Choose the Right Mortgage Advisor and Save Thousands

If you don't already know it, the real estate market has changed in the last couple of years and the days of easy home mortgages are gone. So if you are in the market for a home mortgage, it's time to start doing your homework.

Getting mortgage money was relatively easy just a few short months ago. That was When house prices were steadily rising and homes were selling practically before they were listed. But that was then and this is now. Things have cooled off a lot, and with a slow down in the real estate market has come higher interest rates along with tougher conditions for getting mortgage approvals.

The interest rate hikes that have taken place over the last few months are quite important for prospective new home owners. If you are new to the real estate market you may not appreciate how important low interest rates are to the affordability of homes. On a large home mortgage even a small change in the interest rate can make a very big difference to your payment.

In fact the interest rate of a home mortgage is usually what determines how much you can borrow. That means it is the interest rate that often dictates how much you can spend on a home. The reason is simple. When you apply for a home mortgage the lender determines what monthly paymentyou can afford. And since a large part of each payment is simply interest, a higher interest rate could easily put the payment out of reach.

**The importance of your home mortgage advisor**

Whatever you do, don't start making home mortgage decisions until you hook up with someone who has a lot of experience in the business. Find an advisor who has intimate knowledge of current real estate and home mortgage conditions and has access to many alternatives.

This will usually not be your friendly neighborhood banker. Banks work with their own products and are not interested in making you aware of other products that might offer a better deal.

Think about it this way - if your credit rating is good and you have a good steady income there are lots of lenders out there eager to give you a home mortgage. So you can probably get a better deal than the one your bank is offering. On the other hand, if you don't have a particularly good credit rating or have cash flow problems you may need some creative suggestions. But your bank is not likely to give them to you. They want you to follow their rules and mee their requirements.

In other words, a bank is fine if you don't care about getting a better deal. However, if you want lower cost or more flexible alternatives or you need creative suggestions you're better to go somewhere other than your bank.

The altenative is to find a home mortgage advisor who knows the market inside out and who has access to many different solutions from many different sources.

**Good news for home buyers**

Even when credit gets tighter there are ways to get a good deal on a home mortgage. These good deals sometimes involve government backed loans such as FHA loans. Loans like this help people with very bad credit to borrow as much as 97 percent of the value of their home. The biggest requirement is that they have the necessary income to make regular payments - in other words, a steady job.

Home mortgages like these are very good deals for many people. They make home ownership possible for many people who might not otherwise qualify. But many traditional lenders either don't know about these options, or they won't recommend them because there is not enough profit in it for them.

Even most mortgage brokers will not do these loans because they involve a bit of extra work. But from the borrower's point of view it is well worth finding a mortgage broker who will go out of his or her way to put together the best deal for you. You could save literally thousands of dollars with the right home mortgage package.

**An ARM can be a good short term solution**

There is also another type of loan available called the "option adustable rate loan", commonly referred to as an ARM. This kind of home mortgage allows a person with very good credit to pay as little as 1% interest against a "real" rate of about 7.25%.

But beware. The unpaid interest is added to the principal of your loan, so the amount owed actually goes up over time. That means an ARM loan must be used very cautiously because a home owner can end up owing more than they can afford to pay.

But this approach does give a borrower the option of making drastically reduced payments for a short period of time. It is used most often when a person has serious short term cash flow problems, or when they forsee their financial situation significantly improving a year or two in the future.

**What a different the right mortgage makes**

While it is becoming more difficult to qualify for a home mortgage, and more expensive to afford one, there are still money saving deals available from many different sources. But you have to know how to find those sources, and that's why it is so important to deal with an experienced professional advisor you can trust. Look for someone who has in-depth knowledge of the current home mortgage situation and who is experienced in dealing with situations like yours.

The best advisor is a broker with a great deal of experience and many different lenders to draw on. That kind of broker can find an affordable home mortgage for almost everyone.

Article Source: http://publisherscloninghouse.com

Dean Weber has more than 20 years experience as a home mortgage advisor, arranging commercial mortgages and all kinds of loans. Check out these mortgage client testimonials to see how much actual clients like Mortgages-Mall.com

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