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Many people want to purchase a home, but also have a difficult time coming up with the down payment. While income may be good, everyday and monthly living expenses make it almost impossible to save the amount of funds that are necessary to obtain a mortgage. However, when searching for down payment options for a home purchase, they may find that it is actually possible.

1. Conventional mortgages require a down payment of 20% which can be a large sum of money for the first time home buyer to save. There is a minimum down payment requirement of 5 to 10% which will depend on the individual lender. Any amount below 20% will require that the borrower pay private mortgage insurance along with the monthly mortgage payment. With a conventional loan, putting the most down as possible is important because it will result in a better loan and lower mortgage rate.

2. Government loans offer better options when it comes to down payments. FHA loans require a low 3.5% down payment with a minimum credit score of 620 and maximum debt to income ratio of 43% for automated underwriting. In addition, FHA offers borrowers many other benefits, such as 6% seller concessions. These loans are also assumable which means they can be assumed by the buyer, who must be approved, when the borrower decides to sell the home. FHA loans also have an upfront mortgage insurance premium paid at closing and an annual mortgage insurance premium that must be paid for the life of the loan or until the loan is refinanced with a conventional or other type of loan.

3. VA loans have no minimum down payment requirement. In fact, most VA loan borrowers use this as a means of 100% financing. However, a borrower must be eligible according to VA guidelines. VA loans do have a one time VA funding fee.

4. FHA mortgages offer sweat equity loans which allow a borrower to perform their own work in lieu of a portion of the down payment.

5. FHA mortgages also offer bridal registry loans which allows others to deposit funds to a bridal registry that will be used to fund the down payment of the mortgage.

6. Gifts are an acceptable part of obtaining a mortgage and are often used with FHA loans. However, gifts must meet the program’s guidelines for approval. The gift can be from family, friends and even employers. There are specific rules that must be followed regarding proof, sourcing and transfer of funds.

7. Many states, counties and cities offer housing initiatives to assist with the down payment for first time home buyers. These funds are usually in the form of low interest loans or bonds. Each one has its own guidelines for repayment with some having no repayment as long as the borrower remains in the home.

8. Some employers offer down payment assistance as a benefit after the employee has worked a certain period of time.

9. For second homes or investment properties, some borrowers will use the equity that is available in their primary residence for the down payment.

While saving the down payment funds for a home purchase can take some time, home buyers should keep up to date with what additional avenues of assistance are available to them. Since most down payment assistance programs are refunded on a regular basis, borrowers should keep in touch with the latest updates in their area or state. It is also not unusual for new local programs to crop up unexpectedly. The important thing is to keep saving, keep looking and not give up.

You are often required to have a deep working knowledge of the Binary Options trading environment when you sign up to some trading sites, whilst some sites do tend to have overly complicated trading interfaces and platforms installed on their sites, it can often lead to some newer traders being confused or even making incorrect trades when using some of these sites.

Should you be relatively new to the world of Binary Options Trading then you will need to pick and choose just which Binary Brokers and Traders sites you sign up to as many of those you will come across allow you to make one click trades which is the only way you should be looking to make Binary Option trades online. Click here to view list of Binary options brokers if you are from UK.

With a one click does everything type of Binary Options Trading platform then you are not going to make mistakes with your trades, and will be able to quickly and very easily select the asset you wish to trade and then make those trades accordingly.
So one of your requisites for choosing any Binary Broker will be to ensure the one you are thinking of utilizing the services has a straight forward and simple to use trading platform. The more complicated the platform becomes then the more likely you are to making often expensive trading errors.

Another couple of features that ant Binary Broker or Binary Options Trading site should offer are both a fully functional Mobile Trading Platform which will of course enable you to make your trades when out and about, plus a reliable telephone support service, which in case of any live trading problems will always respond timely whilst at the same time enable you to phone in any trades you wish to make on the spot.

We are seeing more and more people now turning to trading in Forex Options, this is always popular during and in the run up to the holiday season as this is when traders are looking to lock in value from their spending money on their up and coming holidays and vacations.

This has led to many Binary Option Trading sites pairing up some of the lesser traded currencies of the world and as such you are the able to seamlessly trade your home currency with the value and market swings of the currency of which the country you are visiting has in place.

You will be wanting to lock in value and as such there are more and more Binary Option Trading sites and brokers who are quite prepared to offer you a sign up bonus when you start to use their trading options and trading interfaces for the very first time, and this is where you can not only lock in value but by combining your trades on both new accounts and existing accounts you hold at other sites, you can often guarantee a profitable winning trade by hedging one off against the other with the added trading cash given away by these bonus offers!

With the growth in popularity of online shopping has come a rise in the ways you can pay for goods on the internet. While many people still prefer the more traditional route of paying directly through online banking, there are a number of advantages to using these specialist services – particularly regarding security, which has become one of the biggest challenges for internet shoppers as hackers and fraudsters seek to take advantage of a whole new market.

Whenever you enter your payment details into a site, you are potentially putting them at risk: phishing attacks (in which users are directed to a spoof website that collects their information) and malware that logs keystrokes are just a couple of the ways the bad guys could gain access to your bank account. This has necessitated the development of more secure online payment services.

An example of one of these services is Ukash. With this method, rather than entering your banking details each time you pay for something, you simply exchange a set amount of money for a 19-digit voucher code, which then acts as a virtual “wallet” that can be topped up whenever you want. The code corresponds to how much money you have: whenever you spend, you’ll receive a new code telling you how much you have left.

This means you don’t have to reveal your credit card number to a variety of different shops in order to make a payment – as long as you treat your vouchers as you would cash, your money is secure.

