Can I get some mortgage advice from someone not trying to sell me a mortgage?

Question

This process is for the birds! Buying first house and I can't get any straight advice.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Go to your local bank and utilize their services as a customer of theirs. You can also engage a Buyers Agent Realtor to help you with these questions...they get paid when you buy the house so they are "investing" in your purchase up front to help you make an informed choice.

Answer 2

1. Go to a bank, not a mortgage company.

2. Make sure you can pay the mortgage off early, by lump sum or by making larger payments, without penalty.

3. with today's interest rates, there is no reason to mess with a variable rate mortgage. Just fixed.

4. Before you sign anything, read everything. You're probably talking about 6 figures of money here.... if the bank can't give you 45 minutes to read through the whole thing, go to another bank. yes, there are 20-30 pages there, but read it all, take notes, and have someone explain EVERYTHING to you. (take a pen and a notepad with you, with some questions written down to ask, and take notes as you are talking to them).

5. Remember, you are better to get turned down for a mortgage than to sign a mortgage that turns into a deathtrap for you.

6. Look at the interest rate, the amount of principal, not just the monthly payment.

7. Do NOT have anything to do with interest-only loans.

8. Do NOT have a mortgage that increases the monthly payment after a while. ONLY sign a mortgage that has the same payment for the life of the loan. Some tease you in with a low payment for the first year or two, but then raise the payment way up later.

9. Remember, the mortgage payment is only PART of the cost of owning a house. Your monthly budget should allow you to make one-and-a-half times your mortgage payment every month. You'll be needing at least this much to cover things like insurance, maintenance, repairs, taxes, etc. (A great idea is to deposit half the amount of your mortgage payment int a savings account each month when you pay your mortgage. Then the savings account balance is NOT used for anything other than repairs for the home)

10. Not so much a mortgage tip but a home-buyer tip - NEVER buy a house, sign any paperwork, or even write an offer without having IN WRITING that it is conditional upon a professional home inspection. Forget how much your brother, cousin, Father-in-law, neighbor, buddy, or co-worker claims to know. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have a professionally licensed home inspector inspect the home. There are thousands of horror stories every day that could be prevented if the home would have been inspected first.

Answer 3

Sure! In my opinion, you should get a fixed interest rate mortgage and put as much down as you can (let's say 10%). The more you put down, the less you will owe in the future. Now, the reason you should go for a fixed interest rate and not a variable rate mortgage is simple: you don't want to pay more if the interest rates go up, and since interest rates aren't likely to go down enough to justify the risk, stick to the fixed rate.

I'd also recommend staying away from the interest only mortgages. These loans are targeted at "flippers" who want the lowest possible monthly payment for the first year. In the current real estate market you won't build up equity in your home, and your payments will increase significantly after the first year.

When getting a mortgage there are brokers and lenders. Brokers are middlemen who, in a perfect world, make lenders compete for your business. LendingTree is a hybrid broker/lender in that it shops out your loan, like a broker, but also lends its own money too.

The reality is that brokers can make more money at your expense. Many brokers have a favorite lender to work with. Sure they'll shop your loan to other banks, but they won't put any effort into it. Then, and this is the pessimistic view, if the lender says that they can offer 7% (I just made this figure up), and the broker tells you 7.3%, lenders will often reward the broker with an additional fee.

The way around this is to either shop your loan to several banks (which can be tedious) or shop your loan to several brokers and make it clear that you're shopping around. That way they'll be forced to give you the best possible deal and you can simply select the best deal out of the group.

Hope that helps and good luck with your first home purchase!

Answer 4

I would suggest you do in fact speak to a mortgage professional. a realtor helps people buy and sell homes and mortgage consultant helps people with the financing of homes. Of course we would want your business that is why we are in this business but at the sametime. there is some of us, like me that beleive in educating a buyer on what is needed. You have to prepare yourself for the mortgage costs, (fees to actully get the loan). Also know the tax payments and mortgage payments. A good mortgage consultant will take the time to explain to you everything in buying your first home and make you and educated first time home buyer. Anyone who doesnt is just trying to get a loan, not help you. Sorry but your question is very vague, ask me whatever you want to know and I will be happy to answer your questions I would only hope that you get a loan with someone who cares

Answer 5

You do not have to be my client to ask me a question about the process. We put a livechat on our website but we also provide alot of info about the process...glossary of terms etc within our site.

It is overwhelming because the less you know the more vulnerable you are. That is the way many mortgage people prefer their clients to be ......... We educate ours.

What specific information are you looking for? You don't state and there is too much to address here.

Those who have the most info regarding the process are likely to be in the business. Hope that doesn't disqualify us from responding.

