3 Tips to Pay Off Your Mt Hood Home Mortgage Early!

If you own a home in Brightwood, Rhododendron, Welches or Government Camp, you're probably trying to figure out how you can save money. One of the best ways to add a bit of cash back into your pocket is create a budget, and work on paying off your mortgage early. With a little research and a lot of focus, you can be mortgage free.

1. Make Additional Monthly Payments

One of the easiest ways to pay off your home mortgage is to simply make extra payments towards your principal balance. This helps decrease interest over the years, which helps you pay off your mortgage loan at a faster rate. You could pay as little as $100 extra a month and make a huge difference in the amount of interest you'll pay over the life of your loan. Use a mortgage calculator to check out figures and help you get an idea of how much you could save over the years.

When you make principal only payments, be sure to write a separate check and write "Principal Pre-payment Only" and your account number in the memo area of the check. Also enclose a letter instructing the mortgage company to apply this to pay down your principal balance. If you don't do this, the bank may apply it to your next mortgage payment instead of just to your principal.

2. Pay Bi-Weekly

Another way to pay off your Mt Hood home mortgage early is to pay twice a month, or bi-weekly. Paying bi-weekly could potentially subtract up to nine years off your loan. You simply make two smaller payments, instead of one big one. Therefore, you save a significant amount of money in interest charges.

However, if your loan company requires that you pay a fee to pay bi-weekly, or if they require that you switch plans whereby you are required to make a bi-monthly payment, don't do it.

Instead, stick with your current monthly payment schedule and simply pay more on your principal each month as described above. This way you'll still save a significant amount of interest, but you won't be locked in to making bi-weekly payments. If you run into a rough patch, you can go back to paying your normal monthly amount. This keeps your options open, rather than being locked in if you converted to the bi-weekly payment plan.

3. Refinance Your Loan

When you refinance, the goal is usually to get a lower mortgage payment. But if you want to pay off your mortgage early, you could refinance, get a lower interest rate, but continue to make the same payments you were initially paying on your previous loan. This would allow you to pay more on your interest charges, and ultimately shorten the life of your loan.

When trying to pay off your home mortgage early, you have several options. Just make sure to thoroughly research all the available plans of action until you find the one that's right for you.

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Mortgage calculator:
www.somersetmortgagelenders.com/MortgageCalculator/LoanPaymentCalculator.aspx

Bi-weekly:
www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mtg/20010920a.asp

Refinance:
www.mortgagefit.com/refinance.html

Prepare Before Buying to Get the Best Deals for

Mt Hood Real Estate.

You’ve finally decided you want to buy a piece of real estate in Brightwood, Welches, Rhododendron or Government Camp Oregon. What do you do now? Here are a few tips for getting the best deal for your money:

Check Out Your Credit

Remember, everything is credit driven. That means your interest rate on your new home loan. The first thing you’ll want to do is order a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Look for inaccuracies in:
• Name
• Address
• Creditors
• Late payments
• Delinquencies

After you’ve reviewed your credit report and know your credit score, you’re ready to make improvements to your report, if your credit score is too low. Send a written “Notice of Correction” to the credit bureaus. It can be up to 200 words. If needed, you can explain why you fell behind on a particular debt, and every time a lender accesses the report, they’ll see your explanation.

It can take several months to for your credit score to go up. However, it's well worth the effort to get a better interest rate. It can save you thousands on your real estate purchase in the Mt Hood Corridor.

Get Pre-approved

Before you start looking at properties, it’s a good idea to get a pre-approval letter from a lender. The lender takes into consideration your income and credit history. Then the lender determines the loan amount for which you qualify.

Most pre-approval letters list the maximum amount for which you are approved, not necessarily the amount you can afford. Look carefully at your budget so that you don’t get too excited about the number and get into more house than you can afford.

There are several benefits to getting pre-approved. It allows you and your Mt Hood real estate agent to narrow down the house search. That way you won't waste time seeing properties you can’t afford. Also, sellers will give your bid more weight if you're pre-approved.

Are you a first-time buyer?
You have just made a fabulous decision for your future. There are tons of great buys in the Mt Hood Real Estate market in the towns of Brightwood Welches, Rhododendron or Government Camp. I'm a specialist in the Mt Hood Corridor communities and would love to help you buy the home of your dreams. Call me now at 503-706-7101 or email me at blythe@servingmthood.com.

Credit report:
www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Pre-approval:
loanlane.com/preapprove.php

Budget:
financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/Budgeting.htm

How Can Obama's Housing Plan for Mt Hood Real Estate Help You?

The housing plan included in President Obama's stimulus package has many good qualities that will help those seeking real estate in the Mt Hood Corridor, west of Government Camp, Oregon.

There are two main points to the housing plan:

1. To help people once again obtain reasonable mortgages to afford the home of their dreams.

2. To keep people in the homes they already have. If it works the way it is planned, it is reason for a collective sigh of relief for millions of homeowners feeling threatened by foreclosures.

That's really it in a nutshell. There are many incentives wrapped up in each of those two areas to help both homeowners and prospective home buyers, but the very impetus behind the stimulus housing package is simple.

For Current Homeowners

If you have a current mortgage that you can't handle, now is the time to talk to your mortgage company. Don't wait too long because some of the detailed elements of Obama's housing plan are meant to be short-term in their offer so as not to over-tax the budget. While you have the chance, see if your mortgage can be reduced to reflect current home values. That can provide you with the equity you would have already built up but lost due to a drop in housing values. It will also lower your monthly mortgage to a manageable level.

For New Home Buyers

This is your market now. The real estate prices in the Mt Hood corridor between Sandy, Oregon and Rhododendron, Oregon are much lower which gives you a chance to buy a home you might not have been able to afford before. President Obama's housing plan provides tax incentives for you. However, just like with current homeowners, the time to do this is now. Because of the stimulus to the Mt Hood Real Estate Market, housing values are not going to stay as low as they currently are. Also, many of the incentives like the tax credits are valid for a very limited time.

If you’re ready to take advantage of the stimulus package benefits by buying a home, I can help. Call me now at 503-706-7101or email me at blythe@servingmthood.com.


homeowners feeling threatened by foreclosures: www.lvrj.com/business/40917822.html

stimulus housing package: www.recovery.gov/

tax credits: www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/