ING Direct Mortgage?
Am curious if anyone on this board have used (or know someone that did) ING’s Mortgage services? Their fees are incredibly low and I wonder if it’s too good to be true. I’m considering them as they have a a great reputation in other areas of banking. Thanks!
Am curious if anyone on this board have used (or know someone that did) ING’s Mortgage services? Their fees are incredibly low and I wonder if it’s too good to be true. I’m considering them as they have a a great reputation in other areas of banking.
Thanks!
Farbeit for me to disagree . . . but I do, completely 😉
Interest only mortgages are a bad idea if you can’t afford to pay principal. Else, they provide flexibility that some (me) find useful, such as paying principal in one lump (at bonus time). Or, if you prefer, treating it as a standard mortgage by paying principal at the same rate as a standard mortgage. Plus if you get laid off (er, me again) you can pay principal as you’re able.
With larger, bronstone-sized mortgages you might not pay extra for the principal-only feature.
A variable rate mortgage is actually a way to save money IF you plan on owning for a short while or if you think long term interest rates will remain relatively stable (me), making refinancing in 5/7/10 years a lateral move financially with some savings up front, where I like ’em. I’m saving about $250 a month with my 7-year ARM versus fixed, which gets rolled into additional principal payments each month, which saves me even more.
Granted, I run the risk of rates going up so much that when I refinance in 6 years, I’m $250 a month worse off from that point versus the fixed rate of last year when I bought. . . . less the interest I save for as long as I own by having paid off the additional principal of $21k ($250 savings x 12 x7 years.)
Now, if I took the savings and spent it on beer AND THEN paid a significantly higher rate later, then I could be worse off – but that’s not the mortgage’s fault, that’s mine – and my bartender’s.
Taking the conservative route is not a guaranteed way to save money. There are no guaranteed ways to save money and the probable ways to save money depend entirely on your situation – and tolerance for risk. I have friends that went the fixed route even though their house is too small for them to stay in for more than 5 years. Their risk tolerance is lower than mine. Aint no crime.
Importantly, there’s a world of difference between sub-prime and variable and interest-only mortgages. One refers to a mortgage given to someone with less than stellar credit and can be of any kind. The fact that sub-primes are often variable rate or interest only doesn’t mean these products themselves are dangerous. Not all swans are black.
Talk to a good mortgage broker. Good luck! I should probably do some work today . . .
I have used ING for other banking services and have had good experiences. I believe their fees are so low because everything is online and they don’t maintain physical walk-in banking centers like other banks.good luck.
The “Desk Sgt” is a bit hysterical, but has a point in that, nonthirty-year mortgages are really a bad idea, or rather I should say nonfixed interest mortgages are an absolutely horrible idea. Get a fixed interest mortgage. If ING offers one, fine. I use them for my savings and it is painless. But I don’t recommend any of these interest only or adjustable rate mortgages at all. Tons of people are already defaulting because the payments have gone from 2000/month to 4000/month. Don’t do it. Just don’t do it. Can’t say it enough. There is tons of press right now about these “sub-primes” to back me up. Get a traditional 15-year or 30-year loan at the low costs they are now. They can wrap up the closing costs into the loan if you need them to. You will save far more by taking the conservative and smart route.
Yeah, great idea. Get yourself a toxic loan (cause THAT’S what they’re called ya know) and get yourself into a nice place. But don’t unpack because you’ll be outta there before you can say FORECLOSURE.
That’s EXACTLY what’s gonna happen when the low teaser rate rapidly expires and your payments go up 50, 60, 100? %.
Buying at this precise moment in time is what’s known in RE jargon as the “Suckers Rally”. It refers to the people who continue to buy homes in bubblish areas when prices are at peak, despite strong nationwide indications of home depreciation and oversupply, massive mortgage fraud (related mostly to ARM’s BTW) and increasing foreclosures.
Do yourself a favor; NYC is riding the very last cusp of the wave. It’s coming down as we speak and it might even make a crashing sound!.
A colleague of mine used them and thought it was a really painless process, despite not having anyone they could go see in person. I think he got a 5/1 ARM.
That was about two years ago (maybe a little less) but he has no complaints so far.