Home Loan Information
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The key to saving money on your mortgage is to get the best possible mortgage for
yourself. Sounds so obvious it's silly, right? But the point here is that you don't
need to do it the way everyone else does. In fact, if you're willing to educate
yourself in the ways of the mortgage world, you can save quite a bit of money by
being a little different. Below we introduce you to some of the strategies that will save you money. But remember, the only person who knows if it's right for
you is you.
The 6% Solution
There is something called a seller concession that can save you money. It works
like this: suppose you agree on the price of the house at, say, $200,000. You then
ask the seller for a 6% seller concession. What this means is that you add (up to)
6% to the price of the house. That's right, you're now going to pay $212,000 for
that house -- but the seller is going to give you that $12,000 back when the sale
takes place. You're going to use that money to cover all of your closing costs.
If we pretend for a moment that those costs add up to precisely $12,000, then what
you've done is folded those closing costs into the mortgage. Points, title search,
recordation fees -- all of the items that you'll find listed in our "closing costs"
article, and most of which are not tax-deductible -- have effectively been included
in your mortgage. Since your mortgage interest is tax-deductible, these costs have
effectively become tax write-offs. In addition, you don't have to come up with all
that extra cash at settlement. Your down payment will be somewhat higher, (if you're
putting down 20%, then in the current example your down payment would be $42,400,
versus $40,000) and, of course, your mortgage payments will be higher, but it ends
up saving you money. The seller has no reason to refuse this -- after all, the agreed-upon
price is still the same. What's the catch? The catch is that the house has to appraise
for the higher value. If the appraiser comes back and tells you that this house
won't appraise for higher than $200,000, you can't do it. Let's look into this a
little further. Say you buy the house for $200,000. Your $40,000 down payment leaves
you needing a loan for $160,000. You get a 30-year loan at 8%. Your monthly payments
for principal and interest are $1,174. Now say you decide to use the 6% seller concession
strategy. You buy this house for the price of $212,000. You put down 20%, and this
leaves you needing a loan of $169,600. Your monthly payments will be $1,244, or
$70 more per month. Is it worth it? To begin with, many people aren't going to feel
an enormous difference between paying the extra $70 per month -- not nearly as much
as they would feel over having to fork out an extra $12,000 all at once. But what
about the fact that you have to now pay this extra money over the course of 30 years?
Well, over the course of 30 years you're paying $25,200 more for that extra $12,000
($70 more per month x 12 months in a year x 30 years = $25,200). However, remember
that's $12,000 less out of your pocket at the time of closing. If you take $12,000
and invest it at 10% (less than the market average has returned over the past 35
years) then your money will grow to over $200,000 (before taxes) at the end of 30
years. So, in this scenario, it's well worth it. Naturally you'll want to run the
numbers for your particular loan to see whether it would be worth it for you. Note:
there are certain rules under certain mortgages as to what the seller can actually
pay for at closing. If you get $12,000 from the seller and all of your costs are
$12,000, this does not necessarily mean that you won't have to pay anything. Be
sure to ask your lender which costs the seller may cover.
Assume an Existing Mortgage
One option is to assume the mortgage on the house you are buying. (That's another
way of saying you'll take over the existing mortgage on the house, rather than getting
a new one.) This is beneficial if, for example, the existing mortgage has a lower
inte rest rate. You can also avoid some of the administrative costs of taking out
a new loan. In order to assume a mortgage, it must be transferable, and you must
be able to pay enough cash (or get a second mortgage) to cover the difference between
the purchase price and the outstanding debt.
Seller Financing
"Seller financing" means that you can pay the seller directly over a period of time,
rather than borrow money and pay at once. With a seller mortgage, you can often
negotiate a better interest rate and avoid the various administrative fees charged
by lending institutions. Seller financing can be attractive if for some reason you
can't qualify for a loan. More importantly, it enables you to avoid the dreaded
mortgage insurance. One circumstance in which such financing is available occurs
when the seller has had difficulty in selling the house. If that's the case, you'll
naturally want to know why. Also, sellers are not in the lending business. They
tend to want a short-term mortgage -- usually not longer than three years. After
that time, you will have to get a mortgage from a regular lender and pay the seller
in full. There are other reasons why a seller might want to provide financing. It
gives him a steady stream of income and return without having to pay capital gains
tax. The seller also has collateral -- the house. If the buyer defaults, then the
seller can take the house back.
Play With the Points, Play With the Time
Yes! You see? Mortgages are just like basketball! Depending on the mortgage, the
strength of your finances, and the interest rate environment, it might be to your
advantage to pay off the interest or principal sooner than you might otherwise.
Check out our calculators to find out if you should pay points or take out a 15-year
mortgage instead of one for 30 years.
Pay Down the Principal
For a very long time, most of the money that you will pay to your mortgage company
is going to go to interest payments. That means that you may be in your house for
over 20 years before you own more of it than the bank does. But there's a way to
speed up the amount that you own. And why is that important (other than the obvious
psychological benefits)? Because if you owe less to the bank, you will also owe
them less interest.
Be Your Own Best Advocate
Mortgage lenders must compete for your business. That means they will negotiate.
Don't assume that their published interest rates are final. Collect information
on available interest rates and mortgage features from lenders in your area. Decide
which features meet your needs. Be prepared to ask for better terms -- a reduction
of at least a quarter percent of the published interest rate is reasonable. You
will be in a stronger negotiating position if your credit history is good.
Home Loan Information
- Receive multiple home loan offers and compare mortgage rates