Shopping for a mortgage

[CovertM]

Never had a mortgage before, looks like that may change soon. Any recommendations for a broker in Colorado, or should I just poke around local banks/credit unions? First time home buyer, sizeable down payment, good credit score, minimal current debt, etc.

DM if you want, I just met a solid guy here in the RF valley that I've started sending clients to. Independent broker working here out of an office in Golden. Gets shit done.

[CovertM]

had a few with wells fargo, good customer service with Jody in Aspen.
but they didn't have the best rate when I refi'd the other week.
Bay Equity in Glenwood, Mike Picore, had great rates and application was fast/easy. ymmv.

Mike and Jeremy at Bay Equity in Glenwood are solid. Super busy, as most mortgage folks are, so can take a while to get back to you.

[Danno]

Nice. We locked last Monday I believe. 2.375% for a 30 year also. I am a mortgage novice, so really not sure about all the terms...but we have 0 in origination charges. Charges I am not sure I could have found better are: Closing Fee, Lenders Title Insurance, Appraisal Fee and Appraisal Final Inspection Fee? Danno, You are saying you are paying none of these, besides prepaids which are Homeowners insurance, Property tax, and Mortgage Insurance, right?

Yes, I got a credit that almost exactly covered the expenses outside of the prepaids (which are things you would have paid anyway, the mortgage just shuffles around how you pay them). The prepaids for me were insurance, taxes, and mortgage interest (since I skip 2 payments). No mortgage insurance because I have enough equity. I have no idea how you did relative to the best that was out there the day you locked, but shit, 2.375 on a 30 year note with any kind of lender credit (even with no credit) is a sick deal.

[puma]

Yes, I got a credit that almost exactly covered the expenses outside of the prepaids (which are things you would have paid anyway, the mortgage just shuffles around how you pay them). The prepaids for me were insurance, taxes, and mortgage interest (since I skip 2 payments). No mortgage insurance because I have enough equity. I have no idea how you did relative to the best that was out there the day you locked, but shit, 2.375 on a 30 year note with any kind of lender credit (even with no credit) is a sick deal.

Thanks for the info Danno. Splitting hairs at these rates!

[grabtindy]

Seeing people getting 2.375% quotes for a 30 year mortgage. Is it typical that an investment property/2nd home would be quoted a full point higher? I'm about to lock in 3.375% w/ 25% down for a townhome we just put under contract.

[Danno]

Investment property and second home are two separate categories. I'm not a pro, but my understanding is that 2nd homes get the same rate as primary, but investment properties are higher. Don't know what the standard amt higher is, though.

[californiagrown]

I have a refinance offer for a 255k loan, at 2.99%.

The closing costs are coming out to $7k. That seems high to me, is that within reason?

[liv2ski]

I have a refinance offer for a 255k loan, at 2.99%.

The closing costs are coming out to $7k. That seems high to me, is that within reason?

So many questions not answered to even begin to answer your question. PM me and I will get back to you in the morning. I need to know: Property value, occupancy type, credit score, property type. Is the $7k actual loan fees or does that include impounds and 2nd half property taxes due?

[Danno]

I have a refinance offer for a 255k loan, at 2.99%.

The closing costs are coming out to $7k. That seems high to me, is that within reason?

What do you include with "closing costs"? Provide the breakdown, because if that includes all the prepaids, it might not be high.

For ex, my recent refi had:
Underwriting 600
Processing 895
Title insurance and related fees 860
Recording fees 123

Those are the "true" closing costs in my loan, totaling 2478.

But my prepaids were big
Interest 493
Property taxes due 2312
Escrow funding 2985
Prepaids total 5790

So if you viewed it all as closing costs, it's over 8k.

[BC13]

maybe a jong-ish question that may have been covered but...
working on a re-fi. debating on 15 vs 30 (and re-invest). seems like people are somewhat split on which is better and obviously depends on situation. some info:
15-ish years from retirement. prob not in our current house much longer than that. if we did the 30 we'd either pay additional into the mortgage ea month or "invest" it somewhere (market, land, etc). not a big finance guy so...
mrs leaning 15 to just get it over with. i'm leaning 30 to have a little more flexibility/security in case something goes "awry" (job loss-not likely, etc).
any general consensus?

I did the 15 and would recommend the 30 for the flexibility you mentioned. Pay more if you want to and treat it like a 15, but not stuck paying the higher nut if life happens.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[BeardedClam]

looked through a couple pages of this. find a bunch of the same thing but school me anyways.

We're in a first home, primary residence, somewhere near 270k left on the 350k total, 4.25%, not much other debt. We've both got better paying jobs since we bought, both paid off one recurring monthly obligation each, and both have credit 740+ and have been low on the usage the past few months as we wrap some home projects and anticipate a possible appraisal. Property is unique from a bank perspective, not john smiths place from the cul de sac. Way out in the boonies with minimum utilities(landline). Zillow says 60k above what we paid a year and a half ago fwiw.

