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Message
Home Mortgage Questions
Posted on 2/19/15 at 10:53 pm
Posted on 2/19/15 at 10:53 pm
I will be mortgage shopping soon and am looking for some tips. There was nothing that I saw in the FAQ thread, but feel free to link something if I missed it.
It has been a while since I shopped for a home loan, and life is too busy right now to just sit down and spend a lot of time researching like I would typically do.
Is there any advantage to using a mortgage broker? Anything to watch out for in terms of things that could affect credit score? Tips on pre-approval (how much to get, locking interest rates, etc)?
Our current house is paid off, and we are looking to upgrade to a larger house to accommodate the growing family. The new loan will be on the order 1-1.5x base salary, and we will be putting a lot down, in case that affects type of loan or strategies for getting the best rate.
Thanks for any help!
It has been a while since I shopped for a home loan, and life is too busy right now to just sit down and spend a lot of time researching like I would typically do.
Is there any advantage to using a mortgage broker? Anything to watch out for in terms of things that could affect credit score? Tips on pre-approval (how much to get, locking interest rates, etc)?
Our current house is paid off, and we are looking to upgrade to a larger house to accommodate the growing family. The new loan will be on the order 1-1.5x base salary, and we will be putting a lot down, in case that affects type of loan or strategies for getting the best rate.
Thanks for any help!
Posted on 2/20/15 at 7:44 am to Bayou Tiger
If
then there IS an
You might pay a little bit more in fees, but they have the ability to rate shop at many different financial arms. You can always come back here and paste the fees for the MT mortgage specialists to let you know if it is high or really reasonable.
I used a lady with SWBC out of Prairieville, but she has since moved to the SWBC office in Killeen, TX. She was very sharp and made the process much easier than it could have been. I got a great rate and the fees were reasonable.
quote:
life is too busy right now to just sit down and spend a lot of time researching
then there IS an
quote:
advantage to using a mortgage broker
You might pay a little bit more in fees, but they have the ability to rate shop at many different financial arms. You can always come back here and paste the fees for the MT mortgage specialists to let you know if it is high or really reasonable.
I used a lady with SWBC out of Prairieville, but she has since moved to the SWBC office in Killeen, TX. She was very sharp and made the process much easier than it could have been. I got a great rate and the fees were reasonable.
Posted on 2/20/15 at 7:48 am to Bayou Tiger
It's pretty simple to put together a packet of all your personal information then just circulate through a bunch of lenders and they'll give you good faith estimates. Pick the best one.
Posted on 2/20/15 at 8:38 am to Bayou Tiger
We are going through the process currently. Last time I bought a house was in 2005, and the amount of paperwork and verification they need today compared to 2005 is intense. In 2005 I bought a house worth 3x my income using nothing but a job offer letter. Today, they've asked for everything but a urine sample.
If you can pay 20 percent down, you can avoid PMI, so I would try to do that if you can.
We used a broker, and I have not been impressed, but I am too far down the road to start over. But I think this is just this particular broker, which is upsetting because several people I know recommended the broker.
We got pre-approved by the same broker, which turned out to be completely useless. They pretty much re-underwrote everything again, asked for all new documentation, etc. We purchased less than our pre-approved amount, and still it doesn't matter. Also, apparently, our pre-approval didn't account for required flood insurance, which is stunning to me considering we live in S. Louisiana, and they have used that as the reason we needed to get approved all over again.
Also, the appraisal process is much slower this time around.
You look to be in a good situation, so you should be fine, but just know that banks are a lot more diligent these days.
If you can pay 20 percent down, you can avoid PMI, so I would try to do that if you can.
We used a broker, and I have not been impressed, but I am too far down the road to start over. But I think this is just this particular broker, which is upsetting because several people I know recommended the broker.
