When pre-qualifying someone for a condo mortgage a loan officer will have to make some assumptions since the potential home buyer does not have a ratified contract on a particular condominium. In those assumptions would be an estimate of what the monthly condominium association fees would be. I personally use $1.00 per thousand of the sales price when I am working up my numbers when prequalifying someone. Read the rest of this entry »
It is very common for realtors to ask a homebuyer who their mortgage loan officer is and where they are located. There is a belief that a lender, and for that matter all the service providers to a real estate transaction, needs to be very local.
Realtors assign some magical powers to a mortgage loan officer who is Read the rest of this entry »
There are many things to consider when you are making an offer on a house. While it may be important to think in advance about movers, painters, budgets, your mortgage, furniture, school districts, utilities, contractors and housewarming parties, when it comes to making an offer there are some key things that can make a difference! Below are some important topics related specifically to the mortgage when you’re getting ready to write up an offer on a home. Read the rest of this entry »
When sellers set an asking price for their home I always imagine big dollar signs in their eyes. Most human beings suffer from wishful thinking and confirmation bias. But how should you price your home: high, low or right at market value? If sellers are underpricing they may hope to sell faster, or hope for a bidding war. Overpricing a home may allow you to get more for your house than what it’s really worth with luck that one buyer loves your home. Underpricing or overpricing your home can be a gamble. And the best thing you can do is come to terms with how much your house is really worth. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, there really is a loan officer in the doughnut at times. What I am talking about is how business referrals are sourced in the mortgage industry. I’m afraid business is still referred the old-fashioned way, not by who earns it, but by who brings the freshest doughnuts to the Realtor office meeting, who picks up the tab at happy hour, who buys your Realtor tickets to the hockey game, and who hangs around the most in the realtor offices. Does this sound like a professional way to analyze a business vendor? Read the rest of this entry »
Every now and again a loan does not make it to closing. Common reasons for this are home inspection issues that cannot be resolved or a condo that cannot be approved. Unfortunately, some of these issues arise and cause a deal to cancel after some services have already been performed and therefore have to be paid for, and this is where debate will sometimes arise. Read the rest of this entry »
Here at Capital Bank Home Loans we have a new dynamic loan application that we use. Being dynamic means that it can potentially verify your assets and income during the application process, allowing you to avoid having to upload any documents. And of course we all love to avoid paperwork!
Does spending more money in the short run save more money in the long run? That may be the case with real estate. When you consider the transaction costs involved in buying and selling real estate, you need to be thinking that you are buying something that you’ll love and will want to stay in, for as long as possible, to avoid repeating the transaction costs too many times over in your life. Let’s make some assumptions below to show you what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »
Often a client will start a mortgage loan conversation with, “I need to get the best rates.” And that often confuses me. What does the “best rates” mean? Does that mean you won’t work with a lender who doesn’t have the very lowest interest rate on the day you are ready to lock-in an interest rate? Does it mean you won’t give any consideration to experience, execution, responsiveness and delivery?
Would most people work with a mortgage lender willing to lose money? Read the rest of this entry »
