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Shopping for a mortgage isnt as fun as looking at homes to buy, but its an important step that will affect you for years.

There are many ways to shop for a lender. You can start by looking at online mortgage lenders. Or you can walk in to a bank and ask to talk to a loan officer. A mortgage broker or your real estate agent may be able to recommend lenders, as may friends and family. Online reviews may also be helpful.

Before you start talking to lenders, there are a few steps you may want to take first. If you have no credit or bad credit, or arent sure of your credit score, start by finding out your credit score and then work on improving it. This could take a month or more.

A low credit score is a sign that youre a risky borrower, which will likely lead to a higher interest rate on the home loan.

There are many ways to improve your credit score, including paying bills in full and on time, and paying off as much debt as possible.

Once your credit score is as high as you can make it and is accurate, its time to look at lenders more closely.First, check to make sure the lender youre considering is registered in your state to do business on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System registry.

Next, you can search online for mortgage rates. Remember that each rate is a starting point and that a lender or broker will need to pull your credit report and process a loan application to provide an accurate rate based on your credit score and other information.

Once you get a few quotes from lenders, compare their costs and determine which loan makes the most sense for you. The lowest interest rate may not be the best deal if too many fees are added.

Fees may include commission, loan origination, points, appraisal, credit report, application fees and other costs you may have to pay at closing. Ask if any of the fees will be waived (usually for a higher interest rate) or if they can be rolled into the mortgage.

Ask how much of a down payment youll need to come up with. With a higher down payment you may be able to get better loan terms.

Also ask about the turnaround time on preapproval, appraisal and closing, and which form of communication will get the quickest response from them.

One of the last things you want from a lender is an uncommunicative one who doesnt get back to you quickly. This is probably one of the most important purchases of your life, and you want it to go as smoothly as possible.

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Asking a financial expert if theyre working in your best interest when giving you advice on your retirement account seems like a simple enough question. That question is now getting a little more complicated.

Known as the fiduciary rule and set by the Labor Department to take effect in April 2017 ” but then delayed by the Trump administration until at least June 2017 and some parts until January 2018 ” the rule simply requires people in the financial services industry to put consumers best interests ahead of their own.

Without this rule, financial advisers could steer clients to mutual funds with excessive fees or have other conflicts of interest such as higher bonuses or prizes. The Obama administration put the loss at $17 billion a year from retirement accounts for such conflicts.

The fiduciary rule would prohibit advisers from concealing any potential conflict of interest, and required that all fees and commissions must be clearly disclosed in dollar form to clients. It also expanded the definition of a financial adviser not just to someone giving ongoing advice, but to any professional making a recommendation or solicitation.

President Donald Trump has delayed the rule, which is now under review. Some groups have said they may sue the administration if the rule is weakened or killed.

The fiduciary rule is necessary, supporters say, because most financial advisers arent held to a legal standard requiring them to put a clients interests first ” much like a doctor or lawyer must do.

Instead, financial advisers can legally act in their interests first and can earn bigger commissions for more expensive products that they sell. They can earn more by giving bad advice, and its legal.

To avoid this problem, consumers can look for fee-only advisers who charge a one-time fee for financial advice. They dont earn a commission for steering customers into one investment product over another.

Before the rule was scheduled to be implemented, some investment firms had changed their prices on funds to appeal to consumers. Some high-fee products were removed and some companies eliminated commission-based sales practices entirely. Some also created new products that are less expensive for consumers.

If you work with a financial adviser, ask them if theyre a fiduciary and if theyre obligated to act in your interests above their own. If not, you may want to switch advisers.

Hope you found these tips helpful! Contact me for more insights and info.

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When it comes to protecting our eyes against harsh, damaging UV rays, most of us think about popping on sunglasses for long days at the beach; however, it’s possible to incur UV damage right at home, especially if you have an abundance of wide, bright windows. In fact, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), nearly half of all eye injuries occur at home.

Untreated windows protect the eyes from only about 25 percent of damaging UV rays. As the AAO states, continued exposure to UV light raises the risks of many issues for the eyes, from cataracts to cancer.

