Even though refinancing a housing loan can save you 1000\’s of dollars you will be surprised that not that many individuals in reality take the time to do it. If you considered the time it takes and figure out the cost saving benefits and equate that to how much you get paid per hour it could be like not going to work for several weeks. Consider the following aspects so that you can see how simple it is to refinance your housing loan today.

Current Interest Rate

It is definitely a good indication for you to explore refinancing when your current interest rate is higher than available home loan packages on the market. A first step to take is to go back to your existing bank or financial institution and ask them to revise your package, otherwise known as repricing. If your lender comes back with an offer, it will ordinarily be better than your current one. You can then compare this offer with offers from other lenders to see whether you should switch or stay put.

Lock-in and Clawback Periods

When you take up a housing loan, there may be a lock-in period where your housing lender will charge you a penalisation fee, commonly a percentage of your outstanding loan amount, if you were to fully repay your loan. Almost all housing loans also come with a clawback period where the lender will claim back \”freebies\”, such as legal expenses, that they \”gave\” you when you take up your home loan (Note: lock-in period is separate from clawback period). It may not be valuable for you to refinance due to such costs.

Loan Quantum

The larger your home loan amount, the larger your savings for the same decrease in interest rates. For instance, 1% on a loan of S$100,000 is much less than 1% on a loan of S$500,000. However, fixed cost to refinancing, which represents mainly of legal fees, do not vary much with loan quantum. The difference between your current and refinancing interest rates, therefore, has to be bigger for a comparatively smaller mortgage as fixed cost eats into a more significant part of your interest rate savings.

Perceived Interest Rate Movements

Your view on how interest rates is moving can be a factor when considering whether you should refinance. If you are currently on a fixed rate package and think interest rates are dropping, you may want to refinance to a floating rate package. Conversely, if you are on floating rates and believe interest rates are skyrocketing, changing to fixed rates may be a effective choice.

Personal Financial Assessment

If there is a change in your financial state, you may want to change your package particulars via refinancing. For example, you are starting your own business organization and do not want volatility in other areas. Give some consideration to taking up a fixed rate package. Maybe you want cash to invest in different property. Consider raising your loan quantum. Or your monthly income has increased and you want to minimise interest loan payments. Contemplate reducing your loan tenure.

Consider calling us today if you are looking for refinancing in Singapore. We can save you a lot of money plus give you the latest advice all for free.

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In Singapore, housing loan packages have two categories: fixed rates or floating (variable) rates.

Singapore fixed rate packages are usually tendered for up to 3 years, but there are some lenders that cover up to 5 years fixed rates or even 10 years. This is unlike from some Western countries where rates can be fixed throughout the loan tenure.

On the other hand, floating rates are classified into published rates or board rates. Like Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) or Singapore Swap Offer Rate (SOR), published rates are normally rates that are released daily. Meanwhile, board rates are determined by the respective bank or financial institution. Many of the lenders posted their board rates to a certain financial benchmarks, yet the right factors are sometimes not clear and variations in board rates become uncertain.

In general, there are no restrictions on emigrants having housing loans in Singapore but do pay attention of the following.

Loan to Value

The maximum loan to value (LTV) in Singapore is 90% of the purchase price or rating, whichever is lower. Housing loan packages for 90% funding are limited as some lenders do not extend maximum LTV to emigrants. Loan approval for 90% funding is also tighter than for LTV 80% and below.

Income Proof

To have approval for a housing loan your latest income tax assessment or a letter of appointment from your local employer is essential. Tax assessments from some countries may not be honoured by the local mortgage loaners.

Landed Property

The commendation from Singapore Land Authority is mandatory before emigrants can purchase restricted properties such as vacant estate or landed properties such as bungalows, semi-detached, and terrace houses.

In-principle Approval

You may also regard an in-principle approval before purchasing. Consider of hiring a honored and professional housing loan consultant. This may help you save time and money with your loan approval.

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Regular assessment of your household finances is important to the family\’s financial well-being. Here are some guidelines to control your household finances.

Credit Card Use

Use your credit if you have one. However, remember to pay your outstanding balance, not the minimum amount, before its due. Utilisation of credit card should be done wisely.

Rule of Thumb

Household expenses should be lower than 33% of household income. If it is higher, think of cutting down your expenses. Here are some tips to lower your expenses.

1. Always clean your air-conditioners.

2. Wash your laundry on full load.

3. Put thimbles on your taps

Allocate Book Keeping Reponsibilities to Your Kids

If you have kids, share them a simple task in book keeping, like data-entry. This will make them understand basic financial principles. Moreover, it will also give them a sense of responsibility and promotes good financial practice.

Keep a File of Your Financial Statements

Take note of your finances. Have a notebook or a ledger. If you have a computer, put everything into a spreadsheet. You don\’t even have to pay up cash for a spreadsheet.

Here are some tips in organizing your financial statements.

1. To save time from entering data, get soft copies of bills and statements, if possible.

2. Back-up all your files, save them into CD-R or thumb drive. Then keep them in a safe place.

Financial Planning

If you have a little source of income, and there is only one person working in your family, think of getting an insurance plan for the breadwinner. Financial worries are not something your family should cope with in the event the sole breadwinner is incapacitated.

Make It a Routine

When you are not doing your task, it piles up. Set aside 30-60 minutes each week to maintain your finances.

