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Tips & Advice on Choosing an E-Lender/BrokerWHAT TO AVOID - WHAT TO LOOK FOR!• E-Lenders/Brokers who are solely web-based. These include mortgage sites that promise you three to four quotes on your loan. • Lenders that will not give you their loan officer's last name, cell phone or home phone number. Many companies pass your loan from person to person. This can lead to numerous problems and miscommunications. You want to work with one loan officer from start to finish. You are entitled to know how to reach the loan officer to discuss your financial matters and to answer any questions that you may have. This includes after hours and on the weekend. Make sure you obtain their phone numbers and email address • Check your Lender's Performance Record. Take the time to check out the Lender/Broker that you have chosen. This is easily done by contacting your local Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) or your states Department of Financial Institutions. You want to make sure the company you choose is authorized and properly licensed to do business in that state: http://www.bankersonline.com/sbd.html • OUT of State Lenders/Brokers. Most Lenders/Brokers do business in more than one state (check and see if they are licensed – see above). Should you be concerned? Where the Lender/Broker is located should not pose any problems for the borrower. The majority of mortgage business is done by email, fax, and over-night delivery. Appraisers, title companies, and loan processors are familiar with local conditions and applicable situations. • “Good Faith Estimate (GFE)”- make sure you receive an accurate GFE within 3 business days of the loan officer taking your application. The easiest and most concise way for you to know what you are being charged and what your payments will be are the GFE and the Truth and Lending Statements (TIL). If you do not receive these in a timely manner, find another Lender/Broker. Take the time to go over the GFE in detail. If there is an item on the GFE or TIL that you don't understand or feel is inaccurate, ask questions. If you still don't understand, ask again. If a loan officer talks in ‘mortgagease', find another loan officer. Remember, things change and when they change your Lender/Broker should re-disclose and issue a new GFE and TIL. Insist that you have a copy of the closing statement (HUD Settlement Statement) well before the actual closing. There are circumstances that can sometimes make it impossible to obtain a copy of the closing statement before the closing. In that event, you have 3 business days to go over the signed paperwork in detail and if you are not satisfied, you may rescind (cancel) the loan. This is the time to review what you were promised and what was actually delivered. If something is not right or to your liking, talk to the loan officer and/or his boss. Still not happy – rescind! Don't worry, they will be more than happy to still do the loan and start the process over. • Understanding Fees. One practice to look for on Good Faith Estimates is the practice of underestimating fees. Areas of concern are the prepaid costs (Interest per diem (day), real estate tax pro-rations, insurance pro-rations). If these are understated initially, it looks like you are either receiving more money from the refinance or bringing less money to the closing if the transaction is a purchase. Since no one knows for sure when the transaction will actually close, the pro-rations on the initial application should be based on 15 days (this is a middle of the road approach). If the loan officer has understated these dollar amounts, you may find him trying to blame the final Lender rather than taking the blame himself. • Real Estate Agents like to use their in-house mortgage companies. Many real estate agents and companies have their own mortgage companies. Besides wanting your business so they can make a profit, they want to control the transaction. They are concerned about any outsiders looking at the real estate transaction itself and finding reasons why it might not be in your best interest. In addition, their primary goal is seeing that the real estate transaction is consummated; not necessarily if you are receiving the loan that is right for your circumstances. Suggestion: competition is great - obtain a quote from their company then obtain a quote from another Lender/Broker. Make sure however, that each company is quoting the exact same product – loan amount, rate, term, prepayment penalty (if applicable), etc. • Rates Change - Should They? You are promised a rate on the 1st of the month and by the 15th of the month you receive a phone call that the rates have changed and it's for the worse. Rates change and that is a fact of the mortgage loan world. You need to know what you can do to protect yourself. First, when you are quoted a rate remember that rate is quoted for that moment in time only and is based on information known at that moment in time. When the time changes or if the information changes, the rates can also change! In order to protect yourself you need to see if you can lock the rate and/or how long the rate is guaranteed to be available to you. Always make sure you have what has been promised to you in writing. Not all companies will issue a written rate guarantee; look for one that will issue such a guarantee. • For more information on the mortgage process go to: http://mfusanational.com/loan_process.asp • As a Borrower/Consumer you are entitled to the following: • Accurate