ReiVRE- Money Talk : Mortgages

Reverse mortgage: make your house pay your bills

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:06:00 +0000

Reverse mortgage is the answer to financial problems faced by senior citizens. One can use reverse mortgage loans to pay the bills when social security and pension cannot. It is available in many countries including UK and USA and is becoming increasingly popular worldwide.

Reverse mortgage is a loan advance that can be availed only by a senior citizen. To avail a reverse mortgage one has to own a house of some value, which should ideally be the main residence of that person. The house should not be under mortgage or even if it is under mortgage it should be almost paid off for the house to be eligible under reverse mortgage loan. In a regular mortgage you have to pay the lender but for reverse mortgage, the lender will pay you instead. You can choose to have your loan amount in installments, in lump some amount or a combination of both. Since the lender pays you, your equity in your own house reduces.

The loan amount obtained through a reverse mortgage depends on a range of factors including the value of the property, the interest rates prevailing in the market and closing costs. The lender also considers the age of a borrower when the reverse mortgage amount is decided. The amount of reverse mortgage a person is entitled to receive increases with his age. If the borrower were to die his or her family would get the rest of the reverse mortgage amount loan and the bank would sell the house. At times, it is even possible for the family to buy back the house or property if they want, that depends on the deed signed by the borrower.

Reverse mortgage is very beneficial for senior citizens if they need an extra source of income since it would be very difficult for them to work at their age. The loan amount is usually tax-free so you do not have to worry about taxes. One does not need to go to a bank if they want a reverse mortgage, they can either call an advisor from a financial institute or fill up an online form for the mortgage loan. One can easily successfully apply for the loan online and have the loan amount transferred to their account.

Besides banks and other credit institutes non-profit organizations also offer reverse mortgage loans. One should be careful while selecting this kind of mortgage scheme since there are fraudulent financial companies that can defraud you. There are various types of reverse mortgage loans available in the market. You should take your time to explore all the options before choosing one for yourself. It would be best if you take a financial expert’s advice before you sign for a reverse mortgage.

In a regular mortgage the homeowner makes a monthly payment to the lender but in case of reverse mortgage the owner is paid a monthly payment or a bulk payment. This kind of loan is available in many countries including UK and USA. Reverse mortgage enables senior citizens to use their home equity in supplementing their income.

-Ranci Endo: The Inside track on Mortgage Refinancing, you'll find useful tools,news and crucial info -Blog ReiVRE-Money Talk: Mortgages Articles

Reverse Mortgages & Oil?

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:13:00 +0000

What is the connection, you might ask between reverse mortgages and the price of oil? And if you or a loved one are a senior homeowner age 62 and over but don't drive, maybe you've been thinking that you are lucky because the price of gas and oil really doesn't affect you as much. But the simple truth is that the cost of oil and the rising cost of gasoline affects everyone who has to eat or drink and that includes us all, drivers or not!

Stop and think about it for a minute. Take a look at the price of the food on the shelves in your local grocery stores. That food was trucked in and that requires fuel to get there. When the costs of oil are so high, then it costs so much more to bring those groceries to your local supermarket. And then take a look at the cost of the produce.

With the high cost of oil, many different forms of alternative fuels are being developed and several of these alternative fuels require things like corn to make them. This drives up the cost of not only corn, but everything else that uses corn. That includes feed for almost all other animals and that also drives up the cost of chicken, beef, some dog foods and well, you get the picture! Add to that the floods in the central states where the most corn is grown and the damage to the crops and that means that this year's harvest is going to be smaller and even more expensive.

So how does this all tie to Reverse Mortgages? When you're living on a fixed income, all of this rising cost may be too much to bear. That's where senior borrowers age 62 and over may be able to utilize the equity in their home to meet the rising cost of living in this economic environment.

The government-insured Reverse Mortgage known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or Heck-um) is designed to allow senior borrowers to access the equity in their home for any purpose. Senior borrowers can use the money to retire existing debt, for medical expenses, to make their homes more senior-friendly, or for any purpose they choose. But this can be especially helpful now that other costs have risen so dramatically.

