May 15, 2000

Welcome to 0nly4Homebuyers Issue XX
*******************************************************************
Mortgage Rates are going up!!! Don't wait any longer!! Go to
http://www.creativemortgageco.com/prequalify.html
Get your application in now before they go even higher!
**************************************************************
Your Ad could be here! 0nly4Homebuyers accepts paid advertisements!
send an emailto:cmc@.../ for rate information.
*************************************************************
In this Issue:
Rates Shoot UP
Help! I'm facing Foreclosure
Property Taxes
Decorating- Sponge Painting
Check out the Mall!
***************************************************************
Rates Shoot UP!

Well folks, the worst has finally happened. Over the last few weeks, we
have been watching the rates slowly start creeping up again. As of
today, the long-term mortgage rate is at 8.625%. This is the highest it
has been since 1995. Short-term rates are the highest we have seen
since the Gulf War!

The Federal Reserve Board is meeting tomorrow and this could bring about
an even more substantial increase in the rates. Many people have been
thinking that the Fed had things under control and that the economy
would respond in kind. Unfortunately, rate increases may be the only
way to cool things off and keep inflation under control.

Read this great article. It explains the "why" much better than I can!
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/fed/20000512.asp
***********************************************************
Help! I'm facing Foreclosure!
By Cindy Snyder
http://www.creativemortgageco.com/

I can't tell you how many times I have heard this statement. It is
really disheartening to hear, especially when the person has been paying
on the home for years and never had any problem until now.
Unfortunately, once it gets to the point of foreclosure, there really
isn't much we can do for them. You must start early.

The best thing to do is pay your house payment each month on time! If
you have been paying on time every time and you run into a problem.
Contact your mortgage company and let them know! They can look back at
your history and see that you are a good paying customer and will be
more likely to want to help you. If you are going to be past your grace
period date, call them. Stay in contact with your mortgage company at
all times.

Most times, your lender will be willing to work out a repayment plan for
you. You need only to ask. If you don't stay in contact, they can only
assume that you have no intention of paying. The next thing you know
you have the sheriff knocking at your door.

If you can't get any help from your current lender, don't wait until you
are 3 or 4 months behind to try to get another loan. I can tell you
that at that point in time, your current lender has been reporting you
to the credit bureau as late. The new potential lender will look at the
credit history and immediately see that you have been 30, 60, 90 and 120
days late. Most lenders won't touch it once it gets to the 120 day mark
because traditionally, foreclosure has now begun.

Another problem you will run into is the Loan to Value. If you are 90
days behind on payments, depending on the rest of your credit, you may
not be able to borrow more than 65 or 70 percent of the value. Unless
you have been in the house a long time, or you put down a large down
payment, you will be in trouble here. For example, the house is valued
at 100K, you owe 90K, your loan to value is 90%. If you are also 90
days behind, watch out. You are going to have a hard time getting a new
loan. That is why it is important to work with your current lender if
at all possible.

Believe it or not, most mortgage companies DO NOT want to foreclose. I
know this may sound surprising, but it is all about economics. Each
step in the foreclosure process requires time and money. The foreclosure
paperwork, the eviction process, reselling the home, all that costs
money. The end result is that they lose money on foreclosed property.
They really would rather work things out with you. I know this may be
hard for some of you to swallow, especially if you have been in this
situation, but it costs the mortgage company money to throw you out.
So, before you do anything else, try to work it out with your current
Lender.
***************************************************************

PROPERTY TAXES PART I
By Doris Dobkins
dorisd@...

Everyone who owns a home or property gets to pay property taxes.
Most people make monthly payments to a mortgage company to hold
in an escrow account until they are due. "Isn't that nice
service for my mortgage company to provide," you might say.
Well, answer this question then. Who is earning the interest
on that money every month until it is paid out? It most certainly
isn't you! That is interest that you could be earning for yourself
instead of so generously giving away.

Why not start paying your taxes and homeowners insurance yourself
as they come due. Property taxes in the United States are due
twice a year (in December and April). Insurance payments are
also another area, which you can pay yourself and earn your own
interest on the money until it is due. If the interest is
annually averaged at $250 on both policies (property taxes &
homeowners), and we considered a 40-year time frame (this could
be over several different homes) at an eight percent interest
rate, you could have saved over $62,000 in interest and earnings
just by writing those checks twice a year yourself. Wow, and
think what the savings are if you had two or more houses.

Now if you spend the money instead of saving it and earning
the interest, you might not have the money when you need it
and that would be worse than paying it to the mortgage company
escrow account each month. A simple solution is to set up an
automated withdrawal of the money from your account and have it
go directly into a mutual fund which you don't access except
for paying the property taxes. Over the years, the account will
grow and grow and by starting soon enough, you'll have a great
cash value by retirement or when you need that new car or want
to take a vacation.

Property Taxes (Questions & Answers) Part II

QUESTION: I thought it was mandatory that mortgage companies
collect monies for escrow accounts. Am I really able to pay my
own taxes and homeowners insurance?

ANSWER: It depends! Most of you should be able to pay your own taxes and
homeowners insurance if your "LTV" is low enough and your mortgage
company doesn't have a policy against it. If you own your home
outright, you most definitely can pay your taxes and insurance
directly.

QUESTION: What is "LTV"?

ANSWER: Your "LOAN TO VALUE" RATIO. What percentage is your loan
Compared to your appraised value? If your LTV is below 80% (Which means
you have at least 20% equity) then you are usually allowed to pay
your own insurance and property taxes. Each state may have
different regulations so check with your mortgage company what
their requirements are.


QUESTION: Do escrow accounts pay interest?

