Saturday, September 20, 2008

Benefit From Low Commercial Real Estate Loan Rates

Acquiring or buying a property for commercial purposes involves huge funds and hence borrowings play a key role in real estate business. Even if there is sufficient finance at hand to own a property usually one prefers to borrow as the surplus money can be used for other business purposes. Cost of a loan is what a borrower thinks all the time as it is crucial in deciding the fate of the loan seeker. And it is all the more important in commercial real estate matters. Commercial real estate rates therefore should be carefully studied before taking the loan.

Commercial real estate loan rates depend on some basic factors. First of all it should be made clear that commercial real estate loan rates are usually lower interest rate loans. The rate of interest depends on whether the loan is secured or unsecured. Any secured loan comes at lower rate of interest rate and unsecured one with bad credit history on the top of it comes at higher rates. In case of commercial real estate loan lenders keep the very commercial property the borrower intends to buy as collateral. With the loan fully secured lenders provide commercial real estate loan at lower interest rate.

Usually commercial real estate loan rates are lower in the range of 6-7 percent. This means buying any real estate is cheaper through commercial real estate loan. But lower interest rate also depends on lender to lender and credit history. In the competitive loan market each lender has own rate of interest. Compare them and further lowered interest rate can be achieved. Your credit history also determines the rate. A good credit history certainly gives more confidence to the lender and he can lower the rate of interest. Another way is to see how much you are borrowing in relation to the value of commercial property. If the borrowed amount is way lower than value of the property you can take a reduced interest rate. See if you can make a larger down payment so that borrowings remain smaller. Surely for taking commercial real estate loan at lower interest rate one needs to fulfill some high condition like good credit history.

In case you are not that highly qualified borrower, you have the option of ‘hard money’. There are lenders who are willing to accept risks in lending money to say bad credit people at high interest rate. Hard money loans for commercial real estate buying may range 12-16 percent based on risk factors.

A lot on interest rate front depends on how many commercial real estate loan providers have you studied and compared. These lenders can easily be approached on their websites. Compare individual interest rates and settle for the suitable lender. Apply online to him for fast processing and approval of the loan.

Commercial real estate loan rates are usually lower rates but a lot depends on how much eligible a borrower is. Good credit history and lesser borrowing as compared to the value of collateral certainly enable in taking a reduced interest rate.

7 Steps To Choosing The Best Real Estate Loan For You

A home loan will be your financial responsibility for years to come, so it can be one of the most important decisions you make. Even tiny changes in an interest rate – changes as small as half a percent – can cost or save you thousands of dollars over the term of your loan. To enjoy an affordable home, follow these seven simple steps:

1) You’d Better Shop Around!
Any market has thousands of mortgage brokers, and each broker has access to hundreds of home loan programs. Whatever your circumstances, there is a home loan out there to suit you. The more mortgage brokers and financing professionals you speak to, the more likely it is that you will encounter someone who really knows the home loan program right for you.

2) Pick out the TERMS of your loan -- BEFORE comparing rates.
Home loan terms range from 30, 40 to 50 years and some are interest only, meaning that you will only make interest payments each month and will never pay off your mortgage. Another factor to consider when debating terms is rate. Some loans have guaranteed fixed rates for the entire term of your mortgage. Other loans are Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs), meaning that your interest rate will adjust after a guaranteed rate period is over. When considering terms, also think about what pre-payment penalty you are willing to accept. This penalty applies if you decide to refinance your home loan or sell the house within a certain period of time -- usually one to two years or longer.

3) Shop the rate and closing costs -- carefully
Have a mortgage broker pull a tri-merge credit report and then get a copy of the report. Take the report and a copy of your tax returns with you when visiting financing professionals. Be prepared to answer all questions honestly and be prepared to tell the mortgage broker the price range and the home loan terms you will need. Ask for two Good Faith Estimates (GFE) – one with minimal closing costs and one with standard closing costs.

