What does ‘Principal’ mean in a mortgage?

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Principal refers to the initial mortgage amount taken against the property you mortgaged. When you obtain a mortgage, it comes in two parts — principal and interest. The principal is the amount that you borrow from the lender, and the interest is a percentage of that principal amount charged by the lender as the cost of borrowing that money. When repaying, you have to pay both the principal and the interest.

For example: if you borrow $300,000 from a lender to buy a house, the principal of your loan is $300,000. At a 3% of annual interest rate, it will add $750 of interest balance per month to the principal balance. If you repay $10,000 as a monthly installment, the lender will cut off $750 as interest, and the rest $9,250 will pay off the principal balance. So, after one month, your loan principal will be 290,750. With each monthly installment, the principal balance will be reduced.

If you find it difficult to calculate the balance principal, interest percentage, and other fees, check the loan’s monthly statement. Our lenders will provide you a breakdown of all the numbers. It will show how much of the monthly installment goes toward paying off the principal balance and interest.

A bigger loan comes with a bigger interest rate. One way to avoid paying extra money is to pay off the loan faster by making additional payments with every monthly installment. Doing so in the case of adjustable-rate mortgages will save you plenty of money.

With America Mortgages, you can get anything between $150,000 and $5,000,000 and a choice from various paying off options.

Buying a new home? Why a ‘Pre-approval’ can help you with your search.

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A pre-approval denotes an official letter from the mortgage lender outlining the maximum mortgage amount they are willing to lend you. It’s not a commitment but only a rough estimate of the loan that you may borrow from that organization, the possible interest rate, and the monthly installment figure.

You can get the pre-approval document by filling up a loan application. The lender will ask you to submit some paperwork, including pay stubs, credit check, bank account statements, tax returns, and W-2 statements. An officer will look into the information provided and give you a written statement detailing the mortgage amount you are qualified to borrow.

A pre-approval does not guarantee the approval of a loan. It just means that the lending company has looked into your assets and other aspects of finances and chalked out the sum of a loan against that credit history.

At America Mortgages, we approve over 97% of all applications. Some of our loan programs don’t even require verifying the applicant’s income! Mortgage pre-approvals have an expiry duration, ranging between 30 and 90 days, depending on the lending company. Meaning, you will need to find a home and apply for the loan within that expiry window. Upon the pre-approval document’s expiration, you will need to apply for a new one that may affect your credit score a bit.

A pre-approval solidifies your financial stability and seriousness to the house seller. You can stand ahead of other potential buyers in a competitive market. This will particularly help first-time homebuyers to convince the seller that they are ready to put in an offer. Some people confuse between pre-approval and prequalification. However, the latter does not have much credibility since it does not involve a thorough investigation into your incomes and credit score.

U.S. Expats private banker in Hong Kong purchases second home in South Carolina.

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The Client

An existing client referred this client, and he reached out to us to enquire about our U.S. citizen mortgage programs as he thought we only offer Foreign National mortgages.

How We Helped

How surprised he was to hear that U.S. Expat loans are half of our business. Since we are Expats ourselves, we know the exact issues our clients face and have a roadmap on dealing with them – Non-U.S. income, weak FICO score, and so on.

Loan Details

NationalityProperty ValueLoan AmountLTVRate
U.S. Citizen$1,280,000$550,00043%2.75%
TermStateProperty TypePurposeLoan Type
30 year fixedCharleston, South CarolinaSingle-Family HomePurchaseResidential

Amortization – How to choose between 10 or 30 year options?

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When you acquire a mortgage, the lender divides the repayment schedule into several monthly installments over a fixed period. Amortization is the process of spreading out the mortgage over multiple years and into a series of fixed payments. The total mortgage amount, including the principal balance and interest, is supposed to be paid off with the last installment.

As a borrower of an amortized mortgage, you need to repay a specified monthly amount that pays off a portion of both the principal and interest. After every installment, the total loan balance decreases and finally gets paid off with the last payment.

For example, if you obtain a $20,000 amortized mortgage for five years, the lender will divide it into 60 monthly installments, including the principal and the interest amounts. Presume you need to pay approximately $377 per month and respectively $294 and $83 go into squaring off the principal and interest. Then, it will be $295 and $82 respectively in the next month. Over the loan term, the amount of principal payment will increase, and the interest will decrease (although the monthly installment will be the same).