Estimates of Closing Costs and Fees • Honest and Understandable Explanations • Loan Officers that communicate with you on a regular basis • No pressure - No Stress • Time Frames that are met in a timely manner • Phone numbers, Cell phone numbers, Home Phone Numbers • What was promised at the beginning is delivered at the end! About the author: The e-mortgage man is the owner of a regional mortgage company and has owned and operated 5 very succesful mortgage companies over the last 10 years. HTTP://mfusanational.com Circulated by Article Emporium Real Estate Inspection - Do It Yourself Why should you do your own real estate inspection? To get a better deal. It isn't necessary to learn building codes, and you probably should use a professional inspector in any case. The point of learning what to look for is to have negotiating points. Home Inspection Chec... 13 Extra Costs to be Aware of Before Buying a Home Whether you're looking to buy your first home, or trading up to a larger one, there are many costs - on top of the purchase price - that you must figure into your calculation of affordability. These extra fees, such as taxes and other additional costs, could surprise you with an un... The Right Time to Buy Your First Home There are many real estate market forecasts and predictions available - however the bottom line is that if you want to buy your first home—there is no wrong time. This is because the motivation to buy is not determined by regional market conditions or by location, but rather by yo... How to Create a Simple Real Estate Business Plan Becoming a full time property rehabber is actually a very easy process. So why do so many investors get it wrong, or even worse, do nothing? Simple: NO BUSINESS PLAN! Make no mistake about it: This is a business!. If you invest time and capital with the aim of... Tips & Advice on Choosing an E-Lender/Broker WHAT TO AVOID - WHAT TO LOOK FOR! • E-Lenders/Brokers who are solely web-based. These include mortgage sites that promise you three to four quotes on your loan. • Lenders that will not give you their loan officer's last name, cell phone or home phone number. ... Sell Your Real Estate Notes People sell real estate notes to raise cash quickly. A real estate note is just the loan document created when you financed the sale of your house or investment property. It could be a mortgage note, or a land-contract or contract-for-sale. The point is that the buyer is making pay... Real Estate Investor Question: Rehab and Sell, or Rehab and Keep? Here's another awesome question I received from my discussion board. The question; Why bother keeping property after it's rehabbed? Why not sell it after the rehab and GET PAID! Of course, the first questions that you must answer is how emergent is your need for quick ca... Protective Covenants – Buying Land or Homes In addition to zoning, some properties have covenants recorded at the courthouse that “run with the land.” These “protective covenants” can put a serious pinch in your plans for a piece of property. Protective Covenants A protective covenant remains in effect as... Selling Your Home – What Can Go Wrong With Pricing and Loans So, you're selling your home (house, townhouse, condo, apartment, land, lot, farm, ranch, etc.), what can go wrong? The sad fact is that a lot of things can go wrong. However, don't despair, there are almost as many solutions as problems. In this article, we look at problems rela... Pricing Your Home To Sell When you're selling your own property, whether it's a house, townhouse, condo, apartment, a finished lot, raw land, a farm, a ranch, or whatever, the first thing to get right is the price you ask for it. If you work with a broker, the legwork is done for you. When you work as a F... LIGURIA, MAY 2004. In a small, hill-top village home, overlooking the sea in the Italian region of Liguria, one can find the heartbeat of a vibrant, new, online marketplace, which - up against some of the world's e-shopping giants LIGURIA, MAY 2004. In a small, hill-top village home, overlooking the sea in the Italian region of Liguria, one can find the heartbeat of a vibrant, new, online marketplace, which - up against some of the world's e-shopping giants, like E-Bay and Amazon – is quickly becoming a for... Fix And Flip - A Real Estate Formula Making money with a "fix and flip" property is a great way to make money in real estate. However, it isn't about repairing drywall and planting flowers. It's all about how you do the numbers. People often buy and sell a fixer-upper without a definite plan. They buy a house... Real Estate Appraisal - Do Your Own For single family homes, there are two basic methods used in real estate appraisal. They are replacement cost analysis, and using comparable sales. A third appraisal method, based on capitalization, is used for income properties, and is covered in another article. In figur... Negotiating the Sale of Your Home Negotiating a successful sale of your home requires good communication skills. You must sustain the buyer's interest and trust during the process. Many of our clients have been very experienced negotiators, and from them we have learned that the goal is to reach a “good agreement... Hard Money Lenders -- "No Money Down" The Easy Way Would it help you as a real estate investor to be able to "Close For Cash in Days," even if you're tapped out financially? Hard money lenders are perhaps the best way to get 100% financing with easy qualifying, money for fix- up, and fast closings.
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