Would you rather have a bigger monthly payment for a shorter amount of time? With a 15 year mortgage you have to make big payments each month, no exceptions. If you buy a cheap enough house this could be easy for you. The biggest advantage is saving a ton of money on interest, the biggest disadvantage is the much larger payment that reduces your cash flow.

If you choose the 30 year mortgage and pay only the minimum each month you are looking at twice the purchase price of your home just in interest payments. Do you really want the bank to make that much money off of you? If you are able you should may additional payments in order to whack away at the total interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan.

I would say never get an interest only loan. This is just begging for trouble and is how a lot of people started a snowball called the great recession. Between that an a variable interest rate loan the country is in shambles and people are very far underwater on their mortgages. Always gets a fixed rate loan for a fixed amount of time.

In our case we have tremendous financial discipline so we chose the 30 year mortgage and made large additional payments. We refinanced the note in order to get a very low interest rate and kept getting a 30 year note each time. As a result our mortgage payment is very low so if we need to pay only the minimum we can. When we are flush with money we can also choose to make bigger payments to pay it off faster. Having the flexibility is very important to us, but it only works because we have such discipline.

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Roubini goes on to outline two separate Economies emerging within the United States — a smaller economy driven by large corporations that has slowly begun to emerge from recession, and the larger economy that is still in a deep and persistent downturn.

Echoing what I have been discussing in recent months with small business owners and in my Twitter postings @marketyoursite, small business owners are reacting with extreme skepticism (even pejorative sarcasm) at the White House notion that the economy is improving. It turns out, the “recovery” is only a half-truth and merely addresses the corporate sector which, as Professor Roubini points out, has been able to re-negotiate its debt burdens (or receive government bailout money to ease the pain).

Ironically, the larger economy is the small business sector. It should be clear by now that the small business sector is not going to get any help from this Administration. Yet waiting for a recovery is not plausible while one’s business is suffering repeated setbacks and declining revenues.

One of my suggestions would be to start thinking like a larger corporation. Big business does not think in terms of its individual storefronts; even the storefronts themselves are 100,000 sq. ft. mega-boxes versus the mom & pop sized retail establishments we see in strip centers. Wal-Mart is not thinking about its current inventory that’s on the shelf; they don’t even pay for current inventory until after it has sold…

My point is that small business owners need to get wise to the way the Government plays business. The rewards are there for the biggest players, even though they make the least difference in the total economic scheme. They are the BRANDS in the marketplace that make the headlines. Even the media (another mega-corporate empire) responds to this because it is a story that can be packaged easily.

The real story is you and I. Small business. We are the driving force of any economic recovery because we are the largest player.

The big players have websites and they transact far outside their neighborhood boundaries. At the same time, they intend to OWN whatever market they are in. They don’t play for second or third place; they realize that a loss these days equals death to their business.

How do you play outside your boundaries? With an effective website. Not just a “pretty” site that isn’t relevant to your market, but an SEO-enabled website that benefits your bottom line.

The first step of mortgage refinance requires borrowers to review their current home loan documents. The majority of housing loans include prepayment penalties when loans are repaid before the contract expires. Homeowners carrying a first and second mortgage could incur substantial costs which negate savings obtained through refinancing.

Borrowers should conduct research to compare current home refinancing interest rates. Mortgage lenders recommend entering into mortgage refinance when interest rates decrease by 2-percent or more than the interest charged on original loan documents.

Homeowners engaging in mortgage refinancing are required to establish a new home loan. Funding is used to pay off outstanding balances of first and second mortgages. Borrowers holding two or more home loans and meet lending criteria can combine both loans into the refinanced mortgage.

The first step of refinancing involves submitting a new loan application. Borrowers are generally required to pay loan application, origination and settlement fees. Refinance closing costs typically range between 3- and 6-percent of outstanding principal sum and interest.

Borrowers who plan to refinance first and second mortgages are often shocked to discover they are responsible for prepayment penalties of current home loans along with closing costs of refinanced mortgages. These costs can quickly add up to several thousand dollars.

Reduced interest rates can eventually save homeowners more than the cost of home refinancing fees. However, loan origination for refinanced loans can be an expensive upfront cost.

Some banks offer no closing cost refinancing. The truth is there is no such thing as no-cost loans. Instead of paying refinance closing costs upfront, the fees are included in the principal sum amount. Homeowners pay interest on closing fees for the duration of the mortgage note.

Refinanced mortgages generally extend repayment terms. If borrowers have 20 years remaining on their current note and refinance into a 30-year loan, they are adding an additional 10 years to their loan. Before entering into a refi mortgage agreement it is crucial to calculate the true costs to compare long term savings.

