If buying a property for the sole purpose of investment is your need, there are plenty of lenders that will finance your investment loan. Just speak to your mortgage professional to begin the loan process.

There are now 40 year home loans as well as 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 year home loans. The 40 year home loan is a relatively new product and provides buyers with yet one more home loan program to consider obtaining a lower mortgage payment each month.

A home loan is a mortgage loan or a lien on a property. With a home loan you will have an interest rate, which will be the rate that you will pay for borrowing the money to buy a home, a specified term for the loan such as 30 years which is the most common, and a monthly payment that you will be required to make for the term of the loan. There are many different types of home loan programs available for you, so consult your local mortgage consultant to see which mortgage program will be right for you.

You may qualify for a mortgage even if you don't have money saved for a down payment or closing costs. There are many loan programs that offer 100 or 103% financing. Let a mortgage professional find the program that is right for you.

How much house can you afford? Your loan officer can help you determine both conservative and aggressive maximum loan amounts with a process called pre-qualification. For an accurate pre-qualification your loan officer will analyze monthly income and debt as well as cash and assets available for down payment or closings costs. You may find that you qualify for a higher loan amount than you are ready to afford. If so, then your loan officer can pre-qualify you based on the maximum monthly payment you feel you can afford.

There are even 50 year amortization home loans available if you need the lowest possible payment. However, these loans typically carry a higher interest rate, so there may be better options available that will still allow you to keep your monthly payment in your comfort range.

Mortgages for Dummies - There is a lot of information involved when it comes to buying a home, obtaining a mortgage or refinancing a mortgage. You have closing costs to consider, interest rates to look at, mortgage loan programs to decide between, and much, much more as well. While having a home can be a very rewarding experience obtaining a mortgage loan can sometimes be a very scary and overwhelming experience. There is way too much information for the average consumer to learn, to become an expert in the area of mortgages. However by taking a little time to learn the basics of mortgages and the mortgage process, a consumer can end up saving tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home loan, which is normally the biggest investment in a consumers life.

An important factor to remember when shopping for a home is affordability. Most mortgage loans had interest rates that did not change over the life of the loan. In the past, choosing a fixed rate mortgage loan meant comparing interest rates, payments and fees. Today, many loans will allow for smaller payments for a set period of time to help you qualify for a larger loan amount.

The first place to start would be to check your credit. You should pull what is commonly referred to as a tri-merge credit report. This will pull data in from all three credit bureaus. You should verify that all information is correct and updated. It is very common to find errors and you will probably want to correct them before applying for a mortgage.

On your report you will be given three credit scores. Most lenders use the middle of the three scores to base their lending decisions on. A qualified mortgage professional can help you through this process and advise you best on how to correct any errors.

Consider being pre-approved before shopping for a new home. Most sellers look more favorably upon an offer to purchase if it is submitted with a pre-approval letter. You will also be able to find out how much home you can afford by being pre-approved.