Unfortunately, many people are confused about the true role of the owner builder. Simply put, an owner builder is someone who takes on the role of managing the construction process without hiring a builder, or general contractor. Sometimes they are also called an owner-contractor or self-builder. In essence, he or she is the general contractor.

Being an owner builder does not mean having to actually do the physical work yourself. You can, if you want, but it is not required. In fact, this is an important point, because many borrowers think that they have to do much of the labor themselves to save a lot of money.

However, to successfully complete an owner builder construction loan, you never have to lift a hammer if you don’t want to. You will still save a lot of money just by managing the process. Consider this: many general contractors never do any actual labor. Instead, they manage the process and charge for the service, not to mention the gathering of the materials and supplies.

Therefore, if you want to be an owner builder, you should focus on the management. Only do the labor that you are truly qualified to do. Otherwise, you’ll waste both time and money – things nobody can afford to waste in the middle of a construction loan.

This revelation often becomes misleading for borrowers. They erroneously reason that the role will be easy if they are only managing the process. Unfortunately, this almost always leads to improper planning and disorganized construction.

Just because being an owner builder, focusing on overseeing the project planning and construction, does not have to be complicated, that doesn’t mean it is easy. It takes time and energy. To be successful, you must approach the planning phase with as much care as the actual construction.

As the owner builder, you will have to 1) choose the right set of home plans for your area, 2) get the plans approved with your county’s code compliance and building permit office, 3) choose and hire the best possible sub-contractors and material providers, 4) compile an accurate budget based on bids and contracts with these sub-contractors, and then 5) actually manage the construction itself. If you don’t give steps 1 – 4 the care and attention they demand, then step 5 will potentially be a disaster.

Therefore, who makes a good owner builder? Experience has led to this simple litmus test. You should consider building your own home without a general contractor if you answer “yes” to these three questions:

1) Do you want to build the exact home you have in mind, without compromising either quality or amenities?

2) Do you want to save, on average, 15% to 40% on your new home’s construction costs?

3) Are you willing to spend the time and energy in the planning and management of the construction?

There are two very important things to note about the three questions above. First, notice that the first two questions involve possible incentives behind being an owner builder. Indeed, control and money are the two main reasons that people decide to become owner builders. You may have your own specific reasons, but if you don’t have a hefty amount of interest in the control and savings that come with the project, then you probably won’t be satisfied as an owner builder.

The second thing to note is that the most important criteria listed in the questions above involves time and energy for management. There is no mention of physical labor or any detailed knowledge of construction skills.

Therefore, if you think you will want an owner builder construction loan in order to build your own home without a general contractor, it is a good idea to ask yourself the three questions above. In general, make sure you understand the role of the owner builder and are comfortable with the major benefits and advantages that come with it. And, never forget that a successful owner builder will focus on the planning of the project as much as the actual construction itself.

Owner builder construction loans from Owner Builder 101 and Chris Esposito are designed specifically for individuals who want to save money while building their home to their exact specifications – without a general contractor. Visit ownerbuilder101.com, or call (877) 876-3688.

With that said, you can stand to lose your property if you fail to pay off your mortgage loan. This is known to happen. In fact, the credit crunch is forcing homeowners into giving up their properties. The financial meltdown has caused interest rates to increase, making more difficult for homeowners to make payments. In situations like this, foreclosure seems to be the only way to get out of the rut.

The economic crisis is largely to blame in the sad plight of many people who have availed mortgage loan, however, had these people been informed of the risks involved, then they could have done something to protect themselves. As with any other secured loan, the very first step you need to take is to do a research. This means you have to have all the information you need to help you come up with a wise decision.

Don’t fall into the trap of clever marketing schemes. If you are well-informed about mortgage loans, you can weigh in your options and choose the one that will best address your borrowing needs.

A great start-off point is to know what comprises a mortgage loan. The most basic mortgage loan computation includes the principal amount, the interest, and number of years. Not everyone is equipped with the mathematical skills to compute for the monthly amortization. To make things easier for you, you need to make use of a mortgage calculator. You just need the values that go with the mortgage loan variables.

The basic calculator will initially give you an idea of how much funds you need and the corresponding monthly payments. Of course, the more advanced calculator will take into account your salary, taxes, insurance, non-mortgage debt, and other variables that can affect your ability to pay. Knowing just the monthly payments is not enough; you need to know the other factors that can help you in your decision-making.

The purpose of the mortgage calculator is mainly to determine how much you have to pay per month to cover the amortization. Suffice to say, it is a determinant of your ability to pay for certain number of years. If you have determined you cannot afford it, perhaps you are better of scouting for other options. On the other hand, if you the monthly payments are well within your budget, then by all means, get the loan.

If you are confident that your salary can cover for the costs during the length of the mortgage loan then it’s probably the best for you. To make sure that your loan is ‘future-proof’, then you have to play around with the interest rates. This means that even if you factor in the effects of the financial meltdown, you will still be able to keep your property.

Corey Palmer is a mortgage expert and teaches others the best ways to go about owning their own homes. He always ways that the best tool is a mortgage payment calculator.

When Adjustables can be good

If you are only planning on staying in your new home for a very short period of time and the current trend with adjustable rate mortgages is substantially lower than that of the lowest fixed rate mortgage that you can qualify for then the adjustable rate mortgage could work out well for your situation – or if you’re exceedingly confident that nothing will make the rates rise during the duration of your stay at the home it could also be the better option – but this is practically impossible to predict.