There are few guarantees in marriage, but one of them is this: You’ll have to spend much time discussing your household’s finances with your spouse. It doesn’t matter the age you marry, your commitment means you’ll have to share in the good and the bad. You may have to share your spouse’s credit card debt, student loans, child support commitments and other messy financial troubles – or it could be the other way around where you subject your spouse to your financial woes.

You might be tempted to shelve the topic of your finances for as long as possible. A history of poor financial management may put a damper on romance, after all. But even if you’ve both managed to keep your financial profile intact, marriage links both your finances, so it’s a topic that deserves some thoughtful discussion.

As a start, you’ll have to address questions like: Who will pay the bills? How will you share the expenses? What are your plans for saving? Will you combine finances?

The tips below will help newly married couples to manage their joint financial status and avoid the pitfalls that affect so many couples. Discuss your financial matters today to ensure marital bliss later on.

Commit to Saving A Percentage Of Your Household Income

Don’t assume that you’ll always have the income you now enjoy. Sudden interruptions in your income – whether voluntary or involuntary- may be lurking around the corner. In this uncertain economic climate, there’s the possibility of losing your job. One of you might decide to go back to school or stay at home to care for the children. You’ll have more options if you have a substantial amount of money saved. Your savings will guarantee that you avoid a sharp drop in your lifestyle when one salary is no longer available.

Commit to saving a percentage of your income every month, and stick to your commitment.

Compare Spending Habits

Your spouse might not share your beliefs about money; his spending habits may come as a complete surprise. Spouses who have different financial values need to spend a lot of time discussing their finances. This includes talks about spending habits, debt, and how to manage it.

Plan A Budget

A budget will help to curb unnecessary spending and point out exactly where your money goes. Discuss your financial goals before you build your budget. This will help you to include a plan for meeting those goals.

Get Rid Of Debt

Have a plan to pay off credit cards and student loans. Clearing your debt is the first step towards achieving the goals you’ve set as a couple.

Purchase Life Insurance

You might be uncomfortable discussing the subject of death, but you need to be prepared if the unthinkable happens. Life insurance will protect your finances if your spouse should pass away.

Combine Your Policies

Combine all your insurance policies under one provider and save money. For instance, companies will give you a discount if you combine your car insurance, health insurance and life insurance.

Start a Retirement Fund

It is never too early to start planning for retirement. Make an appointment with a financial advisor to discuss your options.

Live within your means and you’ll enjoy years of marital bliss.

Barry Johnson is a personal finance consultant. His articles mainly appear on money blogs.

Purchasing your first home together can be almost as exciting as your wedding day. If you’ve made that first major purchase together before tying the knot, you may have already built up some equity in your home that can be used for repairs and renovations. Whether you plan on using a home equity loan to put an addition on your home or undertake maintenance on your existing home, here are a few things you should know before enquiring about a home equity loan.

Get Appraised (And Know How to Calculate Your Equity)

When determining your home equity, you will first need to have your home appraised to determine its current fair market value. Once appraised, take your home’s fair market value and subtract the amount of money you still owe on your mortgage. For example, let’s say you bought your house for $250,000. Having paid $50,000 as a down payment, your mortgage is now $200,000.

Fast forward to the future when you decide you want to apply for a home equity loan. At that time, you have paid off $125,000 of your mortgage. After an appraisal, you discover that the new market value of your home has risen in value to $300,000. Since you have paid off $125,000 of your mortgage, you still owe $75,000.

$200,000 – $125,000 = $75,000

Take your new fair market price of your home and subtract what you still owe on your mortgage, giving you the amount of money you qualify for your home equity loan, $175,000.

$300,000 – $75,000 = $225,000

This is the total equity available. A bank will typically lend 70-80% of the total equity available.Now that you understand home equity, you have two main options: You can either get a Home Equity Loan (HEL) or a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).

Option 1: The Home Equity Loan

Also known as a “second mortgage,” a HEL gives you a lump sum of cash with a fixed rate of interest. You will have fixed monthly payments for a fixed amount of time, normally between 5 and 15 years. A huge benefit to this option is you won’t be surprised by fluctuating interest rates.Some people use their HEL to help pay off their student loans or credit card bills upon discovering that their HEL interest rate is lower than their student loan and credit card rates. This isn’t always the case. Your HEL rate might not be lower than your other rates, but it is worth your time to determine whether your HEL can assist you with your newly-combined household finances, as well as home improvement projects.

The Home Equity Line Of Credit

A HELOC is a credit line given to you by a lender. You have a maximum amount that you can borrow and are given blank checks or a debit or credit card that allows you to withdrawal from those funds. This allows you to borrow what you need when you need it, instead of taking out one lump sum. You don’t have to withdraw the maximum amount. This just means that the amount of money you are paying interest on has the potential of being significantly lower than your determined equity. Keep in mind that there may be transaction fees each time you withdrawal money. Help from Uncle Sam

The IRS Publication 936, “Home Mortgage Interest Deduction,” offers some helpful advice to newlyweds with home equity loans at tax time. It states that joint tax filers can deduct the interest paid on a maximum $100,000 in home equity loans. The maximum is cut in half if the married couple files separately. Keep in mind, this is a maximum and chances are you will not get to deduct near that amount. This deduction also only applies to home equity loans taken out for home improvement purposes.

Remember

Armed with some knowledge beforehand, you can decide which home equity loan option is best for you and your home – and the vision you have in mind for it.

This post was written by Holly Wolf of Conestoga Bank. Conestoga Bank has serviced Philadelphia and the surrounding regions for 120+ years.

This publication does not constitute legal, accounting or other professional advice. Although it is intended to be accurate, neither the publisher nor any other party assumes liability for loss or damage due to reliance on this material.