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Buying a home or refinancing is one of
the largest financial decisions you will
make in your life - and unfortunately,
this means you may experience some
stress as you approach these decisions.
As in many other industries, the
mortgage industry has more than its
share of unethical individuals that are
out to make a buck, and do not have your
best interest at heart. They may try to
take advantage of your stress at this
point in your life. For example, I have
heard numerous stories about people
being called and told that they need to
"quickly come into the office and get
all the paperwork signed, rates are
changing". Not true - you should never
be made to feel panicked or pressured
about making this size of a financial
decision. If you are truly ready, a rate
can be locked right over the phone.
Advertisements in the newspaper or
online are also rampant with
misinformation, designed only to get
phones ringing. Rates change daily,
sometimes hourly, so just by virtue of
being in print somewhere, they are
almost sure to be outdated. The trick
is, lenders can put anything out there,
and if it gets the phone to ring, that
is all they need. The following
conversation ensues….."Hello, I'm
calling about the 7% rate I saw that you
advertised in Saturday's newspaper?"
"Well, it's wonderful that you called!
Rates did change a bit this morning, and
are now at 7.5%, but let's talk a little
more about you……"
Lenders will also frequently promote
"free appraisals" or "discounted
origination fees". This is great, but BE
AWARE that if you are not paying for it
one place, you are paying for it
somewhere else. Interest rates and
closing costs go hand in hand, so it is
important to look at the overall loan
package, not just one individual item
that seems discounted. We all work off
the same financial markets with
essentially the same profit margins. Do
we make money when we do your loan?
Certainly, just like you get paid for
working at your job. What we seek for
you is the best balance between a great
interest rate and reasonable closing
costs.
Online lending is also particularly
scary - ANYONE can throw up a mortgage
website, and be aware that the person
behind that great rate you are seeing
online might be some guy working out of
his basement in Florida who has been in
the business for 6 months. For example,
closing costs vary significantly state
to state - out of state lenders
frequently misquote fees, as they are
not aware of local and state
requirements. I have personally been
involved in bailing out several
individuals who were lured in by an
offer that seemed too good to be true,
but then the lender could not come
through at the closing. I have been in
mortgage banking for over ten years, and
I would not trust my own loan to an
online, unknown lender. Are you really
willing to take this risk?
Click here for an interesting
article from Consumer Reports about
their online lending experiences.
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THE TRUTH:
Is buying a home stress free?
Absolutely not! Purchasing a home is a
major financial commitment, and moving
is a major life event. What we desire is
that your stress will not be in any way
related to your home financing - save it
for which new sofa you should choose or
what color to paint that hideous
bathroom.
Are we the cheapest place in town?
No, but we are always very competitively
priced. I believe that to a certain
degree, you get what you pay for.
Consider this: Have you ever been on a
taxi ride? How about a limo ride? Did
they both get you where you wanted to
go? Probably, but my guess is that you
enjoyed the limo experience and
tolerated the taxi ride. Which driver
would you recommend to your family,
friends, and coworkers? Probably not the
taxi driver, even though he was a few
bucks cheaper. My desire is that your
experience with us is one you will
enjoy, and would be excited to refer us
to others. Our service to you is not
only to provide you with competitive
rates and costs, but to handle your
transaction with the personal care and
professional treatment you deserve.
What about the horror stories we have
all heard about?
At the last minute, the loan is suddenly
not approved, or the rates and costs
change dramatically? Or worse yet, the
loan falls through entirely, and the
transaction falls apart? Unfortunately,
it happens - I hear the stories too.
This is exactly why it is so important
to trust your business to a
professional, not a bargain basement
operation. A horror story like that has
never happened to one of my clients, and
you will not have surprises at the
closing table.
How do you know I will do a great job
for you?
Almost 100% of my business has been
referred to me by either a
satisfied
former client or an experienced, high
quality Realtor - the only type of
realtor I work with! Chances are, you
did not stumble across my website by
accident as I do not promote myself
blindly to the general public. While
most loan officers spend their time mass
marketing and looking for new business
from just anywhere, I devote my time and
energy to my clients only, educating
them, discussing the best loan options
for each individual situation, and
taking care of details to ensure that
the loan process runs as smoothly as
possible.
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QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR POTENTIAL
LOAN OFFICER
- How long have they personally been in the mortgage business?
- Do they have any underwriting experience?
- Do they charge for a pre-approval?
(Beware - they are doing this to hold "bond" money from you so that you feel obligated to continue doing business with them.)
- How many transactions do they generally close on a monthly basis? (Note: if they do not seem very busy, you should wonder why. Good loan officers are in high demand for good reason.)
- Do they have a dedicated team working for you?
The answers to these questions should
tell you what caliber of a person with
whom you are considering entrusting the
largest financial transaction you will
make in your life. We would love to have
the opportunity to discuss all of these
questions and the many more you probably
have, personally with you. Please call
or email us at your convenience.
Some additional questions you should
ask your loan officer - CNBC VIDEO
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