Refinance Home - Do's and Don'ts

While walking your dog, you may have seen rows of houses for sale. You want one of those brick houses with three bedrooms to accommodate a growing brood of kids. The possibility is not remote if your home's value has increased considerably. A refinance home scheme may let you enter one of those bigger homes.

Ready to Jump Through Hoops?

For your first mortgage, you had to undergo a paper chase to satisfy the requirements of the mortgage company. This experience will serve you well. But for your refinance home project, there are still some do's and don'ts to observe to give yourself the upper hand when entering a contract.

So check your documents. Are your tax income papers in order? Is your credit history satisfactory? Is your employment record updated? Are the records of the first mortgage complete and neatly filed? These are just some of the documents to prepare. Looking for lost documents or calling up certain offices for your records eat up your valuable time just when the refinance home loan agent is ready to talk to you.

When you're ready for an audience with the loan agent, make sure you've done your homework. You should know about mortgages before signing a contract. One simple rule is: don't rush into a refinance home loan.

The Do's

Find out about your home's value. If this has increased, expect to pay more for the mortgage. But settle on a company that offers a lower interest rate than your present mortgage. The new loan should be able to give you 2% less in interest rates than your current loan.

Do shop for lower interest rates. You may be surprised that an adjustable mortgage rate is lower than a fixed mortgage rate. The catch, though, is the possibility that your monthly bills might shoot up. Consider this if this is not a risk.

Do ask about penalties for loan prepayment and getting out of the contract. The loan agent should make it clear that you have the right to rescind the contract within three days, which is the rescission period.

Do make sure that if you're going to resort to this option, let the refinance home company know of your decision and your reasons through a formal letter followed up with a telephone call to the right people before the 12PM deadline on the third day.

Do check the company's background if you're using a new mortgage company. With several mortgage companies competing for business, you might fall for a lousy deal with the lure of very low interest rates and no closing fees.

The Don'ts

Don't be rushed into a home refinance loan, and don't be afraid or intimidated by the mortgage companies. Check out online sites that provide information on consumer rights.

Don't entertain calls purportedly coming from companies requesting more information. Go to the company office. Inform them of the request for additional information and verify if indeed this request came from them.

Don't entertain strangers offering a better deal and cash even if they give their credentials. Tell them you prefer to discuss things in their office. Don't sign anything. Some people lost their homes to scammers because of those nice strangers.

These tips can help you safeguard yourself from getting duped into dubious deals. Your new loan should be your chance to own a home, not lose it.

For your refinance home, Florida refinance, or California refinance needs, visit WhatAboutLoans.com today.

Ford - A Leader in Automotive Racing History!

Does the thought of watching a great car race make your heart accelerate? Do you live to enjoy the thrill of speed? Maybe you just appreciate the design of great sports cars. Whatever the case may be, you can be sure that somewhere along the line, you have heard about or seen some great and historic Ford race cars!

Automotive racing has been a very popular sport ever since the first automobiles were designed over 100 years ago. Actually, it was because of car racing that many of todays automakers exist. Automotive designers would try to create faster and more efficient vehicles by testing their ideas in races against other designers. Henry Ford entered one such event with his unique, early "Model T" design and won, investing the prize winnings into the company that would become the Ford Motor Company. From this humble beginning, many historic Ford race cars would be born.

Ford racing would become a company to contend with as they produced one winning design after another. Here are just some of the historic Ford race cars:

*In 1903, Barney Oldfield drove the Ford 999 to victory at the Indiana Fairgrounds, and set a new speed record of 60 mph.

*In 1909, the Ford Model T shows its endurance as it wins a cross-country race from New York to Seattle.

*In 1949, the first national NASCAR race was won by Ford driver Jim Roper in a new car model called the Lincoln.

In the 1960's, Ford would reach the height of racing, as they would produce several cutting edge designs, including:

*In 1963, the Ford-Lotus design would win the Milwaukee 200, driven by Jim Clark.

*In 1964, Ford would introduce a new style of Indy car engine known as the DOHC V-8.

*In 1966, the Ford model Mark II's would place 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 24 hours of Lemans race.

*In 1967, Ford would introduce a new engine in the Dutch Grand Prix, called the Ford-Cosworth DFV V-8.

