Every so often I run across a reference to a “rate buydown” I don’t like to use them because they don’t benefit the client, but I should explain them, what they are, and how they work. A rate buydown is where for an upfront price, the lender agrees to give you a lowered interest rate …
Category Archives: Mortgages
Practical Examples – Refinance or Prepayment Penalty?
Hi Dan wondering if you could help me out I’m getting a lot of different answers from a lot of people and I’m really searching for help I bought my house brand new (three years ago) for 550,000, and (the next year) I refinanced into a mta loan. which at that time was around 4.25% …
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Loans Not Funded
I got a question about “what does it mean if my loan is not funded after right of rescission?” It likely means your loan provider lied to you, probably from day one. Once you have signed documents, there shouldn’t be anything but procedural matters left. Things that cannot be taken care of earlier. Things like …
When The Loan Underwriter Makes A Mistake
“challenging underwriters mistakes in housing loan paperwork” was a search that I got. You can’t challenge them. Butting heads with an underwriter is stupid and counterproductive. There’s only one person who gets a vote, and it’s not you, whether you are an applicant, processor, or loan officer. The underwriter may not be the original application …
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The Effects of Divorce on Real Estate
The bottom line on this question is always, “Whatever the courts say.” Divorce law is complex, and different from state to state, and even when you think you’ve got a clear message in the law as written, the courts may interpret it differently, or there may be precedent that says otherwise, or even just some …
Legal Late Payments on Your Mortgage
(I have noticed a fair number of hits to this article that, judging by their search query, probably want the article on What Happens When You Can’t Make Your Real Estate Loan Payment instead) I got a question about legal late payments in California. Unfortunately, there really is no such thing as a legal late …
Homesteading and Declaration of Homestead
One topic I haven’t covered yet here is homesteading. This has nothing to do with the Homestead Act of 1862 that encouraged settling the western United States. A declaration of Homestead basically protects your equity. In many cases, you may not even have to file a declaration to receive the benefits, but whether this is …
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Read The Full Note
Just got a search “how can I tell if my prepayment penalty applies to selling my home” Read The Full Note. You need to do this before you sign it. I know that many people are just thinking “Sign this and I get the house!” or “Sign this and I get the money!” but a …
Practical Applications: Credit Cards versus Home Equity Line Of Credit
You raise a lot of issues. Some I’m going to deal with very quickly, others I’m going to spend some effort on, but nothing as in depth as a full article would have. I’m going to keep referring to material found in Credit Reports: What They Are and How They Work I’m going to take …
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Recurring and Nonrecurring Closing Costs
Many people are uncertain as to what closing costs are. Basically, they relate to the costs of doing the transaction. There are people who work on getting your loan through the process of approval and funding, and those people have got to be paid. Anytime you’re talking about a fee for a service that needs …