MortgageFit Blog

Most of the homebuyers who have purchased their dream home during the housing boom of 2004 - 2006 are upside down on their mortgage. So, what does “upside down on mortgage” mean? It is a situation where you owe more money on your home than you could get by selling it. It’s very discouraging to know that you owe more on your home is worth.

But hold on. If you find yourself in such a situation, you have some options which might let you keep your home. Check them out here:

1. Programs available and whom to talk: When you are upside down on your mortgage, it is very important to know what programs are available for you. You should also know whom you should talk to in order to take advantage of those programs. For example Hope for Homeowners is great program to help people who are on the verge of mortgage default and foreclosure. You can contact your lender and check out how they can help you in your situation.

2. Rent your property: Though renting of the property leads to a lot of wear and tear, you can demand rent that equals your monthly mortgage payments. However, this would depend upon your location. In the meanwhile, you can devote some amount of money towards the principle balance which will help you in building equity. However, I agree that this option may not be open for everyone.

3. Consult Your Lender: A lender does not want to take away your home. With lots of foreclosed property in the market, he may have to bear a huge loss if he forecloses the property. If you are unable to pay the mortgage debts, speak to you lender about loan modification. Through this process, the lender will give you an alternative payment plan in order to pay off the loan.

If you do not want to keep the property further, you can speak to the lender about short sale and deed in lieu of foreclosure. Though these steps would tarnish your credit, it would not be as stressful as foreclosure or filing bankruptcy.

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Hello everyone,

It’s a pleasure for me to announce that nearly 70,000 discussions have taken place in MortgageFit Forums till date. Moreover, the community has also crossed 32,500 members!!! Though there are various categories in our forums, yet discussions on loan modification, bankruptcy, refinance and first time home buyer’s tax credit are gaining importance in recent times.

With the low interest rates prevailing in the market, the borrowers want to take advantage of it by refinancing their existing loans. The low rates and first time homebuyer’s tax credit have also encouraged people to buy a home of their own. Perhaps this is why discussions on such issues are getting quite common these days.

With new plans announced by President Obama, lenders are offering loan modification as a solution to borrowers who have defaulted on their loans. I guess, loan modification has become popular because people have realized that it would help them in saving their property when they are in mortgage problems. That’s the reason why discussions on loan modification have increased in number recently.

Experts participating in this community are doing their best to guide the common people so that they can take the right step in solving mortgage and related issues. So, if you’re in mortgage problem or you need to discuss a financial issue, feel free to speak about it in our forums.  Our members and experts will come forward to help you with their real life experiences on such issues.

So, let’s hope… our forum discussions will help resolve your mortgage/financial problems. Here’s wishing that you get over your problems asap and lead a tension-free life.

April 15th is round the corner and it’s common for last minute filers to rush through their tax forms. Rushing through the tax forms may increase the chances of making unnecessary mistakes. It has been noticed that due to these unnecessary mistakes, the tax refunds from the government are delayed. Here are some of the tax tips which may help you in filing your taxes for 2009:

1. Create a collection point: Once you start receiving the tax-related documents, you can create a collection point to keep a track of them. You may keep them in a large envelop so that you have all the data ready when you start filling out the forms.
2. Social Security numbers: You’ll have to make sure that everyone in your tax family has a valid Social Security number and that you have them written down correctly. You can write it down in a piece of paper and keep it along with your tax statements.If you are filing jointly, the IRS should have your spouse’s Social Security number as well as yours. Apart from this, they should also have the social security number of any dependents you claim. Important transactions like income statements, savings account interest, retirement plan contributions will depend upon them. It also checks the identification numbers against any tax breaks you apply for.
3. Get hold of the required forms: Tax payers usually get a tax packet in January though e-filings have become popular. If you want to file it in the old-fashioned way, you can use them. If you are using the forms, it is always better to have backup forms. The backup forms will help you in case of mistake. Most of the common forms are available in the post offices and libraries. You can download the rest from the Internet.
4. Electronic filing: If you are comfortable using the computers, you can try filing the forms electronically. This helps in an easy processing of your taxes. It also helps in detecting wrong calculations and provides a quick confirmation that your returns have been received. You can e-file for free via the Free File Alliance(http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html).

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The uncertainty which has sent the stocks to 12-year low has now started to affect the corporate bonds and loans which had resulted into a lot of gains earlier in the year. The short-term credit markets are still doing better than the last year. This is a result of the programs taken up by the government to buy commercial paper and guarantee short-term debt.

Bond investors are worried about the fact that government’s repeated modification to its financial rescue packages are undermining the foundation of bond investing. They want the assurance that the creditors should have the right to claim their assets first if a borrower defaults. If government cannot provide this assurance, it is risky to own bonds of stalwart institutions even.

Another important thing that is to be noted here is that investors are not sure about the government’s plan to bolster U.S. banks which can help in unfreezing the credit market. It is expected that the market could continue to drop unless there is clarity from the government on its bailout plans. Rather it would harm the economy further.

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One of the main features of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the refundable first time homebuyer’s tax credit of up to $8,000. It is planned in such a way that it gives a boost to the slumped housing market.

So, who are the first time homebuyers?
A first time homebuyer is a person who hasn’t owned a property in the past 3 years.

Who all are eligible for first time homebuyers tax credit?

• First time homebuyer’s tax credit is available on those homes which are purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.
• Homebuyers will get a tax credit up to 10% of the purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• People with adjusted gross income of $75,000 or above (for single) and combined adjusted gross income of $150,000 or above (for couples) will not get this benefit.

