If you are looking for an affordable place to live, then look no further than North Dakota. Located in the north Central part of the United States, North Dakota mortgage rates offer you the very best in affordable financing. You should check out the various types of financing available in North Dakota and find the perfect dream home for you and your family. You will be glad you took the time to do the research.
Prices in North Dakota Vs. the US Prices
The prices in North Dakota are about the same as others in the United States. People there are either trying to ride out the mortgage crisis or the data that has been collected is not entirely correct. There is evidence though that the state of North Dakota is stable and a great place to live.
Popular Cities in North Dakota
The most popular cities in North Dakota are: Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks. They are popular for their academic offerings, culture, shopping, and entertainment and restaurants. They also offer close proximity to area attractions, outdoor activities, and affordable housing to buy. The weather in Bismarck is a warmer and drier climate than in other places there so it is easier to adjust to.
Fastest Growing Cities in North Dakota
The fastest growing places in North Dakota are Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck, and Minot. There are several reasons why they are the fastest growing places there. One of them is technological developments made in Fargo, which has a technology center there and an international airport. Primary industries are healthcare and food processing. Grand Forks has a lot of culture and academic offerings. Bismarck is growing because of energy resources, it has lots of outdoor activities available, and it is close to the Badlands of North Dakota which is ever popular with tourists because of places in the area.
Types of North Dakota Mortgages Offered
There are several types of mortgages offered in North Dakota. The two most popular types are the FHA mortgages and the 30 year fixed mortgages. There is also a brand-new FHA Streamline loan that some people will be able to qualify for. There are also adjustable or variable rate mortgages which are not as popular because they tend to have higher payments or balloon payments due. Fixed rate mortgages allow you to lock in a certain, fixed rate for usually 30 years of payments. This is great because your payments are always the same and you know the amount you are spending each month for your mortgage. FHA loans are a little different in that they are government insured and require only a 3% down payment to get your home. There are also VA loans if you are a veteran which usually have good low or no down payment and low interest rates and payments. To secure the best low-cost loan, you will have to have a steady job, excellent credit, and a nice down payment of about 20% of the total purchase price of the home.
For home equity loans in North Dakota, rates are in excess of 9%. For refinancing loans, the rates are more competitive at 4-5%. You need to shop around in order to find the best rates in any type of loan though so check with your lender and several others to get the most competitive rates.
Refinancing Your Home
If you want to keep your home, and you need to lower the interest rate you are currently paying, you might want to think of refinancing your home. North Dakota residents can benefit from this process. You replace your debt with new debt basically. The benefits of refinancing are it saves you money, your payment will be lower, and your interest rates will be lower as well. Two types of people can benefit the most from refinancing. There are those who have adjustable rate mortgages that started out with low interest rates and they have now spiraled ever higher, and there are those who were only planning to keep their home a short time and resell, but for one reason or another, they have hung on to the original home. These two groups will get the most benefit by switching to a lower priced fixed rate mortgage. Another group who will benefit are those who are paying extra for PMI or Private Mortgage Insurance. These people were unable to put down 20% down payment when they first purchased their home. Now that they have been paying on their home for a while, they have probably paid in over 20% so that the PMI is no longer required. They may not have to have this extra fee any longer. When thinking about refinancing, just make sure you get a good deal on it. Make sure there are not extra fees for early payment of your loan or transaction or closing fees. It can save you money, but make sure these hidden fees are not being charged.
Recourse vs. Non-Recourse
North Dakota is a non-recourse state which means that they accept secured loans. They will want a certain amount of property as collateral in case the loan is defaulted on by the buyer. This gives the lender certain rights as well such as selling the property to recoup part of their money if the buyer goes into foreclosure proceedings. There is also the chance of them getting a judgement against the buyer for the remainder of the mortgage note so that they can gain back at least a portion of their loan amount. A secured loan has a couple of benefits in that it allows the lender to take less risk in granting the loan, and it allows the buyer to secure a loan with more favorable terms. This benefits both parties to the transaction.
North Dakota has a group of anti-predatory lending laws to protect the consumers from unscrupulous lenders. These include a limit on points and fees to less than 6%, prohibition of financing single-premium credit insurance, and prohibition of the mortgage lender processing a loan to a consumer that the consumer will never be able to repay. This group of laws serves to protect the consumers in a number of ways that are helpful to those looking to buy a house and taking the worry out of it.
Foreclosure Laws of North Dakota and the Foreclosure Process:
What is involved in the foreclosure process there in North Dakota? The first thing is that the borrower must be several payments behind on the loan. The lender can take steps legally to secure the property back into their possession and sell it for the purpose of gaining back some of their money. The borrower will suffer greatly if this process is started as this is far more harmful to your credit score than getting an automobile repossessed.
Time Frame
The whole process from start to finish takes about 8 months to complete. The bank really does not want your home; it wants the money instead. So you will have a lot of chances to gain back your home and get caught up on your payments if you choose to do so.
Lender and Borrower Communication
The lender will typically call you daily or every other day and ask you if you are employed, when can you pay your mortgage, are you going to pay your mortgage, and other questions they may have. If you are wanting to keep your home, you need to be polite to them and answer their questions to the best of your knowledge. You may also get letters from them as well asking certain things about your mortgage and payments. It is to your advantage to keep in contact with the lender so that you can work together to come up with a way to pay off your payments that you are behind on and get caught up and stop the foreclosure process. It is very damaging to your credit and can come back to haunt you for years unlike a car repossession which really does not hurt your credit that much. There are ways to work out a payment schedule to benefit both of you so that the bank gets its money and you get to keep your home.
Getting Behind on Payments
The first thing that you will get if you are behind in your payments under a mortgage deed is a letter from the lender asking you to get the payments made within a certain time frame, usually about 5 days. You should always reply to the lender to preserve your credit. Remember, they do not want your home because it costs them money on payments and fees and taxes; they would rather keep you in your home and get the payments.
If they do not hear from you in a reasonable amount of time, they will obtain an attorney, file a lawsuit against you with the court to declare you in default of your loan and set the stage for foreclosure proceedings. The borrower’s attorney should reply back to the lender’s attorney and this sets the stage for the Pre-foreclosure proceedings stage. You typically will have about 3 months or 90 days in which time you are given a chance to pay the late payments and take back possession of your home. This is the outcome that the bank is hoping for.
Court Involvement
The court will declare the foreclosure process to be started and set up an auction date and time which is normally many months later from when the process first started. If the auction does take place, the property is sold to the highest bidder and you are now in the actual foreclosure stage. If there are no interested buyers, the bank will retain the possession of the home and become the new owners. This is called the Post Foreclosure stage and is many months later from the beginning of the process.
If there are foreclosure proceedings under a deed of trust, there is no need for judicial action. The lender posts a notice on the home after recording the notice of default with the County Recorder’s office. You usually have 5 days to respond, and if no action is taken by the borrower, then a Notice of Sale is sent. It is also printed in the local media. This process only takes about 90 days total. A date and time for auction is set up with the court and is held on that date. A successful bidder has to put up a deposit and then pay the remaining amount the next day and then he is allowed to take possession of the property that was sold. The mortgage lenders prefer this method as they get their money very quickly using this process, but not all states allow this method to be used.
What is the final word on North Dakota mortgage rates? They are some of the most affordable in the country right now.