Today's Mortgage Rates

Many people have been told that in order to qualify for the FHA streamline program, they need to now have a minimum credit score. This is kind of true… but kind of not. The truth is that FHA doesn’t require a credit score to insure the loan — but many lenders have made the decision to require that a borrower have a mid credit score of 620 or higher.

What this means to you if you are currently shopping for an FHA streamline refinance is that you need to ask the question “are you requiring a credit score for the FHA streamline program?” and expect many lenders to say “yes”.

But some will say “no” — or at least as of today they will.

But this could change… at any time… and has recently. Lenders started requiring that borrowers had a minimum of a 580 credit score about a year ago, but recently, may of them have moved to 620. I haven’t head of any talk of it moving higher, but I can say that I wouldn’t expect it to go lower anytime soon.

Why is the FHA streamline so popular? Well, for starters, you don’t have to fully qualify for a new loan. You also get to skip one months payment when you go through the streamline program which will free up cash at a time when many people need cash. You probably won’t need an appraisal. And – perhaps the most important, FHA won’t let you participate in the program unless it actually lowers your interest rate and puts you in an overall better financial situation.

So — if you are in the market for a FHA streamline loan or if you are wondering if you can take advantage of lower interest rates, be sure to act quickly and find a lender who is not requiring a credit score. True, it is harder than it used to be to find a lender who can do a FHA streamline with no minimum credit score, but it can still be done. Call to speak with an FHA streamline expert who knows if the FHA streamline is still possible to do without requiring a minimum credit score or if using a credit repair service may be your best option.

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If you use any of the mortgage calculators to calculate what your mortgage payment will be, they will do a great job of calculating what the principal and interest will be on your loan.

But did you know that there is more to your monthly mortgage payment than just your principal and interest?

In mortgage-speak, you will sometimes hear the acronym “PITI” which stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. While many people focus on trying to save money with getting the lowest rates and fees on their loan, don’t overlook the opportunity to save possibly hundreds of dollars on your loan with taxes and insurance as well.

Principal and Interest
Principal and Interest is the amount of money that you pay towards the principal balance of the loan each month and the interest that is associated with that principal at a given interest rate. The principal and interest portion of your payment is just s simple math calculation that arrived at using the interest rate of your mortgage note, the principal amount of your loan and the number of years your mortgage is amortized for.

Taxes
Here is a relatively little-known piece of information – you may be able to save money on your annual tax assessment if the value of your property has went down down. If your property value has gone down and you think that the county assessors office has not accurately reflected this in your tax bill, there are processes in place where you can appeal the amount of taxes that are to be due. Check with your local county assessors office to see what the appeals process is if you want to contest the assessed value of your property because you think it has went down recently.

Insurance
There are two types of insurance: homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance. The best way to save money on your homeowners insurance is to shop around using a homeowners insurance quote service that will possibly help you pay less each month by finding a provider who can give you the same coverage you are getting now for less. You might be surprised how much you can save just by shopping around a little bit for the best deal.

Mortgage Insurance. Mortgage insurance is the money that the lender requires you pay if you are below a certain loan-to-value ratio on your home. The best way to save on mortgage insurance is to work toward getting enough equity in your property that the lender will no longer require it on your loan. How much you pay for mortgage insurance has to do with how much equity that you have in the property — more equity means that you will pay less for mortgage insurance. If you put as little down as possible, you will pay more for mortgage insurance.

Remember – when shopping for a mortgage, there is more to saving money each month than just getting the lowest “PI” possible — don’t forget to shop for the “TI” part as well, you might be surprised how much you can save!