Yes, There Are Still Mortgage Options

Last week... rate change

This week... another rate change

What does it all mean for us here in the Birmingham Area and those interested in real estate in Birmingham Alabama?

Accoding to a lot of local lenders, it means things may not be as bad as it seems on the national level since people are still buying houses and getting mortgages!

An article by Lisa Harris, Mortgages Remain Available, Affordable, sums this up for us quite well.

By reading it we can see a lot of what is happening here and maybe even learn some truths. For instance, with all of the news about the sub-prime mortgage industry. This only makes up a small percentage of the loans out there since most borrowers are still getting 15 and 30 year loans.

Steve Shoemaker, Vice President/Regional Manager for MortgageAmerica in Birmingham, pointed out that one of the reasons for the sub-prime mortgage mess was the boom in the market, which created an anvironment where a lot of lenders were just doing whatever they could to get people into homes (and sometimes this may not have been the best time or the best candidate.)

Another thing pointed out was the hesitancy and cautiousness of todays buyers. Some things they should be doing to help protect themselves are to:

* Get a good faith estimate from thier lender so they can get an idea of closing costs.

* Lock in your rates (you may want to request this in writing)

* Create a budget and eliminate debt.

* When you get a loan, or if you have one already, you might be able to make extra payments or pay more that the amount due to build equity and save money on interest over time.

* Stay current if it all possible with all payments