And when phrases like “credit freeze” get thrown around, it definitely doesn’t help things, especially when very little clarification tends to be given by those spouting it. That sort of talk unfortunately leads consumers to assume that it’s impossible to get a loan on a car or a new home, which simply isn’t the case. The U.S. Federal Government has actually taken multiple steps in order to attempt to insulate consumers from the current economic crisis and encourage continued activity in the consumer lending sector. While lending criteria has indeed tightened, many people are still able to receive home mortgage financing.

Now may in fact be the best time to buy a home. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average sale price of existing homes has dropped roughly 9.5%, which happens to be the largest fall since they began recording in 1999. The S&P/Case-Shiller 10-city housing price index also saw the steepest decline in its history, dropping about 17.5%. What this means is that those considering the purchase of a new home can potentially do quite well, as housing prices haven’t been this low in a long time.

In addition to low property prices, new FHA lending regulations also favor potential borrowers. The limits on FHA-insured loans were increased from $362,790 to as high as $729,750, depending on the location. FHA loans are currently running fairly reasonable rates and only require a 3.5% down payment, even allowing family down payment assistance.

One interest thing to note for first-time home buyers is that if you make less than $75,000 a year, you can receive a tax credit for 10% of the final sale price of your new home, up to $7,500. This credit is available through July 1, 2009. While it is being called a credit, it’s technically a loan. But it isn’t often that you can find 0% 15 year loans, so it’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned.

As I mentioned earlier, lending criteria has tightened a bit, and while minimum credit scores used to be in the low 500’s, they now often range from the upper 500’s to the low 600’s. In addition, 100% financing has become a rarity given the current economic crisis, so it’s reasonable to expect that you will need to put some money down. Lenders now typically require more documentation and proof of income as well.

It’s hard to say who will and will not be approved for a loan, so you will likely best be served by visiting a CMP (Certified Mortgage Planner) who can help you figure out which lenders will finance you, and decide on the offer that best suits your individual situation.

Rate1st is the United States’ largest online lending network, and is proud to provide a easy, efficient and safe way to shop for an FHA loan during trying economic times. To contact a Certified Mortgage Planner about information on FHA loans, please visit Rate1st.com.

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.

Hard money is financial backing from private investors in the form of a loan. It is one of the best ways to get a business project off the ground, but you have to know how to obtain it the proper way.

Hard money loans are often used for construction projects. Typically, the lender loans the money in stages.

For example, let’s say you own a plot of land and you want to develop it. A lender will agree to back you on the project. They will loan you a percentage of the money at the beginning of the project,more during the middle of the project and a final installment near the completion of the job.

Lenders often pay the contractor for their work directly. For instance, once your contractor completes the foundation of the new building, the lender pays them a specific amount directly. Then, when the electricians finish wiring the building, the lender pays them directly as well. All contractors receive their payments direct from the hard money lender.

Private investors often prefer this approach because it gives them greater control over their money and their investments. You don’t have to be a big real estate mogul to get hard money from investors.

Many investors are willing to support many different types of projects. Private investors will financially back projects like single family residences, condos, townhouses, apartment buildings, hotels, motels, office buildings and shopping centers. However, they will not usually invest in undeveloped land.

While hard money lenders are willing to loan to residential investors, they most frequently invest in commercial real estate. This is due to today’s instability in the housing market.

Commercial investments are simply a safer bet for recouping funds an investor puts into a project. Because of skyrocketing foreclosure rates in the modern housing market and property values dropping at record rates, there is considerably less risk involved for the investor in commercial projects.

Commercial real estate is a very competitive market, but hard money investors are willing to buy properties, remodel existing structures and even build new properties. The commercial real estate market is still alive and well. In fact, today’s commercial market is very similar to the residential market that profited so many people just a few years ago.

Hard money lenders are still in the game. In fact, they are busier than ever because banks are making the lending process more exclusive than ever due to a record number of people defaulting on their loans.

Knowing how the private lending process operates is half the battle when it comes to finding private investors for your commercial real estate project. With a little research and networking, you will find the perfect backer for the commercial real estate project of your dreams. The hard money for the project is out there; all you have to do is find it.

Yanni Raz mentors many in the Real Estate Mortgage industry. Yanni Raz tutors homeowners in California and helps many of them save their homes.
Hard Money Loans

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