ANSWER: Escrow accounts can be in either a non-interest bearing
trust account or an interest bearing account. If they do pay
interest, it is usually very minimal, depending on the holder.
One mortgage broker I spoke with who has a $200,000 loan only
makes $50 a year in interest on her escrow account. She feels
she could do a lot better investing the money on her own but her
LTV ratio is too high at this time.


QUESTION: Is interest from an escrow account considered income?

ANSWER: Yes, you will receive a 1099 at the end of the year
stating the earned interest for the year.


QUESTION: If my LTV Ratio is below 80%, and I want to pay my
taxes myself, what should I do?

ANSWER: Contact your mortgage company and discuss your options
with them.


QUESTION: I have a LTV ratio of 75% so I could pay my own taxes,
but I'm not very good at saving and would probably spend the
money. Should I still try to pay them myself?

ANSWER: My first response is no because you definitely don't
want to get a loan to pay your taxes. But there are so many
automatic investment plans that you can set up to have the money
withdrawn automatically to a special fund just for property taxes
and homeowners insurance.


QUESTION: What about homeowners insurance? Do the same rules
apply.

ANSWER: YES, they will also look at your LTV.


QUESTION: Can you give me an example of how much money I could
earn or make by paying my taxes and homeowners insurance myself?

ANSWER: Given that there are 1000's of scenarios, I'll give you
an example based on a $170,000 home that has annual property
taxes of $2,124. If this person were to put $177 a month into a
mutual fund from January 1 to December 1 of each year, at an
average of 10% interest, they would make about $120 a year.
If their homeowners insurance was $780 a year and they put $65 a
month into the same account they would make an additional $40 or
so a year for a combined interest of $160. If this money were
just left each year for 20-40 years, it would accumulate from
$20,000 to $30,000 over the years, depending of course on
interest rates and length of time invested. Think of this as a
long-term retirement plan. You'll have enough money eventually
to take a dream vacation and buy a new car or whatever, and it
won't cost you an extra penny to get it.

So if it sounds right for you, go for it. It can only increase
your wealth. But check it out for yourself based on where you
live, what you pay in taxes and insurance and what your mortgage
companies policies are. It's definitely worth a $20,000 shot. :)

Remember - think long-term.

* * * * * * * *

Doris S. Dobkins, is a money saving expert and the author of
the book "Financial Freedom from A-Z". She is also the publisher
of a weekly online ezine $mart Money New$ full of financial
strategies and money saving tips. To subscribe, send an email to:
news@... or visit her web site today at:
http://www.creativefinances.com


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Need a great gift? Stop over at Snyderhaus Gifts & Collectibles. You
are sure to find something special. Now offering FREE SHIPPING within
the US. Go here! http://www.snyderhaus.com/
*******************************************************************

Decorating- Sponge Painting
By Cindy Snyder
http://www.creativemortgageco.com/

Have you tried Sponge Painting? I just recently painted my kitchen
using this technique and was amazed at how professional it looks. It is
really easy to do and much less messy than the traditional way of
rolling it on. Let me say upfront that I do not like to paint. I am
just not coordinated enough. I always make a big mess, end up with
paint all over me, the floor, etc. This was really the easiest paint
job I ever did and it was really simple. The best part was the clean-up!

All you need is a pan to pour small amounts of paint into and a sponge.
I was told that you can use just a regular household sponge, but I
splurged on the sea sponge since this was my first try and it was not
very expensive. You can buy the sea sponge in the paint department of
Home Depot or Wal-Mart. I cut mine in half since I wanted to go with a
smaller pattern.

First, wet your sponge and squeeze it out. You don't want to get a lot
of paint on your sponge. It should not be full of paint, just dab it in
the paint and then wipe off any excess on your pan. If you have to quit
for awhile and then go back, wash your sponge out good and be sure to
wet it again before you start.

Start by dividing your wall. I don't have a lot of wall space in my
kitchen so this part was easy. But the idea is that you divide your
wall into four quadrants. Then start in your first quadrant. Basically,
you just "dab" it on with your sponge. How much? It depends on how
much depth you want of the new color. You should dab it in a criss
cross or X pattern. Example, top left, bottom right, top right, bottom
left and just fill in so that it looks the way you want. Try less paint
at first pass, you can always add more if you think you need to fill in
the holes.

My husband was kind of leery of this paint project. He tried to talk me
into trying it in the bathroom first. (Less people would see it, if it
looked terrible, I guess). I told him I was going to go for it. If it
looked terrible, I could always go back and roll it on! You should have
seen his face when he walked in the door. He couldn't believe how great
it looked! Now that I know how easy it is, I plan to do the bathroom
next, but I am going to try using two coordinating colors.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Joining our mall has never been so easy with the exciting...
Meet Me In The Middle Of The Mall Spring Fling Special! Get ready for
May showers by planting April flowers and GROW your business by joining
the Award Winning Mall Of Treasures!
For a limited time only.... just $14.99 per month.
We'll give you a 2 page design, 1 static banner, shopping cart
and a spotlight in our newsletter, for one low price!
What are you waiting for? Click here!
*********Award Winning Mall Of Treasures***********
http://www.awardwebsite.com/awardmall.html
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Please feel free to share this newsletter with your friends. If you have
a suggestion for an article, please email me directly at
cmc@... and tell me what you would like to see!

See you next month!

To subscribe--- mailto:0nly4Homebuyers-subscribe@egroups.com
To Unsubscribe--- mailto:0nly4Homebuyers-unsubscribe@egroups.com
Or go to -- http://www.egroups.com/group/0nly4Homebuyers

If you have any problems with subscribing or unsubscribing, please email
me directly cmc@.../

***NOTE**** The 0 in 0nly4Homebuyers is a ZERO!!



--
Creative Mortgage Co
http://www.creativemortgageco.com/
Want to learn more about your mortgage options?
Free Monthly Newsletter for Homebuyers
http://www.egroups.com/group/0nly4Homebuyers