Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'loans'
Low Equity (or Worse!) Relocations in a Buyer's Market
Hi, Dan! I just came across your website and you strike me as the type of guy who has answers for our situation: My husband and I built our home 2.5 years ago. We took out a second mortgage...
Inducements to Use A Builder's Lender for a Purchase
One of the things I'm seeing more of in MLS listings and developer advertising, among other places, is the phrase "$X in closing cost credit (or "$X in free builder upgrades") given for using preferred lender" Sounds like a bargain,...
Realtor and Loan Officer Responsibility: Can the Client Afford The Property?
Every so often, I write about professional responsibility. Every month I get a couple of magazines because I'm a Realtor. There was a letter from someone who was proud of the fact that he had never asked someone if they...
Shopping For The Best Loan In The Changed Lending Environment
It shouldn't be any surprise to anyone with the headlines of the last few years that shopping for a mortgage loan has radically changed. Indeed, a lot of the regulatory changes seem directly aimed at what were the best...
Option ARMs and Cash Flow
One of the standard arguments I hear about Negative Amortization and Option ARM loans is that they "give the client the option to make a smaller payment if they need to." This so-called "Pick A Pay" benefit is a real...
What if Your Partner Refuses to Pay Their Share of a Loan or Mortgage (or Won't Pay on Time)?
what happens if partner refuses to pay his half of the mortgage? The lender will hold you each responsible for payment in full. They don't care who pays; only that they get the full amount every month. That's the...
The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (Appraisal Standards)
Since May 1, 2009, we've been having problems with appraisals like never before. It's an interesting case study how the attorney general of one state used threats to blackmail a nationwide industry, installed personal controls and opportunities for graft into...
What Are The Note And Trust Deed?
It's very simple really, and this is something I have never covered in the perhaps mistaken belief that it was too simple and everybody knew this. The Note is the loan contract that sets the terms of the loan, repayment,...
Loan Fall-Out And The Effects Upon Consumers
This is going to be a long article and somewhat technical in places, but it needs to be covered and it's important to everyone who is thinking about getting a real estate loan. "Fall-Out" is very simple: The number...
You Must Be Willing To Act In Order to Get Any Benefit
On a very regular basis, pretty much every buyer's agent who's worth anything gets clients who have difficulty making a decision. Not too long ago, I found a solid property with great potential that nonetheless needed about $20,000 of cosmetic...
Special Restricted Loan Programs Means Potential For Special Problems
An e-mail I got from a single mother I spent two months working with before she found a special low income program for a property she wouldn't have been able to afford through me. The first paragraph is her addition...
Why It May Be Costly to Reject Paying Points
I hear it and read it all the time - advice that says to pre-emptively reject the possibility of paying points. People that talk to me about loan rates that tell me they will not consider any loan that...
Just Because Compensation for a Loan Isn't Disclosed Doesn't Mean It's Free
I am continually confirming that a large percentage of people can't handle negotiations like an adult. They focus in on garbage and ignore what's really important. I recently was going to deliver a loan that cost less, as well as...
What is Loan Amortization?
I keep getting hits for this, so people must want it explained. Loan Amortization is nothing more than the process of paying the loan off by regular payments over time. Leave it to the experts to come up with a...
Be Careful Moving Your Down Payment Money
A while ago, I wrote Sourcing and Seasoning of Funds. You'd think I have a set spiel I give out, and I do. But I had a case where I didn't think I'd need it, and it burned me....
Lowballing Mortgage Quotes Versus "Junk Fees"
One of the things that most mortgage and real estate consumers get mixed up on is the distinction between low-balling and junk fees. Junk fees are when they add fees that really aren't necessary to what you're paying. Low-balling is...
Fifteen Year Loans: Are They A Good Idea?
My take on the matter is "mostly no", but they do have some uses. The one advantage that they usually carry a lower interest rate. There have been exceptions to this, just as there have been exceptions to the...
There Is Always A Reason For A Low Asking Price
One thing prospective home buyers need to understand and don't is that there is always a reason for a low asking price. To emphasize: There is always a reason for a low asking price. Sometimes that reason is something you...
An Apparent Red Flag that Isn't
For all of the rants I post about bad business practices, there are a lot of things the mortgage industry gets right. One of these looks like a red flag not to do business with them, and may seem like...
The Best Way To Create Problems For Yourself In Real Estate
Have a "looking for cheap" attitude, especially on services meant to protect you. It's great to have a "looking for value" attitude. If I cost more than someone else, it is in your best interest to ask why, and ask...
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