I’ve said upon more than one occasion that the factors at closing are all in the loan provider’s favor. The typical consumer has no leverage to get the loan provider to play it straight at closing, and actually deliver what they said they would back when you signed the application. Many people never notice that …
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The State-run 529 Plan
Of all the investments out there available to be made, the 529 is neither best or second-best, but it is right up there near the top. Back when I was actively working in the financial planning business, it was one of the easiest to sell, as well. It holds one of the best sets of …
The Pre-qualification
One of the most overworked items in the real estate industry today is the pre-qualification for a loan. Sellers want buyers to be “pre-qualified”, and buyers are seeking “pre-qualification” to convince buyers they are serious. The level of work done for a pre-qualification varies. In some rare instances, the loan officer doing the work not …
Updated Parameters for Solving Kelo
Back on July first, I posted Solving Kelo – Seeking Parameters for a Solution. As I wrote then: When you’re in my current profession, you can’t help but learn that public condemnation of private property for private use has a long and not entirely dishonorable history in this country. Yes, it goes back to 19th …
The Truth In Lending Statement and APR
The Truth-In-Lending is a form that can or does provide some useful information, but the useful information it provides is both smaller than most people think, and not in the numbers everybody looks at. The first thing to be aware of is right below the title. “This is neither a contract nor a commitment to …
The Negative Amortization Loan
I am not exactly certain how to start this essay. I’m kind of in a position analogous to writing Hitler’s biography in late 1940. We know at this point he’s a miserable excuse for a human being, but we don’t have the evidence discovered in the last four and a half years of the war …
The Appraisal
Of all the issues having to do with a mortgage, the appraisal generates more overblown problems than any other part of the process. It’s also one of the most critical areas to handle correctly. There are reasons for this: It (along with perhaps the relatively cheap credit report) is the only thing a consumer has …
Payments and Interest Rates
Most people tend to shop for a mortgage based upon the payment. They figure the lowest payment will be the cheapest loan. This is the way most people make banks rich. Because they are looking for the loan with the lowest rate and the lowest payment, they choose the loan with two or three points …
Mortgage Loan Rate Locks
(NOTE: This is a historical post. Things have changed a lot in the mortgage business since it was written. For one thing, the Feds wrote new laws and regs adding about 3 weeks to the time it takes to do a loan, so a 45 day lock has become the default. For another, lenders are …
A List of Mortgage Provider Red Flags
This is going to be one of those occasional posts that gets expanded and reposted from time to time. This list is not exhaustive, although over time it is intended to become closer. If you have one, send it to me (dm at) Any of these is sufficient reason, all by itself, not to do …