What is your mortgage?
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive September 2005:
What is your mortgage?
Please feel free to answer anonymously as this deals with money.
We are refinancing our house and we bought it at $234,000 and now it's worth $273,300.
Our monthly mortgage needed to be split into a small Home Equity loan and a bigger regular loan to avoid the mortgage points.
Our total loan payments per month are around $1,800 right now. (One income...Ramen, anyone?)
We have a beacon score of at least 775 and our credit history is outstanding. We pay our bills on time, every time.
We have a refinance going in at 5.5% and and even smaller HELOC at around 7%.
We currently use Countrywide Home Loans and it's going to be an interest only loan which makes our payments $1,388 a month.
My question:
1. Who do you do your mortgage business with?
2. What is your beacon score/credit history?
3. How much is your house worth?
4. How much are you borrowing, with what percent?
5. What is your monthly payment and is it an interest only?
We just want to know what other places are offering because it just seems like our monthly payments are sky-high.
Well I think that your mortgage is high but that is because you are financing quite a sum of money. also a bit of unsolicieted advice, have only heard bad news about intrest only loans. If you house happens to go down in value you have a change in circumstances you are stuck in a house you cant afford to keep and cant afford to sell. Sounds like the mortgage is at the very edge of what you can afford which isnt a good place to be in if your house needs a roof, the heat fails or something catastrophic happens.
Answers to your questions:
1. citibank, happy with them
2. not very good but not horrible either
3. probably has appreciated from 145,000 to approx 200,000
4. borrowed 145,000 at 5.75%
5. pay 864.00 per mth.
Mine is with Washington Mutual. I have been very pleased with them, and a few months ago they called and offered to refinance my loan at a lower rate (from 6-7/8 to 5-3/4) if I would take a 15 year term (I had 18 years left on the mortgage), which increased my payments by about $22 a month - and absolutely ZERO closing costs.
I too have read and heard very negative things about interest only loans. If it were me, I'd do almost anything to avoid that.
I don't know my credit score, but when I applied for a home equity loan last year to buy my car, I was told I have a very high credit rating and the only "flaw" was that I didn't have 20 years history with any one creditor. I have learned from that, and will keep one credit card account open, even if I just use it once every few months and pay it off right away, just to build that longevity part of the score.
1. Who do you do your mortgage business with?
GMAC mortgage company--VERY pleased with them!
2. What is your beacon score/credit history?
I will just say that it is high
3. How much is your house worth?
Over $300,000 It was appraised when we put the pool in last spring at $310,000 and housing just keeps going up here.
4. How much are you borrowing, with what percent?
Our loan is $180,000 with 5.5% interest rate fixed
5. What is your monthly payment and is it an interest only?
We pay $1300 which is rounded up so we are paying extra on principal. We have very high insurance rates here and are required to have flood insurance so almost $400 of that is escrow.
I would run from a Heloc loan or interest only loan. The heloc because generally they are not fixed and go higher and higher in interest. Interest only can get you in a house that you really cannot afford thus causing problems down the road.
1) Washington Mutual
2) Excellent credit
3) Purchased at $640, now worth about $1.2
4) Paid 20% down. Can't remember the percentage rate.
5) Monthly payment is $1500/month, interest only.
Credit union
excellent credit
original purchase $65k, but added on to the house and refinanced at $220 last appraisal was in the upper 400k, and we've done more improvements since then
interest rate is 5.25% 10yr loan
monthly payment is 1800
Ours it now with Washington Mutual, started out elsewhere and with buy outs and such has ended up with them. Not all that crazy about them.
good credit, not sure of the score
we borrowed $180,000 on a $195,000 sales price 15 years ago, now worth about $300,000. Our payments are $1100.
I would never do an interest only home loan. You accumulate no equity in your house that way.
