Lafayette, California, is just a short distance from the San Francisco Bay area. It was originally settled by a group of Miwok Native Americans, and eventually reclaimed by the Spanish. In the 1850s, Lafayette was used as a stop on the road for weary travelers. The redwood lumber harvested in the town made it an ideal place to build businesses. Soon, Lafayette became what it is now: a community built on enjoying its history and celebrating its future.
For those who want to buy a home in Lafayette, California, navigating through the labyrinth of a mortgage can seem like an insurmountable task. It is, however, completely possible to get a mortgage without losing your sanity, although you might not believe it. If you have a steady income and can afford a monthly payment, you can probably afford a mortgage. Mortgages are good for helping you to get your dream home, but they can also help bring your credit up and give you a way to access cash if you need it.
Mortgages
One of the best ways to save money with a mortgage is to do your homework. Shop around for different mortgage lenders to see what their rates and fees are. Only one quarter of a percentage point can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage, so make sure you do your research thoroughly.
One of the most popular types of recent mortgage offers is the interest-only loan. Sometimes people jump into this without realizing exactly what it means. With an interest-only loan, you are only required to pay the interest each month for a certain time frame, usually the first ten years of the loan. Because you are only paying interest, your mortgage payments will be extremely low. Most interest-only loans are considered to be adjustable-rate loans, which means that the interest on the loan rises and falls as it does in the market. Remember, though, that you are only paying for the interest and are not building equity in your new home.
Remember to check the fees of the mortgage companies before you choose one. There are loan fees, application fees, credit check fees, and private mortgage insurance (PMI) fees. If you are making a low down payment on your home, you might be required to purchase PMI on your loan, which will raise your monthly payments, from a few dollars to a hundred dollars or more, depending on how large the loan is.
Refinancing
It is becoming extremely popular to refinance an existing mortgage. If you jump into refinancing because you hear that it is a good thing to do, but do not know why you want to refinance, you will likely end up with a huge headache and nothing more. It is a good idea to understand exactly what refinancing is before you decide to do it. In basic terminology, refinancing is when you pay off your old mortgage with a new mortgage, which can either bring the payment down or lower the length of your mortgage. You can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest alone if you refinance at the right time.
Home Equity Loan
A home equity loan is a way to get cash from your mortgage. You are given a loan based on the amount of equity you have built into your home. This money can be used for anything you want, but is most often used to pay off debts or to renovate homes.
If you would like more information about mortgages, refinancing, or home equity loans, please feel free to fill out the form below.