4) Compare Total Monthly Payments.
Your GFEs will estimate TOTAL monthly payments on a home loan. These estimates only guess what your taxes, hazard insurance, homeowner’s association dues and other costs will be. Since mortgage brokers have no control over these costs, some will underestimate them to make their GFEs attractive. For this reason, always compare only the line item costs associated with each loan. Line items costs include principal, interest, and mortgage insurance.

5) Compare Closing Costs.
Closing costs can contribute significantly to the cost of buying a home. Some mortgage brokers will underestimate these costs to make an estimate seem competitive. Worse, closing costs and associated fees have confusing labels, making them harder to compare. In general, compare the “Items Payable in Connection With Loan” or the “Items Payable in Connection With Loan” on your GFE – these are the costs that your broker may have control over.

6) Compare Closing Costs AND Rate.
Does it make sense to choose the home loan with lower interest but higher closing fees? Or would a home loan with much smaller closing costs but higher rates cost you less? To decide, tally up how long it would take to “make up” the difference. For example, if one home loan saves you $100 a month through lower payments but costs $1000 more in closing costs, it would take 10 months to “make up” for the closing costs.

7) Lock Your Rate!
Just because you are quoted a great rate, that does not mean that interest will stay in place until you are ready to buy, so lock in your rate 30-45 days before closing.

Deciding to buy a home is exciting, but choosing a mortgage can be nerve-wracking. To make a smart choice that really will support you financially, be sure to compare smart by following these tips. Then, you can enjoy your new home – with the right financing.

Do You Understand Real Estate Loan Formulas?

What the real estate loan formula really involves…

All loans are based on a mathematical formula that determines how much you are going to pay. There are five crucial loan variables including: term, interest rate, principal, final value and payment. These are also the five most important terms you need to know before you apply for any loan.

All of them are interconnected and changing any one of them is likely to change the others, though oftentimes not quite as you would predict. There are some rules of thumb about that, but better not rely on them too much. Before you even start thinking about any specific real estate loan you should spend some time learning the variables with a financial calculator.

Term: it is the period used to calculate the loan payment, often the same as the maturity, ie. the time when the last installment is due. Keep in mind though, that in cases the loan maturity is much shorter than the loans term (for example: balloon mortgages). The standard term for a real estate mortgage is 30 years, though in case of amortized loans you can choose a period from 10 to 40 years. Generally the longer the term, the lower the monthly installment, though the change is much smaller than you might expect.

Interest rate: is the amount of money charged by the loan creditor for lending you the money. It is usually a percentage of the sum you borrow. The rate is charged every payment term, but it is customarily quoted on an annual basis. A 6% interest rate is customarily, 12 multiplied by 0.5% (in case of monthly payments). The lower interest rate, the less you have to pay. The effect is greater in case of long-term loans.

Principal: this term can mean either (1) the portion of the installment that is used to reduce the balance or (2) the total amount of money being financed. Generally, the principal (1) should be higher than the interest rate, otherwise you will suffer from negative amortization (your debt will grow even though you pay the installment). The higher the principal (1) is the less is the final value.

Final value: this is the total sum you pay for the loan (all installments plus all additional fees). The final value at the end of the mortgage should usually be zero, meaning that the debt has been paid in full. Keep in mind that the lower final value you want to get, the higher installments you will have to pay.

Payment: your monthly (rarely quarterly) amount due. This important variable determines whether you can ultimately afford a loan or not.

A word of warning: while it is relatively easy to run the formula on a financial calculator, it is very difficult to do that on paper, even if you were good at Math in the college. An online financial calculator is much faster and doesn't make mistakes.

Remember, when you choose a real estate loan for yourself, you have to know all five variables - only then will you be able to determine what you can actually purchase. Oftentimes it is actually better to go for higher monthly payment if it means lower final value. On the other hand, you might want to stretch your loan (longer term and higher final value) to get more money for a low installment... The number of possibilities are immense, but you have to know what they really are if you are going to profit from them.

Good luck with your real estate ventures.