Our loan is with Countrywide Home loans. We have excellant credit. We purchased our home for 365,000 almost 2 yrs. ago, it is now worth 450,000. We financed 290,000 at 4.125% and we pay 1,400.00 month. It is an interest only loan. We did the interest only because we bought our house as an investment. We knew we would only be here a few years, so we researched and bought in an area where home values were rising. In fact, we know we will be moving no later then next summer. Our home should increase another 15,000-25,000 by then, so we should profit $100,000.
1. Who do you do your mortgage business with? Wells Fargo, happy enought to use them to refinance w/them (we close next week)
2. What is your beacon score/credit history? Good credit
3. How much is your house worth? bought it 15 yrs ago new for &70,000 just appraised at $210,000 (I was SHOCKED!)
4. How much are you borrowing, with what percent? Borrowing $138,000 rolling together the 1st & 2nd mortgage (we took that out when we bought our business) and cash to do a 600 sq ft addition. 5.58% (now 1st is 7.5% & 2nd is 11%)
5. What is your monthly payment and is it an interest only? Monthly payment will be $968 which is $25 more than I'm currently paying and I get a bigger house! 
DH had a mortgage with Countrywide, average credit, VA guaranteed loan, on about 100K, payments of $450 a month. The house was owned with his ex-wife, I know it had gone up in value when they divorced, after only a couple years of owning it. He was pretty happy with Countrywide.
First of all I have to say I am SHOCKED by how much your houses cost!! I do live in the SE where real estate is less expensive as a general rule, but still. My DH and I both work and have advanced degrees and still couldn't buy half the house that most of you have, but our house payment is the only loan we have. We own everything else outright.
1) Cendant mortgage, but currently refinancing with Citibank
2) Excellent credit, not sure of score
3) Bought our house at $115,000 and it is probably worth about $130-140k now. Will know more after it's appraised.
4) Borrowing about $100k at 6.56%--30 yr; refinancing at 5.5% and may go to 15 yr.
5) Monthly payment is about $900 and includes interest and escrow.
Ditto the first anon regarding being at the top end of what you can afford for a house payment! We are also two advanced degree people, formerly two-income, and on two incomes could afford ALOT more house than we had, but we wanted it that way so we wouldn't have to worry if I decided to quit my job to be a SAHM. My in-laws gave us some good advice once "You don't want to be house rich and cash poor" and I think it's sound advice. Plus, we never wanted a house that we couldn't afford to furnish in the way we wanted to, you know? I know so many people who have homes at the top end of what they can afford, can't pay the taxes, and the homes are nearly empty because they can't afford to furnish them appropriately! Just my 2 cents Having said that,
1.Local bank for our mortgage
2.Excellent credit, mine is 850 and dh is 873
3.Bought house at $116K, appraised at $135K 3 years ago.
4. Originally borrowed $100K @ 7% for 30yrs., refi 2 years ago @ 5.25% for 20 years and stopped escrow.
5. Monthly payment is $697, all taxes and insurance are separate, we pay them in cash when they are due now. When we had it in escrow, we were paying WAY more than the bank needed to pay our taxes, ins., so now we do it ourselves.
We also have 2 car payments, one small student loan, zero credit card debt, and large savings accounts. (One of which is savings for our next home, which we hope to do as a 15 or 20 yr. mortgage and utilize 2 incomes for)
1. Coldwell Banker Mortgage
2. Don't know Credit score
3. Bought House for 118K and appraised 130K
4. We borrowed 118 @ 6.2% for 30
5. Monthly payment 895, we pay 50 extra every month.
I have to chime in here. How many people are really doing the interest only loans?? What are you going to do when it is time to retire and you don't own a home. I understand you can get a bigger house right now but aren't you essentially renting it without someone else doing the upkeep? I have been wondering this for a while and would love to hear the explanation. I think I have been looking at our home as an investment (because it feels like the only one we have) but maybe I am thinking this all wrong.
