Rates May Be Rising: Mortgage And Refinancing Preparation Made Simple For You

Buying a home is probably the single largest investment most people make in a lifetime. By preparing yourself and your credit before a home purchase or refinance, you can ensure a smooth finance process and can potentially save thousands on your loan. Improve your financial profile now so you can take advantage of the low interest rates before they disappear.

Start by checking your credit

  • To get the best possible mortgage rate, make sure your credit history is healthy and accurate. Aim to raise your credit score above 650 in order to qualify for most prime loans.

  • If your credit score is not quite 650, focus your efforts on paying bills on time, reducing your debt balances, avoiding new inquiries and clearing negative inaccuracies from your credit report.

  • Make sure the information on your report is correct and fix any problems you discover. Give yourself 30-90 days for correcting inaccuracies. You can learn more online in the Credit Learning Center http://www.legalhelper.ws/credit-reports -online.aspx.

  • Found an error while reviewing your credit with the lender? Ask about the "rapid rescoring" process where you can submit a dispute and potentially improve your credit in 72 hours.

Figure out how much you can afford

  • The rule of thumb is that most borrowers can afford a home that runs about two-and-one-half times their annual salary.

  • Calculate your loan-to-value ratio to see how much you can afford to borrow by dividing the loan amount by the property's value. If your loan-to-value ratio is above 80 percent your rates may increase significantly. Find a less expensive home or save up for a down payment to lower this percentage.

  • Calculate your debt-to-income ratio by adding up your monthly debts and dividing by your monthly income. A debt-to-income ratio under 20-39 percent is usually considered good and will help you be perceived as financially stable.

  • Don't be afraid to start small. Just because you may qualify for a large loan doesn't mean that it is a smart financial decision to buy as large a home as possible. Take a careful look at your family budget and your housing needs before you decide how much you can really afford.

Be a smart borrower this summer and save thousands by preparing your credit before you apply for a loan. Find out the loan rate you deserve at http://www.legalhelper.ws/credi t-reports-online-service7.aspx.

About The Author

Jeffrey Broobin is a financial security specialist that helps people to solve their financial issues and be happy and successful within their life.

Website - www.legalhelper.ws

Email: jeffreyb@legalhelper.ws

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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://raleigh.mync.com/site/raleigh/news%257CSports%257CLifestyles/story/20699/mortgage-brokers-now-is-good-time-to-refinancecid=0ei=Oig3ScXfCpGxmAfP_eibDwusg=AFQjCNEq82PDmWSUW-AQuBWZTBzI9oxlvQbMortgage/b Brokers: Now Is Good Time To bRefinance/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMyNC.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Lauren Hills, NBC17, 14 hours, 38 minutes ago While most money matters aren#39;t looking up right now, if you#39;re looking to brefinance/b your home, bmortgage/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601213%26sid%3DaSwRduPiiLjc%26refer%3Dhomecid=1277198152ei=Oig3ScXfCpGxmAfP_eibDwusg=AFQjCNHSjwh2JkoO2pspNdOKBc1r3rstngFed’s Kroszner Says Foreclosures Harming Middle-Income Areas/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b the highest on record as home prices dropped and stricter bmortgage/b standards made it harder for homeowners to sell or brefinance/b, RealtyTrac Inc. said. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6143753.htmlcid=1276993206ei=Oig3ScXfCpGxmAfP_eibDwusg=AFQjCNHblCcfvT619PGTV7psHEzyGt7s1Aimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=zDehzouC4NYJimgurl=www.chron.com/photos/2008/12/02/14221383/260xStory.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Houston Chronicle/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6143753.htmlcid=1276993206ei=Oig3ScXfCpGxmAfP_eibDwusg=AFQjCNHblCcfvT619PGTV7psHEzyGt7s1AbMortgage/b proposal has faced conflict/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHouston Chronicle,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b home prices fell and stricter bmortgage/b standards made it harder for borrowers to sell or brefinance/b, according to RealtyTrac, a provider of default data. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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