When dealing with your credit report and fico score, there is one important thing to keep in mind. The system is broken and there is no plan to fix it. Why wont they fix it? The credit report companies are tied into the financial institutions. The financial institution make more money off of lower fico score borrowers than higher. This doesn't mean that you have to sit back and take it. You can go to www.getprequalified.com for more information on how to fix your credit report. Over 90% of credit reports have at least one error on them.
It is also smart to take a look at your credit report a couple of times a year. When dealing with your credit card company or financial institution, get everything in writing. If you have errors on your credit report in the future, it will be much harder to remove them from your report versus have documentation from them for what they promised to do. They don't keep track of what they promise you. You must be vigilant for your own credit affairs. To get a free credit report go to www.getprequalified.com.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Throw out the 4 year Bankruptcy time period
You can now get a home through Fannie Mae with a Bankruptcy under four year. Fannie Mae allows you to buy with a Bk as long as you are two years from the filing date. It must be discharged however. For more information go to www.getprequalified.com.
LendingTree
LendingTree, When Lenders Compete You Win!!
When you fill out an internet form for LendingTree.com, you will have lenders competing but it may drive you crazy in the process. What you don’t hear about in the advertising is that you will be bombarded by aggressive sales people all trying to earn your business. Unless you like to talk to sales people in your spare time, the process will drive you nuts. In theory it makes great sense. Competition is great; you just want it to be the right kind of competition. In reality playing the multiple lender game can become a sales pitch nightmare.
What LendingTree doesn’t want you to know is that you can accomplish the same thing by dealing with just one reputable mortgage broker. A mortgage broker has dozens of mortgage wholesalers to get mortgage quotes from. An individual mortgage broker can get mortgage quotes from a variety of sources such as Bank of America, First Horizon, Ohio Savings, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, Countrywide, Citibank, Flagstar, World Savings, Chase and National City to name a few. A single mortgage broker can deliver you dozens of mortgage quotes from multiple lenders that they deal with. As long as you are comfortable and confident with the person that you are dealing with, they can save you hours of aggravation and pesky sales calls. The mortgage brokers for www.GetPrequalified.com can accomplish getting multiple lending quotes for you.
A bank on the other hand can only give you a rate quote on only the loan products that they have to offer. This can be limiting. This is probably why banks have been trying to get mortgage brokers wiped off of the lending landscape. A mortgage broker is not locked into any particular lender or money source. Interest rates change daily. A good mortgage broker can change with the fluctuations to deliver you the best interest rates offered by the different lending institutions. They will get you to the lowest interest rates because they get paid the same regardless of what lender they use. Get the picture?
The other piece of the lending puzzle most people don’t think about is using a local lender in the home buying process. When you use an internet lender, you may be speaking with someone thousands of miles away. If you have a problem with your loan, I’m sure you would want the option of getting in the car and going to visit with your mortgage broker in person so you can speak with them face to face. Problems do occour in a real estate transaction. Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable with someone you can sit across the table from? I am consistently shocked at how many potential borrowers know nothing about the person that is originating their mortgage. A mortgage may be one of the most important financial instruments that you will sign in your lifetime. You probably wouldn’t pick a stock broker in this manner, why would you pick your loan officer like this? Using an internet lender that you have never seen or met is gambling. There is no reason to do this. Work with someone that you know and trust.
Look for a lender that has been in the mortgage business for a minimum of 5 years. Ask them if they could have the phone numbers of the people that have closed loans with them in the last 30 days. There are a lot of people that drift into the industry looking to make a quick buck. The reality is that completing a mortgage takes expertise. You want someone that has spent the time to educate themselves in learning what it takes to fulfill the duties of completing the task. Someone who is professional has a great interest in making sure that you have a positive experience. They want referrals and their reputation is important to them. It should be easy to spot a slick salesperson from someone who is a consultant.
The internet is a powerful tool in the financial markets. Do your research. When it comes to business, personal relationships still rule. Talk to your friends that own property. Ask them if they would recommend the person that did their mortgage to you.
Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker
When you fill out an internet form for LendingTree.com, you will have lenders competing but it may drive you crazy in the process. What you don’t hear about in the advertising is that you will be bombarded by aggressive sales people all trying to earn your business. Unless you like to talk to sales people in your spare time, the process will drive you nuts. In theory it makes great sense. Competition is great; you just want it to be the right kind of competition. In reality playing the multiple lender game can become a sales pitch nightmare.
What LendingTree doesn’t want you to know is that you can accomplish the same thing by dealing with just one reputable mortgage broker. A mortgage broker has dozens of mortgage wholesalers to get mortgage quotes from. An individual mortgage broker can get mortgage quotes from a variety of sources such as Bank of America, First Horizon, Ohio Savings, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, Countrywide, Citibank, Flagstar, World Savings, Chase and National City to name a few. A single mortgage broker can deliver you dozens of mortgage quotes from multiple lenders that they deal with. As long as you are comfortable and confident with the person that you are dealing with, they can save you hours of aggravation and pesky sales calls. The mortgage brokers for www.GetPrequalified.com can accomplish getting multiple lending quotes for you.
A bank on the other hand can only give you a rate quote on only the loan products that they have to offer. This can be limiting. This is probably why banks have been trying to get mortgage brokers wiped off of the lending landscape. A mortgage broker is not locked into any particular lender or money source. Interest rates change daily. A good mortgage broker can change with the fluctuations to deliver you the best interest rates offered by the different lending institutions. They will get you to the lowest interest rates because they get paid the same regardless of what lender they use. Get the picture?
The other piece of the lending puzzle most people don’t think about is using a local lender in the home buying process. When you use an internet lender, you may be speaking with someone thousands of miles away. If you have a problem with your loan, I’m sure you would want the option of getting in the car and going to visit with your mortgage broker in person so you can speak with them face to face. Problems do occour in a real estate transaction. Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable with someone you can sit across the table from? I am consistently shocked at how many potential borrowers know nothing about the person that is originating their mortgage. A mortgage may be one of the most important financial instruments that you will sign in your lifetime. You probably wouldn’t pick a stock broker in this manner, why would you pick your loan officer like this? Using an internet lender that you have never seen or met is gambling. There is no reason to do this. Work with someone that you know and trust.
Look for a lender that has been in the mortgage business for a minimum of 5 years. Ask them if they could have the phone numbers of the people that have closed loans with them in the last 30 days. There are a lot of people that drift into the industry looking to make a quick buck. The reality is that completing a mortgage takes expertise. You want someone that has spent the time to educate themselves in learning what it takes to fulfill the duties of completing the task. Someone who is professional has a great interest in making sure that you have a positive experience. They want referrals and their reputation is important to them. It should be easy to spot a slick salesperson from someone who is a consultant.
The internet is a powerful tool in the financial markets. Do your research. When it comes to business, personal relationships still rule. Talk to your friends that own property. Ask them if they would recommend the person that did their mortgage to you.
Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker
www.optoutprescreen.com
You can improve your credit score by as much as 20 points just by opting out of receiving credit card offers. Visit www.optoutprescreen.com.
Donna Gamaly
Mortgage Broker
Donna Gamaly
Mortgage Broker
Interest Rates and the Current Housing Market
Over the last few weeks the Subprime mortgage market has been devastated if not killed off. We have seen multiple companies go out of business. Large players such as Novastar, New Century and even First Magnus have gone into bankruptcy. Even Countrywide the nation’s largest mortgage lender is teetering on financial disaster. We are now seeing the impact of these high risk loans play out in the real estate market as well as on Wall Street. The panic over the liquidity in the mortgage markets has definitely spilled over into the real estate market in a big way. If you look at the run the real estate market had in 2004 & 2005, the market force in the market was the availability of multiple loan programs and low interest rates. Low interest rates made it cheaper to buy a home than to rent. In this time many people were buying homes on first lien home equity lines. If you look at the prevailing rates for these home equity lines, they were around 4.25%. If you compare the same rate for that mortgage today you would be at 8.25%. Not only was money cheap but you could even buy a home with no money down and no proof of income, employment or assets. No documentation loans made it easy for anyone with high credit scores to obtain a mortgage. Many of these buyers had no business buying a home. They could buy because they could. The rules for lending have changed. That type of borrower will no longer be able to obtain this type of financing. You must now demonstrate your ability to repay your mortgage.
