Sunday, December 30, 2007

Tips for Saving Thousands on Your Home Loan

Taking a mortgage loan is probably the most significant financial decision in a family life as it will affect the family finance for many years to come. Saving as much money as possible when requesting a home loan will contribute to the family financial freedom and will reduce the mortgage payment effects on the family finance.

Interest Rate

The interest rate will determine how much money over the original amount you will have to pay over the life of the loan.

Along with fees and insurance costs, the interests are the price you pay for borrowing the money. As regards the lender, the interests represent their profit.

As with any loan term, the interest rate is negotiable. You need to request loan quotes from several lenders and compare them. Do not hesitate to contact a lender, tell them that you have received a better offer and ask if they can improve theirs. The idea of loosing a deal to another lender might convince them to offer you a lower interest rate.

Down Payments

Probably the best way to save money on a about mortgage loan, is to request only the amount you strictly need. If you can save enough money for an important down payment, not only you will have to pay less money on interests (interests are calculated as a percentage over the principal), but you will also prove that you are capable of making considerable savings and thus the lender will offer you lower interest rates and a much better deal.

Installments

Instead of making regular monthly payments, you can save a lot of money by paying every two weeks. Even if you only pay a bit more, every time you pay, the principal is reduced and so is the amount of money you will have to pay on interests. Moreover, the sooner you pay of your debt, the lesser you pay on interests.

Obviously, to make payments every two weeks you need to have an important and steady income. However, if you dont, you can always make additional payments every time you have an unexpected income. Just make sure the payment goes to the principal and not to the interests only, otherwise, it would be completely pointless. Also, check before making additional payments that your loan terms do not include prepayment penalty fees.

What If I already have a Mortgage Loan?

If you are currently paying your mortgage installments and your outstanding mortgage loan terms are not as good as current lender offers, you can always refinance your home loan. You will then take a loan with better terms and use the money to cancel the previous loan.

You need to be sure that the interest rate charged for the refinance home loan is lower than your previous mortgage, but you also need to check that the overall costs of the transaction are lower than the amount of money you will be saving over the life of the loan.

There are many ways of saving money on your home loan, just take your time to analyze what your options are and do not rush in to the first offer you receive. Compare rates, fees and other terms and once you have all the information you need you will be able to make a conscious and well informed decision.

by Mary Wise

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