Just sort of wondering what others of you have done when you've made the decision to purchase your (first/next) home regarding mortgages.

Did you go with your bank that you have savings, checking, etc. with or did you decide to go with a company specializing in mortgages/loans? Any benefits anyone thinks they've received from either decision?

I'm asking because I currently own my townhouse but the loan came from my my parent's bank... it was quick, easy, and we weren't really shopping around for competitive rates, etc. However, my boyfriend is looking into making his first purchase and we're starting to look in depth at different options for his first-time homeowner mortgage (hoping to take advantage of special interest rates for a first time home owner, etc.).

6/13/2007 10:59:21 PM

http://www.ncsecu.org -> 5.75% 2 year arm... ingdirect.com has good rates as well

6/13/2007 11:09:59 PM

I'm a mortgage loan officer and there are benefits to coming to us instead of going through the banks. It is possible we can get you the same rates the bank can but we also can have up to 5,000 dollars of your collections (debt) paid off. Banks can often be very picky with debt to income ratios and some make you take a class. Private mortgage insurance can also be an issue when going through the banks.

6/13/2007 11:49:51 PM

mortgages are all a government conspiracy fueled by zionist rebels from malaysia

6/14/2007 7:57:31 AM

make sure you get a fixed loan, 15 or 30. Buy the house you can afford with the fixed payments. Dont buy too much house on a ARM or intrest only and get burnt when it expires. See how forclosures are up now? Its from the idiots that bought too much house and the only way they could afford it was with risky loans.

6/14/2007 9:35:19 AM

^ that's the plan... probably a 30. Interest only is a crap-shoot...

6/14/2007 10:53:36 AM

smart man. They should be able to estimate your taxes, and your insurance so you will have an idea of your total monthly payment. It might shock you. I know I was suprised with an extra 250 a month over my mortgage.

6/14/2007 12:14:42 PM

You really need to be careful with lenders. I was in a foreclosure hearing last week and the Clerk said that 90% of the foreclosures come from wells fargo. They will foreclosure in a heart beat and often lend too much money at a bad rate to unqualified people.

80/20 loans, where you borrow the down payment to get a better interest rate, cause a lot of problems.

The best loans, rates and fees that I have seen tend to come from SECU. I have seen BB&T charge outrageous fees for several closings.

6/14/2007 1:52:07 PM

The worst shit is when people get talked into negative amortization loans with the idea that they can invest the "savings" on the monthly payment and get higher returns than the cost of the interest.


I'd say that all of these people are "idiots" but a lot of mortgage loan officers are greasy ass salesmen who take advantage of those who are ignorant.

But most people who do fall for that are indeed idiots.

6/14/2007 2:55:31 PM

Hahaha, these are some good responses.

I was aware of the insurance/taxes etc. since I own mine, but thanks for the heads up :-)

Anymore wanting to share out there?

6/15/2007 1:58:39 AM

Do not get a subprime loan or an Alt-A loan. State your true income and don't let the loan officer inflate your income on the application. Make sure to look at what your interest rate is in the third year of the mortgage, ignore the teaser rate from the first two years. Stay away from ARMs and Neg-ams.

6/15/2007 8:52:02 AM

if you are buying in nc - check out http://www.daylightdiscountmortgage.com/ - run by a twwer's family - i don't think you'll beat their prices/rates unless you are buying new and using the builder's mortgage company to get incentives

6/15/2007 3:44:10 PM

I'll second them as well. They had by far the best rates, but KB gave me $$$ to use their company, so I ended up going with Countrywide. Without the discount Countrywide and Coldwell had competitive rates, but they were still probably 1/8 of a point higher than DDM at best.

6/16/2007 8:19:52 AM

I just got one a couple months ago from Robert Courts at Integra Mortgage - http://www.integramortgage.net/
I was happy with it. He had the best combination of rates and points of the several places I priced out, including ING, the RTP Credit Union, and CitiMortgage.
I was able to get 5.75% fixed 30 year with no points. CitiMortgage offered 5.65% + 2 points or something like that.... I've forgotten the formulas and stuff, but points generally aren't worth it if you're planning on reselling in a few years.

6/16/2007 10:22:55 AM