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Most of the people don\’t know that take can change their loan to other investor; others are simply uninterested. They tend to be loyal with their very first lender but they don\’t know that such loyalty will bring higher interest rates. Because of increasing number of housing loans and amortization period, the interest can range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of money. The following factors may help you consider reinvesting your home.

Latest Interest Rate

When your current interest rate is higher than available housing loan packages on the market, it is time for you to consider reinvesting. Ask your bank or financial institution to reprice your loan package. Most likely, your lender will give you an offer, which is better than your current one. Try to compare this offer to the other packages and then decide if you should switch or not.

Lock-in and Clawback Periods

When you get a housing loan, there may be a lock-in period wherein your mortgage lender will charge you a penalty fee, maybe a percentage of your outstanding loan amount, if you were to fully repay your loan. Most of housing loans have a clawback period wherein the lender will claim back \”giveaways\”, such as legal subsidies, that they \”gave\” you when you take up your housing loan. Lock-in period is different from clawback period. Because of this, reinvesting is not recommended.

Loan Quantum

The higher the amount of your loan, the greater your savings for the same decrease in interest rates will be. Yet fixed cost to reinvesting does not vary much with quantum loan. The difference between your current and reinvesting interest rates has to be larger for a relatively smaller loan as fixed cost consumes into a more considerable portion of your interest rate savings.

Identify Interest Rate Movements

Analyze how interest rates flow. Try a floating rate package as an alternative to fixed rate package if the interest rates are decreasing. Conversely, if you are on floating rates and believe interest rates are increasing, switching to fixed rates may be a good choice.

Own Financial Evaluation

Try to get a fixed rate package. Think of increasing your loan quantum. On the other hand, if your monthly income has increased and you want to lower interest payments, think of reducing your loan tenure.

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Safe High Return Investments San Fernando

Buying property in a tough housing market. If you have a solid job, a bit of savings, and don’t own a home that’s losing value, you might be one of the lucky ones in the current economic situation. Economists predict housing prices should stay low for all of 2009 before they begin climbing again towards the end of 2010. Congress’s stimulus package also gives a substantial tax incentive to home buyers this year. In fact, with housing prices falling around the country (prices in Los Angeles’s suburban San Fernando Valley fell from a median of $650,000 to $420,000 between May 2007 and May 2008), you might think now is a good time to buy, especially if you were priced out of the market during the height of the bubble. Before you procure a real estate agent, here are some things you should do.1) Save, Save, Save. Part of the problem with mortgage loans over the past decade is the “no money down” philosophy. Sadly, this means many people ended up owing more than their house was worth, especially if they opted to have closing fees or other debt rolled into their mortgage. If you put down less than 20%, you will also have to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI, which your bank will require until you build enough equity in your house for them to deem your mortgage less of a risk. Currently, lenders are wary of awarding mortgages to those with less than a 3-5% down payment in hand. The government agrees that banks should probably not approve buyers for a mortgage if they do not have at least 1.5% of the cost of the home available for a down payment. If you are planning on staying in your house for 5 years or less, aim for 10-15% so you can start building equity in your home right away, even if the value of your property falls further. In addition, you’ll want to have a small nest egg in savings which you aren’t using for the down payment. Lenders are more likely to give you favorable rates if you have some savings left over. Plus, you’ll need extra savings for your closing costs, which can cost between 2-7% of your total purchase price, property taxes and any repairs that aren’t covered by the previous owner in your contract.2) Build your credit score. Your FICO score is a number between 350 and 850 which lenders use to determine how much of a credit risk you are. Because banks are now trying to minimize their risks, many people who may have been approved for a mortgage two or three years ago are being denied based on poor credit scores. The more risky you are (translation: you pay bills late or not at all), the less likely they are to extend credit to you at all, let alone on favorable terms. And with a mortgage, you want favorable terms. The higher your score, the lower the annual percentage rate on your mortgage. Since we are normally talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, even a half percentage point reduction in your APR will save you thousands of dollars in the long run, and perhaps hundreds off your monthly mortgage payment. Beginning six to twelve months before you buy, pull your credit reports and scores from Transunion, Equifax and Experian, the three large credit bureaus. Check them carefully and make sure there are no mistakes. Work on paying your bills on time and paying down (or off) credit card debt. Keep your cards open though – the more credit you have available to you, the higher your score (which is why a maxed out card, besides showing fiscal irresponsibility, can be bad for your credit). Do not apply for new cards or a car loan – your score can take a hit of 5-10 points each time you open a new line of credit.3) Get approved and shop around. Before you start looking, get pre-approved for a mortgage. This will let you know exactly what you can afford and save you the heartache of falling in love with a home that is out of your price range. Next, make sure to hire a trusted real estate agent, especially if you’re a first time home buyer. A licensed agent has access to many more listings than you do and can work with the seller’s agent as well, and inform you about the process. Third, look for a good deal. Currently, many semi-custom home builders have a glut of property and new houses, and might give you free upgrades, such as custom paint colors or granite counter tops. If you’re looking at foreclosures or soon-to-be foreclosures, make sure there are no nasty surprises waiting for you, like unpaid property taxes or costly hidden repairs. A bank foreclosure can be a great deal, but be sure to know what you are buying! They almost always come in as-is condition and may need to have more money invested into repairs and upgrades to make them safe and habitable, especially a home that has been sitting vacant.Hopefully the flailing economy will be able to produce a silver lining for some, like your own home! Good luck searching!This article is brought to you by fightforeclosurenetwork.com.

High Return Investments San Fernando