A commercial mortgage is a loan made using real estate as collateral to secure repayment.

A commercial mortgage is similar to a residential mortgage, except the collateral is a commercial building or other business real estate, not residential property. In addition, commercial mortgages are typically taken on by businesses instead of individual borrowers. The borrower may be a partnership, incorporated business, or limited company, so assessment of the creditworthiness of the business can be more complicated than is the case with residential mortgages.

Some commercial mortgages are nonrecourse, that is, that in the event of default in repayment, the creditor can only seize the collateral, but has no further claim against the borrower for any remaining deficiency. The general reason for this is twofold: many laws significantly prevent the creditor from going after the borrower for any deficiency, and mortgages structured for sale as bonds give a higher priority to constantly receiving some sort of income and therefore require a clause which allows the lender to take the property immediately, regardless of bankruptcy proceedings that the borrower might be going through.

Frequently, the mortgage is supplemented by a general obligation of the borrower or a personal guarantee from the owner(s), which makes the debt payable in full even if foreclosure on the mortgaged collateral does not satisfy the outstanding balance.    Read more here

Owning a home is part of the American dream. But high home prices may make the dream seem out of reach. To make monthly mortgage payments more affordable, many lenders offer home loans that allow you to (1) pay only the interest on the loan during the first few years of the loan term or (2) make only a specified minimum payment that could be less than the monthly interest on the loan.

Whether you are buying a house or refinancing your mortgage, this information can help you decide if an interest-only mortgage payment (an I-O mortgage)–or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) with the option to make a minimum payment (a payment-option ARM)–is right for you. Lenders have a variety of names for these loans, but keep in mind that with I-O mortgages and payment-option ARMs. Canadian funding corp and Moishe  Alexander are here to help. to view more click here.

It is similar to a home loan but instead of making payments to the lender, the lender makes payments to you.

The amount you can borrow depends on many things including your home’s value, your age, the outstanding balance on your mortgage (if you have one), the going interest rate at the time you take out the reverse mortgage, etc. As a general rule, the older you are, the lower interest rates are and the higher your home’s value, so the more you can borrow. – There are a number of ways you can take the moneys

1. As a line of credit
2. In a lump sum
3. In monthly payments for the rest of your life

or some combination of all three.

Loan payments are tax-free and don’t affect your Social Security benefits.

You don’t have to repay the loan until you die or move out of your house.

If the value of the home declines and is not enough to cover the amount you’ve borrowed plus interest, that’s the lender’s problem.

Neither you nor your heirs are responsible for anything beyond the house-sale proceeds; however, you will not be leaving the “full” value of your home to your heirs (your, the borrower is not necessarily giving up “all” the equity in your home with this product – it depends on the size of the loan relative to the value of the home and how long you stay in your home after you take out the reverse mortgage..

You must be at least 62 years old to obtain a reverse mortgage. The older you are, the more cash you can get.

There are some down sides to taking out a reverse mortgage.

The costs of taking out a loan can be substantial, but are usually linked to the size of the reverse mortgage loan and not the value of your home.

You will not be leaving the value in your home to your heirs.

Lenders will only finance a portion of your home’s value.

Read more here

When a mortgage application is submitted to a mortgage broker or loan officer, along with your supporting documentation, half of their work is already done. Keep in mind that these individuals usually work on commission, so if the loan doesn’t close then they do not get paid. And just because your loan doesn’t close certainly doesn’t mean that they haven’t already spent money by working on your application. They definitely have spent both time and money by working on your loan.

You would never hire two maids to clean your house and then only pay the one that did the better job. To be fair and equitable, you would have to pay both maids because both maids have done what they were hired to do, which is clean your house. So in the same light, you shouldn’t hire two mortgage brokers or two loan officers to do a job and then only pay one either.

It also isn’t a very logical approach to submit two different loan applications either. In mortgage circles, especially when you are talking about the same location, mortgage brokers tend to submit their loan packages to the same lending institutions for consideration. So just because you think that you are playing two mortgage brokers against each other, you may be coming away with the same results anyway. This reality makes it even more unfair to the individuals and lenders involved. The only way that the broker would be able to win your business in the end would be to forfeit the commission altogether and then he or she has worked for nothing anyway. Does that really seem fair? Canadian funding corporation lets you choose read more about this

A loan against your home that requires no repayment for as long as you live there.

How’s it different?

• To qualify for most loans, the lender checks your income to see how much you can afford to pay back each month. But with a reverse mortgage, you don’t have to make monthly repayments. So your income generally has nothing to do with getting the loan or the amount of the loan.

• With most home loans, if you fail to make your monthly repayments, you could lose your home. But with a reverse mortgage, you don’t have any monthly repayments to make. So you can’t lose your home by failing to make them.
• More info here
  

At the end of 2008 prices for Bulgarian property were up 11.7% from a year earlier and whilst this would be good growth in any other market, for Bulgaria it was a rapid slowdown. Prices rose 27% in 2007, 16% in 2006 and 37% in 2005 as Europeans and Russians rushed in to buy, prior to the accession of Bulgaria into the EU. The main areas attracting foreigners were on the Black Sea coast and in Bulgaria’s ski resorts, with the resorts of Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets attracting a lot of overseas buyers. But as with most other countries, demand for property in Bulgaria is slowing. At the end of 2008, building permits were down 15% compared to a year earlier and in January of this year around 5% of Bulgaria’s real estate agencies shut down.

