One of the bloggers I used to read talks about debunking a money myth and perpetuates one of his own. He took issue with someone refinancing to lower their monthly payment, insisting instead that the term of the loan was all important. His point is understandable in that because folks tend to buy more house …
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do your property taxes go up in California when you refinance your property This is one of those urban legends. People are concerned that because the house is appraised by the lender, the assessor is somehow going to find out that their property is worth more and send their tax bill soaring. However, thanks to …
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I got a search for “which states allow prepayment penalties”. I’m not aware of any that don’t. If there are any, I’d like to know. Any such states should immediately be renamed “Denial”. I really hate prepayment penalties, for a large number of reasons. Nonetheless, to make them illegal would not be in the best …
Just got a search on “state of california fsbo questions to work directly with loan officers without a agent” This isn’t a problem. Whereas it is the same license, it is two entirely separate job functions. The fact that you are or are not working with an agent has absolutely nothing to do with whether …
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what is a underwriter final “sign off” on the conditions First off, it needs to be mentioned that a good loan officer gathers information and puts a full package, with all of the information an underwriter should need, before submitting the package to the underwriter. That’s how you get loans through quick and clean. Give …
“How do I remove PMI?” First off, a definition. Private Mortgage Insurance, often abbreviated PMI, is an insurance policy that the bank may make you buy in order to get the loan. It is a monthly surcharge based upon a percentage of your entire principal balance. You pay for it, but the bank is the …
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The easy, general rule is that legitimate expenses all have easily understood explanations in plain English, they are all for specific services, and if they are performed by third parties, there are associated invoices or receipts that you can see. Let’s haul out the Mortgage Loan Disclosure Statement (California) or Good Faith Estimate (elsewhere), and …
Continue reading “Mortgage Closing Costs: What is Real and What is Junk?”
From an email:I’ve been enjoying your blog posts on mortgages. I’ve learned more from you about what to expect than I have from any other source, and I’ve gotten 10 mortgages in my life. I was reading Larry William’s website this week, and on there I saw one of his newsletters from last summer:http://www.ireallytrade.com/http://www.ireallytrade.com/freestuff.htmthe May …
There are a fair number of specific helpful suggestions to make in helping you purchase a home. All of them revolve around the loan. Let’s face it, the loan is far and away the most hypothetical and uncertain part about most real estate transactions. If there is a non-loan related problem, chances are that you …
One of the things the place I work does to attract clients is advertise foreclosure lists to our clients. Several times a week, people call and ask for the lists, and we say, “Great! Just come on down, fill out a loan package and an agency agreement, and we’ll get them to you fresh every …
