Six out of ten mortgage applications this year have been for refinancing. There are some compelling reasons to refinance beyond lower interest rates.

1 – 2.2 million homeowners have jumbo loans or ARMs that are due to adjust. Refinancing to a 30-year-fixed rate loan now can prevent years of increasing mortgage rates. Rates for jumbo loans may stabilize due to new legistation. And the uncertainty of ARMs is just not for everyone.

2- If home prices are falling in your area (like they are in most areas), it may be harder to refinance. You typically need 10-20% equity to be approved for refinancing. Subtract your loan balance from your home’s assessed value to calculate your home equity. You’ll also need a good credit rating to get a competitive mortgage rate. If you can get a good mortgage rate now, lock it in. Holding out for a better rate is usually not worth the extra stress.

With the prime interest rates down, it’s a prime time to cash in on home equity lines of credit and mortgage loans for nurses. To qualify, you don’t need a perfect credit score. Borrowers with a 720 FICO score will find good mortgage interest rates.  If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, you’ll benefit from lower interest rates automatically. You may have to negotiate with your lender to find the best value.

Mortgage loan rates for nurses are at an all-time low. In spite of tighter lending requirements, buyers can still purchase homes if you have a 20% downpayment. You are in a better position if you don’t have to worry about selling in a down market and can wait several years for the market to recover.

Just don’t expect to get 100% financing. Instead, save some money for a 20% downpayment.

Mortgage rates are influenced by changes in long-term rates and prediction of inflation. It’s smart to take advantage of low interest rates if you plan to stay in your home for the long term.

Declining interest rates are also good if you want to refinance, especially if you have an adjustable rate with balloon payment or reset coming up. If you need a jumbo mortgage, it’s harder to find deals since these are riskier for lenders. Jumbo mortgage loan rates are higher than 30-year-fixed rates on lower amounts. Rates for HELOCS have fallen also as the prime has declined.

When it comes time to buy a house, you should look for mortgage advice first on the Internet and then from the experts. This information is plentiful everywhere, but be sure to research sources carefully so that you don’t take advice from someone who simply wants to sell you something, for example. There are many good “generic” financial websites out there that contain good information about mortgage loans for nurses where you’re not being “sold” on something.

What should you look for when it comes to mortgage rates?

Again, financial websites are a good place to look when you are trying to determine what current mortgage rates are. Mortgage rates fluctuate often, because they change as the government changes interest rates in general. However, again, this is good generic information that should be available anywhere on the Internet.

Getting your own records and finances in order

Before you even begin to look for mortgage loans for nurses, make sure your own financial house is in order. Pull your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), and make sure that you have no unresolved debts.

First of all, take a look and make sure everything on each credit report accurately reflects your own situation. Are all of the debts yours? If they’re not, write each credit bureau listing each of the debts, past due bills, etc., that aren’t yours and dispute them. By law, the credit bureaus have to investigate these by contacting the creditors in question. If the creditors don’t respond or if the debts are found not to be yours, they have to be removed, usually within 60 days.

Is your credit rating in good order?

Next, take a look at your own financial history and make sure that you have been responsible in your financial behavior. Because of the current mortgage loan crisis, it’s very, very difficult to get a mortgage these days even if you have good credit. Therefore, your own has to be stellar to get the best mortgage rates. For at least a couple of years before you try to apply for your mortgage, you should have been very responsible in your own financial behavior with no past due bills, overextended credit cards, and so on. If you have had a very good financial record for least the last couple of years, you should be in good shape to apply for mortgage loans for nurses. If not, get your financial house in order by being responsible with your bills, paying down credit card debt, keeping up with student loans, and so on. Do this for a couple of years before you try to pursue your dream of buying a house.

If your financial house is in order

Once your financial house is in order, you’re all set to begin to pursue your dream of buying a house. There are lots of good buys on the housing market these days because of the mortgage crisis, and lenders should be willing to work with you to get the best mortgage rates if you’re a good candidate. That said, though, it’s likely that a lender is going to want you to have at least 20% to put down on the house; this wasn’t always true, but with tightening mortgage and credit acquirements, this is much more likely to be the case.

With that said, if you have a good steady job, pay your bills on time, have a good credit history, have 20% of the house’s price to put down, and live within your means, mortgage rates should be favorable so that you can buy your dream house.

Mortgage loans for nurses

First-time home buyers looking for mortgage loans for nurses are often shocked when they see the list of closing fees they must pay when buying their home. Some of these fees are paid to the mortgage lender while others are payable to different parties.

Closing costs are a significant part of purchasing a mortgage loan, and you should budget for them ahead of time. Here are the basics on what you will be expected to pay:

The Application Fee
This fee is charged when you first apply for your mortgage loan and is non-refundable. It covers the mortgage lender’s costs of completing your initial paperwork and perhaps even pre approving you for a certain amount.

Loan Origination Fee
This fee is charged by your lenders to cover all of the administrative costs they incur in processing your loan. It is generally charged as a number of ”points”. One point equals one percent of the amount you borrow. So if you are borrowing $200,000, one point is $2,000.

Interest rates are higher on loans that don’t have points. In addition, sometimes it will make sense to pay extra points to have the interest rate lowered.

Title Insurance
This insurance generally costs several hundred dollars. It is necessary to protect both you and the lender in case the person selling you the home does not legally own it. For instance, there could be a lien on the home or another owner that is not present or aware that the home is being sold.

Appraisal Fee
Your lender will require an appraisal of the home before funding your mortgage. They want to be sure that the house is valued at the price you have agreed to pay. Home appraisals general cost a few hundred dollars.

