LenderHelp Your Lender Help YouTuesday, August 10th, 2010The most dreaded part of applying for a mortgage is all the paperwork. Mortgage documentation requirements are more stringent than ever and every “T” must be crossed and every “I” dotted. Fortunately, at this point, there is no truth to the rumor that you and your pet’s blood type are required to get a home mortgage. Low doc and no doc loans no longer exist. If you can not prove your income, assets, etc you will not get a loan. A competent mortgage originator will look at your individual situation and see if he can minimize the pain. An example would be a salaried borrower with one job. In this case, W-2’s would probably be sufficient and the borrower would not need to furnish tax returns. Make sure the information is legible and complete. When a bank statement is requested, it means the complete bank statement and not just the front page. Your mortgage originator does not need a history lesson on how things were done when you applied for a loan five years ago. While your friends mean well, if they have never been in the mortgage industry, they are confusing you and wasting everyone’s time. I had a client who had some unusual, and unworkable, ideas about a purchase mortgage. I tactfully asked where these ideas were coming from. She said she had a friend who was in the oil industry – they worked at a gas station – but “spent a lot of time on the web”! If you will be out of town, let the loan officer know as soon as possible. The mortgage industry has not embraced electronic signatures. While you may be able to have documents faxed or emailed to you when you are gone, the printing costs may be frightening. With loan packages running over 30 pages, and hotels charging $2.00/page to receive or send a fax, do you really want to spend $120 because you did not plan? Help your lender help you. Your lender should be committed to providing the best service possible to make the process as fast and painless as possible. Remember that mortgage originators hate to bother clients but need the information to close the loan. The sooner you provide the information, the sooner you can close. And look forward to something pleasant, like a root canal. Chip Allen Crestline Mortgage Bankers A Division of Universal Lending Corp Direct: 303.947.2109 Fax: 303.987.0676 Your Lender for Life!
When people you care about need a mortgage, for purchase or refinance, please do not keep me a secret.
Can you still get a mortgage?Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010You do not have to be Bill Gates to get a mortgage, however, mortgage requirements have tightened up considerably. Unless you are a vet applying for a VA mortgage, 100% financing is gone. Stated income programs, programs where income was not verified, have gone the way of dollar a gallon gasoline. It might come back someday, but I would not count on it. Factors that lenders focus on include: income to debt ratios, stability of income, down payment, and credit scores. While these guidelines have been tightened up significantly people are still getting mortgages to purchase or refinance. FHA is the most flexible of current mortgage programs. You may still purchase a home with a down payment of 3.5% of the purchase price. FHA is also more lenient on credit scores, and other requirements, such as reserves. Reserves are the cash or other liquid assets a buyer has after the closing. If you have been turned down for a mortgage, find out why. The problem may be fixable with a little work, or it could be you have an incompetent lender. It never hurts to get a second opinion. Next week: Divorce mortgages Chip Allen Crestline Mortgage Bankers A Division of Universal Lending Corp Direct: 303.947.2109 Fax: 303.987.0676 Your Lender for Life!
Down Payment Assistance (DPA) (Part 3 of 3)Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010In my previous 2 Blogs on DPA, I discussed and tried to dispel some of the myths surrounding down payment assistance. In addition, I highlighted some of the key factors in determining what it takes to qualify for DPA. Today, I will address who are the agencies out there who offer DPA and how doing a little research can help in deciding which program you should consider and how to find out if your lender works with that agency. If you go to HUD’s website and search for down payment assistance, you will find that there are over 30 different state, county, and city agencies out there offering DPA programs out there for first time home buyers (http://www.hud.gov/local/co/homeownership/buyingprgms.cfm). Most of them are geographic specific (city and county) with a few of them being statewide. So understanding where you believe you want to live is absolutely critical determining what agency and program you should use. Let’s say for example you want to purchase a home in Denver that happens to be in Adams County. In this scenario, you could potentially use the following three different agencies/programs (CHFA, CHAC, and Adams County). Working with a lender that knows the subtle differences between the programs is paramount and will save you a small fortune in interest payments over the life of the loan. Once of the best ALL AROUND programs is Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA). It is a statewide program that offers a multiple programs and options for first time home buyers. It serves the entire State of Colorado and never runs out of money. It has the highest income limits for first time buyers and some very accommodating credit requirements (FICO scores down to 580). They offer home buyer education (both online and class room) and the administrators to the Mortgage Credit Certificate Program (MCC) where first time buyers can “super charge” their federal tax savings by taking a 20% “interest tax credit” on their tax return. Check out CHFA’s website at www.chfainfo.com. Great programs offer by CHFA and you can find a list of approved CHFA lenders on the website as well.
|
