How to compare mortgage loans

Comparing mortgage loans is one of the most important things you can do when you’re buying a home. The decisions you make will determine the size of your monthly payments, how much you pay upfront, and how much interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan.

You might find it simpler to compare loans if you ask each lender a series of questions, including:

• What is the loan’s interest rate?
• Will I be charged points?
• What are the closing costs and all other fees?
• What is the annual percentage rate, or APR – the rate you’ll pay per year for all the costs associated with the loan?
• Is there a pre-payment penalty?
• How is the loan amortized, meaning how quickly is the principal paid off?

Find out the answers to these questions no matter what type of loan you’re considering. Each can affect the overall cost of your loan. 

If you are considering an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, you can compare loans by asking:

• When does the rate adjust?
• How often does the rate adjust?
• Is there a cap limiting the amount by which the rate can adjust? What would my monthly payments be if my interest rate hit that cap?
• What is the index and margin that will determine my rate? How has the index changed over time?

ARMs are inherently more risky than fixed-rate mortgages because you’re gambling on whether interest rates will go up or go down before your rate adjusts. Understanding the best- and worst-case scenarios can help you weigh the pros and cons as you compare loans. 

But there’s one other big question to consider before you get an ARM:

• How does the discount introductory rate compare with rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans?

If there’s not much difference when you compare the two, the fixed-rate loan might be a safer bet. You won’t save much in the short-term, and could save a lot over the long term. Plus, you reduce your risk if interest rates shoot up and you can’t refinance before the rate adjustment. 

Finally, to truly compare loans, you have to ask yourself some questions:

• How long do I expect to stay in my home?
• Are my job and income secure over the long term?
• Will I be able to afford higher payments in the future?
• How comfortable am I with risk?

In the end, the best loan is the one that works for your needs.

Ref: lendingtree.com/mortgage-loans/advice/comparing-mortgage-loans/how-to-compare-mortgage-loans/

KK Flight-controller setup guide

The interest in my KK flight controllers was bigger than I had anticipated. I’ve actually sold all of the boards that I had parts for, but as so many of you wanted a controller from me, I’ve ordered some more parts and will have another set of boards ready in another week or so (or two weeks if anything I’ve ordered is delayed).

Some people have actually already got their boards and are now asking for the setup guide. I have the great pleasure to tell you that the wait is now over! So far the guide only covers Tricopter and Quadcopter configurations, but more configs are coming soon.

Update: Quadcopter-X configuration guide is now available as well.
Update 2: Y6 and Hexacopter configuration guides are now up and running.

A big THANK YOU! to all of you that has bought a flight-controller from me. I hope that you’ll be pleased with it and that you will share your projects.

5 tips for first-time mortgage borrowers

Shopping for a mortgage can be intimidating. It’s natural to feel anxious about doing something new for the first time, and getting your first mortgage is no exception.

Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to make sure you’re being well-prepared before you start looking for your first home loan. Here are five tips to help first-time mortgage borrowers.:

1. Lock Your Interest Rate. Interest rates on mortgages can increase or decrease from day to day or even hour to hour. Discuss the interest rate outlook with your loan officer and try to learn as much as you can about how ups and downs in interest rate quotes might affect your mortgage payment and your ability to qualify for that loan. To protect yourself from interest rate rises, ask about a rate lock, which can reserve a specific interest rate for you for a set time period. If you decide to lock your rate, make sure your lock period won’t expire before your closing date. (Read more about locking your interest rate.)

2. Consider FHA. If you’re a first-time home buyer, you might want to shop for an “FHA loan,” which is a mortgage that’s insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA loans offer competitive interest rates, allow smaller down payments and have easier qualification guidelines compared with other types of loans. The minimum down payment for an FHA loan is just 3.5 percent of the purchase price of the home, although FHA loans do require that you pay mortgage insurance. 

3. Take the Tax Credit. If you haven’t owned a home in the past three years, you may be able to qualify for the federal First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, which is worth up to $8,000. The credit is refundable, which means you’ll even get a rebate of sorts from the federal government if the income tax that you owe is less than the full amount of the credit. The credit is subject to income limitations and you’ll have to act fast since it’s set to expire after Nov. 30, 2009. Some lenders may allow you to use the credit as a down payment, to pay settlement fees or other closing costs or to pay discount points to reduce the interest rate on your loan.

4. Educate Yourself. A plain-vanilla 30-year or 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is fairly easy to understand. But other types of loans can be more complicated. If you want to consider an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or other less common type of loan product, do your homework and make sure you fully understand how your loan works before you sign the loan documents.

5. Shop Around. Interest rates, loan products and loan terms vary among lenders. That means all borrowers, whether novice or not, should shop around for loan offers. Ask about the benefits and risks of each loan and be sure to compare the quoted points and estimated closing costs as well as the interest rates on different loans before you decide which would best fit your personal situation.

Ref: lendingtree.com/smartborrower/first-time-home-buyers/first-mortgage/first-mortgage/

Student Loan Debt Consolidation Uk: Go for it

By: Antonio Vargas

Balancing debts and studies is a very difficult proposition for students. With the rising education fees in UK, it has become difficult for students to pursue a course of their choice. With loans for each and each and every purpose available and the availability of credit cards, arranging finances has become easy. But with reckless expenses, the debts multiply and it becomes impossible to manage the debts. The enormous bulk of the debts affects in the study, which is not at all good for students. But now lenders in UK are offering loans to consolidate the debts. Student loan debt consolidation UK offers rational and practical loans to clear the multiple debts.

