Monday, 11 March 2019
Wednesday, 6 March 2019
3 WAYS TO USE A BANK STATEMENT LOAN (SELF EMPLOYED MORTGAGE)
Bank statement loans can be a great way for freelancers, entrepreneurs, gig workers and self-employed people to make their homeownership dreams a reality. Often called “self-employed mortgages,” these loans are unique in that they require no tax returns, no pay stubs and no employment verification — only bank statements that prove you can make your monthly payment.
They’re versatile, too. Not only can you use them to purchase your home (new, old, first, second, third or even vacation or investment property), but you can also use them to tap your home equity or refinance your current mortgage (if you already own a home).
Are you considering a self-employed mortgage loan to achieve your financial goals? Here are some ways you might consider using one:
1. To buy a home.
First and foremost, bank statement loans can be used to purchase a home. This can be your first home, a trade-up home, or even a second home or vacation property. In some cases, you may even be able to use these loans on an investment property — one you’re considering renting out on either a short-term basis (think Airbnb or VRBO) or to annual tenants.
2. To refinance your existing loan.
If you already own a home and have an existing mortgage loan, you can also use a bank statement loan to refinance. These loans are particularly helpful if you’ve started freelancing, launched your own business or otherwise become self-employed since you first bought the property.
Why would you want to refinance? There are several reasons existing homeowners refinance. The first is to lower their monthly payment. If market interest rates are lower than the one on your current loan (or your credit has greatly improved since applying for your mortgage), a refinance might garner you a lower interest rate and therefore a lower monthly payment. It will also help you save on interest in the long run.
You also might want to refinance to change the term of your loan. If your income has gone up, you could refinance to a shorter-term loan (say 10 years instead of 30). This would increase your monthly payment but allow you to pay off your loan faster and save on interest costs. If you need to lower your monthly payment, you might want to refinance into a longer-term loan to spread out your remaining balance.
Finally, a refinance is also beneficial if you currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage. Though adjustable-rate mortgages (or ARMs, as they’re often called) come with lower interest rates up front, those rates change after a period of 3, 5, 7 or sometimes 10 years. If you’re approaching the time when your rate can fluctuate, refinancing into a fixed-rate loan can protect you from potential interest rate and monthly payment increases.
3. To tap equity in your home.
Bank statement loans are also an option for cash-out refinancing. Put simply, a cash-out refinancing replaces your existing mortgage with a loan of a higher balance. You then get to keep the difference between those two loans in cash, which you can put toward whatever expenses you choose.
Many homeowners use cash-out refinancing to pay for things like repairs, renovations, major remodeling projects or even non-home related items like medical bills, their child’s college tuition or a new vehicle.
What Can a Bank Statement Loan Help You With?
Are you considering a bank statement loan to achieve your homeownership or financial goals? Then contact a loan expert at Sunray Mortgage today or read our Guide to Self Employed Mortgages. We believe in the power of self-employed mortgages, and we’re happy to help guide the way.
Survey: Borrowers Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Student Loan Refinancing Companies;
You’ve seen the student loan refinancing ads. Heard about the companies. Reviewed the offers. Now you’re curious about getting started, but refinancing your loan is tough when you have to compare student loan refinancing companies.
Which option is the best? It’s important to find a lender that makes you feel confident about moving forward. After all, you’re giving up precious federal student loan protections to work with this new company, so your relationship should feel worthwhile.
But our recent student loan refinancing survey shed light on what borrowers understand about the refinancing process and how they really feel about their refinancing companies. We compared our survey responses to see which student loan refinancing company our respondents liked the most. Read on to learn more about the results of our survey.
Borrowers are in the dark about student loan refinancing
One of the most interesting survey findings was that many respondents were unaware of any student loan refinancing companies before discovering Student Loan Planner. In fact, 28 percent of respondents couldn’t name any student loan refinance companies, while about 14 percent knew of one student loan refinancing company and 26 percent knew of two refinancing companies.
