“I am married but want to refinance my house only in my name. What do I have to do?” This is actually pretty easy, and there are at least two ways to potentially accomplish this, depending upon lender policy and the law in your area. Most lenders policies require the property to be titled in …
Continue reading “Issues Relating to One Spouse Qualifying For A Loan On Their Own”
Got a question asking if zero cost loans really exist. They do. I’ve done several dozen myself, for clients who listened to me about the nature of the market. Let me define what a zero cost loan is. It is a loan with a higher rate deliberately chosen so as to get a high enough …
People are understandably hazy on the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval. Pre-qualification is a non-rigorous process whereby somebody says that based upon the information as presented to them, it appears you’ll qualify for the loan. Pre-approval should be more rigorous. For A paper, it should mean that you’ve fed the final loan information, including qualifying …
Continue reading “What Pre-Approval For A Mortgage Loan Should Mean”
“What mortgage fees can i recover after loan denial” was a search I got. The answer is basically, “None.” Indeed, one of your search criteria should be mortgage providers that don’t charge anything up front, except maybe a credit check fee. Those are about $20, and you should be prepared to spend that $20 several …
Continue reading “What Fees Can You Recover If Your Loan Is Denied?”
Just like “we’ll beat any deal!” in any other competitive sales endeavor, this is a game. Actually, it’s even more of a game for loans than it is anywhere else, used cars included. What they are hoping is that you’ll go there last, and tell them what the best thing you’ve been quoted, and then …
<blockquote>what happens when house doesn’t appraise?<BR /></blockquote> I presume this question meant “for the necessary value according to the lender’s guidelines”. Lenders base their evaluation of a property upon the standard accountant’s “Lower of Cost or Market.” This is intentionally a conservative system, because the lender is betting (usually) hundreds of thousands of dollars upon …
Continue reading “When The Appraisal Is Below The Purchase Price for Real Estate”
I keep getting hits for this, so people must want it explained. Loan Amortization is nothing more than the process of paying the loan off by regular payments over time. Leave it to the experts to come up with a fancy word for an everyday process, eh? A loan which is fully amortized (or fully …
“Trust Deed Incorrect Legal Description” There are all kinds of legal descriptions. Lot, Block and Map, or just Lot and Map, are probably the most common. Sectional portions (Portion A of Section B of Township C, Range D) are probably next most common, followed by “metes and bounds”, and often the two are mixed. Finally, …
Continue reading “Incorrect Legal Descriptions on a Trust Deed”
Somebody asked, “What are my legal options when there’s a change on a good faith estimate.” Short answer: Sign the documents or don’t. Same thing with a Mortgage Loan Disclosure Statement here in California. Neither one means anything binding; that’s why they call the one an estimate. Nonetheless, because there is a perception that they …
Because most loan providers will not guarantee their Federal Good Faith Estimates or California MLDS forms, I’ve been telling folks that the best suggestion (other than doing their loans myself, of course!) that I can give them is apply for a back up loan. But some mortgage loan providers will guarantee their quotes, and this …
