tag:searchlightcrusade.net,2024:/mt//feed/lender games 2024-04-20T10:42:11Z Movable Type 4.21-en 55 1 55 tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4831 2023-08-22T14:00:00Z 2023-08-22T15:10:03Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ If you read the papers and the congressional record on the housing crisis, you might think yield spread is the central culprit for the entire meltdown. You would be wrong. Yield spread is a beneficial tool, offered voluntarily by lenders,... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2011://3.5040 2023-02-07T15:00:00Z 2023-02-07T16:24:29Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I recently received an email asking about a Good Faith Estimate on a $200k loan. The person asking my opinion attached the actual "estimate" to the email. In addition to a point of origination and a point of discount... tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2006:/~searchli//3.2401 2023-01-24T15:00:00Z 2023-01-24T19:30:02Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Hello, I've been reading your website for awhile now, and have found it very helpful as I'm learning to navigate this crazy loan process! I had a question I was wondering if you could write about/answer. We currently have... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2011://3.5038 2022-10-10T14:00:00Z 2022-10-10T14:41:04Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ It's very easy for loan providers to talk about a much better loan when you're shopping than they have any intention of delivering. Then you give them thirty to sixty days after you sign up, and you're put into a... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4788 2022-09-28T14:00:00Z 2022-09-28T14:44:05Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ what if i sign all the paper work for a house at a title agency, can i back off the house? Depends upon the laws in your state. The Federal three day right of rescission only applies to refinancing your... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.5029 2022-06-07T14:00:00Z 2022-06-07T10:14:36Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Really. I know that most people who read that title are replying "no kidding" but you would be amazed at how many people act like there is such a fairy godmother. I got an email yesterday that said, basically, "Help... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4515 2021-07-18T14:00:00Z 2021-07-18T15:28:28Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ 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... tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2788 2021-06-18T14:00:00Z 2021-06-18T11:36:02Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I got a question about "what does it mean if my loan is not funded after right of rescission?" It likely means your loan provider lied to you, probably from day one. Once you have signed documents, there shouldn't be... tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2733 2021-04-24T14:00:00Z 2021-04-24T12:21:15Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I was approached by these folks a while ago via email. I attempted to get them to write up the experience themselves but I wanted to write something about this before I completely forgot about it. This whole exchange is... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4961 2021-04-11T14:00:00Z 2021-04-11T14:54:12Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I have in the past told people to ignore APR. APR should not be used to compare between loans. Not only is it a one dimensional number used to measure what is fundamentally a two-dimensional trade-off between rate and... tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2713 2021-04-05T14:00:00Z 2021-04-05T14:00:46Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Sometimes spam makes writing an article all too easy. Here is a piece of spam I got, probably because my email at work contains "realestate.com", with identifying information taken out. This goes to show that the financial ignorance of most... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2008://3.4339 2021-03-31T14:00:00Z 2021-03-31T12:42:44Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ This is a little harder than shopping for buyer's agents, so congress critters might not be able to do it. But it's nowhere near as tough as high school algebra, so even if you're a politician you can just get... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4954 2021-03-15T14:00:00Z 2021-03-15T12:16:41Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ My article Debunking the Money Merge Account Scam has been getting a lot of attention and a large amount of hate mail lately. The scamsters that sell these things love to send me hate mail for exposing the fact that... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2008://3.4201 2021-02-10T15:00:00Z 2021-02-10T14:37:19Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I thought I'd share this with you as an example of the sort of mind set to beware. This is a real email I received, with identifying information redacted. I found you through the DELETED web site and I thought... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4918 2020-12-13T15:00:00Z 2020-12-13T11:12:37Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ First off, neither the California Mortgage Loan Disclosure Statement nor the Federal Good Faith Estimate are promises, commitments, or anything more than your loan provider wants them to be. Quite often, they're nothing more than a fictional story told... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4916 2020-12-10T15:00:00Z 2020-12-10T13:36:53Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Many people think that mortgage interest works like rent: paid in advance before you live in the property for the month. This is not the case. Mortgage interest is paid in arrears. As you begin the month, interest begins... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4914 2020-12-07T15:00:00Z 2020-12-07T15:12:31Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ When I wrote explaining why borrowers should consider a 5/1 ARM, because the tradeoff between rate and cost is lower for that loan, and most people don't keep their loans 5 years anyway, so having a likely need to... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2008://3.4054 2020-12-05T15:00:00Z 2020-12-05T14:50:05Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Yet that is exactly what you want them to do. To avoid competing on price, they have all kinds of distractions they offer to make life more convenient, but not cheaper. They offer automatic payment options, the convenience of having... tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2006:/~searchli//3.2563 2020-11-28T15:00:00Z 2020-11-28T14:47:46Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ This is part and parcel of the system that's abused. Here are sample rates from one A paper lender, picked at random, that were in effect when I originally wrote this. Rates are lower now, but it's a good example... tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4904 2020-11-12T15:00:00Z 2020-11-12T14:45:36Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Question from an e-mail: Hi, I have a question about mortgages. My boyfriend and I are looking to buy a home, and since I have recently quit my job he would be the primary applicant. He makes $44k and we...