Mortgage Referrals
Advice on where to go to get a mortgage. A borrower can always select a loan provider by throwing a dart at the Yellow Pages. A referral is of value if it raises the probability of a good outcome above that from throwing the dart. The four major sources of referrals are real estate sales agents, other borrowers, Internet referral sites, and builders. Real Estate Sales Agents: Home purchasers accept more referrals from real estate sales agents than from all other sources combined. Sales agent referrals generally are to individual loan officers or brokers, as opposed to firms. An agent with great confidence in a loan officer will continue to refer clients even when the loan officer switches firms. Sales agents have the same interest as buyers in completing transactions. Hence, they refer clients to loan providers who can generally be depended upon to close on time. This is the agent's major concern, and it is a concern of borrowers as well. Sales agents have no comparable interest in the mortgage price or whether the borrower is placed in the right kind of mortgage. However, the agent doesn't want the price to be so far out of line or the service provided so abysmal that the borrower throws a fit and blames the agent. Other Borrowers: Referrals from other borrowers are usually based on a single transaction. Internet Referral Sites: These Web sites provide price information for a large number of lenders and mortgage brokers, usually listed by state. They also provide quick entree to the Web sites of each loan provider listed. Builder Referrals: Builder referrals are usually to a lender with whom the builder has a financial arrangement. Hence, they are suspect. In some cases, preferred lenders price loans above the market and kick back some of the excess to the builder. Self-Referrals: Responding to self-referrals (solicitations) usually is a bad idea. Not all lenders who solicit are predators, but all predators solicit.
Popular Mortgage Terms
Wondering who is this Fannie Mae person that your real estate agent always mentions when the subject about mortgage is brought up? Fannie Mae is not a person, nor a Woody Allen female ...
A payment made by the borrower over and above the scheduled mortgage payment. If the additional payment pays off the entire balance it is a prepayment in full; otherwise, it is a partial ...
The period between payment changes on an ARM, which may or may not be the same as the interest rate adjustment period. ...
A mortgage on which interest is calculated daily based on the balance on the day of payment, rather than monthly, as on the standard mortgage. ...
The period over which the interest due the lender is calculated. The interest accrual period may or may not correspond to the payment period. On the annual accrual mortgages in the UK, ...
Protection for a borrower against the danger that rates will rise between the time the borrower applies for a loan and the time the loan closes. Rate protection can take the form of a ...
Fees assessed by lenders when payments are late. Late fees are usually 4% or 5% of the payment. A borrower with a 6% mortgage for 30 years who pays a 5% late charge every month raises his ...
Mortgages delivered using the Internet as a major part of the communication process between the borrower and the lender. ...
Deceptive practices used by mortgage loan providers and other participants in the mortgage process. Scams by Loan Providers: Lenders and mortgage brokers may employ a number of tricks ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.