Well, I will say to the above anons that you have to know where each person is in *their* life. For example, we had a house that was less expensive (under 100k). Dh lived in it for 10 yrs, he had it before we got married. We sold it made alot of money off of it and then put that money into a new larger home, plus cashed some stock options that had to be executed and used those towards the down pymt as well. Payments on our 2800 sq ft home are almost the same as they were on our 1300 sq ft home. And dh's income has increased alot over the last 20 yrs as well... So just because the ladies above live in expensive homes doesnt mean they cant afford them or cant afford to furnish them. We like to pay cash for furn. So we have taken our time and each yr bought new furn for diff rooms. I waited 4 yrs for the formal dining room furn and I am very glad I waited because I changed my mind so many times!!! lol I didnt know what I wanted. We plan to be in our home for many yrs so it doesnt all have to be done yesterday. I have been looking for Mst Bdrm furn for 6 mos and have already changed my mind a couple of times. Again, I am in no hurry to buy the first thing I see. I want something that I know is a good deal, good quality and that I know I will keep forever. It drives my Mom crazy.
I started out in a nasty apartment I couldnt afford to furnish. Didnt we all? LOL
We do the 15 yr mortgage too, btw. Your pymt doesnt go up that much at all. Or atleast it didnt for us. But thats all the personal info I am giving out.
Our house has increased in value by 100k above what we built it for 5 yrs ago. But that doesnt mean squat if the market crashes. The cost to build has sky rocketed too.
Good luck on your refinancing. From what I read you are going from an $1800 a month pymt to a $1300 pymt. Seems like that would be a good thing to me. As far as the interest only, we dont so it, but my in-laws do it. You are wise to shop around...
Too the last anon- my dh is kind of into investing. He wasnt happy when his Mom said she was trying to get an interest only loan? I didnt really understand it all either. So I am curious. We dont do them. We bought some investment property last yr and didnt do an interest only loan on it...
What do you mean by an interst-only loan? I'm a bit confused.
1. GMAC Mortgage Corporation~>Love them
2. Our credit is excellent.
3. About $225,000.00
4. We borrowed $116,000.00 at 8.25, but then refinanced to 5.25
5. $970.69
A freind of mine is a mortgage broker in Las Vegas NV where the market is insane. She reccomends the interest only loans for folks like military, because even though they don't pay toward their principal, the houses are increasing at such a rapid rate, they are making money after only being stationed in the area for 2-3 years. Not good for someone who plans to stay in the home, or for older homes that may need work. I know here in AZ, you build a home, by the time you move in you've made around 50K! Amazing, but what if prices slump??
for Us
Not sure the name of Mortgage Co.
Excellent Credit
House is worth 300K (well that's what it would sell for now
Original loan: Price 149K, loan 130K 6.5%
We pay 1500/mo but pay twice a month so we pay almost 2 full extra payment a year toward principal but pay no more out of pocket, will take several years off our 30 year mortgage.
HELOC 35K
I was the one who asked why they are doing interest only loans. (I don't care to post with my name but I don't want my personal mortgage info to be out there). Interest only loans mean that you are paying INTEREST ONLY, you are no paying anything but the interest. I guess the reasoning is that you can get a bigger home with a lower payment but you are never actually paying on the principal of your loan. Please correct me if I am wrong but I believe that is correct.
1600 sq ft Cape Cod house, they were asking 94,000. We offered 92,000 and they took it.
Paid $13,000 down
Financed about $80,000.
Mortgage balance currently is 76,000
Current mortgage payment is $845, including escrow and insurance.
Current interest rate is 6% on a 20 year term. We have refinanced a few times already. We have lived here 9 years.
Most current assessment of value, with last refinance, stated property worth 120,000.
I'm the very first anonymous.
It's smart for us to do interest only. Not only are we going to live here for less than 3 years, but we CAN pay principal, in addition to the interest. You usually pay mostly interest anyway the first few years, so it's smarter for us to put that extra money in our 401K, stocks, and our ING savings account. It grows faster.
