Purchase Home
Purchasing a home is a very exciting investment, but it can also be a costly one. In fact, it is normally the most expensive purchase an individual will ever make. This is why it’s important to find a suitable mortgage or loan to finance your new home.

A mortgage loan can vary in terms of interest rates, financing terms and fees so be sure to compare your various options. You may find that lowering the term of your mortgage or switching to biweekly payments can save you a substantial amount of money over the course of your loan.

Home Equity Loan/Line
If you own a home and are low on disposable cash, you should consider a home equity loan/line. The amount of equity is determined by evaluating the balance of your existing mortgage with the current appraised market value of your property.

With a home equity loan/line, you receive a one-time advance of the difference. You can then pay this amount off with set payments over a predetermined amount of time. This can provide you with the means to pay for items which you may not otherwise be able to afford. Just be sure to compare the various financial terms and interest rates so you can save yourself money.

Refinance Mortgage

A refinance mortgage is often used for home mortgages. It involves replacing one of your current loans with a new one, often secured with the same assets you initially used. This option can help you to reduce the amount of interest you have to pay which can save you thousands of dollars.

There are many reasons to choose a refinance mortgage. For example, if the interest rates are now lower, you can save yourself a lot of money. A higher credit score can also be a good reason to pursue this option. By adjusting your payment period to between 10 and 20 years and choosing a lower interest loan, you can put your hard-earned money back in your pocket.

Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation is a viable method to help you take control of your current financial situation. Instead of sinking further into debt, you can combine several debts into one. This eliminates the need to make many different monthly payments; you can concentrate on paying just one loan each month.

If you want to eliminate credit card debt, you should consider obtaining a debt consolidation loan. You may be able to take advantage of lower interest rates or different financing terms which can save you thousands of dollars. Debt consolidation can also help you to increase your credit score and make the task of performing household budgeting much easier.

Mortgage loans can be divided into categories in two different ways. First, there are conventional and government loans, with different benefits for each. Secondly, mortgage loans are classified as fixed rate, adjustable rate or a combination of the two.

Government Loans

FHA Loans

The FHA or Federal Housing Administration is an agency of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and insures loans made to all U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and noncitizens with work permits who meet financial qualification rules. Advantages of FHA loans include low down payments, usually about 3% to 5%. This is because the FHA insures loans, meaning if the buyer defaults and the lender forecloses, the FHA pays 100% of the amount insured. For more information on programs offered by the FHA, contact a regional office of HUD or check the FHA website at www.hud.gov.

VA Loans
VA loans are guaranteed by U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs and are available to current service persons and veterans with honorable discharges who meet specific eligibility rules, most related to length of service. The VA helps by guaranteeing part of the mortgage loan you get from a bank, savings and loan, or other private lender. This makes it easier for veterans and current service persons to obtain loans with a very low down payment or no down payment at all and the qualifications for a VA loan are easier to meet than those for a conventional mortgage loan. The amount of a VA loan is usually limited to $203,000. To pursue this type of loan, contact the VA who will determine your eligibility and, if you are qualified, will issue you a certificate of eligibility to be used in applying for a VA loan.

Conventional Loans

Conforming Loans
Conventional loans may be conforming and non-conforming. The nation's two largest mortgage finance companies are The Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, nicknamed Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, which are updated every year, establish the maximum loan amount, borrower credit and income requirements, down payment, and suitable properties. Conforming loans have terms and conditions that follow the guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are stockholder-owned corporations, they are protected financially by the support of the Federal Government. These two corporations purchase mortgage loans that comply with their guidelines from mortgage lending institutions, then package the mortgages into securities and sell those securities to investors. This helps to provide a continuous flow of affordable funds for home financing that results in the availability of mortgage credit for Americans. A conforming loan is one that falls within Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's loan limits. A mortgage that exceeds the limits set by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ie either called a jumbo loan or a nonconforming loan.

Non-Conforming or Jumbo Loans
Loans that do not fall within Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's guidelines are called non-conforming or "jumbo" loans. Because these loans are considered higher-risk loans, you can expect to pay from 3/8 to 1/2 a percentage point more than you would for a conforming loan. Additionally, the best way for lenders to cut the risk on these types of loans is to reduce the loan-to-value ratio. This typically means a larger down payment, sometimes as much as 25%. The rate spread between conforming and non-conforming tends to be larger when mortgage money is tight and smaller when there is plenty of mortgage money to go around.