On top of borrowers’ lack of awareness, we found 85 percent of borrowers had some sort of fear around refinancing. Some concerns were about the refinancing process, while others reported worry that companies were potentially running student loan refinancing scams. Another expressed a lack of understanding, stating they weren’t really sure what refinancing is or what it does.
The respondents who did refinance their student loans, however, definitely had opinions about their student loan refinancing company.
Compare student loan refinancing companies
In our survey, we asked respondents a few questions, two of which were:
- “Which refinancing company do you admire or like the most?”
- “Which refinancing company do you like the least?”
The options included CommonBond, Earnest, LendKey, Laurel Road, SoFi, Elfi, First Republic Bank, Credible, Splash, Brazos, and “other.” We’ve reviewed the data and have the top student loan refinancing companies, rated by our respondents.
SoFi ranks as both “most” and “least” liked refinancing company
When asked which student loan refinancing company borrowers admire or like the most, the overwhelming response was SoFi at 34 percent. In second place was “other” at 26 percent in which most borrowers had stated they had no thoughts or didn’t like any of them (ouch).
What’s interesting is when we asked, “What student loan refinance company do you like the least?”, SoFi also came out on top (14 percent). A good portion of borrowers (45 percent) said “other” and listed they had no opinion or it was not applicable, but out of the student loan refinancing companies listed, SoFi won out as both the most admired and least admired.
SoFi: more than just student loan refinancing
It’s easy to see why SoFi is popular. SoFi offers much more than student loan refinancing. It also hosts happy hours and exclusive events for their borrowers that can be an added perk to being a member. As a member, you can also take advantage of various financial products, such as mortgages and personal loans.
It positions its company as a one-stop shop for financial products for millennials, many of whom are naturally distrustful of traditional banks (and hey, happy hour and free food doesn’t hurt either).
So why was SoFi also ranked the least favorite among borrowers? One possibility is a scathing 2017 New York Times review detailing scandals within the company. Of course, the more popular a company is, the more scrutiny there is, too. From our respondents perspective, they have a love-hate relationship with SoFi.
11 Ways You Can Get Out of Paying Student Loans
If you borrowed student loans to pay for college or graduate school, you might have a long road of debt repayment ahead of you. But you could reach your destination much faster — and end up paying much less, or in some cases nothing at all — once you know how to get out of student loan debt with a loan forgiveness or discharge program.
Many of these programs offer loan cancelation or assistance in exchange for qualifying employment or other eligibility requirements. Others may throw out your entire student loan bill in special circumstances, for example, if your school closed.
If you’re struggling to pay back your student debt, read on to potentially find a program that fits your situation.
How to get out of student loan debt
From income-driven repayment plans to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, the government offers various ways to wipe away your college debt balance. Read on to learn about how to get out of student loan debt without paying the entire amount yourself.
1. Income-driven repayment plans
If you still have a balance at the end of 20 or 25 years on an income-driven repayment plan, it will be forgiven. And at the same time, these plans can decrease your monthly payment, as your regular bill will be capped at a percentage of your discretionary income.
Just keep in mind that stretching your payments over 20 to 25 years may actually end up costing you more in the long run due to interest. And any forgiven amount at the end of the repayment period might be considered taxable income, so you’ll likely have to pay one last bill before saying goodbye to your student loan debt for good.
2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
If you work in public service for 10 years, you could be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
To qualify, you must work for 10 years in public service for at least 30 hours per week. You must also must make at least 120 qualifying monthly payments under one of the income-driven repayment plans.
That said, the future of the PSLF program isn’t certain, and it could be phased out in the years to come. What’s more, some PSLF applicants have reported that their applications were denied for unclear reasons.
Although the PSLF program remains in effect for now, the road to getting loan forgiveness hasn’t been as easy as borrowers hoped.
If it sounds like you might not qualify for PSLF, answer a few questions below so we can help point you towards other repayment options. Otherwise, scroll down to read on.
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