We did not buy out of our range...certain things have happened recently and we are just trying to scale down some financial situations and trying to be smart with our money. I just wanted people's experiences with their mortgage companies because we have gone through enough with ours. I also wanted a feel for people's rates/monthly payments.
From my understanding, interest only loans are good for many people. The way it is explained above is the way I pretty much understand it too. You are only required to pay the interest on your loan. That, with todays interest rates is a very low payment. You can pay extra, but don't have to. While you are only paying interest, your house still increases in value. So lets say that for 5 years you only pay interest, but then your house appreciates in value. If you want to sell it then, you are still ahead because of the raise in value. Now, if you are smart, you will save or invest at least part of what you would have normally had to pay on your house for the last 5 years and with the return on that money, you will actually be further ahead. To the first poster, I am guessing that the biggest chunk of your payment will be going for the HEL and not the regular mortgage (maybe even taxes and insurance?). We have a interest only loan on a loan of about 200K value of 240K and our payment is about 700.00 a month. That does not include insurance or taxes though, we do that on our own. We save and invest the money that we are not required to pay on our mortgage every month. In the last 2 years time, we have made more monay that we would have brought down the pay off on our home. Over time, it will only get better.
Just a note, in our mortgage our house insurance is included. The difference in insurance is amazing from one state to the next. For example we lived in very similar priced homes in ohio and texas. We used the same insurance company (USAA), our ohio homeowners insurance was right at 300 dollars a YEAR, our texas policy is closer to 1400 a year, so that adds over a hundered to our payment. Plus taxes are way different, we paid a lot less taxes in ohio on our house (they got it in state and local taxes..lol), our house payment borrow the same amount is 500 dollars more in texas.
OMG! I didn't even know there wer interest only loans! Now I get it! Just personally, I would not do an interest only loan and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. That does not seem like a financially sound move to me. Thanks for explaining it to me!
Actually, if they are done right, they are very financially sound. Just like with anything else, they are very good for some and not so smart for others. Depends on the person and their financial goals.
Reds9298, I would look at your monthly statement and see how much you are paying for interest. You'd be surprised how much of an "interest only" mortgage you probably already have.
Keep in mind that you can pay principal too, on top of the interest. We find that we make more money by not tying it up in our house, but rather other things that have a higher return.
I have to agree with Conni. Just because someone has a big mortgage with a high monthly payment doesn't necessarily mean they are in a lot of debt or at the "top end" of what they can afford. Keep in mind that salaries, real estate and cost of living vary a lot in different areas. For example, I just did a quick search at Realtor.com and found 3 houses in my area - 3 BR, 1 bath, 1500 sq. ft. - on the market for $260,000 - 300,000.
We have a large monthly payment (not an interest only loan, includes all taxes, insurance, etc.), but it is still a small percentage of our annual income. We are older and this is not our first house. We sold our former houses for quite a bit more than we paid. The numbers would look scary to some but in *our* particular situation, we are in a very comfortable spot.
Ditto last anon. Our payment is 1800. But that is a 10yr fixed mortgage and it includes the insurance and property taxes. We owe nothing else. The money we used to put towards a car payment is now put on the loan principal. We also put 10% of dh's take home salary on the principal. We are quite comfortable and are not "house rich, cash poor". I think you would be surprised at the different real estate values for the same type of house across the country.
Okay everyone, but I read in the very first of this that Anon mentioned an $1800 payment and "ramen anyone?" That implies to me that the payment is too high for THEM. Maybe I misinterpreted.
I do know what the interest is on our payment each month and it is only $200/mth and we ALWAYS pay over each month or make one large payment each year, whichever works for us at the time.
