Our little Mortgage Blog
Based on data compiled by Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, current mortgage refinance rates have remained unchanged since yesterday. Mortgage and refinance rates have remained low overall by historical standards. Today’s rates in particular, averaged across 30-year, 20-year, and 15-year fixed refinance, are tied …
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In late October we spoke in-person, in Dubai, to Joel Van Dusen, head of corporate and investment banking at Mashreq Bank, to understand how the bank and its clients were navigating the long journey that the pandemic has become. Euromoney: Seven months in, how has the …
When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, banks and finance companies rushed to make their transactions digital. All the countries started imposing lockdowns to protect their citizens. Due to this, businesses shifted to work from home mode. They have shifted their daily transactions to mobile …
Bank executives have said for years that their worst nightmare is a successful cyberattack against the industry. Now they’re watching one unfold across government agencies in what could be one of the biggest hacks in U.S. history. So far, no evidence has emerged that Wall …
A top executive with another ARC said that bigger deals are likely to pick up from here on and there are mainly three categories of deals being made. Earlier, Bank of Baroda (BoB), Axis Bank and IDBI Bank have also run processes for NPA sales, …
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s new online-only banks plan to venture into business lending and wealth management, seeking more lucrative avenues beyond basic savings accounts and transfer services, senior executives said. Eight such banks started this year, and as of November had taken more than US$1 billion …
2020 was a year of vast change. For those of us who use credit cards, especially travel rewards cards, there were indeed changes aplenty. The pandemic radically transformed how we use our cards on a daily basis. As the year progressed, changes in spending behavior — along with …
The Frontier Airlines World Mastercard®* is a worthwhile option for those who travel within Frontier’s network. It could also be useful for someone looking to consolidate other credit card debt with this card’s promotional introductory rate on balance transfers. While it does come with an $79 …
Millions of Americans have seen their finances take a turn for the worse during the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re one of them, you may have opted to put your mortgage into forbearance.
In normal circumstances, you’d need to request forbearance from your mortgage lender, and it could deny that request if circumstances warrant. But during the pandemic, homeowners can’t be denied forbearance — and they’re entitled to up to 360 days of it all in.
If your mortgage is in forbearance, you should know that your payments are not forgiven during that time. Rather, they’re paused, and you’ll need to make them up afterward. The specifics of how you do that vary from lender to lender. This is why you may want to pay some of your mortgage during forbearance, even if you’re not obligated to do so.
If you’re having trouble making your regular mortgage payments now, imagine how difficult it could be to make those payments plus your catch-up payments. Unfortunately, that’s how forbearance works. Once the forbearance period comes to an end, you’ll need to resume your regular payments and start repaying those you missed. And that could prove difficult if your financial situation doesn’t improve much between now and then.
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If you’re able to make some mortgage payments during forbearance, even partial payments, it makes sense to do so. The only exception is if you really have no money in the bank whatsoever. In that case, you may want to hang onto any spare cash to cover essential expenses like food or medication. Otherwise, tackling a portion of your mortgage now could ease the burden of catching up later.
If, come the end of your forbearance period, you’re still unable to make payments, you’ll need to walk through different options with your lender. Your lender may agree to modify your home loan to make your payments more affordable. Refinancing your mortgage could be a possibility, especially if your credit score is very high. Loan modification is also worth investigating. Refinancing might lower your monthly payments a little, but it may not be enough to make them affordable.
If your lender won’t modify your loan and refinancing isn’t an option or doesn’t lower your payments enough, you may need to look at selling your home. It may be difficult, but if your home is worth more than your remaining mortgage balance, you can sell it and use the proceeds to pay off your lender. That way you could preserve your credit and rent a less expensive home for a year or two until you get back on your feet. If you’re underwater on your mortgage — meaning, you owe more than what your home is worth — you’ll need to talk to your lender about agreeing to a short sale.
Forbearance has been a lifeline for homeowners during the pandemic, but there is a downside: the burden of catching up on payments after the fact. If you’re in a position to partially pay your mortgage during forbearance, it could make your life a lot less stressful down the road.
Chances are, mortgage rates won’t stay put at multi-decade lows for much longer. That’s why taking action today is crucial, whether you’re wanting to refinance and cut your mortgage payment or you’re ready to pull the trigger on a new home purchase. Click here to get started by scanning the market for your best rate.
source: https://www.fool.com/