Friday, October 03, 2008

Reap great profits with a buy to let mortgage

Author: Nidhi

Reap great profits with a buy to let mortgage

For anyone looking to invest in the property market, the options are galore. You can either invest into commercial properties or residential properties. Most people buy real properties like homes and buildings and then put them back into the market for sale at a price higher than the one they paid for buying it initially. Another kind of property investment that is known to reap great returns is that of buy to let investment .

Buy to let investment entails buying a particular property with the intention of letting it out. Often investors of such rental properties are known to earn great profits via rental incomes. But the question is how will you purchase this property? The answer is quite simple: by availing a buy to let mortgage.

A buy to let mortgage is a sort of secured loan that allows you to buy a particular property with the purpose of letting it out on rent. This mortgage is basically availed against the property that you are buying, thus giving your lender a legal claim on it. There are several factors that lenders look into before lending you this mortgage . Various factors like the stability of your job, your credit history, value of the property you are buying etc. will determine whether your mortgage gets approved or not. Most lenders also look into your income to ascertain whether you are going to completely depend on your rental income for your installments or you have a back up .

In all probability you will be able to finance 85% of the property's value via the mortgage, with you being expected to pay 15% of the value. The market is abounding with choices when it comes to buy to let mortgages. Since the competition in the mortgage business is so fierce, you will find a good number of lenders hankering after your business. This increases your chances of getting a low rate of interest for your buy to let mortgage .

A word of caution for all buy to let mortgage seekers. Before you take your business to a particular lender , you must ensure the following points:

. Is the lender or the lending institution FSA authorised? You can check with FSA's register on its website. . Does your lender have access to a lot of different buy to let mortgage products? . Are they able to arrange a buy to let mortgage for you within a span of 10 days?

Although, there is a system in place, which you can approach in case anything goes bust; yet it is not fool proof. Financial Services Compensation Scheme will not cover buy to let properties unless the borrower uses 40% of the property for residential purposes. So, remaining alert is always the best thing to do.

About the author: Seek.uk

Nidhi

http://www.seek.uk.com

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Mortgage Regrets That Are Best Avoided

Author: Darren Bent

In any person's lifetime, it is unlikely that they will ever make any financial commitment that will be larger than that of their mortgage. Yet not many take the trouble to ensure that they have taken all the necessary precautions to make sure that he biggest financial deal of their lives goes through without a hitch. And that there are no regrets over the sound financial investment that is their mortgage.

Instead many tend to concentrate all their efforts in securing the mortgage. There is nothing wrong with this of course, only that on securing a mortgage, they should also carefully look at insurance cover on their mortgage so that if anything does go wrong, they will not lose their family homes.

There are some deep and searching questions that anybody taking out a mortgage needs to ask themselves. They include the following;

What if they suddenly lost their current job or source of income? What if they woke up to the fact one day that they were unable to work? This can easily happen through total disability. One can even find themselves in the unfortunate situation of being permanently and totally disabled. Actually it happens all the time as somebody who watches the news regularly will tell you.

In other words, just a little bad luck could easily make you lose your most valuable asset which you have worked very hard and long to acquire. And all this will be happening at a time when you need it the most. Nobody wants to face the prospect of losing their house at a time when they are unable to work anymore. It may be virtually the only asset they have left. It could also be the only inheritance left for their children.

All this risk is usually wiped away or covered substantially by simply acquiring a good Mortgage Protection insurance cover.

About the author: Darren writes for several different uk financial websites including http://www.rhinolifeinsurance.com and the Rhino range and http://www.goodinsurance.com

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Mortgage Refinancing Tips

Author: Dan Lewis

As interest rates continue to creep upwards, many home owners are looking at refinancing options. Here are some mortgage refinancing tips.

Mortgage Refinancing Tips

Rates have been increasing steadily for the last six months. These increases are expected to continue into 2006. Such increases are putting pressure on homeowners who took out adjustable rate mortgages or have been borrowing money against a home equity line of credit. For people in this position, refinancing into a fixed rate mortgage is starting to look very attractive if for no other reason than to avoid future bumps in the rates.

If you are considering refinancing your mortgage, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Unlike the rushed process of trying to get funding for a purchase, you have more time to evaluate and compare mortgage options. Shop around and find out what different lenders are offering that fit your potential needs.

1. What is your goal? - Is your goal to lower the monthly payment or to simply try to pay less interest? While these questions may seem like the same thing, a lower interest rate can be translated into the same month payment amount, but with more of the payment being applied to the principal of the loan. This, of course, helps you pay off the note faster. The bigger point is to simply figure out your goal and find a loan that meets it.

2. Shop Lenders - One of the best ways to do this is seek a pre-approval from a variety of lenders. You might be concerned this will hurt your FICO score, but refinance credit requests often don't ding your FICO. If you're not sure about this, simply don't supply the lender with you social security number. They will give you a less definite loan offer, but you'll still have the advantage of reading the fine terms to make sure it accomplishes your goals.

3. In Writing - Once you choose a lender, you need to nail down three important things in writing. The first is the interest rate. The second is the closing costs, if any. The third is any pre-payment penalty associated with the loan. If the lender drags there feet on any of these, consider walking away from the loan.

Refinancing a mortgage is a less stressful process when compared to getting a purchase loan. You are in the catbirds seat, so don't let lenders push you around.

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