Home Inspection Fee
This is optional, but almost always a good idea. You’ll need to have this done on your own. You’ll want your new home to be inspected by a licensed home inspector. So that you don’t have any new homeowner surprises, you’ll want to know if there are any major problems with the home before signing the paperwork.

Attorney Fees
If you are hiring an attorney’s services there wil be a fee, usually several hundred dollars.

Homeowners Insurance
Most lenders now ask that you prepay the first year’s homeowners insurance at closing.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
If your down payment is less than twenty percent of the purchase price you will be required to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). This insurance protects the lender in the event that you default on the loan, but it is an extra expense that you want to avoid if possible. You’ll be required to prepay a portion of this at your closing.

Prepaid Loan Interest
This cost covers the amount of interest that accrues from the time your mortgage is funded until you make your first payment.

Other Fees
You can most likely expect to see various other fees such as messenger fees, recording fees, and notary fees. These are all common fees that come with the cost of a mortgage.

Should you use a mortgage broker? More consumers than ever are choosing to hire a mortgage brokers instead of going through a local bank or using an online lender.  But are you aware of what a mortgage broker does?  There are specific advantages and disadvantages of using one? 

Mortgage brokers can appropriate money for loans directly from the lenders, add their cost, and then sell it to
borrowers.  They act as a middleman in the mortgage loans for nurses process.

Does it pay to use a middleman? Doesn’t that just add more cost to your mortgage loan rates? Let’s think about that. Consider the following analogy.

Suppose you want to buy a new computer.  You begin shopping around online and at different local stores for the major brands.  They have several models for you to choose from, but your overall the selection is always limited.  And you may not have some of the features that you want.

So you end up buying at a superstore store that has the most features. They sell many different computers and have the financing options you want too. 

For mortgage loans for nurses, if you go directly to the lender, they will try to sell you one of their mortgage loans, which may or may not be the best financing or exactly what you need.  A mortgage broker will have access to many different lenders and is very familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of each one, and you are most likely to find one that suits you, as a nurse perfectly.  This is especially true for nurses looking for special arrangements for mortgage rates or something other than the standard ARM or fixed rate mortgages.

Another advantage of using a mortgage broker is that they take care of the mortgage loan paperwork for you.  And if you have questions, they often are more accessible (and knowledgable) than typical loan officers in the area of mortgage loans.

But there is a potential disadvantage as well to using a mortgage broker.  Very little regulation exists and you have to be careful who you are getting the loan from – similar to any mortgage loan or refinancing purchase.

It would be wise to ask around to find a mortgage broker who is reputable.  Considering the number of nurses using brokers, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a referral.

Refinancing mortgage loans for nurses allows you to save money on interest rates, extend the amount of time that you have to repay the loan, and even receive better loan repayment options than the ones that you currently have available.

To learn if loan refinancing is right for you, you need to understand exactly what refinancing is. Loan refinancing involves a second loan to be taken out, which covers the remaining balance of the original loan. The first mortgage loan is paid in full, with the new loan replacing it. Hopefully, the new loan has a lower interest rate and requires a lower monthly payment than the original loan. Sometimes refinancing loans can also allow you to  borrow an additional amount which is used to cover other expenses, or consolidate several smaller loans into one monthly payment.

Of course, when you refinance a mortgage loan, you want to save money and this is often accomplished through lower interest rates. Depending on the remaining amount to be repaid on the original loan, the difference in the amount being borrowed can result in a significantly lower monthly payment and a lower amount of interest accrued over the term of the 2nd loan.

If you search for the most cost effective refinance lender, you can get the lowest rates and combine the savings to cut your loan expenses dramatically.

To find the right lender to refinance your mortgage loan, you have to shop around to get several quotes. You don’t have to refinance a loan through the original lender because it’s an entirely new mortgage loan.

There are a variety of choices - considering banks, finance companies, loan offices, and even online lenders will give you many options. Requesting refinance loan quotes from different lenders will tell you which lenders will offer you the best interest rates and lending terms for your current needs.

Take the time to carefully compare the different loan offers that you’ve received. Look carefully at the interest rates and repayment terms of each mortgage loan offer until you’ve found the best one for your needs.

The interest rate alone should not be the only determining factor in your decision… after all, you’re looking for the best mortgage loan for nurses, not only the best interest rate.

When you have found the most well-balanced quote to suit your needs, that’s when you should apply for your refinance loan.

Mortgage loans for nurses can basically fall into two categories.  There is the more standard option where you simply try to get the best rates and conditions that are available in the marketplace and there are also some state semi-funded programs that will allow nurses more favorable conditions in terms of acquiring a mortgage.

Some individual states have gotten on board to support mortgage loans for nurses. Providing nurses with low-cost mortgages and educational loans may be the key to solving Florida’s nursing shortage. Gov. Jeb Bush has announced a new joint venture between the state and two loan groups designed to do just that.

Under the unique plan, the state will team up with federal mortgage lender Fannie Mae to give nurses increased financing opportunities and more low-cost mortgage loans. The state will also work with the nonprofit Educational Funding of the South Inc., known as Edsouth, to give low-interest college loans to nursing students and professionals.

In Maryland, a bill was proposed to create a program to increase homeownership opportunities for nurses.  It authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to dedicate up to $25 million over five years to provide mortgage loans for nurses who are licensed in the State, employed by a hospital, and agree to continue practicing at a hospital for at least three years (assuming work is available).  The loans, which would be provided at an interest rate below the prevailing rate for similar programs, are available for property purchased in priority funding areas and to first-time homebuyers.  The program must be developed in consultation with the Maryland Board of Nursing and relevant professional nursing associations. 

Mortgage Loans For Nurses