There are loan products for which only those who own the property in which they live are eligible and one of these financial products are remortgages.

What a remortgage in fact is is the rearranging of the home loan taken out to buy the property in the first place, namely a mortgage.

As a remortgage is exactly like a mortgage which is the home loan need to buy a property whether as a first time buyer or for those moving home, it goes without saying that only those who own their home can apply.

Because a remortgage is secured on property the applicant must feel sure that he can meet the monthly repayment without any difficulty, the mortgage lender feels secure in the knowledge that repayments will be faithfully made.

Unfortunately due to the the credit crunch and many losing their jobs as a result of it many people have fallen behind from anything from one month to very serious arrears with their mortgage payments.

The fact of homeowners faithfully making their payments each month on time has not been a concrete fact since 2007 due to so many having been made unemployed because of the recession, and have accrued mortgage arrears for the first time in their life.

The fact that many mortgage payers have fallen behind in their repayments although many through no fault of their own has lead mortgage lenders tighten up on the granting of remortgages.

Changes such as the abolition of self certifications of income have been introduced and proof of income is required for both employed and self employed remortgage applicants.

Remortgage and mortgage applicants must also provide the mortgage lender with bank statements covering the three months prior to the remortgage application to check that all financial information.

It was a common practice when applying for a mortgage or remortgage for a person who owned his own business to declare what he earned annually and this was accepted by the mortgage lender as being a true statement of income, and the remortgage or mortgage was granted based on these earnings which often in fact were greatly over stated.

A remortgage or mortgage applicant must now provide the lender with his bank statements for the three months prior to the remortgage application to make sure that all financial information on the remortgage application form is correct.

If these checks had been made in the past perhaps the credit crunch would not have happened in the first place or at least would have been less severe.

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If you are looking for remortgages please visit Champion Finance’s site on how to choose the best remortgage for your needs.

There is wonderful news for people considering purchasing a home! Congress has recently passed further legislation, as a portion of the plan for energizing the U.S. housing market, that makes the Federal tax credit of up to $8,000 now available to even more first-time home buyers. Additionally, some people who now own a home and would like to purchase a new one will also be eligible for a Federal tax credit of up to $6,500.

The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit extends and improves the existing legislation that is no longer in effect on November 30. Both new and move-up buyers can now get the benefits of the Federal tax credit. Of course, this is in addition to the current historically low mortgage interest rates.

Here are the new key provisions:

* The first-time buyers’ $8,000 has now been extended through April 30th, 2010. * Current homeowners are now eligible for a $6,500 tax credit, provided they have resided in the residence they are selling as their principal residence for at least five straight years within the past eight years. * The income limits for qualifying buyers were increased to a range of $75,000 to $125,000 (for single buyers) and a range of $150,000 to $225,000 for couples. * Time has been extended to make allowance for closing the home purchase. If they have a legal contract by the last day of April, they will subsequently have until the end of June, 2010, to close the purchase. The qualifying purchase price of the new residence must be $800,000 or less.

Additional details:

* Tax credits provide a dollar-for-dollar payment of taxes owed with any surplus funds available as a refund. The amount of the credit will be first credited toward any tax liability for the purchase year. Next the amount remaining will be paid to the buyer. (For example a first-time buyer whose tax liability is $2000 would receive a payment of $6,000). * Any single-family home purchased to be used as a primary residence (including condos, co-ops) will qualify assuming that it is purchased by the 30th of April, 2010 and closes by the 30th of June, 2010. * The entire amount of the tax credit is available for individuals who have an adjusted gross income of no more than $125,000 or $225,000 on a joint return. When income is greater than these figures, the amount of the tax credit is reduced until the upper limit is reached – $145,000 for individuals or $245,000 of joint income.

Jim Navary has been a freelance writer and researcher for more thirty years covering a wide range of topics. He is also a licensed real estate salesperson in the Commonwealth of Virginia specializing in real estate in the Tri-Cities area of Virginia and, in particular, Tri-Cities Area, Virginia, area homes for sale.