Why Higher Lending Charges Are Outrageous (credit repair lawyer)
No commentsBy Dane Pearson
After you scraped together a modest deposit for your new home you may think you’re home and dry. Think again. On top of there’s the surveyors and solicitors to pay. Then the government want a slice. You’ve got to pay stamp duty at 1% of the property’s price (if the house costs more than 250,000 the rate of stamp duty increases - see the information at the foot of this article). Phew! You’re lucky you’ll just make it - you’ll be a homeowner at last!
Then out of the blue the mortgage lender sends you a new bill - another 1,500 please Sir. They’ve called it a Higher lending Charge (HLC) and it’s charged if you borrow more than 90% of the value of the house. About 75% of all mortgage lenders charge it and 1,500 is about the average they ask for.
And guess what - they money you pay won’t benefit you in any way whatsoever! Not one jot. You’re being charged for a form of protection insurance that protects the mortgage lender, not you. The HLC pays the lender if you default on your mortgage, your property has to be repossessed and the sale proceeds are less than the outstanding balance on your mortgage. In theory the HLC then pays out the shortfall to the lender but in practice many lenders carry the risk themselves so the HLC is just an extra fee to offset a higher lending risk.
But an HLC doesn’t let you off the hook! If your home is repossessed and there’s a shortfall, you still have to pay the shortfall back to your lender - they’re sure to chase you for the money.
Whilst most of the lenders who charge HLC’s will readily agree to add the charge to your mortgage, that’s little consolation. In any case this means that you’ll end up paying interest on top of the charge. Then, over a 25-year term, your HLC will have cost you closer to 2,700!
In our opinion HLC’s should have died out with the dinosaurs. If a lender is worried you’ll default, they shouldn’t have lent the money in the first place. And with all today’s hi-tec credit checks and the risk based assessments used to process your application, you’d think the lenders were doing enough to protect themselves. In any case you may also end up paying a small interest premium for a 90% plus mortgage - so in practice you’re being charged twice for the same risk!
The Nationwide Building Society, who incidentally do not charge HLC’s, recently reported that during the last five years 1 billion has been charged in HLC’s by some 800,000 borrowers. It also found that just over 500,000 were first time buyers - largely youngsters struggling to buy a home. We believe that HLC’s are just another money making ploy for the mortgage lenders. By the way, the Higher Lending Charge used to be called a Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee, but they are all the same - only the name is different!
We think it’s time for the Office of Fair Trading to open up the box and take a look inside in the same way as they did with credit cards. The OFT recently ordered many credit cards to reduce their charges by up to 40%. A bit of that magic would do wonders for Higher Lending Charges!
Current Stamp Duty rates on house purchases in the UK
Houses under 125,000 No Stamp Duty
Houses 125,000 to 249,995* 1%
Houses 250,000 to 499,995* 3%
Houses over 500,000 4%
*HM Inland Revenue rounds up house prices to the nearest 5. Therefore, a house sold for between 249,996 and 249,999 will be rounded up to 250,000 and they’ll charge you 3% Stamp Duty on the lot!
Information correct as from the April Budget 2006.
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Having The Basic Concept Of A Mortgage
By Dustin Hines
If you are new to borrowing and are just looking for your first home, then you probably are unsure about how mortgages work, and what the various types of mortgages are. If you are about to get your first mortgage, then you need to know the basics of what mortgages are and their various features. Here is some useful advice on the basics of mortgage lending:
What is a mortgage?
A mortgage is the loan that you take out to pay for a property. The loan is split into the capital and interest. The capital is the amount you have actually borrowed to buy the property, and the interest is the amount the lender charges you for the privilege of borrowing. There are various types of mortgages, but in general the two main types are repayment mortgages and interest only mortgages. Repayment mortgages are ones that require you to pay back the capital and interest each month. Interest only mortgages require you to pay just the interest each month and then the final capital amount at the end of the mortgage term. Whatever type of mortgage you are looking for, there are a number of features you should consider:
Interest rate
The interest rate of the mortgage is very important, because the lower the interest rate, the less you will pay back over the loan term. Mortgage rates are lower than most other types of loans, at around 5 or 6%. However, you should shop around for the best interest rate, as even .5% difference can mean a lot more to pay back over 20 or 30 years.