So whether you or your loved ones drive or not, the rising cost of oil, the increased demand for corn and the flooding and lower crop production is going to take a bite out of everyone's budget. There's just no escaping the far reaching effect that all these factors have on everything else. The reverse mortgage may be just the bridge many senior homeowners can use to cross the rough spots brought on by rapidly rising costs that may be out pacing fixed incomes.

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Guest contributor: Michael G. Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company) is a Mortgage Broker who has over 31 years of mortgage banking experience. Toll free US (888) 801-2762

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Best Mortgage Rates

How to become a Private Mortgage Lender

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:53:00 +0000

The Ins And Outs of Becoming a Private Mortgage Lender

How to become a Private Mortgage Lender

If you are not familiar with this term, chances are you are not saving or investing money like you could and should be. Although there are numerous ways of saving money, private mortgage lending offers prosperous returns on your ventures from the start of the project, to completion.

This is accomplished by a carefully controlled system that endeavors to maximize the financial tools at hand to successfully guide your project from birth to maturity.

How do you get involved in private lending? There are many businesses and companies that offer their services concerning private lending, which includes you, the private lender, loaning money to an upstart company or business that cannot get a loan through a public institution. This does not necessarily mean the proposed company is risky or not able to succeed, but it does mean there is a certain degree of risk involved, much like any other action we involve ourselves in.

Once the borrower has placed real estate as collateral, you are able to have the property inspected and carry through with any other requirements of the contract. This is the time when the mortgage lending company is most important as they can offer services like; assistance in scheduling an appraisal of the property, finding background information on the new company, and handling the small details for the client that might be stressful or sometimes forgotten in the chaos.

This type of investment offers a much more tangible income, with some of them having options to open IRA accounts or another account of your choice. Regardless of what you choose, there are many options in the financial market to make private mortgage lending a valuable part of your financial portfolio and an asset to your retirement fund.

Guaranteeing your financial security through the use of private lending practices is an excellent way to profit from high level ventures by setting a specific parameter that you would like to be considered for. This range is monitored by the company hired by you to assist you with your projects and once they have found something (sometimes more than one depending on your preference) they will notify you to begin the process of determining if this is an investment you would be interested in.

Private mortgage lending, created as a means of assisting those that are unable to obtain credit elsewhere, offers assistance to those seeking it, and profits to those willing to take the risk. By increasing your income revenue by at least ten percent will allow this option to work for you as it has many times before.
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Guest contributor: Timothy Crane Private Real Estate Investor - We buy houses and help people with their situations and give them options that they did not know they had. Cash For Your Home

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Best Mortgage Rates

Mortgage Preforeclosure Investing Vs. DeedGrabbing

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:18:00 +0000

Have you ever looked into working with mortgage preforeclosures? By this I mean contacting the owner of a property who is about to lose it due to non-payment of their mortgage, and attempting to buy the property. This technique has been around forever, and a lot of people have made good money practicing it.

Deed grabbing is essentially the same concept, only we're going after owners of tax-delinquent property, not mortgage-delinquent property.

You may have made money in your area going after mortgage foreclosures, especially when the market was better. Me, I had very limited success. My area didn't have the dramatic price increases some of you may have experienced for one thing.

Let's look at why you'll want to concentrate on Deed grabbing or at least add it to your successful mortgage foreclosure investing. The big reason I like working tax preforeclosures better than mortgage preforeclosures is that mortgage foreclosure properties all have a mortgage against them! Most tax sale properties don't.

So you're automatically dealing with a large debt against the property, and possibly unpaid taxes in addition. It is difficult to tell from our mortgage preforeclosure list what the actual payoff balance is on the mortgage, because there are additional attorney fees, interest, and other charges that will not be published on the list. These charges increase literally every day. I learned this the hard way when I bought a property that had a mortgage of $10,000 being foreclosed - the payoff turned out to be over $21,000 after attorney's fees and all of the missed payments were added!

Also, there is no good way to tell from the list if an owner is going to get an extension or workout agreement from the mortgage company prior to the sale. You may be working on dozens of leads that appear active but have had a settlement agreement reached.