There are great sites regarding credit/loan issues like
http://www.creditboards.com
but be aware its not only regular people but industry people on there as well.

It might help to segregate the processes in your mind.

The Mortgage Broker = The loan aspects
They are paid upfront....within the loan....or by the sellers via a credit to your closing costs. They are either compensated by an origination fee or a yield spread premium (often referred to as rebate or "on the back end" or paid by the lender or rolled in the loan.
Brokers shop your loan based on your credit scores, debt to income ratio (how much you make as opposed to how much in payments you have going out every month) and loan to value ratio (how much you are borrowing as opposed to how much the property is worth).
The goal is to get you the best program for rate and term and work with you and the realtors to get the documentation necessary to close the loan.

Mortgage Marketing gimmicks.......No cost loans.......there is always a cost regardless of who you use. The right broker will educate the consumer to know what those costs are, how they are paid and will explain those "too good to be true" things clearly. Noone works for free. If you know that, you don't get suckered and you can compare the apples to apples. http://www.aimwithfocus.com/no_closing_cost_loans.html

When you speak with a Mortgage Advisor, they should provide a GFE (good faith estimate) so you have the ability to compare offers. Know what junk fees are. (ex. application fee, Admin or administrative fee, etc.)......

We provide a GFE and go over the charges with clients as there are specific areas on a GFE for the title company charges, lender, prepaid taxes and insurance (taxes are due 2 times a year), etc.

Escrow/Title Co= they will handle documents from the contract to dispursement of lenders funds to all involved and the signing of your documents as well, generally - they are the 3rd party that holds the good faith deposit and they provide a title policy on the property.
Depending where you live and how its done, title companies are regulated the max they can charge...but most compete. Your broker should be using one that is quoting the best fees. Ask if they shop thier title co's.

Sometimes the REaltor chooses the title co. But you can use anyone you wish if you call around and shop their fees.

Realtor =finds and negotiates the term for the sale of the home.......gets paid through the closing of the sale...loan proceeds. Some say the sellers pay the buyers agent or Realtor but you're paying the seller so it's not really a free service now is it. Semantics maybe?

The more the home, the more are realtor gets paid. Know that they are obligated to present your offer even if they think it is too low. They should order inspections and work closely with sellers realtor, you and your broker to meet timelines and preserve your interests. They should tell you about contingencies and how they protect you.

There is far to much info on here to go over. Post a specific question, maybe.

Always willing to answer any questions you may have online. We offer LIVECHAT that you can pop on anytime.

If you don't have reason to or can't trust your Mortgage Broker - find another one. please go to someone who has life experience...not just sells loans. As if you can see your brokers credit report first.......before you trust their financing advice!!

OBA™

Answer 6

http://www.DownPaymentSolutions.com

They don't sell anything.

I highly recommend looking into any and all "First time homebuyer" programs your state may offer.

Arizona has a phenominal first time homebuyer program that many lenders won't bother to mention because they are not on the "Preferred lenders" list.

First time homebuyers in Arizona are being asked to come up with 5% down when they could actually get 5% FREE MONEY if they knew about this program.

Oh, the perils for new home buyer's of going it alone.

Here are the details for Arizona's first time homebuyer program

http://www.welcome2arizona.com/home/first_time_homebuyer/first_time_homebuyer.php

Terry S.

http://www.Welcome2Arizona.com

Answer 7

Well I would hope that the best advice would come from those exxperienced in the field, unfortunately, that would mean that person would probably want your business. But, it certainly is not a requirement that you do business with someone who provides you with accurate usefull advice. If you look at my profile, my site is listed, there is a learning center there that covers many common questions about mortgages. You don't have to speak to anyone to get some answers that way. If you don't find what you need there please do ask me. :) Have a great day.

Answer 8

Top Gun, great movie.

Unless the "talk to me goose" refers to something else...

I digress.

Anyway, there are plenty of folks very knowledgable about mortgages that frequent this forum without spamming for business. There are plenty that will happily spam here for business, and your imbox probably already has some solicitations.

Either modify your question to include what you need to know or post a new question.

Answer 9

What do you want to know?

Try to put down some money -- like 80% -- for the best rate and no mortgage insurance.

Stay away from innovative loans -- stick with a standard fixed rate loan for 15 to 30 years.

Call your local bank, the one with whom you normally trade.

Be sure you know what you're getting before you sign the closing documents. If you sign without understanding your loan, you'll have no one to blame but yourself if it turns out crummy. If you think there's a mistake, or the closer can't explain something you don't understand -- DON'T SIGN. It cannot be fixed later.

Answer 10

There are a number of us on here who will be happy to give you some sound advice and explain the process without soliciting your business. Feel free to email me.

The more you understand the more empowered you will be and the more informed decisions you can make.