What does all of this mean to the current real estate market? Since the Subprime meltdown, mortgage companies have pulled back on the types and loan to values of mortgages they are offering. It is no longer enough just to show up at the closing table with your good credit score. You must demonstrate your ability to repay the loan. The no documentation or liars loans, as they are often referred to have disappeared. The 100% financing loans have also begun their recession. Borrowers will now have to have some skin in the game. Many of these high risk loans had borrowers bring no money down to the transaction. If things get bad, there is nothing to loose. Walking away from the situation is easy. It is true that you will end up with a foerclosure on your credit report, but the impact is still less than a bankruptcy. If you have put a down payment down on a property, a borrower would be more inclined to try to work it out and try to keep the property rather than to just walk away.
If I am selling my home what does this mean to me? What it means is that the pool of buyers has shrunk considerably. The tighter the lending guidelines get, the fewer buyers there will be to potentially buy your home. You might expect to see the value of your home drop as well. It is just simple economics. As demand goes down and the supply goes up, your home becomes worth less. If you don’t need to move don’t. If you do, you may want to consider renting. Real Estate cycles don’t last forever and it is likely market conditions will change in a few years.
If I am a buyer what does this mean to me? If you are in a position to buy, you may not have a better time to purchase a new home. With low interest rates, lower property values and anxious sellers abound, you may not find a better time to buy for years to come. There are still many programs that will allow you to buy with no money down. You may want to talk to your real estate agent about negotiating a seller to pay for your closing costs. Many Fannie Mae loan programs will allow a seller to pay for up to 6% of your closing costs. This would be enough to pay all of your costs and even buy your interest rate down to a more attractive rate. Sometimes the best time to buy is when nobody else is. The deals of a lifetime could possibly be right under your nose. At some point you need to give up the fact that this in not 10 years ago, it is now and these are the market conditions. You may kick yourself in another 10 years and say why didn’t I act then. Following the flock may not get you want and it may not be prudent. Trust you gut and make your move. Life is risky, but owning property over the long term is usually a winning proposition.
For more information on Fannie Mae 100% financing please visit www.getprequalified.com. While you are there you can check your credit and find other valuable financial services to assist you in the home buying process.
Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker
What does all of this mean to the current real estate market? Since the Subprime meltdown, mortgage companies have pulled back on the types and loan to values of mortgages they are offering. It is no longer enough just to show up at the closing table with your good credit score. You must demonstrate your ability to repay the loan. The no documentation or liars loans, as they are often referred to have disappeared. The 100% financing loans have also begun their recession. Borrowers will now have to have some skin in the game. Many of these high risk loans had borrowers bring no money down to the transaction. If things get bad, there is nothing to loose. Walking away from the situation is easy. It is true that you will end up with a foerclosure on your credit report, but the impact is still less than a bankruptcy. If you have put a down payment down on a property, a borrower would be more inclined to try to work it out and try to keep the property rather than to just walk away.
If I am selling my home what does this mean to me? What it means is that the pool of buyers has shrunk considerably. The tighter the lending guidelines get, the fewer buyers there will be to potentially buy your home. You might expect to see the value of your home drop as well. It is just simple economics. As demand goes down and the supply goes up, your home becomes worth less. If you don’t need to move don’t. If you do, you may want to consider renting. Real Estate cycles don’t last forever and it is likely market conditions will change in a few years.