At America Mortgages, you can enjoy an amortization period longer than the mortgage term in the case of commercial loans. For instance, if you take a loan for ten years, the amortization period could be 30 years meaning the monthly installment amount will be similar to a 30-year loan.

If you are to repay this amount over 120 months at $1,000 per installment, the rate will continue for 119 months. In the last month, you will pay the remaining balance ($81,000 in this case) by one balloon payment.

Amortization is available on fixed-rate mortgages and home equity, personal, and auto loans. You won’t get this facility on credit cards and interest-only loans.

Advantages Of Investment Mortgage Loans Over Cash Purchases

Investment Mortgage Loans

As a U.S. real estate investor, investment mortgage loans can be very beneficial to you. America Mortgages focuses specifically on these types of mortgage loans. There are several programs on hand that make it possible for borrowers to get a mortgage to invest in real estate.

Some of them are better than others, but they can all help you out in some way. If you are considering getting a mortgage, here are a few advantages that you can get from an investment mortgage loan.

Advantages

Use other people’s money – The biggest advantage of using investment mortgage loans is that you get to use other people’s money. Many financial experts have said that you should use other people’s money whenever you can. When you get a mortgage, you only have to put up a certain percentage of the property’s money, but you still get to benefit from owning the whole property. You get to take advantage of the property’s appreciation, and you get to use it for whatever you want. This allows you to hang on to your capital and use it for other investments.

Reasonable interest: With most mortgages, you will be able to get a very affordable interest rate as long with or without a U.S. credit score (FICO). When you get a low-interest rate like you can with an investment mortgage, it can save you a substantial amount of money. For the cost of the loan, it is usually well worth it to get a mortgage instead of using your funds. Hang on to your cash and use it towards additional investments.

Easy approval: With an investment mortgage, you will usually be able to tell whether you are approved relatively quickly. America Mortgages has pretty cut and dry standards when it comes to getting you approved for an investment mortgage. America Mortgages has loan programs for U.S. Expats with or without U.S. credit. We understand that living abroad often changes factors and your ability to borrow in the U.S. Our loan programs are tailored towards your exact situation.

Not a U.S. citizen, Foreign National, or considering relocating abroad for work or school? We can help. Our Foreign National / Non-U.S. citizen mortgage loans were created for these situations. Qualify with No U.S. credit. No U.S. residency. No income verification. It’s not simple, but we have it down to a science with our expertise in this market. You will know where you stand and if you will qualify within a reasonable amount of time.

Increase your reach: With the use of investment mortgages, you can increase your investment power. As you grow, you can keep buying more and more property. In Asia, where property prices have increased, and square footage and yield have decreased, finding an affordable investment outside your home country makes sense. Many people would not be able to purchase property otherwise as it usually takes a significant investment. You can keep picking up more and more stuff as you go.

Build your net worth: Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, and other large Asian cities have cooling measures to stabilize a fast appreciating Real Estate market mainly due to outside investment and the lack of affordable Real Estate options. Being able to build your net worth on a global scale gives with a reasonable mortgage loan that eventually you will have all of the property paid off gives you the same opportunity as anyone else regardless of your passport. You are free to do what you want with all of the property. If you had to rely on your funds for all of this, much of it would not be possible.

The Verdict

Using an investment mortgage can be a great way to get involved in the real estate investment market. Many people have gained considerable amounts of wealth through the use of real estate investment. Therefore, if you are considering getting involved in the field, you should definitely take advantage of investment mortgages. The advantages that you will receive as a result of using them will help you in a number of ways. If you can qualify for one, it makes a lot of sense financially. America Mortgages’ primary focus is helping non-U.S. citizens and Expats obtain prime, quality investment mortgage loans not only in the United States but on a global scale.

What Are You Waiting For?

For more information on U.S. or mortgage loans in other countries, please contact us via our 24/7 link.

One email can change the rest of your life for generations.

American hotel executive in Toronto purchases home in Austin for rental income.

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The Client

This client was the General Manager of the top luxury hotels in Toronto. Like any hotelier, he’s been away from home since his university days.

