Long before you apply for a mortgage, it is a good idea to check your credit score. Credit scores determine if you qualify for a loan and the rate you pay for your loan. If your credit score is low, you may not be able to get a mortgage, even if you have the down
There's a new scam in town. It is the child of an old scam. It is very lucrative for the perpetrators, until they get caught. Here's how it goes: Unsecured emails have been tapped by the evil-doers. The perps write to the buyers, just before closing, from the email address of their agent, lender, or
Mortgage pre-approval is needed in order to make an Offer in our area. Anyone without one appears disorganized, at best, and is likely to be written off by a seller as not worthy of consideration, at worst. The first question from a seller or seller's agent about an offer is "How much?" The second is
We have a client who bought in a condo association a couple of years ago. He wrote me about the rules for running his association correctly, in terms of reserve funds. His place is in a six unit association, but I also found out what is expected for the more typical two-unit and three-unit condos
Money Under 30. Wow! What a great idea for a blog site. It is very important that young adults get a handle on their assets and debts early in their careers. When a PR person contacted me about an article on starter homes, I took a look. Oh boy. This could have been written by
Big changes in mortgage lending paperwork go into effect October 1, 2015. I began taking classes about these changes last February. The lenders and closing attorneys wanted the agents and brokers to have lots of time to prepare to panic. That way, the agents and brokers could share that panic with their clients. At 4
Your mortgage contingency allows you to get your deposits back if you don't get a mortgage. Once that deadline has passed, the seller has the right to keep your deposits if you don't close on time due to a delay or a cancellation of your mortgage. Buyers generally have 5-10 percent of their purchase price
This spring, we are once again facing a market where buyers are considering waiving their rights in order to be “more attractive” to sellers in bidding wars. Here are two reasons to reconsider that. 1. Most of the time, if you have a documented pre-approval, you will get your mortgage, so a mortgage contingency is
A new client sent us an email asking about his pre-approval: Hi Rona and Dave, Here is our pre-approval letter from _______ Bank. I had (the loan originator)write it up for $---k with 30% down. We can adjust it as we see it. His suggestion was to put 30% down in the letter to make
As a house hunter, you are under no obligation to tell your lender that you are pregnant or plan to be pregnant. Pregnancy is not a legal reason for a lender to deny you a mortgage, unless your income changes in a way that makes you no longer qualified for the mortgage. I answered this