Some people don’t mind the unpredictability that goes along with an adjustable rate mortgage, they don’t get flustered with every little fluctuation of the market and can handle the up and down trends with confidence that their rate will rebound. Owning a home can be a stressful situation, especially if it’s your first home – if you don’t think you can handle the uncertainty of your monthly payment, which could constantly be going up and down, along with all of the other common stresses that go along with home ownership – an adjustable rate mortgage may not be the best for you.

The Pros of a Fixed Rate Loan

With a fixed rate mortgage, you know exactly what you are in for – there will be no secrets or surprises when your statement comes, you bill will remain the same each month. For a first time homeowner this can relieve a lot of the stress associated with the added responsibility of paying for a home. Before you sign your name to the dotted line you can sit down with all of the facts and figures and develop a budget that you are confident that you’ll have no trouble paying. With an adjustable rate mortgage, this stability and confidence is impossible to have – sure your rate could go down, but if it goes up will you be able to still pay it? With a fixed rate mortgage this is a question that you won’t have to worry about answering.

Some people will say that being bound to an interest rate for the life of your loan can be a bad thing. The truth of the matter is, that rates often do fluctuate – they go up and down, but having a fixed rate loan isn’t like a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole – if rates go down and stay down, you can consult your mortgage company about refinancing your loan to bring your current interest rate down. You may even be able to restructure your loan to pay less each month, while taking some equity out for necessary repairs or improvements at the same time. Locking yourself into a low rate should feel like a safety net, if you start seeing the rates drop after you’ve had your loan for a while – by all means, refinance and save yourself the money, but if the rates start to climb as the often do, you can rest easy that you are locked in at a good rate.

Your home should feel stable and secure, and with the current state of the economy in Canada things are very unpredictable. The best bet for a first time homebuyer is to shop around for the lowest rate the can find and to lock it in for the duration of the loan – that way you’ll be safe from any disasters that may occur in the near or distant future and free to make changes at a later date should they become necessary.

Compare mortgage rates in Canada from banks, mortgage brokers and other lenders with one quick search. When looking for Canadian mortgage rates, consider Rate Supermarket.

If you are considering taking out a reverse mortgage on your home, you might be wondering how long it will put you in debt for. As a home owner, you are probably very familiar with traditional mortgages, and probably took one out to pay for your home. You are probably familiar with the fact that most traditional mortgages are offered in fifteen and thirty year terms. With a reverse mortgage, you are taking out a loan on the portion of the value of your home that you own and probably will not have to begin repaying the money that you borrowed until you move out of your home.

Therefore, you may remain in debt for quite a while depending on when you will be required to begin repaying your reverse mortgage. This time period in which you are in debt will also depend a great deal on how much you borrow in the first place. With this in mind, once you have gotten a reverse mortgage quote, it can be a good idea to spend some time thinking about exactly how much money you need to borrow. Although your reverse mortgage quote might be quite high, that does not mean that you need to borrow all of that money.

Before borrowing the money, it is a good idea to evaluate your financial history. Take some time to think about how much money you are making versus how much you are spending to evaluate your ability to repay the reverse mortgage. If you have a less than desirable history of repaying money or paying your bills, it might be time to question if you can handle the responsibility and pressure of taking on this new debt.

You can also talk to some other people that you know that have had problems with debt to see what got them into that situation and what they had to do to get out of their financial whole. Talking with others is one of the best ways to learn what not to do, as well as to make you think a little harder about whether or not you really need to borrow money.

Your personal circumstances are a large determiner of how long you will be in debt after taking out this reverse type of mortgage. Only you know if taking out this type of mortgage would be a wise choice. To determine is this is the best choice for you, there are many things that you can do such as taking a look at your financial history, figuring out how much money you need to borrow, and learning what your repayment schedule would look like.

More information on reverse mortgages is just a click away.

Both the residential and commercial property markets continue to fall dramatically, and there continues to be substantial reductions in the growth of mortgages in Ireland.

Only a year ago Brian Cowen was bringing us the following welcome news:

“In the Programme for Government, we signalled that the first time buyer – and recent purchasers – would benefit from further increases in the ceiling on mortgage interest relief.

“Today, I will honour the Government’s pledge by increasing the ceiling on mortgage interest relief for first time buyers by 2,000 for a single person and 4,000 for a married couple or widowed person to 10,000 and 20,000 respectively.

“This will increase the maximum monthly relief available by about 33 and 66 respectively, bringing it to 166 per month for a single person and 333 per month for a married couple or widowed person.

“These moves are appropriate in ensuring additional support for a hard pressed segment of the housing market and should provide the necessary direction and certainty.”

One thing is certain, the news will be very different today, and few can see a substantial increase in the number of mortgages in Ireland being taken out in the near future.

It will be interesting to see how the Minister decides to treat the different parties involved in the property and mortgage markets. While the general populace resents the amount of money made by property developers during the boom times and would be against giving them any further opportunties to make their fortunes, there must also be a realisation that the construction industry needs to get going again in order to minimise any further destruction to the number of those employed in Ireland.

Similarly, first time buyers will need to be encouraged to come back to the market. However, at a time when unemployment is on the increase, property prices are still falling, stock markets are in roller coaster mode, and taxes are being increased it will take a significant amount of work to encourage the first time buyers back into the market.

All of these factors point towards a difficult budget that is likely to have the effect of reducing the number of new mortgages in Ireland.

Michael Kelly is Managing Director of Mortgage Ireland Marketing Company Ridge Online Marketing. Ridge Consulting is focused on helping companies improve their online marketing visibility in Ireland. Further information mortgage-broker-ireland.com