If you do contact an owner who wants to work with you, they will most likely not want to sell the property but to have you make them a loan or otherwise let them stay in the property. You will encounter a much greater percentage of abandoned properties with working on tax sale leads, and these are the easiest to quickly buy and resell.

Finally, if you get a mortgage preforeclosure with lots of equity, somebody is going to have to catch up all the payments on the property to stop the foreclosure. This amount is usually much greater than the amount needed to redeem a tax sale property. Then you're going to have to make the mortgage payments on the property while you're dealing with it.

What did I hate most about preforeclosure investing? Every Tom, Dick, and Joe in town is also sending letters and calling the owners! How am I supposed to get my message in front of them when they've been trained to throw all of these letters away and stop answering their phone?

I like the firm drop-dead dates with most tax sale property. I don't have to worry about protecting the owner's credit by making sure their mortgage is taken care of (delinquent property taxes do not affect an owner's credit).

As the firm deadline approaches, a hesitant owner will often finally decide to cut and run, and I'm running with the profits! And I'm usually the only one who has contacted them so they're limited to dealing with me.

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Credit to today’s guest contributor: - Rick Dawson is a former tax sale investor, turned DeedGrabber! Deed Grabbers purchase tax sale property from the right before the tax sale investors get their property. You can get deeds to these properties for as little as $10. Learn how today with Rick's new Ebook, Go Ahead, Be a DeedGrabber!, available at his site DeedGrabber.com or subscribe to his free 5-day email Mini-Course to learn more.

-ranci endo
Capital and Repayment Mortgage

Who Are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:43:00 +0000

There's always a first time for everything, and getting to understand what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stands for is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk- Mortgages is – "Who are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?"

Who Are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two government sponsored entities (GSEs). GSEs are set up by the government but run privately. These two GSEs were started to back up mortgages, making it easier for banks to dole out more mortgages with greater risks and lower rates to more families. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac combined now own or back up almost half of all mortgages in America.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two government sponsored entities (GSEs). GSEs are set up by the government but run privately. These two GSEs were started to back up mortgages, making it easier for banks to dole out more mortgages with greater risks and lower rates to more families. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac combined now own or back up almost half of all mortgages in America.

With this in mind, the two GSEs hold a lot of power and sway in the American economy. Their unusual combination of government and private backing allow them to reap benefits that other companies cannot. These benefits caused them to grow enormously and also caused the market and investors to trust them more than other companies. There is a rationale suggesting that because Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac both have government backing, even if they crash, the government will save them by whatever means necessary. This cushion gives investors a sense of security. And this sense of security has allowed a housing bubble to form.

Another issue involved with the governmental backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is their sheer size. Combined, the two GSEs hold over $3 trillion in purchased mortgages. If they were to hit a financial crisis, it’s true that the government would have to bail them out, but it would be done on behalf of the taxpayer. What it comes down to is the size of the two GSEs is so influential that a financial crisis for them would be a financial crisis for many Americans.

Since then, there have been many efforts made to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so that the two of them manage their finances and prevent Americans from suffering from risky maneuvers. There have also been attempts to try and completely privatize the two GSEs, thereby removing all of their governmental perks, but so far all attempts have proven unsuccessful.

There are numerous arguments concerning what should be done with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2003, both companies were found to have improperly accounted their earnings by the billions, leading to the resignation of several of top-notch executives. Needless to say, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s incredible amount of financial power and ubiquity have kept them under close scrutiny by economists and politicians alike.

Credit to our contributor: Tom Simmons

The SUBWAY has had a great history of realizing the benefits of increased exposure in the marketplace. Submitted by Tom Simmons at NewSunSEO.com

Our mission is to provide you all the information you need about Mortgages to make a smart decision.

"What's your comment? - Do you have any thing you'd like to add or challenge about this hot issue? Any bad or good experience let us know! Your contribution will educate many and benefit our readers.

Thank you for reading:
- ranci endo

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Raising the money to build your own home

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:59:00 +0000

How to raise the Money to build your own Home:

Building your own home is a way to get a home which may meet all your needs and may cost less than buying one already built from a developer. Financing this type of work can be a major problem but some mortgage lenders are able to help.