Last Anon...an $1800/mth house payment is totally fine, as long as someone can afford it. I frankly think that's fantastic because your mortgage is for only 10 yrs. But, if someone is so tight in every other area (ramen)because of their house payment, THEN it's an issue IMO. That's all I'm saying. I do NOT think anyone with a $1800 house payment is "house rich and cash poor", but they COULD be. It just depends on the individual situation. I'm also aware of varying real estate values and I happen to live where real estate is quite low for what you get in a home.
I think what I said was taken the wrong way, so hopefully I've explained myself a bit better.
My Ramen comment was a joke. Like I said earlier, there are things that have happened as of late, so we are scaling back and this is the smartest thing to do in our area. Without giving more detail, our real estate area is outrageous and there isn't much we can do about it unless we want to live in a place that isn't safe.
1700 sq ft. 4 BR 2 Bath cape cod- $142,000
Credit score: excellent
Assessed at $145,000
30 year loan. Monthly payment is $1200 but includes taxes that are very high.
We just moved in about 8 weeks ago. I read a recent article on Cnn.com that compared all of the different loan types. I think that they said that interest only is good for people who either are planning to move in a few years or will have an increase in income before the extra payments on principal begin. The downside is that if you don't sell or have the money when the interest-only time frame is up you could be left with a payment you can't afford. Here is the link
http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/15/real_estate/financing/crazy_loans_0510/index.htm
Yes, with an interest only loan, you do not pay on the priciple unless you pay extra. I would personally not get an interest only loan on a house that I was buying long term. We did an interest only loan on our current home because we knew we would not be living in it for more then 3 yrs. You only pay about 5,000.00 down on your principle in the first few years of your loan. Most of your payment goes towards interest. So, we bought a more expensive home in an area that the home prices were skyrocketing. We our going to make almost $100,000.00 on our home when we sell it this summer.
Yes, we have a higher house payment. But, we are not living at the top end of our range. Our house is furnished well and we are not hurting at all. We don't have a car payment and we don't have any other debt. Our only expenses are our home and living expenses. We have moved around a lot and we have made good decisions when buying homes. We have always made money when selling our homes. When we sell this house, we will have almost $175,000 profit to put into our new home. Interest only loans can be a very good thing. It was for us. It just really depends on the situation and housing market where you live.
1. A big Canadian bank
2. Very good
3. Tax assessment - 49,000
4. 48,000 (was 36,000 originally but we remortgaged last year to renovate) and it varies but around 4%
5. $320
We lucked out big time with this house. It's small (780 sq. feet) but has 2 1/2 acres and now a liveable basement (So now we have around 1400 sq. feet!). Paying such a small mortgage payment has given us a lot of options on a relatively small income.
We currently don't have a car payment and have been able to eliminate PMI on our mortgage! It's a good thing!
1. Citibank - currently
2. Excellent - we have actually run credit ratings on both DH and I recently, and mine was about as high as you could go
3. Bought it for $70,000 twenty years ago, worth around twice that now - maybe more since we just put in new windows and new flooring
4. Don't remember the percentage, but we refi-d a few years ago and it was low
5. Monthly pmt is $760, and that includes interest, escrow and the homeowner's ins., which is the reason it is as much as it is - it was only $735 until recently.
We also have a small 2nd mortgage that paid for the flooring, it's actually a 2nd mortgage line of credit, and I can pay as little or as much monthly as we can, as long as we pay a certain *minimum*.
Kaye, our LA homeowners policy is WELL over $1000 a year. And flood is $300-ish a year. However, after this hurricane season, I expect everyone's rates will skyrocket.
bankrate.com to find lowest bank rates and refinance rates.
1. Who do you do your mortgage business with? Mortgage is with Bank of America
2. What is your beacon score/credit history?
We both have a very good score.
3. How much is your house worth? 220,000 - condo!
We bought a condo when we got married (not planning on children)and now, with my DD getting older, we have just put it on the market and are looking for a house!
4. How much are you borrowing, with what percent? 160,000 at 5% plus we have our taxes and insurance in the mortgage payment!
