Posted on 01/31/2008 7:20:47 AM PST by 4everontheRight
Advice needed - from mortgage brokers to those who have done it themselves
ping
All closing costs are negotiable (except taxes). Title insurance is huge and rates vary widely. Appraisals, lock in fees, closing points, fees, surcharges, etc. must all be looked at.
Look at the BIG pictures of all fees and surcharges. Not just the stated interest rate.
And - NO ADJUSTABLE mortgages with fine print. Go for a 15 or 30 year FIXED.
Read everything twice. Sign nothing until you read it and understand it. Walk away if something seems fishy.
Shop around and get bottom line figures. Closing costs, fees etc. Make them compete for your loan.
Wells Fargo was the best for me.
I’m not a professional, just someone who refinanced twice in recent years. I researched rates of various lenders and then checked what rates were being offered by the current lender. As it turned out, they were very competitive, and we simply refinanced with them. It was very easy, and involved no fees or points. We were happier with our lower rates, and they avoided losing a family with known payment history. I’ve looked again recently, but our rate is still lower than their current offerings.
Hint: Don’t go to Nigeria...........
Title insurance is a scam and should be against the law.
Unless you are a sub-prime borrower. In which case--don't read anything. Sign everything. Be surprised in two years when your monthly payment doubles. Then, blame the government and wait for a liberal democrat or a liberal republican to bail you out.
No kidding - but try getting a mortgage without it...
Also, be adamant and stick to your guns with a refusal to pay fees for early payoff of the loan.
I’ve heard countless stories of this being slipped into the contract at closing and pressure being put onto the buyer to sign it.
Think free or die is correct.
Tell your current lender what your intentions are. A lot of times thet will refi for nothing or near nothing, if they know they are about to lose your business. Assuming you have a good payment history.
A credit union CAN be a great resource, and they can be tough competition to me, a broker.
However, each credit union is different and they oftentimes only do equity lines/second mortgages, it really depends who it is. Some do traditional mortgages as well. If you have access to one, definitely ask them.
A good broker or bank/credit union loan officer will listen to what you want but will also give his/her educated opinion on what you say you want, show you why something may or may not be better, and give you a couple options (30y, 15y, ARM, whatever) based on what you say your goals are. The key, though, is the loan officer will educate you to allow you to make your own decision.
Rates are important, as are fees and closing costs, but you have to consider both the short-term and long term of the loan - if you don’t think you’ll refinance again for a while, you’re better off to pay more points and take a lower interest rate in the long-term...if you are more likely to sell/refi/whatever in under 3-5 years (depending on your own situation, a good loan officer helps you figure this out) then go with a lower closing costs option with a slightly higher interest rate.
I did ask my credit union about their mortgages. Their rates are about the same as the next guys but the woman I spoke with basically told me that my closing costs would run between 2%-3% of the loan...does that sound about right?
Another question...ok...so I fill out apps first to get the good faith estimate or how do I go about getting this information first?
That’s pretty sound.
Keep in mind one small error...I am a broker and I have no control over the appraiser’s fee - he’s independent of me! You can often find another appraiser, but the $50 you’ll save doing that is easier to save in other ways honestly.
Title insurance is what it is, it’s basically a per-state thing, you can, however, get a “reissue” rate on title insurance - where they don’t charge for a new policy on the full loan amount, they simply reissue the existing policy and add to it any increase (if any) in the loan amount - it usually saves a couple hundred bucks.
I know what it does, but I’ve never once seen a “claim” on title insurance.
However, aside from an equity loan, you ain’t getting a loan without it.
Have you tried your credit union? They may have an adjustable rate, but IMHO, they are more trustworthy than many lenders.
Unless you’re taking a subprime loan or a few types of ARM’s, there’s no real reason to do a prepayment penalty. On subprime loans, and some ARMs it makes a big enough difference to the interest rate to be worth considering, and weighing the pros and cons.
But for fixed-rate conventional A-paper and FHA, if someone IS trying to get you a prepay penalty, find out why and what the alternative is...usually it’s not something you have to do.
As previously posted, shop around. I ended up staying with my original mortgage company. They agreed to refi a 30 year (five years in) at 7.125 fixed to 15 year 4.5 fixed--no points paid--rather than lose my business.
I used my original title company for the closing--and it saved a bundle on title costs.
Otherwise, a lot depends on how much time you have left on your original mortage, and how long you intend to stay in your home. There are plenty of calculators and article on the internet to chomp numbers.
BTTT,
Never buy the stuff you are throwing money away.
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