I’ve written a lot here about how to manage your mortgage so that you control it instead of it controlling you. Let’s consider what happens when that project fails. If you don’t pay your mortgage, on time, no big deal at first. Fifteen days later, the first consequence is that you owe the lender a …
Continue reading “When You Can’t Make Your Real Estate Mortgage Payment”
From an email: Anyway, my wife and I are about to purchase a place here in the X area and we’ve been hearing that “a tough loan” line due to the fact that I’m only 10 months into my new small business although I’ve been profitable the entire time. We’re stuck doing No Doc/Stated Income …
Racial Gap in Loans Is High in California. I can give a variety of reasons for this. First off, especially in Los Angeles but to a lesser extent throughout the state, there is a huge “Spanish speaking only” community. When you limit yourself to speakers of a language which isn’t the nation’s primary business tongue, …
One of the things I hear a lot is that people are getting cash in their pocket from a refinance rate where there is no rebate. “I’m not paying any closing costs!” they proudly tell me, “The bank is putting money in my pocket.” Chances are that’s not what’s going on. In fact, when the …
From an email: I was wondering if you could tell me whether the following ways to save on interest are actually possible. If they are what are the penalties typically associated with these suggestions. I know you have mentioned a pre-payment penalty but what amount is reasonable? 1) Pay a certain amount over your monthly …
Continue reading “Pre-payment Penalties and Alternate Payment Schemes”
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 …
Continue reading “Payment, Interest Rate and Up Front Costs: Choosing a loan intelligently”
I was a little shy of ideas of stuff I wanted to write about, and too lazy to finish my research on some stuff I’m working on. But: I get the same junkmail and spam most of you folks do. They don’t know who I am when they send it out. It’s just that I …
In an attempt to debunk some of the slanders that are floating around out there, this article is an itemization of how lenders and brokers make money on loans. The first method is obvious: Origination or discount points charged to the consumer. This is money that the person getting the loan is paying, or someone …
Minorities get higher rates. They add that the fact minorities are more likely to borrow from institutions specializing in high-priced loans could mean they are being steered to such lenders or that some lenders are unwilling or unable to serve minority neighborhoods. This is called redlining. It is illegal. HUD really gets their panties in …
Continue reading “Lender Discrimination and Shopping for a Home Loan”
The question every good loan officer hates the most is “What is your lowest rate?” First off, everybody doesn’t get the same choices. As I’ve said before, somebody who can prove they make enough money, has a history of paying their debt, and offers the lender a situation where there’s 30 percent equity (or more) …
Continue reading “Mortgage Loans: The Tradeoff between Rate and Cost”
