How can i take advantage of todays low mortgage rates??? Q)i want to build or buy a house but havent found one or havent found a place to build one yet. i want to take advantage of these low rates right now. is there anyway i can start paying on a mortgage now and lock in my interest rate, then when i find what i want i would have this low interest rate and already have paid some on it????? or is there a way i can get a say 200,000 mortgage, put the money in a cd, then when im ready i could take the money out, use it to pay for the house. i know someone is going to say to just put howevermuch money the payment is going to be, and put it in savings then when im ready, i would have that savings for a bigger down payment, and that would offset the cost of having a higher interest. well thats just too hard to do for me. its easy for me to make payments but real hard to put money in savings. any suggestions???? A)You can't take advantage of today's low mortgage rates without a piece of property...The problem is that the mortgage is a secured loan that uses the property as collateral...That's why its interest rate is so much lower than personal/unsecured loans. How can i take advantage of todays low mortgage rates??? Q)i want to build or buy a house but havent found one or havent found a place to build one yet. i want to take advantage of these low rates right now. is there anyway i can start paying on a mortgage now and lock in my interest rate, then when i find what i want i would have this low interest rate and already have paid some on it????? or is there a way i can get a say 200,000 mortgage, put the money in a cd, then when im ready i could take the money out, use it to pay for the house. i know someone is going to say to just put howevermuch money the payment is going to be, and put it in savings then when im ready, i would have that savings for a bigger down payment, and that would offset the cost of having a higher interest. well thats just too hard to do for me. its easy for me to make payments but real hard to put money in savings. any suggestions???? A)why don't you look into a lease-with-option-to-buy? you can rent from the owner, but a portion of the payment goes towards the down payment on the house. then, in 6-12 months, you can purchase the home with some money down. remember to negotiate the purchase price upfront when you enter the contract. but, there is no mortgage product that allows you to get the cash now and not have the loan secured by a property. last suggestion would be setting up a direct withdrawl from your paycheck, and have it put into a savings account. maybe if you don't have to actually bring the money to the savings account, you won't miss it. good luck... homeownership rocks! How can i take advantage of todays low mortgage rates??? Q)i want to build or buy a house but havent found one or havent found a place to build one yet. i want to take advantage of these low rates right now. is there anyway i can start paying on a mortgage now and lock in my interest rate, then when i find what i want i would have this low interest rate and already have paid some on it????? or is there a way i can get a say 200,000 mortgage, put the money in a cd, then when im ready i could take the money out, use it to pay for the house. i know someone is going to say to just put howevermuch money the payment is going to be, and put it in savings then when im ready, i would have that savings for a bigger down payment, and that would offset the cost of having a higher interest. well thats just too hard to do for me. its easy for me to make payments but real hard to put money in savings. any suggestions???? A)You can't take advantage of today's low mortgage rates without a piece of property...The problem is that the mortgage is a secured loan that uses the property as collateral...That's why its interest rate is so much lower than personal/unsecured loans. What does the Fed rate decrease mean for me trying to obtain a mortgage? Q)I'm in the market to buy a house and was wondering if todays rate cut by the fed would impact the rates on mortgages A)Short answer: the move this morning was more symbolic than substantive...didn't mean much to anyone. If they were to cut the real rate (the Fed Funds rate), then it still wouldn't guarantee lower mortgage rates. The rate dropped this morning was the discount rate...which is the rate banks can borrow reserves from the Fed itself. The thing is that the rate was dropped from 6.25% to 5.75%. However, the other place to borrow reserves is from the Fed Funds market (which is where banks can borrow reserves from each other), on which the target rate is 5.25% (while the Fed doesn't lend this money, they control the money supply which allows them to dictate what this rate wll be). Obviously, you wouldn't pay 5.75% for reserves from the Fed when you could get reserves from another bank for 5.25%. So in essence, what happened is that the Fed now is charging 0.5% above the going market rate to borrow reserves from them instead of 1%. The move today was more symbolic than substantive. The Fed only controls short term rates, mortgage rates are based on long term rates, which don't necessarily track short term rates. Some people fear that if the Fed does cut short term rates (and by short term rates, we are talking the Fed Funds rate, not the Discount Rate), the long term rates will move higher because they will be anticipating inflation. Long term treasury rates moved somewhat higher today...presumably mortgage rates went with them. Fellow ozs! How does the todays interest rate rise affects you? will it change your voting preferences? Q)I donot have mortgage but understand that it will increase my expenses. I have already decided my party. A)The interest rate rise will put a huge strain on my family & I. I've Battled for years trying to keep up with the mortgage, as a single parent, over 20 years in a designated Aboriginal community public service position working under below award wages conditions. I'll be glad to see the back of the Liberals! Fellow ozs! How does the todays interest rate rise affects you? will it change your voting preferences? Q)I donot have mortgage but understand that it will increase my expenses. I have already decided my party. A)The interest rate rise will put a huge strain on my family & I. I've Battled for years trying to keep up with the mortgage, as a single parent, over 20 years in a designated Aboriginal community public service position working under below award wages conditions. I'll be glad to see the back of the Liberals!

Cash-Out Refinance or Second Mortgage? If Second Mortgage...home equity loan or HELOC?

Q)My 2-family home is valued at 375K. I have 12 years and 88K on it left. My current loan is at a 4.9 interest rate. I need to borrow 220K and need it in lump sum. With todays rates being around 6.5 for a 30 year, I know refinancing is out of the question. Which would be better for me, a HEL or a HELOC? What would my payments be for 30 years, 15 years? Thanks

A)look the best interest rate you will get is a fixed rate at 30 year if you can not afford this rate, you will get crushed with a home equity or other second note, they are variable and rates are not coming down but going up, after the teaser rate period is over you are going to get whacked almost double the payment, so when looking at a home equity read the fine print, see how long the teaser rate last and figure what ever your payment is double it once the teaser period is over