Although the term has a rather wide range of meanings, in general, discount points are additional fees charged by the lender when issuing a loan. Through this fee in favor of the lender, the borrower is entitled to expect an appropriate reduction in the interest rate on the loan. In each case, the borrower should carefully evaluate whether it is advantageous to pay more as an upfront fee but receive a lower interest rate for the entire term of the loan, or to choose a higher interest rate with a lower down payment.

There are 2 ways to get rid of PMI (private mortgage insurance) on your FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan. First, you can address your creditor with this problem if your balance is at least 78% of the original buying price and you've already payed PMI for five years. Secondly, you can just refinance your FHA loan into conventional loan.

First of all, it all depends on what type of credit you are interested in and for which exact amount you are expecting. The requirements will vary depending on the particular loan provider, as well as the specifics of state or national lending laws. In general, though, it's usually a set of documents proving your identity and source of income, as well as your ownership of the collateral.

To be able to apply for an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan, you must meet some strict requirements. Specifically, your FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score must come within 500 to 579 with 10 percent down or 580 and higher with 3,5 percent down. Also you should demonstrate verifiable history of employment for previous 2 years.

A VA loan is a mortgage loan secured by Veterans Benefits Administration that is designed for U.S. military veterans and certain members of their families. It is important to understand that the Veterans Benefits Administration is not a lender, it only supervises terms and conditions of VA loans issued by private lending institutions, including banks.

APR or annual percentage rate is the sum of the monthly interest rates listed in the terms of your loan agreement. For example, if the interest rate is 3%, the annual percentage rate would be 3*12=36%. Therefore, the lower the APR, the lower the monthly interest rate will be.

A bridge loan is a type of short-term lending in which a loan is granted for a fairly short period of up to 1 year at a high interest rate to pay the current obligations of the borrower.

A hard money loan is a specialized type of asset-based lending by which a borrower obtains funds secured by real estate. Hard money loans are usually issued by private investors or companies. As with any other secured loan, the interest rate on such a loan is lower than usual due to the presence of a collateral.

A loan origination fee is a one-time payment, usually ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the total loan amount, charged by the lender to compensate the costs for processing the loan application. In general, loan origination fees are not required by all loan originating agencies. In fact, they can be even negotiated before you sign a contract. In most cases, however, the absence of a loan origination fee as a separate payment simply increases the interest rate correspondingly.

Collateral is a guarantee for the lender to get all the funds due under the loan agreement. In case the borrower does not fulfill his/her obligations or does not fulfill them to the full extent, the corresponding debt is to be repaid at the expense of the collateral. Collateral can be represented by residential and non-residential real estate, motor vehicles, precious metals, securities, etc. However, in fact, banks determine the list of property taken as collateral when granting loans. The property pledged as collateral under the loan must be necessarily evaluated.

An FHA loan is a Federal Housing Administration guaranteed low down payment mortgage loan that allows you to purchase your first home. FHA loans help families become homeowners by lowering the cost of financing and reducing the size of the down payment that makes it difficult to purchase a house. According to the Mortgage Reports website, approximately 20 percent of eligible buyers apply for and receive an FHA loan due to moderate credit history and income requirements.