In recent years, multiple changes have occurred within the lending industry. Homeowners must understand the advantages and disadvantages of refinancing to determine if entering into a new home loan is a financially sound decision.

The Federal Reserve Board provides numerous resources and consumer guides to refinancing via their website at FederalReserve.gov. Home loan refinance worksheets, eligibility requirements, lending resources, and federal agency contacts are available at no charge.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides mortgage refinance resources and information via their website at hud.gov. Borrowers holding FHA loans are entitled to complimentary counseling through approved agencies to help them determine if refinancing is plausible.

The Federal Housing Authority offers the Streamline Refinancing program to borrowers holding FHA loans. Streamline allows homeowners with decent FICO scores and a solid payment history to refinance mortgages without undergoing income verification and credit checks.

Streamline Refinancing prohibits borrowers from obtaining cash through accrued equity and is only intended to reduce mortgage payments for borrowers struggling to make monthly payments or those facing foreclosure.

Regardless of the type of mortgage loan, borrowers should only refinance when they can significantly reduce monthly payments. For most people, their home is their most valuable asset. Careful consideration should be given before refinancing a home loan to ensure borrowers do not place their property at risk.

Author and real estate investor, Simon Volkov, specializes in helping homeowners at risk of losing their home. Areas of expertise include assisting borrowers facing foreclosure and those who need to sell their home to satisfy short sale agreements. Simon provides a comprehensive mortgage refinance article library via his website at http://www.SimonVolkov.com. Homeowners needing to sell property quickly to avoid foreclosure are invited to submit information via the “we buy houses” form to receive a complimentary assessment of available options.

A poorly written hardship letter can result in the rejection of a loan modification and can also cause the immediate foreclosure of your house. It must be borne in mind that lenders are very busy and back logged, especially during the current economic crisis. A strong persuasive hardship letter allows you to stand out from the rest of the crowd and turns your desire to keep your house into a reality. You have to keep your letter concise and as honest as possible. Most importantly, you have to convince your lender that you will not default on your modified loan payments.

Certain important things must be kept in mind when writing a good hardship letter. You should ensure that your letter is not very long. It should be brief and to the point. Keep your letter to 1 or 2 pages. You must be aware that many homeowners are in the same boat as you are and so naturally the lenders do not have enough time to go through a long and tiring hardship letter.

You must clearly describe the reasons that have led to your current financial hardships. Examples include losing your job, illness, marital separation, job transfer, etc. Additionally, you must also clearly state the steps that you have taken in order to correct these hardships. Keep in mind that while you are doing this you must give the lender the feeling that you are really determined to get back on your feet and motivated to keep your house at all costs. The lender should be really moved and touched by your commitment and resolve to allow a loan modification.

Lastly, you must remember to provide accurate and true details in your loan modification hardship letter. You must not make up a false story with fictitious details. It is very likely that you will be asked to provide proof of your complete income and financial documentation. Writing false statements in your letter without any proof to claim it can definitely result in the immediate foreclosure of your house and much worse is that you can even be charged with mortgage fraud.

For detailed facts and essential tips about writing a successful loan modification hardship letter, visit this simple, easy to understand loan modification guide and resource: http://HomeLoanModifications101.com

A new kit home design is that made of steel. These look just like any other house, and it will be hard to identify it as a kit home. The steel kit houses are light and easy to construct.

Because they are made of steel, they are also termite resistant. Termites cannot chew through steel, so your houses foundations are safe from their onslaught.

The best thing about these steel kit houses are that they are cheap and easy to construct. If what you are buying is cheap it also means that your home loan doesn’t need to be that large. Thus kit homes in combination with asking for a home loan is a good strategy in order to make the most of your loan.

The most common problem faced by people who buy these homes is that more often than not, lenders will not release the funds for the loan until the house is completed. This means that you will have to shoulder the payment of your the house before you can make use of their loan. To avoid this problem it is of essence to find the right lender who understands the situation that you are in, and the peculiar circumstances of buying a this type of home.

The lenders and banks act this way with respect to these homes because after the purchase of the home, if there is something wrong that happens while the home is constructed, only the land will be left as the lender’s security. In this sense, kit homes are considered high risk by most lenders and banks.

For more information on home loans made in combination with kit houses, it would be best to ask the experts in order to advise you the best way to go about getting loan approval for your new kit home.

More information on home loans can be acquired from Home loan experts who can provide you with expert information on whatever you need connected to home loans.