Pima Mortgage Rates

Mortgages in Pima County

Qualifying for a mortgage is more difficult than ever since the mortgage crisis. Lenders are instituting rigorous standards for mortgage loans to avoid foreclosures, which have become common place in the market. The first thing that lenders require is very good credit. If your credit is just average, you need to work to improve your score. If you have made any late payments recently on any loan or credit cards, you need to be current on those accounts for at least a year to avoid the negative affects on your score. If you have any outstanding accounts at utility companies, unpaid doctor bills, or overdrawn checking accounts you need to pay these off. After you pay off the account it may take a few months for the information to be removed from your credit report. You should check your credit report again right before you apply for your mortgage to be sure all your hard work has paid off.

The other deciding factor in your qualification for a loan is your debt-to-income ratio. Some banks require that this ratio is below 30%, while most of the others only require you to be below 40%. It is very simple to determine your debt-to-income ratio. Add up the total of all your monthly debt obligations including credit cards, car loans, student loans, and any other accounts you make a monthly payment on. Take this total and divide it by your gross monthly income (before taxes). That is your debt-to-income ratio. If it is higher than lenders require, then you need to eliminate some of your monthly debt. This could mean paying off a few credit cards, or even transferring your balances to a low interest credit card. Once you have consolidated or paid off your debt, calculate your ratio again to be sure it is within the acceptable range.

Refinancing in Pima County

If you are looking in to refinancing to lower your monthly payment, there are a few market factors that you need to take into account. You need to find out if home prices in your area are going up or down. Refinancing while your home is not worth what you paid for it can be detrimental to its future sales value. It is much safer to refinance while real estate prices are high. This means that you will have built up extra equity just by living in your house, which can be beneficial if you need to take money out of your home. You also should be careful to refinance while rates are low. This means doing a little research online or by reading your local paper. If rates are close to your original rate or even higher, then you should wait to refinance.

Pima County Home Equity Loans

A home equity loan is typically seen as a fast easy way to get cash out of your home. If you are not careful, a home equity loan can end up costing you more than it benefits you. There are many banks now that offer no-closing-cost or free home equity loans which are the best way to go. If you can not find a bank in your area that offers this program, there are a few fees you can expect to pay. Most banks require an appraisal for a home equity loan, and this cost is almost always passed on to the borrower. Depending on the type of appraisal this can cost you anywhere from $100-$400. Each bank also has its own closing costs which can add up quickly. These can include an underwriting fee, servicing fee, filing fee, and many others. When you apply for the home equity loan, there is a paper you are required to sign that outlines these costs for you.