5. What is your monthly payment and is it an interest only? $1100
Conni had a great point about all factors must be considered! Location in the country being the biggest! Neither me or my DH have a degree, we both work, have our DD in daycare and live a "comfortable" life... neither of us drive a brand new car, but we don't WANT for anything! We are now looking for a house and our pricing point is $300 - $400,000!!! In our part of the country (New England), this is not a luxury, mansion, extra-large housing price! This is the MEDIAN!!!! If we were to pay under $300,000, we would be looking at something VERY small that needs TONS of work! So, given what we make, this price point is within our budget!!! If I told some of you how much money I make at my purchasing position, you'd probably fall over!!! It's all about the cost of living where you live! We make more because we pay more!
We are about to get a house, hopefully. We just put in an offer. We looked at loans and found that for our situation, interest only loans are the smart way to go. My husband crunched the numbers. I am against them, but he and two other people who actually crunch numbers for a living said this is the only way to go unless we want to continue to rent. Now, I don't know if this is true of other interest only loans, but on the one we applied for, we can make payments above the interest which would go towards the principal. Our income is about to make a big jump and will continue to increase over the years, so this makes the interest only loan a smart choice.
Don't know the name of the lender.
Credit score is excellent.
The house is said to be worth over $900,000 when calculated by some square footage formula.
Would be borrowing $616,000 @6%.
Looking at payments of $2700/month.
Before anyone gasps, the house isn't a mansion. We are in California.
I was expecting gasps at my admission that we only paid 38,000 ('You must live in a shed!).
It's all relative. Our 40,000 got us a nice little house I adore. Your $616,000 will hopefully get you the same thing.
Unschoolmom,
I love the house. Our family would fit comfortably. I don't like the price tag. I know that if we moved elsewhere we would really be living it up if we bought a house with that price tag. (I wouldn't want a grand house, though) But then, like you say, it's all relative. I know that my husband would not be making what he's making now.
All I could do is sigh. And keep my fingers crossed. We find out tomorrow, at the end of the day, if the offer was accepted, or if we got a counteroffer.
The bottom line to all this is that we would like to have and own our own little place.
I love having my own house and compared to my sister's houses, I just have a modest little cottage, but it's my little cottage and after being my in my youngest sister's HUGE house, I'm always glad to come home to my little one! LOL!
Our mortgage was originally $79,000 at 9.75% (a very good interest rate in 1988 when we applied!) Our principal is now down to $69,000, and our monthly payments are around $762 w/escrow. Our property taxes are very high here! We haven't refinanced as we have a USDA loan, and if DH ever loses his job, etc. or has to take a lower paying job, our payments would go down. I like having that security. Our credit score isn't the best, but we had no credit at all when we got our mortgage (how many people would lend 2 18-year-olds with a baby money to buy a house?! I'm SO glad they took a chance on us ) Oh, and our house is worth $155,000 now (according to our latest tax evaluation) and our mortgage will be paid in full before I'm 52. I guess I can live with that...
Okay ... I'm embarrased to admit that I have no clue! My husband's job - not mine - I have enough to worry about ... But I'm kinda surprised and pleased to see all the moms who do know.
Ame
Ummm, I didn't really know! LOL! I asked my DH, since he was walking past me, in the basement! Sheboygan has high property taxes, too! LOL!
Dawn - Ditto! I used to dream of a big house. But now that I have to clean a house ours seems perfect. And besides, it's not just the house that makes it a home but our nice little community and great neighbours.
I did find out though that a house down the road the same size as ours on a much smaller lot and with none of the things done that we did (new roof, siding, basement) just sold for $80,000, $30,000 more then our just redone mortgage! Whoo hoo!
Wow, that's cool, Dawn! I have a big yard, too. I wouldn't want one any bigger. Many people who live here have teeny-tiny yards, with barely enough room to throw a ball for a dog. I'm glad ours has room for the dog to run. It's enough grass to mow, though, so I wouldn't want it any bigger.
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