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Joanne Said:

i have just bought a house and got a letter from my mortgage lender..?

We Answered:

Call them and check, but I think the point is they want you to send a check for the first month, and they'll use automatic deductions for months after that. Your first month is cheaper because it's only a partial month - you said you bought the house 4 days into the month? That's why it's lower.

I think you just mail that one check and they take care of it after that. But call and check with them.

April Said:

Wills and probate and solicitors?

We Answered:

As long as there is enough money left to pay all of the relevant taxes and the legacies to the other beneficiaries under the Will then yes, part of the money can be released early. However, a solicitor administering an estate has a duty to act in good faith and so whether or not they will release money to you will be entirely dependant on the exact situation of both yourself and the other beneficiaries under the Will. It may be that it wouldn't be fair to the other beneficiaries to give you an advance. You must also bear in mind that the solicitor must have instructions from the executors that monies are to be released to you or to the mortgage lender (yes, that can be done as well).

Martha Said:

Would it be wise for the government to bail out those stupid people that took advantage of sub prime loans?

We Answered:

No. we would be bailing out the lenders, not those who have lost their homes.

Eva Said:

Who Can Foreclose On theSubprime Loans?

We Answered:

That entire story has been blown out of proportion. What Deutsche encountered was a paperwork snafu. All Deutsche needs to do is correct the snafu and then file the foreclosure action at a later date.

Sorry, but this ain't gonna turn into a free ride for all those subprime loan borrowers. It's going to give them a month or two before the hammer falls, but it's still going to fall.

Nicole Said:

mortgage broker vs. lender?

We Answered:

This is a great question and the answer isn't the easiest to explain. The short answer is that direct lenders actually give you the money you borrow and brokers set up the loan for a direct lender to then give you the money you borrow. Does that make sense?

I work for Quicken Loans. We are a direct lender.

Think of brokers as middlemen between you and a direct lender. Brokers act as marketers and sales people between mortgage customers and lenders. Brokers can almost be considered a private sales force for direct mortgage lenders.

Both can gather information on your financial situation in order to determine whether to lend money to you. And both can help you better understand the mortgage process and clarify any legal disclosures to you. However, there are some basic differences between mortgage brokers and direct lenders that you should be aware of.

Mortgage brokers may represent several lending sources as opposed to direct lenders who are a single lending source. Brokers act as intermediaries between you and several lenders. While this may be helpful if you would rather shop around for different lenders through a "liaison," there may be some downsides to using a broker. Dealing with an intermediary can increase the time it takes to close your loan as well as have other drawbacks.

Direct lenders are typically licensed to lend funds in all 50 states whereas brokers may only be licensed in a handful of states. This can become problematic if the property you're buying is in a state the broker is not licensed in. In this case, it may be easier to go with a direct lender.

Plus, brokers are subject to the guidelines of the lenders they work with, so it may not necessarily be easier to go with a broker over a direct lender. In fact, a direct lender may be a bit more flexible since they are the ones who set their own guidelines--they may be able to waive certain guidelines at their discretion in order to gain your business. A broker cannot do this without permission from the lender.

All lenders must charge certain fees and costs for processing the loan. But in order for a broker to make money, they have to charge more because they are the ones doing the work for you. This means you're paying the broker's fees on top of the lender's fees, so it may be more expensive to go with a broker. It's akin to having to make an improvement or repair on your home--it's going to be more expensive for you to hire a contractor than it would be for you to do it yourself because you’re not only paying for the materials, you’re paying for the labor.

I've included a link to the Quicken Loans website below and please feel free to contact me through my profile if you need more information.

Brian Said:

Bank of America or Direct Lender for a conventional loan?

We Answered:

What do you mean by a direct lender? A mortgage company? They can't do anything for you that your bank can't do. Call your local banking center and ask them. Some areas have loan offices where they don't do any other bank office. You can also call BOA at this number: 888.233.4124.

Look at interest rate, points, and APR (but don't get crazy over APR, it's not nearly as important as people think it is). As about origination fee, closing costs, rates for 30 year fixed (don't get anything else; fixed rates are so low that it would be foolish to get something else), and before you give them your credit card number to the origination or app fee, find out the time frame to close. When you're refinancing, missing the closing date is mostly annoying but if you're purchasing it's very important.

If you were going to buy a new toaster oven, you'd shop around. This is probably the biggest purchase you'll ever make.

Ellen Said:

Mortgage Rages - Negotiation?

We Answered:

Here's my advice. - You have 8 months to implement this plan. Let's get busy.

If you have an ARM it was because you did not have stellar credit. Fix that now! Eat, sleep and breath getting your credit score up. Get you credit cards paid off if you can. If you can't get them below 30% of their limits. Do not generate a lot of inquiries on your credit report. Opt-out of pre-approved credit cards. If you have no credit cards. Get some. Even a secured card if used wisely will boost your scores. Get with a mortgage broker that has "score wizard" or "what-if". If they don't know what your talking about move on to the next one. Do not waste any time with a broker that does not know what those are. Once you find one he'll know what to do with you. Using these tools I have helped people boost their credit scores by more than 100 points in less than a year.

You probably also got 100% financing. If so, save every dime you can get your hands on. Get a second job, borrow from family, sell your crap on ebay. At a minimum get enough money to at least pay closing costs. If you can manage to come up with 10-20% of the loan value even better. You also want some money in reserve (liquid assets, savings account, cd, etc) at the time of applying for the loan.

Next, if you can afford it, improve your home. Update the kitchen and bath. Paint and carpet. Add a deck. Do what ever you can afford to improve the value of the home.

Loans are based on your willingness to pay (your credit) and your ability to pay (your income and reserves) and the value of the home. The higher your credit and the lower your LTV (loan to value) the better loan you'll qualify for.

Face it, you got a bad loan. Like it or not it's your fault. You're an adult and I assume you can read. It's your responsibility to read your loan doc's and the terms are spelled out in very plain English. You just didn't read them or ask questions. Forget wasting your time trying to renegotiate with your lender. I negotiate with lenders everyday...it's what I do. It's not for the faint of heart. It takes time, patience, and it's frustrating. Bite the bullet, pay the prepayment penalty, pay the closing costs, get a new loan and learn from your mistakes.

In 8 months you can improve your credit and financial situation dramatically. If you set your mind to it, develop a plan and stick to it. Then at least one month before your loan adjusts refinance out of that bad boy into a new fixed rate mortgage that you can live with the rest of your life.

Or, do like 10% of America. Blame it on someone else and walk away and let the bank foreclose. You can always get another house 2 years later. (sarcasm)