Mortgage help please
#46
Re: Mortgage help please
Like Michael said, almost certainly no difference at all. And in fact it is usual for loans to be sold several times during the full life of a 30 year mortgage, and it is quite possible you would never know. I only found out that an "investor" owned my mortgage when I tried to use a government scheme (i.e. was not part of the mortgage contract or otherwise legally enforceable by me) to do a low cost refi.
#47
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Re: Mortgage help please
Like Michael said, almost certainly no difference at all. And in fact it is usual for loans to be sold several times during the full life of a 30 year mortgage, and it is quite possible you would never know. I only found out that an "investor" owned my mortgage when I tried to use a government scheme (i.e. was not part of the mortgage contract or otherwise legally enforceable by me) to do a low cost refi.
#48
Re: Mortgage help please
Yes, the point being that in the UK it doesn't seem to be as much of a hot topic - though it ought to be.
I thought prequal was a relatively firm commitment, subject to nothing undisclosed, skeletons in the closet, unsatisfactory home inspection, big change in buyer finances between prequal and closing etc. Seems they're rather less meaningful than I thought.
I thought prequal was a relatively firm commitment, subject to nothing undisclosed, skeletons in the closet, unsatisfactory home inspection, big change in buyer finances between prequal and closing etc. Seems they're rather less meaningful than I thought.
How much do people tend to offer here, let's say for a house that's been on the market for a month or two, seems to be priced about right, no bidding war, and the market is relatively equal between buyers and sellers? Generally in the UK a buyer would knock maybe 10-15% off the asking price and start from there. I get the feeling the starting offer is closer to the asking price here...?
Also I believe it is easier to compare homes in the US than in the UK so over pricing a home pretty much guarantees that the home won't be sold. Part is because homes are more similar in the US and the other part is everyone has unlimited access to MLS.
Last edited by Michael; Mar 13th 2014 at 6:55 pm.
#49
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Re: Mortgage help please
We bought our first house here in the US August last year.
We used a mortgage broker who helped us through the whole process. We had a 30% deposit waiting in the bank ready to go when we found the right house. With all the pre approval stuff the broker was able to have everything in place for us to close in less than 30 days.
We actually offered over the asking price to secure the house and asked for a quick closing. The area we got the house is a sellers market and we were competing with people with full cash offers. I might add we also did this all without a buyers agent and used this as a bargaining tool with the sellers agent.
Our mortgage is with quickenloans and they have be absolutely fine.
We used a mortgage broker who helped us through the whole process. We had a 30% deposit waiting in the bank ready to go when we found the right house. With all the pre approval stuff the broker was able to have everything in place for us to close in less than 30 days.
We actually offered over the asking price to secure the house and asked for a quick closing. The area we got the house is a sellers market and we were competing with people with full cash offers. I might add we also did this all without a buyers agent and used this as a bargaining tool with the sellers agent.
Our mortgage is with quickenloans and they have be absolutely fine.
#50
Re: Mortgage help please
HARP doesn't work if the investor won't play ball. I don't know what percentage of home owners were affected, but certainly not everyone was able to take advantage.
#52
Re: Mortgage help please
Only with respect to a "HARP" abbreviated refi process. The investor can't stop you going through a "full process" refi, or the nuclear option, of selling the house and redeeming the mortgage.
#53
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Re: Mortgage help please
Seems a silly question to me, but can we get two pre-qualification letters (or whatever format it takes), from two different advisors? Presumably done very close in time to each other in case the credit score takes a hit?
#54
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Re: Mortgage help please
Good luck
#55
Re: Mortgage help please
If you have even half-decent credit and go to reputable banks they will be. Those people who convince themselves that "the banks won't deal (fairly) with me", and go with Joe Bloggs' Independent Mortgage Brokers "because they shop around to get me the best deal", are the ones who get s¢rewed, by Joe Bloggs'.
#56
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Re: Mortgage help please
Thanks. I've seen rebates on Redfin, and some listings where the seller is prepared to pay the buyer's closing costs - though the latter one assumes the seller would be less negotiable on the house price.
Off to see the first adviser in half an hour. Fingers crossed!
Off to see the first adviser in half an hour. Fingers crossed!
#57
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Re: Mortgage help please
90 minutes later - he was in no rush - and we have a letter in our hands, with something more formal in a week or so. He was a little wary of my income, being self employed and somewhat variable, despite the two years tax returns. So we're basing on SWMBO's salary only (being a salaried RN), but this alone is enough to get the kind of house we're looking for.
Only thing he didn't ask for in advance but which I took anyway, and which he thought would be useful, was our current rental agreement and landlord's phone number for verification. We also need to produce a letter of a couple of paragraphs indicating SWMBO's work history given our immigrant status and then her being on maternity leave until getting the current job. Of course, the underwriters could still ask for more.
Our credit scores from the three agencies did vary a bit but Credit Karma was in the ballpark. Only thing the latter did not show was a delinquent payment of $102 which is a reporting error we need to fix. I guess we probably should have got our own reports done prior to the meeting.
Only thing he didn't ask for in advance but which I took anyway, and which he thought would be useful, was our current rental agreement and landlord's phone number for verification. We also need to produce a letter of a couple of paragraphs indicating SWMBO's work history given our immigrant status and then her being on maternity leave until getting the current job. Of course, the underwriters could still ask for more.
Our credit scores from the three agencies did vary a bit but Credit Karma was in the ballpark. Only thing the latter did not show was a delinquent payment of $102 which is a reporting error we need to fix. I guess we probably should have got our own reports done prior to the meeting.
Last edited by GeoffM; Mar 20th 2014 at 9:46 pm.
#58
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Re: Mortgage help please
Okay, another couple for you. Do we (a) try to get the deposit up a couple of percent (single digits! ) or try to lower the credit card utilisation in a late bid for a better credit score? Is it possible to get a better APR at closing than originally guesstimated at prequal? The way things are moving we're looking at closing in May/June.
If it is only the wife on the mortgage, does my score make any difference at all? I notice they've done a hard hit anyway on my score - I would hope they look at scores before they whack them!
If it is only the wife on the mortgage, does my score make any difference at all? I notice they've done a hard hit anyway on my score - I would hope they look at scores before they whack them!
#59
Re: Mortgage help please
IDK about the credit score, but understand there is a difference between the loan and the mortgage. You will both be on the mortgage (deed/title) even if the loan (note) is only in the wifes name.
#60
Re: Mortgage help please
Okay, another couple for you. Do we (a) try to get the deposit up a couple of percent (single digits! ) or try to lower the credit card utilisation in a late bid for a better credit score? Is it possible to get a better APR at closing than originally guesstimated at prequal? The way things are moving we're looking at closing in May/June.
If it is only the wife on the mortgage, does my score make any difference at all? I notice they've done a hard hit anyway on my score - I would hope they look at scores before they whack them!
If it is only the wife on the mortgage, does my score make any difference at all? I notice they've done a hard hit anyway on my score - I would hope they look at scores before they whack them!