*In 1968, Ford would introduce a sporty design of its popular Ford Mustang by showcasing the Cobra Jet Mustang at the NRHA Winternationals, winning its first event.

The 1980's would see a resurgence of the popular Ford Mustang as the Miller Mustang would win two races in 1981. Ford would also become competitive with the Thunderbird model as driver Bill Elliott would win a record 11 NASCAR races in 1985. In 1988, Bill Elliott would continue winning in the Ford Thunderbird by taking the NASCAR Winston Cup championship.

Ford continues to produce new and innovative ideas as they design cars for the future. In the early 2000's, the Ford Taurus model challenged the field, being driven by the Rousch racing team including some of todays championship drivers like Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch. If the future is anything like the past, Ford will continue to produce many historic Ford race cars.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about historic Ford race cars, please visit Vintage Autos Now for current articles and discussions.

Mortgage Reconstruction 2009 - The Time For New Mortgage Laws

As of Monday July 14th, 2008, the government has passed new laws which cause a decent amount of change within the mortgage industry and how these companies give out loans to homeowners. Even though they were passed on Monday, these rules wont take effect until October 2009 to give time for companies to transition to the new set of standards.

The concept being birthed in 2007, was in response to the treatment homeowners were facing from mortgage companies and to the foreclosure crisis that took place. It has been stated that the basis for these new rules are to protect future home buyers from mortgage companies.

The Foreclosure Crisis
Within the late 2006, the housing industry felt a large blow when a mass amount of foreclosures occurred due to rates on mortgages and also because of the fact that many of the new loans were made to individuals with either bad credit or too low of an income.

Experts believe that the basis for so many of these home loans being in place was the fact that many homeowners thought they could reap benefits when refinancing later on. Even though, their ideology failed because with the interest rates reset higher, refinancing was hard to come by which led to approximately a million foreclosures.

Mortgage lenders, banks and other financial institutions felt the impact dramatically reporting 100's of billion dollars in losses. Not only was the housing industry devastated, but the US economy in a whole was also rocked by the housing crisis. These issues led to the US Federal Reserve cutting down interest rates and to the creation of the economic stimulus package which was passed by the government in 2008 to help offset debt and to spur on economic growth and instill belief in the US economy.

The Economic Stimulus Package
The Economic Stimulus Package of 2008 was passed in order to restore good faith within the economy. Its main purpose was to provide assistance to low and middle income citizens. From the economic stimulus package, all recipients were set to receive at least $300 and an extra $300 per dependent under the age of 17. The maximum pay that a person would receive would be no more that $600. Any individuals with an annual income over $75,000 would not receive any monetary funds except for those who had qualifying children.

In addition to citizens, the law also applied to businesses offered them certain tax incentives. Those include tax deductions on eqiupment meant to improve ones business and an increase in how much a business can deduct in business expenses.

In an article by James Temple from SF Gate he lists several key changes in mortgage practices that was just passed on Monday.

General Mortgage Rules:
- Prohibit creditors and mortgage brokers from coercing appraisers into misstating a home's value.
- Require additional information about rates, monthly payments and other loan features in all advertising.
- Ban seven deceptive or misleading advertising practices, including calling a rate or payment "fixed" when it can change.

Lending Rules For Higher Priced Subprime Loans:
- Force lenders to consider a borrower's ability to repay loans from income and assets other than the home's value.
- Require lenders to document a borrower's income and assets.
- Ban penalties for borrowers who pay off loans early, if the payment can change in the first four years. In certain cases, a prepayment penalty period can't exceed two years.
- Mandate that creditors ensure certain borrowers set aside money to pay for property taxes and insurance, by establishing escrow accounts.

In reference to the new mortgage rules, many claim that these rules will assist many homeowners and aspiring homeowners from companies that prey on them to make a profit despite the views on their practices are questionable. Yet with this belief intact, many individuals still hold firm in their opinion that these rules are just a tip of the iceberg and much more needs to be done within the housing industry and in relation to some of the illegal practices carried on by some of the lending companies.

This article is provided by Ferdie Frederic for S-Proprietor.com, The Entrepreneurs Online Blog. If you are interested in more articles and information please visit our site at http://www.s-proprietor.com