We got pre-approved by the same broker, which turned out to be completely useless. They pretty much re-underwrote everything again, asked for all new documentation, etc. We purchased less than our pre-approved amount, and still it doesn't matter. Also, apparently, our pre-approval didn't account for required flood insurance, which is stunning to me considering we live in S. Louisiana, and they have used that as the reason we needed to get approved all over again.
Also, the appraisal process is much slower this time around.
You look to be in a good situation, so you should be fine, but just know that banks are a lot more diligent these days.
Posted on 2/20/15 at 2:37 pm to LSUFanHouston
quote:
If you can pay 20 percent down, you can avoid PMI, so I would try to do that if you can.
You can actually avoid PMI with less depending on lender. I've got one with an 85/15 no PMI. And that's on conventional loans. On FHA there is no avoiding PMI, even with 90% down but it did just drop to .85%
Posted on 2/20/15 at 3:23 pm to ItNeverRains
quote:
I've got one with an 85/15 no PMI.
Did you have to pay a premium in points or interest rate?
Posted on 2/20/15 at 4:18 pm to LSUFanHouston
Think it might be 1/8. Haven't had a client use it yet. Most qualify conv. and if they don't have 20% just finance PMI into loan.
Edit - to clarify I have a lender who offers this, I'm an agent
Edit - to clarify I have a lender who offers this, I'm an agent
This post was edited on 2/20/15 at 4:19 pm
Posted on 2/21/15 at 7:23 am to mglsu21
How much does it cost to use a mortgage broker? I would pay a couple hundred dollars for that, but if it was an extra percent interest or a thousand dollars then I would feel obligated to do it myself.
Posted on 2/21/15 at 11:18 am to Bayou Tiger
Doesn't cost you anything out of pocket . They'll make $ by spread, fees, or % of loan package. That $ will be financed into loan somewhere between 2-4% over 3-30 years.
Posted on 2/21/15 at 11:33 am to ItNeverRains
Money that is not Out of Pocket still counts as real money to me. Do you have a feel for what percent spread, percent of loan, or flat fee is typical?
Posted on 2/21/15 at 12:22 pm to Bayou Tiger
I locked in a rate of 3.875 with 5% down on a $225k purchase price and "no pmi" a couple weeks ago. Basically it's lender paid PMI. The rate would have been 3.625 with a monthly PMI of about $100 otherwise. This is a conventional loan, and other than the rate increase there was no additional cost. I was happy with the $60 something dollars in monthly savings, and while PMI could have eventually be removed down the road, I probably won't be there long enough for this to have come into play. I have enough to put down 20% but don't see the value in that personally.
Posted on 2/21/15 at 4:40 pm to Bayou Tiger
quote:
Home Mortgage Questions
Money that is not Out of Pocket still counts as real money to me. Do you have a feel for what percent spread, percent of loan, or flat fee is typical?
1-2 max % of loan amount Id guess. So assuming 400k loan financed over 30 years at 3.75% about $18-$30 a month
Posted on 2/21/15 at 10:10 pm to ItNeverRains
quote:Or also stated as $4000-8000 for the same loan.
1-2 max % of loan amount Id guess. So assuming 400k loan financed over 30 years at 3.75% about $18-$30 a month
Thanks for the heads up. I guess I will plan on spending a few hours calling around and finding the best deal instead of paying somebody else thousands of dollars to do that.
This post was edited on 2/21/15 at 10:12 pm
Posted on 2/22/15 at 4:47 am to Bayou Tiger
quote:
Home Mortgage Questions quote: 1-2 max % of loan amount Id guess. So assuming 400k loan financed over 30 years at 3.75% about $18-$30 a month Or also stated as $4000-8000 for the same loan. Thanks for the heads up. I guess I will plan on spending a few hours calling around and finding the best deal instead of paying somebody else thousands of dollars to do that.
I'd do both. Do you care what someone makes off your deal if at the end of the day they get you the best deal out there? It happens quite often that way
You simply don't have the resources or relationships to compete with the network of lenders they have.
This post was edited on 2/22/15 at 4:48 am
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