How to work out your budget

You need to plan your budget carefully so that you know how much the project is going to cost in total. The mortgage lender will ask for this and you need to make sure that you have covered all your costs such as land costs, professional fees, building work, materials, etc. Make sure you know what you can take on yourself and employ an architect, surveyor, planning consultant and project manager if necessary.

You are probably going to borrow a large sum which you have to pay back whatever happens to the building. You need to make sure that you hire a good builder in order to reduce the risk.

Getting the right insurance and warranty cover is also vital so that you can be protected against some of the risk if things go wrong. You will also need to cover your legal expenses. It is essential to include an amount for contingency - to cover unexpected costs which might come up

There are two types of mortgage which could be used. The first option is a traditional arrears-based mortgage released in staged payments on completion of each stage. The second option is an advance payment scheme which releases funds in advance of each stage of construction and removes the need for bridging loans. The stages can be fixed or flexible but there are usually five and these depend on the type of building work. Not many mortgage companies will offer an advanced payment, this is due to the risk involved.

How lenders decide how much you can borrow

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Sun, 18 May 2008 09:29:00 +0000

When you take out a mortgage, lenders look at a number of things to work out how much you can borrow. These include your earnings and outgoings, the property value and your credit history. Whatever you borrow, you need to be sure you can afford the repayments.

Your earnings:

Lenders will offer to lend you an amount based on your earnings. They will normally want to see proof of your income and will also look at your regular outgoings. It's important to give your lender as much detail as you can about your earnings and outgoings so that you're offered a mortgage you can afford. You also need to remember to budget for the one-off costs of buying a property such as administration and solicitor fees and Stamp Duty.

The property value:

Your lender will arrange a valuation to check how much the property's worth. Most lenders will offer up to 90 or even 95 per cent of the valuation if they think you can afford it.

Your credit history:

Your lender will check your credit history and ask previous lenders or landlords for references. If your record shows you've had difficulty with loans or rent payments in the past, it may affect how much you can borrow.

Don't be put off if a lender refuses you a mortgage or offers you an expensive deal - it's still worth shopping around.

Mortgage Arrears or Payment Difficulties

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Difficulties with paying your mortgage - what to do, who to contact and who can help

If you can't meet your mortgage repayments, or you're worried you might fall behind, it's important to contact your lender as soon as possible. Lenders have procedures for tackling payment difficulties and they'll try to help. You can also get free independent advice from other organisations.

Mortgage lenders are keen to help their customers sort out any payment difficulties. Also, the law says they must treat you fairly and take your circumstances into account. They may be able to come to a payment arrangement with you.

If you're struggling to make the payments:

Depending on your payment history and whether your difficulties are likely to be long or short term, your lender might agree to:

reduce your payments for a set period
charge you interest only for a while, if you've got a repayment mortgage (usually you pay capital and interest)
give you a 'payment holiday'
extend your mortgage term to reduce your payments

If you're already in arrears:

If you've already fallen behind, your lender will suggest a way to pay off the arrears gradually, alongside your usual payments. If you can't meet the extra payments, you may be able to delay them for a while or add them to your loan. Again, it depends on your track record.

Always pay what you can:

Pay as much as you can manage every month. Keeping up regular payments (even if they vary) shows that you're committed. Your lender's more likely to treat you sympathetically and you'll minimise the arrears charges too.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, long-term arrears are still at relatively low levels although repossessions are up slightly but, nevertheless, considering all the main debt advice agencies have been reporting big increases in the numbers of people phoning their helplines, there is certainly cause for concern.

Local Citizens Advice offices dealt with 1.25 million debt problems last year while the Consumer Credit Counselling Service reports an increase of 27% in helping people to set up debt management plans. The number of people opting for bankruptcy or Individual Voluntary Arrangements is also rising rapidly.

And, although part of this can be attributed to greater awareness amongst the public of addressing debt problems sooner rather than later and that there are debt advice agencies offering help, it's still a fact that the major banks have been reporting sizeable increases in the amount of bad debts that they're having write off.

