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Terri Said:

What is the best mortgage? which bank/ lender is most interesting a the moment?

We Answered:

i used supreme lending, LINDA SIVY, these people MADE a loan for me, i had a7.49 ARM that shot up to 10.49 at the end of the 2 yrs, linda and shari, her boss got me a 6.25 percent loan and not only that they explained everything to me in ways that made me feel like I HAD been doing this stuff for years!!!! and not only that they found a nice enough loan to pay off my 20 thous owed on my car at 13 percent , also at the 6.25 percent and they found a way to get NO PRE PAY PENALTIES, a cash out loan! in tx. pre pay penalties arent allowed on cash out loans! it was the best 20 min phone call i ever made, granted it took more than just 20 mins but that was the initial call that started it all, and they even took 3 credit cards i owed a lot on at 23 percent and threw them into my 6.25 percent loan also, i am skipping a month of payments, about 1700.00, plus the payments to follow will only be 1200.00 which saves me 500 a month, i cant praise her enough....

Kristin Said:

What is best bank or mortgage company for home loan?

We Answered:

Most lenders/banks have the same mortgage products, your ability to get a mortgage loan will be hinged on your credit score and your ability to purchase a house.

In order to find out the type of loan programs you are qualified for you will have to fill out a loan application, with a mortgage broker, which you can find one in your local telephone book.

Make sure this mortgage broker or mortgage banker is able to do government loans such as FHA and VA loans if you qualify for one.

He will fill out this application, which takes awhile so grab your favorite beverage and sit down. Once you have completed the application, he will run your credit report which will have your credit scores. These credit scores will determine your interest rate.

The amount of your monthly debt payments you are required to pay as per your credit report and the amount of mortgage you can take on based on your income will determine the amount of house you will be able to purchase.

When you speak with the mortgage broker you will need the following documents to complete the loan application, there will be others, but this will get you started.

#1 One month of pay stubs for each person that will be on the mortgage.

#2 Six months bank statements from each bank in which you bank as well as statements from any 401K from you place of employment.

#3 Two years of federal income tax along with the W-2 that match.

Once he has all that he need to do he can then issue you a pre-approval letter so you can purchase a home. In this pre-approval letter will be the amount of house you are qualified to purchased.

Once he gives you this pre-approval you may now find a real estate agent to find yourself a home or he might have a referral.

Now make sure before you get your pre-approval you and your mortgage broker go over all your options as to the mortgage programs you qualify for, the interest rate, monthly payments.

If you are getting a FHA, fixed rate, two loans to eliminate PMI like an 80/20 or one loan, if you are qualified for and approved for a 100% loan.

You should select the loan that best suit your financial condition at the time. That could be an adjustable rate loan. It could be a fixed rate loan for 5 or 10 years and then adjust. Some adjustable rate mortgages only adjust once.

Make sure your mortgage broker explain all your options so you may make an intelligent decision.

What might be good for one person might not be good for you, in other words just because your friends and all your real estate buddies are telling you about the great fixed rate they got, your financial situation might call for something else.

So select the best option for you and your financial situation.

You should also get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) which will indicate the cost you will have to pay for getting this loan. It will also indicate the amount of your down payment.

Once you have found a home the real estate agent will then prepare a contract for you and the seller to sign.

Your mortgage broker will now order an appraisal to show proof of the property value.

The mortgage broker might ask for additional information or documentation, don't get all up tight this is normal, just supply the information or find the documents needed.

After the appraisal has been completed you will be called by your mortgage broker to sign your loan docs so you can take possession of your new home.

Before signing any loan docs make sure they say exactly what you and your mortgage broker went over when you decided on what mortgage program was best for you.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck

"FIGHT ON"

Walter Said:

Does the bank where I have been maintaining good account from 8 yrs will give be best rate for my mortgage ?

We Answered:

I'd like to think it would work that way, but it doesn't. In most banks they are completely unrelated departments and they don't talk to each other. You would be better served by shopping around for the best deal for you and if happens to be from your bank, so be it, but it likely won't be with the same bank.

good luck!

Johnnie Said:

What are the best banks for first-time homebuyers to use for getting a mortgage?

We Answered:

oh no! not another of my long, drawn out answers, again! but:

good for you! please go to the aarp.com site to see how buying a home is THE way to build wealth in the united states. buy for location, location, location.

i'm surprised that nobody mentioned that a Realtor (r) can advise you which lenders she has personally closed deals with in the past year or so. depending on your circumstances, she will explain why she recommends one over another.

another great source is your credit union, if you have one.

some municipalities offer affordable housing programs for first time buyers, whereby they may allot so many percent of the purchase price (2-3% maybe) so that your downpayment would be higher than is usual these days--what with so much debt that we allow ourselves to live with--for first time buyers, which many times is from 0-5%. sure, you'd probably have to pay that back, but they would make it easy on you.

your own bank is a great source of mortgage funding, if it is not strictly a commercial bank. your proven track record of not bouncing checks, putting a little aside here and there, will help you. ask first what they charge for a mortgage, at what interest rate, and how much they charge for "points" for that rate. a point is one percent of the loan balance after your downstroke. so if the house costs $200,000 and you put 10% down (i'd try to put 20% down to avoid private mortgage insurance, a/k/a PMI), your mortgage balance would then be $180,000 and one point is then $1,800. (one point will also "buydown" your rate by 1/8 of a percent. so then, if competitive 30 year fixed rates with zero points are now running, per the newspaper or via the internet sites that show you competitive rates, 6 1/8%, you can, or your seller may, pay one point so that you then get the 6% interest rate, which then qualifies you for a higher debt ratio).

