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
Same as term Interest Rate: The rate charged the borrower each period for the loan of money, by custom quoted on an annual basis. A mortgage interest rate is a rate on a loan secured by a ...
The sum of the monthly mortgage payment, hazard insurance, property taxes, and homeowner association fees. Housing expense is sometimes referred to as PITI, standing for principal, ...
USDA loans are a form of government-backed financing for both first-time home buyers and move up buyers looking for a second or third property. These loans have little to do with ...
A mortgage lender that sells all the loans it originates in the secondary market. ...
A biweekly mortgage on which biweekly payments are applied to the balance every two weeks, rather than monthly, as on a conventional biweekly. ...
A second mortgage on a property that is not paid off when the first mortgage is refinanced. The second mortgage lender must allow subordination of the second to the new first mortgage. ...
A clause in the note that allows the lender to demand repayment of the balance in full. A demand clause is even better (for the lender) than an acceleration clause. An acceleration clause ...
A mortgage on which the interest rate is adjustable based on an interest rate index, and the monthly payment adjusts based on a wage and salary index. Dual index mortgages are not written ...
A lender who specializes in lending to sub-prime borrowers. ...

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