Types of Mortgage- What The Best Mortgage?

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:00:00 +0000

Types of mortgage

When you choose a mortgage, you'll need to think about the repayment method, interest rate deals and special features of some mortgages. The best one for you will depend on your circumstances - so it's important to understand your options and shop around for the best mortgage.

Repayment (capital and interest) and interest only mortgages explained; fixed rate, variable rate and other interest rate deals; flexible, current account and offset mortgages features Money, tax and benefits section. There are so many types of Mortgage such as:

Buy to Let Mortgage: A type of mortgage taken out by people who want to become landlords. It's a way of investing in property and bringing in an income.

Discount Rate Mortgage: A mortgage with a guaranteed reduction in the variable mortgage rate (say, 2% below the variable, whatever it may be). Generally lasts for an agreed period and if you change mortgages within that time, you will pay a redemption penalty.

Current Account Mortgage: A type of mortgage in which your debt is effectively held in your current account. Interest due is calculated daily as opposed to yearly, which can make a significant difference to the cost for those on a REPAYMENT MORTGAGE. Also more flexible and allows periods of both under- and overpayment of the mortgage to suit the borrower's changing financial circumstances.

Capped Rate Mortgage: The mortgage interest rate cannot go above a certain level, even if mortgage rates rise, but can fall down as rates drop. Ain't no free lunches, though, and if you want to extricate yourself from the mortgage during the capped rate period (say three or five years), you'll have to pay a redemption penalty.

Stepped Rate Mortgages: A bit like a discount mortgage except the interest rate goes up in stages rather than in one fell swoop. They comprehensively fail the Foolish maxim of "keep things simple" and are best avoided.

Interest Only Mortgage: Monthly payments to the lender are made up simply of interest. You don't pay off any of the capital of the mortgage during the term of the mortgage, but do so at the end, having accrued a large enough pot of money in an investment fund. Classically, these investment funds have been endowments, but we're pleased to say that ISAs are increasingly being used.

Leasehold Mortgage: If you buy leasehold mortgage, you only own the property itself for an agreed period of time - not the land on which it is built. An example of this might be a 99-year-lease on a flat where you pay an annual rent (called the "ground rent") to the owner of the freehold of the building which contains your flat. At the end of the 99 years the property reverts to the "freeholder" of the building. The value of your flat will decrease as the lease gets shorter.

Remortgage: When you move your mortgage to another lender. You might be able to get a better deal, but watch out for redemption penalties. Also, it's always worth checking to see whether your current lender can give you a better deal before going to the extra trouble and expense of moving to another.

Repayment mortgage: The monthly repayments pay off both the interest and some of the capital on the mortgage. By the end of the mortgage term, the debt has all gone and the house is all yours.

Mortgage Interest Rate

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:42:00 +0000

How to Get the Best Mortgage Interest Rate

Interest rates are probably the most important part about buying a house. After all, your aim is borrow the money you need for the least possible cost, so you need to assess which type of interest rate is best for your particular circumstances.

Fixed rates:

The rate of interest is fixed for a certain length of time, so you'll know exactly how much you'll need to find each month to pay the mortgage. The fixed rate is great for people who are a little stretched financially and need to know where they stand from pay cheque to pay cheque. They're also good value if interest rates look set to rise in the early years of a mortgage, although bear in mind that the mortgage providers are likely to be one step ahead of you and adjust their fixed rates accordingly. However, a fixed rate also means you could be lumbered with paying more than everyone else if general interest rates fall below the figure you've set yours at. But that's the risk you take in exchange for having certainty about how much you will pay each month.

Tracker rates:

A tracker mortgage is a variation on a standard variable rate. With a tracker mortgage the difference between the Bank of England base rate and your mortgage rate is fixed. Although standard variable rates closely follow the base rate, they are not formally linked to it. So if you want to ensure a cut in the base rate is always passed onto you in the form of a lower mortgage rate then a tracker could be for you. Of course, the flip side is that any rise in the base rate is also passed on straight away.