Student Loan Debt Consolidation UK is a perfect way to wipe out the multiple debts. The loan is especially designed for the student community in UK. Unlike any other loans, student loan debt consolidation UK is quite different. The policies are extremely friendly which suits the pocket. Even the repayment term starts after the loan applicant has completed the studies. This enables the loan applicant to repay the loan after getting a suitable job.

The sole aim of student loan debt consolidation UK is to help you finish off the multiple debts. With lower interest rates and easy repayment schedules, it becomes easy for the loan applicant to erase the debts. By merging all your existing debts in to a single manageable debt, you get to pay low interest rates. By this you save substantial amount of money. The loan is also eligible to borrowers who are having adverse bad credit record.

Student loan debt consolidation UK can be sourced from different lenders available online. It is here that the applicant can derive the loan at lower interest rate that too without any hassles. By comparing the quotes available online, the applicant has the freedom to choose the best deal available.

Student loan debt consolidation UK is an ideal option for students facing the problem of debts. With easy terms and conditions, it is an ideal option to completely get rid off the debts.

 ref: streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/167742/student_loans/student_loan_debt_consolidation_uk_go_for_it.html

Finding Auto Loan Rates in a Recession

by passivefamilyincome

Have you looked at auto loan rates recently? If you are in the market for a new or used vehicle, you may find that it is not as easy as it once was to get funded for a automobile. My wife and I have recently started our search for a new vehicle as our current car lease is set to expire in a few weeks. I had figured that dealerships would be doing anything they possibly can to get buyers in the door with special incentives. We found that there are some deals out there for current year end models, but the inventory of these vehicles is extremely limited. Furthermore, we found several occurrences of misleading advertisements to get buyers in the door. While this is nothing new (and wasn’t a big surprise), we were disappointed that dealerships still promote these types of ads in the midst of a recession. My personal feeling is that the buyers have all the power now with what has been going on in the auto industry.

Unfortunately, for some of the dealerships we visited, the lack of deals and incentives was somewhat out of their control. Take for example our current Ford vehicle that we are leasing. I called the dealership to find out what our buyout on the vehicle would cost and to see what financing options they had. One of our options is to purchase the current leased vehicle we are driving as our next car. We know the history of the vehicle and it has less than 20,000 miles on it in 2 years. There is a lot of value in that purchase and is an option we are considering. However, when I spoke with the Ford dealership, the salesperson (who I have a lot of respect and trust for) told me that Ford Credit should not be an option for me. He said that the current rate they could offer was over 10% APR. I about fell over when he told me the rate. He also mentioned to me that we had excellent credit and that was about the best rate they could offer on a used vehicle. He suggested that we seek out our own financing if we wanted to purchase our existing vehicle. This is always a smart thing to do regardless of the economic climate. You should always shop around for the best rates and financing options available to fit your needs.

After my discussion with the Ford salesperson about the buyout option for our current vehicle, we discussed options for leasing or buying a new vehicle. I asked him what deals were available, expecting all sorts of excellent incentives and savings. To my amazement, the deals were very lean. While they had some decent rebates on some larger vehicles, there was nothing that jumped out to us as an excellent deal for a new lease. Then I asked about 0% financing options on purchasing a new vehicle. The salesperson told me that they had 0% financing options on 24 and 36 month purchases. I asked if they offered 60 month 0% financing, which would fit into our budget. He explained to me that the banks won’t give the automobile companies loans past 3 years because they are worried they will go under. Basically, all of the news that I watch on television and read on the internet about the banks and the automobile industry hit home. While I think the auto dealers would love to entice buyers with great deals, I think it is somewhat out of their control. The 0% financing on a new vehicle is a nice option, but the 36 month period is difficult for many families to fit into a budget.

The financing troubles are not just exclusive to the domestic automakers. We decided (for the first time ever) to consider buying a foreign made car. I have mixed feelings about purchasing a vehicle that isn’t from a Detroit Automaker. The top priority is to find a safe, reliable, and affordable family vehicle. If that means purchasing a foreign vehicle, then that is what we will do. We visited multiple Toyota dealerships recently and were also a little disappointed in the available deals. The foreign automakers are not in that great of shape either, so my assumption is that they would be making great deals. Once again, we found that financing has become an issue. The best rate Toyota could offer us was around 7% on a new vehicle. One of the salespersons we spoke to also told us that their rates are expected to rise even more and suggested we look outside their internal lending to outside banks for better rates.

I decided to conduct a search on the internet looking for great auto loan rates after we visited the dealerships, looking to see what we could find. The cheapest rate for a new vehicle I could find was in the high 6% range. I searched long and hard to find a better rate and looked at banks like Wachovia, BB&T, Fifth Third Bank, and Chase Bank to name a few. How can we get our economy moving again when the cheapest interest rates for a new automobile are in the upper 6% and go up over 10%. These are rates for people with very good credit. I can’t imagine what people with poor credit are being charged.

We still have some affordable options available to us for purchasing or leasing a vehicle in the short-term. However, the great deals that I was expecting were not out there. I was surprised that dealerships were not begging us to buy from them and throwing in all kinds of incentives and options. While I believe some of it is a result of poor management for many years catching up to the auto industry, I also blame the financial crunch for the lack of deals.

ref: passivefamilyincome.com/2008/12/15/finding-auto-loan-rates-in-a-recession/