In 2007 Bulgaria was the fourth most popular destination for British overseas buyers and the number one destination for Russians, because of the countries strong economy it was also the destination of choice for a number of multinational companies who’s employees also helped push up prices. Things are different now and there is a definite cooling down of the economy and Bulgarian property prices are predicted to drop around 10% this year, mainly due to low demand.

But interest in real estate in Bulgaria is likely to continue and this year may well be a good time to buy as the market looks to remain relatively stable. Tourism in the country is also likely to help prevent the market from stagnating too much. A recent survey carried out by British up market store, Marks and Spencer’s’ Financial Services division recently listed Bulgaria as the cheapest place to take a winter ski holiday. With a three course meal costing around $9.00 per person as opposed to $40.00 in Italy and $56.00 in France and a bottle of beer costing only $1.20. The country is also seeing expansion of Budget Airline routes, so will be accessible to more people, another factor that continues to help property appreciation in Europe.

for more info:

http://www.expatdailynews.com/2009/04/real-estate-in-bulgaria-good-time-to.html

Q&A for first-time home buyers:

What can I afford to buy?

Each buyer is unique – and we’ll help you find out just what you can afford. Your income and your debts will typically play the biggest roles in determining your price range. It’s simple to make an estimate, just run the numbers for yourself using our Affordability Calculator.

Do I have enough money to buy my first home?

We offer a range of mortgage programs, and we’ll help you determine which can work for you – some of our loans require little money down. You’ll also need to consider closing costs and the escrow account for taxes and insurance. But don’t get overwhelmed: it’s a snap to figure out how much money you’ll need, using our handy Affordability Calculator.

What about my less-than-perfect credit report?
Our special solutions program can help:

• We offer loan options ideal for those who have a few “dings” on their credit report.
• We try to work with every customer to develop an individual mortgage program – we call it your personalized rate, because no two are alike.
• So we try to develop a custom program based on your credit worthiness.

What’s the best loan program for me?
That depends on a number of factors, including:

• How long you’ll stay in the home;
• How much money you’ll put down;
• How you’ll finance the closing costs.

For information on the loan programs and rates available, visit Loan Programs on the Coldwell Banker Mortgage website.

What are the tax benefits to owning a home?

You may be able to deduct the interest you pay on the mortgage loan and some of the financing costs of the home, such as points. And your property taxes could be deductible. You should consult your tax advisor for more information. or veiw here.

The Title I program insures loans to finance the light or moderate rehabilitation of properties, as well as the construction of non residential buildings on the property. This program may be used to insure such loans for up to 20 years on either single or multi family properties. The maximum loan amount is $25,000 for improving a single family home or for improving or building a non residential structure.

For improving a multi family structure, the maximum loan amount is $12,000 per family unit, not to exceed a total of $60,000 for the structure. These are fixed rate loans, for which lenders charge interest at market rates. The interest rates are not subsidized by HUD, although some communities participate in local housing rehabilitation programs that provide reduced rate property improvement loans through Title I lenders. Moishe Alexander from the canadian funding corp says home improvements are good for property valuesread more here

A secured homeowner loan is subject to The Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Act contains strict regulations about how money is lent and covers loans up to a value of £25,000.

Loans for sums greater than £25,000 are unregulated.

When taking out a secured loan you will be asked to sign a credit agreement, which should be read very carefully as the terms are binding. For regulated loans of under £25,000 the lender must provide a consideration period of 7 days. Lenders offer insurance policies and payment protection schemes to cover your monthly repayments in the event of accident, sickness, unemployment and death (conditions apply). Cover does vary between lenders, as does the cost, therefore you should check individual policies for what is included, and just as importantly, and more important what they excluded.

to read more about mortgage protection view the link

http://www.mortgages.co.uk/mortgage-information/am-i-protected.html

1. Don’t give your account number and bank routing information to anyone you don’t know.

Give out your account information for transactions only if you are familiar with the company you are dealing with. And if you have not done business with a company before, give out account information only if you have initiated the transaction. Criminals may ask you for your bank account number and then withdraw money from your account by creating a demand draft (sometimes called a “remotely created check”) or making an electronic transfer. They may also ask for your debit or credit card number and other personal information. Don’t fall for these scams and don’t let yourself be pressured into “free trial offers.” To be removed from telemarketing lists, sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry or by calling, toll-free, 1-888-382-1222.

1. Review your monthly statement.

Make sure all the checks, debits, automatic payments, and other withdrawals are ones you authorized. If you see a transaction you did not authorize, notify your bank immediately. If your bank has online banking, you don’t have to wait until your bank statement comes–you can check your transactions at any time.

1. Notify your bank about any problems as soon as possible.

The sooner you alert your bank to a problem, the sooner they can get it resolved. In some cases, your bank may require you to notify them in writing. Keep copies of any documents you give the bank until the problem is resolved. If you think the problem is a result of fraud, you should also contact your state attorney general.

Moishe Alexander wants you to stay safe to see how to get protected go to the link below:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/checkingaccount/