To battle this, the International Window Film Association (IWFA) suggests consumers consider the real estate trend of professionally installing window film to all windows in their homes. Window film will help protect your family’s eyes from the damage caused by UV rays.

Professionally installed window film can block up to 99 percent of UV rays from entering the home, protecting eyes from damage over time, while at the same time reducing glare and eliminating the need to squint when enjoying the view outside.

While extremely thin and virtually invisible to the eye, window film provides powerful protection without altering the look of a home. Though it can be tinted in several shades, homeowners can also opt for clear film, which does not alter the view in any way.

Source: www.iwfa.com

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Coming up with the down payment on a home can be hard enough, and one way to make a home more affordable is to spread out the mortgage payments over 30 years.

But 30 years can be daunting, and that time can be cut down with a 15-year mortgage. Its a lot more expensive in the short-term than a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but pays off through greater long-term savings.

Here are some things to consider when weighing a 15-year vs. 30-year mortgage:

Saving Money
It can be difficult to see the long-term benefits when looking at a monthly mortgage bill that will be 50 percent higher over 15 years instead of 30.

Paying a home loan off in half the time requires a larger payment, of course, but it can save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges. Why? Not only is more principal paid earlier, but interest rates on 15-year mortgages are usually better than other loans types.

Heres an example of a $200,000 mortgage at 30 vs. 15 years:

Mortgage type: 30-year 15-year
Interest rate: 4.5 percent 4 percent
Monthly payment: $1,013 $1,479
Total interest: $164,813 $66,288

Thats almost a savings of $100,000 by going with a 15-year loan. Divide that savings over 15 years and its about $555 saved per month.

Borrowers should make sure they have enough income to afford it, are able to manage their household debt and have money in liquid savings for emergencies.

Building Equity
Repaying a mortgage faster not only saves you money in the long run, but you build equity in your home faster, too. If home prices rise, your equity could grow as well.

This is good for many reasons, including making refinancing easier by lowering your debt-to-income ratio. While it wont improve your cash flow, it should make it easier to get approved for a home equity loan or home equity line of credit.

An Easier Retirement
Another big advantageif you plan to retire in the next 10 to 20 years, you won’t have to worry about mortgage payments during your retirement. Instead of a house payment, you can use that money for retirement expenses.

If you continue paying a 30-year mortgage into retirement, you may have to pull money out of your savings to make the payments.

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A federal program helps low-income families buy a home with a unique method meant to encourage saving: It matches dollar-for-dollar what they save to buy their first home.

The Individual Development Account, or IDA, doesnt offer a lot of money to help with a down payment ” up to $2,000 in federal matching funds with more contributions possible from local IDA programs ” but its a start.

Participants can start by saving as little as $25 ” matched to as much as eight to one, depending on the program, though most offer one-to-one matches. Income levels must be 200 percent below their states poverty level.

With an 8:1 match, IDA participants can raise much more than the $4,000 total with federal matching, and could have $10,000 or so for a down payment on a house.

Most IDAs are funded by the federal government and are run by nonprofit groups and financial institutions, and grantee programs are required to raise an equal contribution of nonfederal funds. It can take from six months to several years to save for a down payment on a house through the program.

To earn the matching dollars, some IDA programs require account holders to take financial literacy classes and training on homeownership; they are also provided counseling and instructions on how their local program works.

More than 60,000 IDAs have opened in the U.S. since Congress established them in 1998. The Administration for Children and Families is the federal agency that provides the federal half of the match.

IDAs arent just used for buying a home. The matching money can also be used to repair an existing home, go to college or start a business.

Getting help with a down payment through IDA can benefit both lenders and homebuyers, who are less likely to default on home loans after participating in the program. IDA participants are 2 – 3 times less likely to lose their homes to foreclosure than other low-income buyers, according to a 2010 study from the Corporation for Enterprise Development and the Urban Institute.

An IDA might not be for everyone. But for families that can afford to save small amounts of money over time, matching money from an IDA can help them get a good start on a down payment and homeownership.

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