I’ve gotten several emails to articles recently having to do with straw buyers, and more search hits. Red flags preceded home-fraud lawsuit and Fraud case hits home seem to cover one of these weasels particularly well. A “straw buyer” is someone whose credit is used to purchase a property and secure financing. Sometimes they cooperate …
Category Archives: Mortgages
Mortgage Loan Rate Locks
One of the most true sayings in the mortgage business is, “If you can’t lock it right now, it’s not real.” But many mortgage providers will play a game of wait and hope. They tell you they have a certain loan when they in fact do not, hoping the rates go down to where they …
Looking For Loans In All The Wrong Places
No, I’m not turning into a country western singer (nor is this a joke despite the publication date). Just got a search for “no closing costs no points loan cheapest rates loan”. The visit (to this article) lasted less than a full second. The obvious implication was that it wasn’t what that person was looking …
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Should Negative Amortization Loans Be Banned?
Having written several articles on Negative Amortization Loans, telling of the details of what is wrong with them, and even destroying the myth of Option ARM cash flow, I sometimes get asked if I would like to see them banned completely. Well, given the pandemically misleading marketing that surrounds these loans, and pandemically poor disclosure …
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Making Certain You Shop Your Mortgage – Whether You Want To Or Not
Ken Harney had some welcome news on Move afoot to end uninvited mortgage pitches To a certain extent, these are a good thing for consumers. However, it gets way overdone. What happens is this. Let’s sat I get a client into my office, they apply for a mortgage, and I run their credit. The three …
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Impound Accounts Facts and FAQs
I’ve seen a fair number of questions on impound accounts in the last several months. An impound account, also known by the confusing term escrow account because the lender is holding it in escrow, is money that you give the lender in order to pay the property taxes and homeowner’s insurance on the property when …
Lenders and Insurance Proceeds
The question that inspired this was can a mortgage company use the flood insurance claim money towards homeowners mortgage loans? This is equally applicable to every other form of insurance on your home – earthquake, regular homeowner’s insurance, and any others that you may have or require. The short answer is yes. The reason that …
If Your Loan Falls Through
“What do I do when the loan falls through” That depends upon when it falls through and what situation you’re in. If you’re in a refinance situation, you generally keep making payments on your old loan until and unless you can find a refinance that is better that you qualify for. There is one exception …
Games Lenders Play, Part V – Selling a Low Payment
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 a mortgage and a secondary line of credit on our condo (we didn’t have a down …
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Recourse Loans and Non-Recourse Loans
do mortgage company’s usually seek a deficiency judgment on home foreclosures Depends upon whether it is a recourse loan or not. A recourse loan is one where the lender can come after you for any excess amount of money you owe. Whether a loan is recourse or non-recourse varies with the state you are in, …