Exit fees
When you take out a mortgage, you agree a length of time over which you will repay the loan, known as the mortgage term. Mortgage terms usually range from 15-25 years. However, during this long period of time you might find a better deal or want to change your mortgage terms. If you leave during the mortgage term to use another lender, then the current lender will often charge exit fees to allow you to leave. This amount can be quite high, and is usually a percentage of the amount you still owe. You want a mortgage with low interest rates, but also make sure that you are fairly free to change lenders if required.
Insurance
As with all loans, you will be offered insurance on your mortgage, in case you are ill, out of work or die and cannot make the payments on the mortgage. If you die, then having insurance will allow your family to continue to pay the mortgage even without your income. When getting mortgage insurance, make sure that you are not paying too much for it and that your other insurance policies do not already cover you. If you aren’t covered, then getting mortgage insurance is a good idea.
How do you get a mortgage?
Mortgages can be obtained from banks, specialist mortgage lenders and online lenders. If you are looking for a mortgage, you should shop around for the best deals before committing to one lender. In order to get the mortgage, you need to show proof of income, and how much the property you want to buy is worth. The lender will then determine how much they can afford to lend you. It is often a good idea to discuss the amount you can borrow before looking at property, because then you will have a maximum budget when looking for your new home.
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Advantages Of Having A Reverse Mortgage
By Dustin Hines
In recent years property values have soared, while investment returns have been modest. This has created a situation where a lot of seniors are finding themselves in the position of being house rich and cash poor. These cash strapped seniors are looking for ways to increase their retirement income while continuing to live in their homes. These retirees find that their options are limited, and in most cases require them to risk their home. Enter the reverse mortgage, which can provide many advantages over these other less desirable options.
No Payments With Reverse Mortgages
The biggest advantage of a reverse mortgages is not having to make payments as long as you continue living in your home. In fact, this is the number one reason that seniors choose to borrow reverse mortgages. Almost 80% of reverse mortgage borrowers use a reverse mortgage to pay off their current loans in order to eliminate their house payments. Let’s say you owe $50,000 on your first mortgage and borrow $80,000 with a reverse mortgage. This would pay off and eliminate the payment on the first mortgage and provide you with $30,000 to use as you please.
Live in Your Home as Long as You Like
The second advantage of reverse mortgages is the ability to live in your house as long as you like. The great thing about this is the amount you owe on the reverse mortgage can never be more than the house is worth. Let’s say you live to 115 and have selected to recieve a $300 a month payments for life from the reverse mortgage. The amount received from the reverse mortgage payments could be substantially higher than the value of your home, yet the amount owed will still only be the value of the home. In this situation, FHA insurance will cover the difference.
Reverse Mortgage Withdrawal Options
Another advantage of reverse mortgages is the different withdrawal options that a you are able to choose. These options include lump sum distributions, line of credit, monthly payments, or any combination of these three. So if you were eligible to borrow $100,000 on a reverse mortgage you could select to receive $30,000 up front to cover current expenses, and hold the rest as a line of credit that you can use whenever you need it. This flexibility of reverse mortgages can significantly improve you financial independence during retirement.
Tax-Free Nature of Reverse Mortgages
Another advantage of reverse mortgage is the tax-free nature of the loan proceeds. The American Bar Association guide to reverse mortgages advises that generally the IRS does not consider loan advances to be income. This means that all the money from the proceeds of the reverse mortgage end up in your pocket.
With these features, reverse mortgage are definitely an option to consider if you are looking for ways to supplement your current income. As with any financial decision, you should seek the advice of a trained professional, a reverse mortgage counselor, to evaluate and determine if a reverse mortgage is right for your situation.
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Thursday, June 10th, 2010 at 12:50 pm and is filed under finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
