Friday, March 03, 2006

Mortgage Loan Options - Going Exotic

Author: Dan Lewis

In the past, a person had limited options when borrowing money for a home purchase. These days, there are exotic mortgage loan options that satisfy just about every borrowing need.

Creative Mortgages

Getting a loan for a home purchase can be very stressful. What if you don't qualify? How humiliated will you be? These days, there's no reason to worry. The mortgage lending market has a solution for just about everyone.

1. Do the Two Step. The Two-Step Mortgage is a mixed interest rate loan. Essentially, the loan provides a lower fixed interest rate for a period of 5 years or so and then adjusts to a new rate at the end of the period. The new rate is dependent upon the interest rates being charged at the time of the change. This loan can be helpful for borrowers who are squeezing into a loan since the initial period tends to have a lower interest rate than a straight fixed interest loan.

2. Graduated Payments - Graduated Payment Mortgages are loans that, well, have a graduated payment schedule. Depending on the specific lender, the first five to seven years of mortgage payments will be 10 to 20 percent lower than a fixed rate mortgage. After the prescribed time, the payments will actually be higher than a fixed rate loan. The advantage of this loan is two fold. First, it lets you borrow more money than a fixed loan because you can qualify for the lower initial payments. Second, the loan is optimal if you are expecting to sell the house within the initial five-year period after significant appreciation.

3. Sharing Appreciation - Shared Appreciation Mortgages are typically provided by private investors and even family members. In essence, you borrow money to purchase a home by agreeing to ""share"" a percentage of future appreciation in the home with the lender. Private lenders can want as much as fifty percent of the appreciation, but they will significantly lower the interest rate on the loans. SAMs should really only be used if you have horrible credit and no other options.

There three loan options are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mortgages. If you need to get creative, find a reputable mortgage broker in your area and see what they can come up with for you.

About the author: Dan Lewis is a mortgage broker with http://www.gwhomeloans.com - San Diego mortgage brokers providing home loans and refinances. Visit http://www.gwhomeloans.com/services.html to learn more about options for San Diego mortgages.

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