i want to tell you what you should avoid: do not be fooled by the lenders that offer something that sounds too good to be true, since it is with THEM. your best bet is to buy a metropolitan area sunday newspaper with a real estate section in it. usually, the 2nd page has a list of the lenders in the area, what the interest rate is, what points they charge for the loan, etc. you probably will find one or two of them that charge perhaps 1/16th less than the 4 - 6 lenders that charge the same rate. do you want to know that happens if you go with them?

after you supply them with the evidence of employment, pay stubs, bank statements, etc., etc., etc., (that they use to write up the really important "preapproval letter"), they will lock you in for a given number of days, perhaps 90, to go out and get a contract for a house with that rate, etc. now then, just wait:

here you are, one week away from the closing date. the seller is going to buy another place and move in: his contract is signed and his mortgage is on the line too. so he is counting his sales proceeds, isn't he? and you have called the movers, put all your stuff into boxes, called the utility companies, purchased the homeowner's insurance policy, etc., etc., etc., preparing to close on the date stated in the contract, right? so your lender NOW tells you that to give you the mortgage, they need:

the past 10 years' income tax returns;

the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of each and every single landlord that you and your husband had for the past 10 years;

all of your combined pay stubs for the past 10 years;

a list of simply EVERYONE that ever supervised you and your husband on the job over the past 10 years, as well as:

every trick in the book they can think of to prevent them from giving you THAT loan (which they found, btw, via portfolio lenders),

since:

what lender or bank do you know whose primary business it is to NOT make as much money as it can, any legal way it can? you know of one please call me NOW!

yes, they can close you on the closing date without all this BS documentation, but the interest rate or points will go up, not down. and so...

i have only known in all my career of ONE married couple that EVER did obtain that loan, but they knew exactly what would happen towards the closing date, and they were prepared.

so, go with the lender of your choice that is amongst those that have competitive rates and fees!

service? well, my favorite loan officers or loan brokers (that can get really interesting mortgages if you are in a strange situation, say, with old debts), were always those that would offer to come to your house, after work, with their calculator and mortgage package information, to discuss all of your finances and debts with you so that they could then write you up that very, very important "preapproval letter," not a verbal prequalification. these are usually the veterans in the biz, and they sure know what they are doing! and they know all about the different loan packages and can give you honest pros and cons of that huge variety of different mortgage loans. you will get, in the mail, a "truth in lending" statement after they have given you the preapproval letter. the letter states the amount of mortgage they will give you for how many days, at what rate, etc., etc., etc.

i say that you really need that because the good buys always sell fast. always. it doesn't matter if it's now a buyer's market: the ones that are priced to sell for their location, location, location and their condition sell, sell, sell. so that is why you may have to insist that your Realtor (r) present a copy of that letter with your offer, which, of course, if you really want the place and others do at the same time, you will also tender a check not for an initial earnest money deposit of only a grand, but for the full amount of earnest money that will be placed into a guarded escrow account by the listing broker.

i cannot state more strongly than i will state now, and as i have so many times in the past: once you are over the lending hurdle, find yourselves a competent, experienced (in your market area), knowledgable buyer's broker/agent. you do not have to pay a penny for it, the seller will pay the commission, out of which she will get paid. then stick with her and do not be disloyal, walking into an open house or into one of those "by owner" places without stating that you have a buyer's broker, so that all the hard work she does on your behalf yields her some income to live off of. ask how agents get paid.

how you find a good buyer's agent/broker: drive around the areas you like and can afford (you call the number on the sign and ask how much it is). then ask if they represent buyers. i'm sure the best of the best do. do not go into the office to see only the "top" producers that make ten billion a year and have 25 telephones and fax numbers. get a nice person that is willing to sit with you, after you have learned how much you can spend, to determine first what your NEEDS are, and then your wants. don't go to see a house on a sign until after you have found a buyer's broker, then go with her. unless: offers are already coming in. then go see it and have a blank check with you. i am dead serious. do not be afraid: the best of the best buyer's agents listen so well to you and then tailor suit the searches they do for you so very well that it could be that the very first house you see is the one that is "for you." then, do not be afraid to make an offer. get it, if you can.

yes, my verbosity is going to kill my wrists, but i have this empathy for first time buyers: i love that you are going to be doing one of the best things you ever did for yourselves in your whole lives! so i am so sorry this is so long, but it is my best advice.

AGENCY means that YOUR interests come way ahead of the interests of the Realtor (r), i.e., the bag of money at the closing. ask for her explanation of agency and of dual agency too. that is the one quality you owe to yourselves, to get someone that really, really gives a darn about YOU, since it is YOUR money, not hers.

happy house! happy home!

Armando Said:

Who are the best home builders on the market today? What about mortgage lenders and banks?

We Answered:

Your best bet is to visit a local mortgage broker. If your credit is shaky they have more options. If your credit is great, they will compete as much as they can with your local bank on rate and fees.

Check out my new blog on mortgage brokers: http://explaintome.blogspot.com

Elsie Said:

Which banks out there have the best mortgage plan for a first time home buyer?

We Answered:

You need to do your own research. Do not contact anyone on this forum. Call some Mortgage Bankers along with a bank or two. Tell them you want a Good Faith Estimate & Truth In Lending. Compare them but also let your gut feeling weigh in on it too. Feel comfortable with your loan officer. Remember that rate isn't everything. Look at the costs & it is not always advisable to pay any points to get a lower rate. Ask your LO to work up figures. It may take years to make up what you pay at closing.

Good luck.