Though you purchase the property in 2009, you will be able to get the benefit of tax credit on 2008 taxes.

How can you take advantage of this tax credit?
In order to take advantage of the tax credit, homebuyers can close on their homes before April 15, 2009 or they may even get an extension to file taxes later in the year. Moreover, homeowners can also go for filing an amended return. There are some state housing programs which will allow the homebuyers to access the money from tax credit at closing.

Do you have to pay back the tax credit?
If you sell off your property within 3 years, then you will have to pay back the tax credit. Otherwise, you are not required to pay it back. This is an improvement upon the previous tax credit passed on 2008 wherein it would have to be paid back over a period of 15 years.

In my opinion, the best aspect of the tax credit for first time homebuyers is the provision of allowing them to claim the tax credit immediately. This is a positive step in the right direction. It is expected that due to this tax credit, around 300,000 additional homes will be purchased in 2009. Let’s hope that this tax credit benefits a large number of people.

In a major announcement, Experian, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus, have declared that consumers will not have access to their FICO credit score. This rule will be effective from this month. Experian has also informed Fair Isaac Corp. that it is terminating its relationship with myFICO.com which sells FICO credit scores directly to consumers.

Thus, from now onwards Experian customers will not be able to check out their FICO scores which the lenders are using while determining their credit level. Consumers can take a look at their Experian FICO score by contacting their lenders. However, consumers can still obtain their FICO scores from Equifax or TransUnion.

Lenders have always preferred using the Fair Isaac Corp’s technology to make credit decisions each year. A mathematical formula is applied in order to decide a consumer’s credit history. The factors taken into consideration are more or less the same for all the three credit bureaus which helps them produce a 3 digit score. This score helps the lenders to judge a person’s likelihood of repaying the debt.

A lot of people are of the opinion that this decision of Experian is the result of a fall out between Experian and Fair Isaac. The latter had also filed a lawsuit against Experian, Equifax and TransUnion in 2006 as they have developed a different credit score model called VantageScore. However, whatever be the reason for such a decision, it will now become difficult for the consumers to know what most lenders are using to grade them as they will not have a direct access to Experian’s score.

Mortgage Modification, also known as loan modification, has become quite popular in the recent times. Borrowers who are unable to refinance or go for any alternative repayment plan in order to avoid foreclosure may choose loan modification.

In a mortgage modification, the lender may extend the loan period or reduce the interest rate with the aim to minimize your monthly payments. However, he will add any mortgage dues to the outstanding loan balance. Thus, at times a loan modification can raise your payments as well.

There are certain criteria which should be kept in mind while applying for a mortgage modification. Borrowers can apply for a loan modification if the lender hasn’t declared a foreclosure. Borrowers should be delinquent on their loan payments for at least a month. The property should be in good physical condition when the borrower applies for a loan modification. Moreover the loan should have been originated for more than a year.

The borrower should write a hardship letter to the lender in order to apply for a mortgage modification. In this hardship letter, the borrower should inform the lender about his hardship which resulted in the non-payment of the mortgage dues. If the lender is convinced, he will accept the borrower’s request. The borrower can also take the help of a loss mitigation expert who will negotiate with the lender regarding the loan modification.

With the recent downfall in the real estate market, lots of people are facing issues regarding their mortgage payments. Loan modification offered by the lenders is a sort of bailout program for these people. This helps them in saving their credit and their home.

Hello everyone!!

It’s my pleasure informing you all that MortgageFit Community has exceeded 30,500 members. Not only mortgage professionals and industry experts, a lot of common people are also participating in our community in the recent times.

Recently, Bob and Eric from the mortgage industry have joined our community. It’s great to see them actively taking part in our community activities.

Other members like Gmakerly, Jheard, Cliff Pape are also regularly participating in our community forums. Their participation in the forums has helped the community grow by encouraging interaction among the members. It has helped a lot of people in dealing with their financial/mortgage or property issues.

I hope that all the members of the community will enjoy participating in the forums. And, let’s hope our community will grow even bigger!

Reverse Mortgage, also known as “Aging in Place”, has been quite popular with the senior citizens since its inception in 1987. FHA along with Congress, NRMLA etc. are continuously working towards making reverse mortgage more attractive for the seniors.

Senior citizens who are aged 62 years or above could earlier cash out home equity with the help of reverse mortgage. But from 1st January, 2009 onwards, reverse mortgage will be available to senior citizens to buy their primary residence as well. Along with this, the reverse mortgage limit has been raised to $417,000 nationwide and those living in high cost areas can qualify for loans even up to $625,000.

It was noticed that the reverse mortgage program which was introduced to keep seniors in their home wasn’t helping those who wanted to downsize or those who were keen to move closer to their kids. But with the new development in reverse mortgage, things have become easier for the senior citizens.

With the raising of the reverse mortgage limit and changes in the traditional reverse mortgage, I think, a lot of senior citizens will be benefited. In order to get a reverse mortgage, it was necessary that the senior citizens had their own residence. The reverse mortgage was mainly used by them to pay off debts and medical bills. But now, seniors can also buy a home of their own with the help of a reverse mortgage.

Hi all,

Here’s wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. May all your dreams come true !

Hope you’ll all Enjoy and have a Great Year ahead May you live in peace and harmony.

Let’s hope we’ll get over the evil and bring in the best in our lives. Here’s wishing that things get on well with time and we’re able to get over the crisis in our financial markets. Let’s hope the community will grow even bigger and we’ll be able to bring happiness in the lives of all who’s a part of it.