How We Helped

Our client had a decent FICO score for someone that’s been away from home for 30 years. That’s because he has used his only credit card regularly for the past 20 years. However, his breadth of credit was not sufficient to carry a mortgage.

We put our client on a 3-month Credit Enhancement Program where our team walks you through a specific process to build, maintain and strengthen your credit profile.

Our client has a FICO score of over 800 and qualified for the cheapest ‘Prime” loan available.

Loan Details

NationalityProperty ValueLoan AmountLTVRate
U.S. Citizen$335,000$268,00080%3.35%
TermStateProperty TypePurposeLoan Type
30 year fixedAustin, TexasSingle-Family Residence (SFR)PurchaseResidential

Scottish doctor buys three-unit triplex in Baltimore to rent to students at John Hopkins.

mortgage for overseas property

The Client

Our client was a former doctor at John Hopkins but moved back to Edinburgh, Scotland. He saw firsthand the number of international students applying to the university and the lack of housing.

How We Helped

Our client identified a cash-flow positive property that was currently rented to students. As he used to live and work in the U.S., he assumed he could call the local bank he used while living in the U.S. Even though he still maintained a checking and savings account with the local bank in Baltimore, they were unable to offer him a mortgage for the purchase. He came across our company online, was pre-approved in one week, and closed the transaction within a month.

Loan Details

NationalityProperty ValueLoan AmountLTVRate
U.K. Citizen$810,000$567,00070%6.125%
TermAddressProperty TypePurposeLoan TypeHome use
5/1 ARMBaltimore, MarylandThree-unit triplexPurchaseResidentialRental apartments for International Students

What is an Appraisal – and how is it used in a mortgage?

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An appraisal is simply an ‘official’ assessment of a property value. It is an integral part of a home-buying process since the mortgage lender expects the correct valuation of the property you will be purchasing.

When you apply for a loan for buying a house, the mortgage lender will require a report from the appraiser about the market price or a possible selling price of that house. These will be ordered by America Mortgages at the Processing Stage of your loan – on your behalf and will be the only time we will ask for any form of payment.

It’s a rough estimate that the lender uses to determine the mortgage rate. The principal or loan amount will be lower than the appraised value of the property. America Mortgages loans out 75% (for Foreign Nationals) to 90% (for U.S. citizens) of a home’s appraisal value.

The appraisal must be done by a person or an organization with the required licenses in that jurisdiction.

A licensed professional appraiser will work without any bias and make sure that the estimation is fair. When the lender requests the appraisal during the mortgage approval process, it will be randomly selected from a panel of reputable companies to ensure an unbiased opinion.

So, what features of the house matter to the appraiser? Some people have the misconception that eye-catching decoration and luxurious furniture increases the price. In fact, these things add value during other steps of home buying and selling, not in the appraisal process.

A home’s value will depend on its current condition, square footage, number of bedrooms, location, neighborhood, and a handful of other things. Appraisers will also note the views, which means overlooking a beach, lake, or the city. A property in a prime location or a prestigious neighborhood will qualify for a higher loan than those located in a less desirable area.

Normal appraisals range between $500-800 depending on State and location. If a lender requires a Rental Comparison, it may add $100-200 more.

British banker in London closes a $1.6M mortgage for a LA home at 3.35%!

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The Client

Our client, Digby R, is a senior investment banker living in London. He is planning to make a switch from banking to be a CFO of technology and wanted to buy a place in Los Angeles to rent it out in advance.

How We Helped

Unable to find any bank that could help him given his ‘overseas’ income and the late nights trying to research almost made him give up. Then he reached out to America Mortgages on a referral by a former customer.

We managed to get him an incredible rate for a Foreign National at an incredible 3.35% for a shorter-term fixed period, which was perfect for his timing. Digby is now an owner of an incredible property in Pasadena and he is ever so grateful!

Loan Details

NationalityProperty ValueLoan AmountLTVRateTerm
U.K. Citizen$2,600,000$1,600,00060%2.85%3-year fixed,
30-year amortised
City, StateProperty TypePurposeLoan TypeHome use
Pasadena,
California
Single-Family HomePurchaseResidentialInvestment