If I am a buyer what does this mean to me? If you are in a position to buy, you may not have a better time to purchase a new home. With low interest rates, lower property values and anxious sellers abound, you may not find a better time to buy for years to come. There are still many programs that will allow you to buy with no money down. You may want to talk to your real estate agent about negotiating a seller to pay for your closing costs. Many Fannie Mae loan programs will allow a seller to pay for up to 6% of your closing costs. This would be enough to pay all of your costs and even buy your interest rate down to a more attractive rate. Sometimes the best time to buy is when nobody else is. The deals of a lifetime could possibly be right under your nose. At some point you need to give up the fact that this in not 10 years ago, it is now and these are the market conditions. You may kick yourself in another 10 years and say why didn’t I act then. Following the flock may not get you want and it may not be prudent. Trust you gut and make your move. Life is risky, but owning property over the long term is usually a winning proposition.
For more information on Fannie Mae 100% financing please visit www.getprequalified.com. While you are there you can check your credit and find other valuable financial services to assist you in the home buying process.
Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker
Friday, August 24, 2007
Don't Pull My Credit
I have been in the mortgage business for nearly 7 years. One of the biggest misconceptions that I run into is that pulling your credit report numerous times will hurt a credit score. I find that sometimes new borrowers are reluctant to have their scores pulled because of this belief. They believe that their scores will drop considerably if everyone is pulling it. The reality is that you can pull your mortgage credit report unlimited times in a 14 day period from the first pull and it will count as one pull.
It is a known fact that borrowers will talk to a couple of different lenders prior to selecting a company to go with. It is just part of the research and fact finding process. It is a ploy by some lenders to tell their clients not to have other brokers pull their report. To a broker that has already pulled credit, this improves their chance of securing the loan instead of another broker. They scare the potential borrower into believing that their credit will be ruined if they have other people obtain reports, thus potentially risking the homebuyer’s ability to obtain a loan that serves the consumer versus one that serves the mortgage originator.
The problem with this is that a borrower may miss out on better loan terms and lower closing costs. If a lender tells you not to have anyone else pull your credit for these reasons, you may want to talk to someone else. They are not being honest with you. The end result is that it could cost you thousands of dollars over the term of your loan. An honest lender will give you this information. They are confident in their services and don’t have to rely of sleezy scare tactics to earn your business.
If you want to know what your score is, you can pull it yourself. If you pull it on your own it does not count as a pull. Be sure that you pull a mortgage credit report. This will be more accurate for assessing your ability to get a loan and the types of rates that you will be able to get. Most of the free credit reports online are consumer credit reports. They are similar but are not accepted as a valid report in the mortgage industry. You can go to www.getprequalified.com to order a free credit report. You will also find other useful services to get started on the home buying process.
Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker
It is a known fact that borrowers will talk to a couple of different lenders prior to selecting a company to go with. It is just part of the research and fact finding process. It is a ploy by some lenders to tell their clients not to have other brokers pull their report. To a broker that has already pulled credit, this improves their chance of securing the loan instead of another broker. They scare the potential borrower into believing that their credit will be ruined if they have other people obtain reports, thus potentially risking the homebuyer’s ability to obtain a loan that serves the consumer versus one that serves the mortgage originator.
The problem with this is that a borrower may miss out on better loan terms and lower closing costs. If a lender tells you not to have anyone else pull your credit for these reasons, you may want to talk to someone else. They are not being honest with you. The end result is that it could cost you thousands of dollars over the term of your loan. An honest lender will give you this information. They are confident in their services and don’t have to rely of sleezy scare tactics to earn your business.
If you want to know what your score is, you can pull it yourself. If you pull it on your own it does not count as a pull. Be sure that you pull a mortgage credit report. This will be more accurate for assessing your ability to get a loan and the types of rates that you will be able to get. Most of the free credit reports online are consumer credit reports. They are similar but are not accepted as a valid report in the mortgage industry. You can go to www.getprequalified.com to order a free credit report. You will also find other useful services to get started on the home buying process.
Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker
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