Standard variable rate:

This is the general rate of interest that lenders use and it's usually the most expensive option for the borrower. The standard variable rate is linked to the Bank of England's base rate and moves up and down in line with it, and a typical rate at the moment is about 1% to 2% higher than the base rate. So whenever you hear that the Bank of England has raised or cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, you'll know your mortgage rate is probably about to go up or down by a similar amount.

If you're on this sort of standard rate, you'll probably notice that lenders like to introduce any increase with effect immediately and to delay any cuts by a month or two. it's never going to be the cheapest deal on the market so if you find yourself landed with it, be aware that you're effectively subsidising all the other borrowers who are taking advantage of any cut-price special offers! However, note that most special offer deals will revert to a standard variable rate once the offer period has expired.

Discounted rates:

This is simply a percentage discount off the lender's variable rate. So your monthly payments will move up and down in accordance with the lender's normal rate but you'll be paying at a reduced rate over the relevant time period. These are quite good for first-time buyers as a discounted mortgage can give you a couple of years of breathing space. A one or two per cent discount is especially good if there's no lock-in period afterwards because you can simply re-mortgage with another lender when the discount period comes to an end. Unfortunately, you'll often find you're locked in for another couple of years on the variable rate, so you won't be able to get out of this sort of deal unless you're prepared to pay huge redemption penalties.

Capped rates:

These ensure that there is a ceiling to the interest rate you will pay over a given period of time. If your lender's variable rate climbs higher than the capped rate you will benefit. But if it falls below the capped rate you'll just be paying what everyone else is paying.

Capped rates tie you in to the mortgage for a set period of time, similar to fixed rates. Capped rates give you part of the advantages of fixed rates and of variable rates. Again, you'll have to give something back for this. For example, the capped rate is likely to be higher than any fixed rate you can get. Like fixed rates, they make good sense for those on tight budgets who need to ensure that their monthly payments don't rise too far.

Which type of interest rate is suitable for you?

Suitability of different deals will depend on your personal circumstances and any tie-ins or penalties that may be attached. For more information on the pros and cons of different interest rate deals visit the Financial Services Authority (FSA) website.

Make Finding A Mortgage Easier

reivre007@gmail.com (Ranci Endo) — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:38:00 +0000

We Make Finding a Mortgage Easier: It's all about Mortgages & Facts

Our impartial, practical information and tools can help you get a foot on the property ladder or move from your existing home: Here is a list of issues we are going to cover

1. Real Facts about Best Mortgages Rates :

First, find out what is a Mortgage? How to choose a suitable mortgage, what is the mortgage application process and mortgage interest rate options
Money, tax and benefits section
1. A mortgage is a loan you take out to buy property, Most banks and building societies offer mortgages, as well as specialist mortgage lending companies. If you change lenders but don't move home it's referred to as a 'remortgage'.
It's harder to get on the property ladder today than it's ever been. But there are many ways first-time buyers can get a leg up.
Of course, if this is your first house purchase this is all pretty daunting stuff. It's also extremely expensive, as you have to find an awful lot of money. Luckily, you'll find a bit of help as lenders usually give preferential mortgage rates to First Time Buyers (FTB). What's more, you may even have your legal fees or surveys paid for you

2. How to go Through About Mortgage application process

The best key steps to follow when you apply for a mortgage, whether you're applying for the first time or changing lender, Money, tax and benefits section

Once you know roughly how much you want to borrow and have identified your preferred lender, there are key steps to follow to get a mortgage. These are the same whether you're borrowing for the first time or changing lender.

If you understand the application process you can be ready with everything the lender needs. This can help speed up your mortgage application.

You can get a decision in principle (DIP) from a lender even before you've chosen your final property. This shows whether they're prepared to lend to you and how much. The decision's based on information you give about:

your income
your employment status
the sort of property you want to buy

Most mortgage lenders can give you a decision in principle online as well as through the post. DIPs trigger a credit check, which show on your credit record. Too many may affect your chances of getting a mortgage so only ask for one when you've settled on your lender.

Never be tempted to overstate your income. You could end up with a mortgage your can't afford.