Fixed-Rate versus Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
With fixed rate mortgage (FRM) loan the interest rate and your mortgage monthly payments remain the same for the life of the loan. Fixed-rate mortgages are available in a variety of terms, from 40 to 10 years, with many options in between. The most popular mortgage terms are 15 and 30 years. Generally, the shorter the term of a loan, the lower the interest rate you will be offered.

A variable or adjustable loan is a loan for which the interest rate and monthly payments fluctuate over the period of the loan. The fluctuation is a reflection of changes to certain adjustable rate mortgage indexes. The index for your particular loan is established at the time of the application.

When mortgage rates are low, a fixed rate mortgage is a great option many buyers. If rates are low now, the likelihood of them going up during the life of your loan is low. Even if they do go down a little, the difference in the interest rate during the higher interest rate periods would probably more than offset the small difference you would see if the rate were to fall a little lower than your fixed rate. If you plan to stay in the house more than a few years, many buyers will be best off locking in a favorable fixed rate now and avoiding the risk of much higher rates later.

will provide your information to up to five Lenders whose pre-determined lending criteria match your profile. If fewer than five Lenders match your profile based on the information you provide, you will receive less than five offers from our Lenders. If more than five Lenders match your profile, will choose the Lenders that have the highest customer satisfaction scores and the best record of making loans to previous customers and match you with those Lenders.

You are under no obligation to accept an offer from those provided to you.

Just provide the basic information on our short and secure form and you will be led through the process a step at a time with helpful tips, calculators and information.

Our lending partners require information about you, your loan and your financial situation (income, assets and debts). Having your pay stub or last year's tax return before you start completing the forms can make the process go much more quickly. If you're looking to refinance your mortgage or getr a home equity loan or line of credit, we need to know about the terms of your current mortgage, how much you owe and how much you want to borrow.

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believes you should be confident that the information you provide will not be used an any manner other than that required to obtain lending offers on your behalf. You can read our complete privacy policy, which outlines what information we collect and how we use it, here.

is committed to sending your information to our Lenders quickly and securely and making sure that the information submitted is accurate. The best way to ensure all of these things is to receive applications online, therefore that is the only submission method we make available to prospective customers.

Each Lender has its' own policy in regards to viewing credit reports and other information, but in order to determine which of our Lenders best match your particular situation, your credit report will be pulled prior to sending information to any Lenders. However, all inquiries for your credit report within a 14-day period will count as one inquiry if you are looking for a mortgage to purchase a home, a mortgage to refinance your home, a home equity loan or line of credit or an auto loan. If you are looking for a personal loan or credit card, however, each inquiry will be counted as a separate inquiry.

is committed to sending your information to our Lenders quickly and securely and making sure that the information submitted is accurate. The best way to ensure all of these things is to receive applications online, therefore that is the only submission method we make available to prospective customers.

Yes! We have Lenders who work with borrowers with all types or credit histories. While we can't guarantee that we will have a Lender who can meet your particular needs, we can promise that your loan request will be matched with those Lenders that are most likely to approve a loan for you.

If we are unable to find a Lender who can approve your loan request, you will be notified almost immediately. If this is the case, please continue to check back with us as we are continually adding Lenders to our Exchange.

You will receive an e-mail with each lender's loan offer as soon as the lender responds, usually within minutes. Each e-mail will contain the details of the Lender's offer.

In order to determine which is the best offer for you, it is important that you carefully evaluate all of the terms of each offer. Compare the interest rate, APR, points, loan amount, loan term and other details of the loan offer. Please use our online calculators to help you make your decision.

After you accept an offer, your communication will be directly with the Lender, via the communication method of your choice. You will probably be required to verify the information you provided on your request form with W-2 forms, pay stubs, home appraisals, etc... You'll also be required to sign all documents that the Lender requests and schedule a closing with the Lender.

We are required by law to maintain a record of all loan requests that we process. However, your information will never be shared except in accordance with our privacy policy.

In most cases, you will be required to submit another application if there are changes to the information you originally provide.

Your social security number ensures that we are able to receive accurate information from the credit reporting agency. Our Lenders must have your credit report to determine your loan eligibility. It is very important that we receive your correct social security number in order to evaluate your application based on the correct information.