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
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, ...
An option attached to a mortgage, which allows the borrower to pay only the interest for some period. A mortgage is 'interest only' if the monthly mortgage payment does not include any ...
The highest rate possible under an ARM contract; same as 'lifetime cap.' It is often expressed as a specified number of percentage points above the initial interest rate. ...
A lender that provides loans through mortgage brokers or correspondents. ...
The payment of principal and interest made by the borrower. ...
The maximum allowable ratio of loan-to- value (LTV) on any loan program. Generally, these are set by mortgage insurers or by lenders and can range up to 100%, although some programs will ...
If you’re a student in medical school, a resident or a medically qualified doctor, you must know the definition of Physicians Mortgage Loan, also known as Doctor Loans. Why? Because, ...
The period over which the borrower is obliged to make payments. On most mortgages, the payment period is a month but on some it is biweekly. It is not necessarily the same as the Interest ...
A mortgage that can be moved from one property to another. Ordinarily, you repay your mortgage when you sell your house and take out a new mortgage on the new home you purchase. With a ...

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