISA is not subject to tax deduction. Every year you are entitled to add up to £3,600 to your ISA, and the interest accumulated from your total balance will be tax free for life. You can deposit up to £3,600 between now and April 2009, which is when your allowance is renewed.
Like many savings accounts, ISA’s offer a variety of options such as instant access, fixed rate, and base rate guarantees.
Unlike a fixed term account, most ISA’s allow you to deposit as many times as you like throughout the year, as long as you stay within your £3,600 annual limit. It is better if you can afford to deposit the full amount at the beginning of the tax year, as this will allow you to earn the maximum possible interest, but for those that would rather have the flexibility to save as they earn, ISA’s are great for making monthly deposits from a salary.
As with fixed term bonds, ISA’s encourage savers to leave their money without making withdrawals. However, rather than deducting the interest earned to date and closing the account, ISA’s simply give savers an annual deposit limit of £3,600, and once this has been reached, no more can be added, regardless of any withdrawals.
Because savers can get good returns from paying no tax on the interest they earn, ISA’s tend to offer lower rates than Fixed Term Bonds.
Most ISA’s are affected by cuts made to the Bank of England Base rate, so if you open an ISA when rates are high, you cannot guarantee they will stay high. Fixed rate ISA’s allow you to fix in at a rate for a specified term, but this does carry some risk, as rates change, especially over a long term.
Always check out what kind of compensation scheme is used by your proposed bank or building society to ensure that your savings are covered in full. For more information on this, see Which4U’s Top Ten Savings Tips.
The bottom line for all savings accounts is to ensure you are earning the highest possible returns on your money. Although ISA’s offer tax free interest, you may find that the difference in rates offered against fixed term bonds will in fact leave you worse off. Before making a choice, compare the savings market for the best deals, and use your new found knowledge of these accounts to make an educated decision on where to invest your savings.
One last thing to remember is to always make sure (where possible) you keep the interest rates paid on your account above the rate of inflation (incuding tax deductions), as anything below would result in your money actually losing value. Inflation is used to measure the rate at which prices will increase, so if this level is higher than the interest you are earning, your money will be slowly eroding.
Oct
13
Home Loan Modifications and Your Credit Score
Filed Under Home Loans | Comments Off
Loan Modification Attorney
A Home Loan Modification can help you stop foreclosure and stay in your home. But if you’re like most homeowners, you’re probably wondering how it will affect your credit, and whether in a good or bad way. Unfortunately, there’s no single answer—it all depends on how far behind you are and the kind of mortgage loan modification you’ll be granted.
Best-case scenarios
Technically, since you’re not borrowing any money, a home loan modification won’t hurt your credit score. If you’re paying less in interest, you have a smaller debt burden. And since most lenders prefer an interest rate reduction, there’s a pretty good chance that a Home loan modification will improve your credit score.
The implications are even better if your lender forgives part of the principal, although this is less common. If they write off $50,000 from your loan amount, it will show up on your report as a smaller loan, which can increase your credit score.
The lender factor
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way. It also depends on how your lender reports the home loan modification to the credit bureaus. Many of them will consider it paid for less than the original amount owed, which will count against your score. If you’re already in foreclosure, the impact on your credit can be substantial. Of course, compared to a short sale or a foreclosure, a Mortgage Loan Modification is still the best way to maintain your credit standing.
Tax implications
One of the early problems with Loan modification is that the amount forgiven is usually taxable. That means if your debt is reduced by $50,000, the IRS views it as income and imposes the corresponding tax. This can catch homeowners off guard during tax season, as many of them don’t know the tax implications at the time of the modification.
To avoid such incidents, the IRS announced in 2007 that Loan modification would no longer be classified as “prohibited transactions.” This applied to all loans originated from January 2004 to July 2007, the peak of the sub-prime boom, and those due to adjust from January 2009 to July 2012. If your mortgage falls under these categories, you won’t have to file a 1099 declaring the change as taxable.
A loan modification is much like going to court: you can save your money and get a court-appointed lawyer, or you can invest in professional representation and get the best mortgage assistance. Your loss mitigation won’t happen overnight, but if with a capable Loan Modification Attorney, you can be sure you’re in good hands.
A Home Loan Modification can help you stop foreclosure and stay in your home. But if you’re like most homeowners, you’re probably wondering how it will affect your credit, and whether in a good or bad way. Unfortunately, there’s no single answer—it all depends on how far behind you are and the kind of mortgage loan modification you’ll be granted.
Best-case scenarios
Technically, since you’re not borrowing any money, a home loan modification won’t hurt your credit score. If you’re paying less in interest, you have a smaller debt burden. And since most lenders prefer an interest rate reduction, there’s a pretty good chance that a Home loan modification will improve your credit score.
The implications are even better if your lender forgives part of the principal, although this is less common. If they write off $50,000 from your loan amount, it will show up on your report as a smaller loan, which can increase your credit score.
The lender factor
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way. It also depends on how your lender reports the home loan modification to the credit bureaus. Many of them will consider it paid for less than the original amount owed, which will count against your score. If you’re already in foreclosure, the impact on your credit can be substantial. Of course, compared to a short sale or a foreclosure, a Mortgage Loan Modification is still the best way to maintain your credit standing.
Tax implications
One of the early problems with Loan modification is that the amount forgiven is usually taxable. That means if your debt is reduced by $50,000, the IRS views it as income and imposes the corresponding tax. This can catch homeowners off guard during tax season, as many of them don’t know the tax implications at the time of the modification.
To avoid such incidents, the IRS announced in 2007 that Loan modification would no longer be classified as “prohibited transactions.” This applied to all loans originated from January 2004 to July 2007, the peak of the sub-prime boom, and those due to adjust from January 2009 to July 2012. If your mortgage falls under these categories, you won’t have to file a 1099 declaring the change as taxable.
A loan modification is much like going to court: you can save your money and get a court-appointed lawyer, or you can invest in professional representation and get the best mortgage assistance. Your loss mitigation won’t happen overnight, but if with a capable Loan Modification Attorney, you can be sure you’re in good hands.