Thursday, March 12, 2009

Home Loans Refinance Options - Refinance Two Mortgages Into One

With two mortgages, it is tempting to consolidate the home loans into one refinanced mortgage. But, this isnt always in your best interest. Depending on a number of factors, you may find that refinancing separately may qualify you for better rates.

Refinancing Options For Multiple Mortgages

You have three options when it comes to refinancing multiple mortgages. You can combine both loans into one, or you can refinance each account separately. The other option is to only refinance the higher rate mortgage.

The rates available to you will depend on your current credit score, market indexes, and your equity. So in some cases, you may find that keeping your low rate original loan while refinancing the higher rate second mortgage will save you the most money.

As odd as it may seem, refinancing your two mortgages separately can qualify them for lower rates than combining the two. This is especially true if you have little equity.

Requesting Quotes For Mortgage Refinance

To find out which option will save you the most money, you have to request quotes. Ask for APR quotes for each of the three options from several lenders. You may find that a mortgage broker site will speed this process up by allowing you to compare multiple bids side by side.

Remember too that points should be considered as a factor in your decision. Paying points for a loan you dont plan to keep for several years may be more expensive than a higher interest loan.

Do the Math Before Refinancing Mortgage

To find the answer to which option is the best, you will have to do a little math. Fortunately, you can use an online mortgage calculator to quickly come up with the numbers.

With each loan quote, figure the difference in your mortgage payment if you refinanced. This number will show you which loan can give you the greatest savings. But, you also need to consider the cost of refinancing. So divide the amount you will save each month by the closing costs, which include points, to determine how soon you will break even.

While doing these calculations takes time, they will save you money and ensure you make the right choice.

Here are our Recommended Mortgage Refinance Companies Online.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide, an informational website about various types of loans.

What Good Are Lower Mortgage Interest Rates If Banks Refuse to Qualify Borrowers?

The nation's real estate bubble popped as if someone took a needle to it, and available credit went into a deep winter freeze. The national average of home prices dropped more than 20 percent from the highs of 2006. Job losses are climbing, and the U.S. economy has been stewing in a recession since December 2007. If you are looking for a quick turnaround, the first stone to turn over would be that of the current policies of our nations lending institutions. People simply cannot get loans due to their tight credit score requirements.

Even though banks have cut mortgage interest rates down to their lowest level in recent history, it will do very little for our economy until the banks ease the strain of their credit score requirements. In spite of what a small handful of analysts proclaim, real estate is the backbone of our economy - period. Real estate cannot move when banks refuse to make home loans. Lenders have been unwilling to wade out of the kid's end of the pool so far.

We have all seen the advertised discounts being offer right now by banks. Does anyone stop and wonder what good it does to dangle these attractive rates in front of borrowers only to be rejected faster than Lucy can pull the ball away from Charlie Brown's intended kick? Homebuyers and homeowners need to jump through extremely tight credit loops today if they want to qualify for a new mortgage.

Soaring FICO score requirements are just part of the aftermath from the chaos of 2008. As foreclosures hit the country like a tsunami tidal wave, banks were admittedly soaked, and we all witnessed how low their threshold for pain is. Soon after lenders went running to Uncle Sam for our money. It's funny to see that after we bailed them out, banks are spending millions on toilets-with-legs. Anyone laughing yet?

Lenders have over-reacted, and are forcing borrowers to leap unreasonable hurdles in order to secure a normal home loan. Who are they offering these low rates to? One of their imaginary friends with the 800+ credit score? How about a little something for the rest of humanity? How about designing a home loan for those that can afford a home, but has less than perfect credit scores? You know, the same people who just paid for your new million-dollar office remodeling project. By the way, how exactly does that $800,000 Louis XVI lounge chair look in the corner?

By combining a total lack of order with a side plate of egotism and greed, problems like this should be no surprise. So what can we do about this unfairness? Not much, except wait out the storm and hope that more reasonable heads prevail soon. If that doesn't happen soon enough, you might opt for emailing a word or two to your congressman.

Conventional lenders are not the only players in the mortgage business. Unlike banks, there are private lenders who do not see imperfect credit scores as high risk financing. Most people have credit mistakes and these type of lenders have programs designed for that. Private funding can do the loan when banks say "No". To learn more, visit Private Funding now and see what they can do for you.

About The Author

Ben Conrad is an Internet Entrepreneur specializing in helping others achieve their financial goals. If you would like information about monitoring your credit report, please visit Monitoring Your Credit Report.

How to Save Gas in 5 Simple Steps

There is no point driving around searching for the cheapest price at a gas station when there are better ways to reduce your gas bill. It doesn't matter if you drive a car, RV, truck or the fuel you need is for a generator or boat, your hip pocket will have felt the effect of rising prices.

Here are perhaps the five best ways to pay less for fuel, some are obvious, the others may be new to you, but they are within the reach of every consumer.

1. Reassess your driving style. Drive in a smooth, regular manner avoiding things like jack-rabbit starts and jerky driving. Don't drive in a stop/start way when a steady pace will get you to your destination just as well. Anticipate traffic slow downs and ease up on the accelerator before you need to brake.

2. Think twice before turning on your air conditioner. Before they were invented, we used to wind down the windows - why not try this before pushing the cooling button.

3. Plan your trips to avoid any backtracking or unnecessary journeys. Why not do the shopping after dropping the kids at school, or collect your groceries on the way home from work.

4. Try car-pooling. It's not always necessary for everyone to take a car to work, or for each parent to drive their child to school. Why not get a roster going. If the distance isn't far, why not walk instead? You will save fuel and get fitter as well.

5. Keep your car well maintained to improve its fuel economy. Poorly maintained engines lose up to 20% of the fuel you put into them - straight out your tailpipe as toxic emissions. Using a fuel reformulator will help maintain your engine and give you less unburnt fuel.

Many people do not understand that last, and very important point. Using a top of the range fuel reformulator means that you add just a small amount each time you fill your tank. Now don't confuse it with those 'fuel additives' you seen on retail shop shelves. This is quite different.

The most obvious difference is that you add just one ounce of fuel reformulator to your tank, not the whole bottle as with those other products (these will actually ADD to your fuel cost because they cost around $20 per bottle and you use it all in one go). These products are petroleum or alcohol based, unlike fuel reformulators e.g. Ethos FR, which is a natural and biodegradable product.

This product's key ingredients, esters, actually make your engine self-lubricating an self-cleaning. It removes carbon deposits that build up in your engine, which stops the unburnt gas loss via your tail pipe.

As well as saving you money by giving better fuel economy, the environmental benefits of fuel reformulators are noteworthy.

When the more reputable fuel reformulator manufacturers back their product with a Double Your Money Back Guarantee, there doesn't seem to be a reason not to see for yourself if it improves your fuel efficiency.

By implementing these five simple steps you will experience much better fuel economy resulting in cheaper gas bills.

Getting better fuel economy is the best way to reduce your gas bill. It doesn't matter what type of vehicle you drive, you can lower your fuel bill with some very simple steps.