There was a rule that was a problem for some mortgage borrowers who had unreimbursed business expenses that they wrote off on their tax returns. Writing off your unreimbursed business expenses is great at tax time because it reduces taxable gross income, but when applying for a mortgage it results in less income being able to be counted towards qualifying. And this obviously creates unforeseen problems. Read the rest of this entry »
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I recently wrote several blogs about the pros and cons of waiving contingencies to make a more aggressive offer in a sellers market. But there are also other ways to make a more aggressive offer I would like to discuss. Some other ways you can get an offer accepted in a competitive environment are based on Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: loan process, loan type, negotiating, sales contract
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I sometimes get asked about waiving one or all contingencies in a real estate contract, to help make for a more aggressive offer in a competitive sellers’ market. The main contingencies in most real estate contracts are the appraisal contingency, the financing contingency, the termite inspection contingency, and the home inspection contingency. I am not a proponent or an opponent of any of these strategies, but simply want to discuss the pros and cons of each, since it is a question I do get. Let me take these one at a time. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: financing, financing contingency, home buying
Posted in credit, Loan Process, Uncategorized | No Comments »
I sometimes get asked about waiving one or all contingencies in a real estate contract, to help make for a more aggressive offer in a competitive sellers’ market. The main contingencies in most real estate contracts are the appraisal contingency, the financing contingency, the termite inspection contingency, and the home inspection contingency. I am not a proponent or an opponent of any of these strategies, but simply want to discuss the pros and cons of each, since it is a question I do get. Let me take these one at a time. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: appraisal, appraisal contingencies
Posted in Appraisal, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Cash reserves are monies that you need to show a mortgage lender that you have leftover after settlement for emergency and for cash cushion, to convince the lender you have some reserves after settlement in case of any issues when transitioning into a new mortgage loan. Obviously underwriting guidelines can change based on loan type and Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cash reserves, loan process, underwriting guidelines
Posted in Loan Process, Uncategorized, Underwriting Rules | No Comments »
I think one thing that causes a lot of problems in life is our perception of time. We all seem to think we have plenty of time to do things, but what we are really doing is justifying our procrastination. We think we have plenty of time to get around to working on our tax filing, the yard work, paying bills, departing to meet friends for dinner, or sending in the paperwork for our loan application. Do we? No. Then what happens? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: loan process
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Sometimes clients think loan officers are robots, almost unimportant, and that all we represent is a set of terms we quote, and treat the mortgage transaction like a commodity. But getting a mortgage is enormously complicated with lots of moving parts. And the type of loan officer you are working with is critical. This includes personality traits like work ethic, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: loan officer
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I recently had a refinance client who got their home appraised for $1,000,000. You would think this would be good news, except that the client was expecting $1.2MM. Uh oh, I guess we didn’t get good news. However, the more important question is, did we get accurate news? In other words, was the appraisal valuation accurate and were the comparable sales used in the appraisal appropriate? This is where the debate started. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: appraisal, comps, loan process, selling your home
Posted in Loan Process, Realtors, Uncategorized | No Comments »
I sometimes have a client tell me they are getting their down payment to buy a new home from some interesting sources. I have had client sell an antique guitar collection on eBay, sell a car, get cash from a suitcase under their bed, and sell an art collection, among many more interesting stories. However, homebuyers need to be aware of what is allowed and what is not allowed. Some sources of down payment are not allowed. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: down payment, loan process
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Everyone likes to think PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) is evil. Everyone likes to think they should not have to pay it, and everyone wants to find a way around paying it. There are ways to work around PMI, but like all things in life, there are trade-offs. A person really needs to look at all the options and trades-offs, and consider how long they think they are likely to spend in their new home. Then everyone needs to consider paying PMI! What do I mean? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Combo loan, interest rate, interest rates, LMPI, loan process, loan types, PMI
Posted in Loan Types, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