What should I look for? in-person or online? I typed our info into some lender sites and they gave us a lowball clickbait rate, then upped it when we actually got to paper pusher. Trying to get a 30yr fixed likely unless foreign currency markets shift drastically and that frees some things up.

Not getting another appraisal would be awesome with our ongoing renovations and the uniqueness of the property, plus last one had to get 'extra charges' because they drove from fucking Seattle 4hrs into the sticks and got their prius muddy.

[John_B]

looked through a couple pages of this. find a bunch of the same thing but school me anyways.

We're in a first home, primary residence, somewhere near 270k left on the 350k total, 4.25%, not much other debt. We've both got better paying jobs since we bought, both paid off one recurring monthly obligation each, and both have credit 740+ and have been low on the usage the past few months as we wrap some home projects and anticipate a possible appraisal. Property is unique from a bank perspective, not john smiths place from the cul de sac. Way out in the boonies with minimum utilities(landline). Zillow says 60k above what we paid a year and a half ago fwiw.

What should I look for? in-person or online? I typed our info into some lender sites and they gave us a lowball clickbait rate, then upped it when we actually got to paper pusher. Trying to get a 30yr fixed likely unless foreign currency markets shift drastically and that frees some things up.

Not getting another appraisal would be awesome with our ongoing renovations and the uniqueness of the property, plus last one had to get 'extra charges' because they drove from fucking Seattle 4hrs into the sticks and got their prius muddy.

I'm a refi jong but we had good luck in May contacting our current leader to see what they could offer. We had similar credit scores with 150 left in a 160 loan and were able to drop from 4.35 to 2.99 w/o needing an additional appraisal.

[sirbumpsalot]

What do you include with "closing costs"? Provide the breakdown, because if that includes all the prepaids, it might not be high.

For ex, my recent refi had:
Underwriting 600
Processing 895
Title insurance and related fees 860
Recording fees 123

Those are the "true" closing costs in my loan, totaling 2478.

But my prepaids were big
Interest 493
Property taxes due 2312
Escrow funding 2985
Prepaids total 5790

So if you viewed it all as closing costs, it's over 8k.

$860 for title....damn....in my state they have all been $2400-$2500.

[liv2ski]

^^^^^ On a refinance? Try https://amrock.com/buyers-sellers/#home-buyers next time.

[sirbumpsalot]

^^^^^ On a refinance? Try https://amrock.com/buyers-sellers/#home-buyers next time.

I didn't shop around on my 2 refinances, but when I bought it in the first place I did and they were all about the same so I didn't bother to shop this time around.

In fact my broker (who is in Kansas) initially quoted the title fees at something under $1000, and then when doing the GFE, changed it to something in the $2400 range and remarked at how high Oregon was.

[jm2e]

Looks like refi investment property rates jumped way up this week. Guess I missed the fucking boat on that one!

[DeepHelmet]

looked through a couple pages of this. find a bunch of the same thing but school me anyways.

We're in a first home, primary residence, somewhere near 270k left on the 350k total, 4.25%, not much other debt. We've both got better paying jobs since we bought, both paid off one recurring monthly obligation each, and both have credit 740+ and have been low on the usage the past few months as we wrap some home projects and anticipate a possible appraisal. Property is unique from a bank perspective, not john smiths place from the cul de sac. Way out in the boonies with minimum utilities(landline). Zillow says 60k above what we paid a year and a half ago fwiw.

What should I look for? in-person or online? I typed our info into some lender sites and they gave us a lowball clickbait rate, then upped it when we actually got to paper pusher. Trying to get a 30yr fixed likely unless foreign currency markets shift drastically and that frees some things up.

Not getting another appraisal would be awesome with our ongoing renovations and the uniqueness of the property, plus last one had to get 'extra charges' because they drove from fucking Seattle 4hrs into the sticks and got their prius muddy.

If you're in Utah go to justinhudsonlending.com, you can do it all online or on the phone if you prefer. Justin is fast, no nonsense, and you'll get it all up front. He doesn't hold info back and dump it on you in a disclosure like some do.

[californiagrown]

I am refinancing my condo and getting a bunch of cash out to help pay for a $50-60k special assessment- re-clad, new windows/doors, structural work etc to the whole complex.

My problem is that i listed the value of my condo for lets say $300k, which is what its value is/was. The problem is that the last 3-4 condos sold in my complex (last 2-3months) sold for $50-60k less than their value as the seller knocked off the cost of the special assessment from the selling price. Go back 6 months, when the sellers did not have to disclose the upcoming special assessment, and the condos were selling for "full price"- $50-60k more than they are now.


When i get my appraisal done, how will the appraiser look at comps? Will they understand that the most recent sales were artificially low because they took into account the special assessment? Or does the fact that i have a huge upcoming special assessment legitimately lower the value of the condo? Am i fucked if the appraisal comes back at $240k when i listed it at $300k? Will the lender take into account that the home value will be much higher once i get the cashout to pay for the assessment similar to cashout to pay for a remodel?


FWIW, once the full renovation is done to the complex, the home values are supposed to rise by 10-15% because of the sorely needed updated look of the place. So in a year, the home value should be $330-$345k.

[Garbowski]

My mortgage servicing is being transferred to a new servicer. Why do they do this- just some 'outsourcing is always better' deal? My loan is with Quicken- not some small timer. Fortunately, the new servicer has automatic payments. Is there anything I need to look out for here or is it just a one time hassle for me to switch my autopay over?

[Brock Landers]

Happens all the time. Likely nothing fucked up but after a month I’d just make sure my payments were carried over correctly and escrow and all that lines up.

[evdog]

My mortgage servicing is being transferred to a new servicer. Why do they do this- just some 'outsourcing is always better' deal? My loan is with Quicken- not some small timer. Fortunately, the new servicer has automatic payments. Is there anything I need to look out for here or is it just a one time hassle for me to switch my autopay over?

I was with Quicken as well. It was moved over to some outfit called "Mr Cooper" that I'd never heard of. Had to call and ask some questions, was pretty easy to get hold of someone and they were helpful. Only issue has been never-ending marketing emails from them. I'm sure I can opt out of those. I did have to set up a new online account and set up auto payments. They don't have an easy set up to change to bi-weekly which I wanted to do. I haven't read the paperwork but sounds like I basically have to pre-pay 1 month which they then apply in advance.

Interesting thing I did get from them was an offer for a Mr Cooper credit card. Rather than cash back the 1.5% on all purchases plus good amounts (4%) on home improvement purchases etc goes against mortgage principal rather than cash back or travel rewards that I'd sit on for years before using. I signed up figuring that would help me more in the long haul.

[Mustonen]

My mortgage servicing is being transferred to a new servicer. Why do they do this- just some 'outsourcing is always better' deal? My loan is with Quicken- not some small timer. Fortunately, the new servicer has automatic payments. Is there anything I need to look out for here or is it just a one time hassle for me to switch my autopay over?

Should just be a one time hassle, none of your other loan terms will change.

It might not really be outsourcing... there are a couple different assets the bank has on the books with any loan: the loan itself and the servicing rights. Whoever has the servicing rights is who you pay every month and who sends you a late notice if you’re a little behind; they then pass those payments on to the investor. A portion of every loan payment is earned by whoever has the servicing rights even though the loan itself is sold to an investor like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (which you’ll barely ever notice because you don’t make out checks to FNMA when you pay your mortgage).

The servicing rights have value and can be bought and sold just like the mortgage itself.

There are subservicers, too, which is more like outsourcing. Generally a subservicer will be fairly transparent to a borrower as well, but possible that’s what’s happening here too.

[californiagrown]

I am refinancing my condo and getting a bunch of cash out to help pay for a $50-60k special assessment- re-clad, new windows/doors, structural work etc to the whole complex.

My problem is that i listed the value of my condo for lets say $300k, which is what its value is/was. The problem is that the last 3-4 condos sold in my complex (last 2-3months) sold for $50-60k less than their value as the seller knocked off the cost of the special assessment from the selling price. Go back 6 months, when the sellers did not have to disclose the upcoming special assessment, and the condos were selling for "full price"- $50-60k more than they are now.


When i get my appraisal done, how will the appraiser look at comps? Will they understand that the most recent sales were artificially low because they took into account the special assessment? Or does the fact that i have a huge upcoming special assessment legitimately lower the value of the condo? Am i fucked if the appraisal comes back at $240k when i listed it at $300k? Will the lender take into account that the home value will be much higher once i get the cashout to pay for the assessment similar to cashout to pay for a remodel?


FWIW, once the full renovation is done to the complex, the home values are supposed to rise by 10-15% because of the sorely needed updated look of the place. So in a year, the home value should be $330-$345k.

Anyone know what to expect with my appraisal next week?

[54-46]

Anyone know what to expect with my appraisal next week?

They’ll probably start with the last 60-90 days worth of comps in your complex and similar condos in your area. Give them your info in the special assessment ahead of time.

[criscam]

getting ready to lock in on a rate here soon. right now it looks like we could get 2.625 for a 30. our guy thinks it could drop a little more. i know it's a crap shoot but i'm not in tune as some others here so any thoughts?