page 8

2/22/2012 1:46:47 PM

^^ Nice. I got another 30 year fixed at 4%. Only had to pay $375 out of pocket at closing. The additional 2K got rolled into the loan.

2/22/2012 2:11:44 PM

Including closing costs, I only ended up losing $350. They paid me 2.135 points to keep my mortgage with them (so about 2100 dollars). The other $200 was funded by the difference in my escrow accounts.

2/22/2012 6:12:42 PM

Where else should I rate shop for my first mortgage? I've pre-qual'd with the seller's realtor mortgage division, my bank, and my wife's bank. While the rate offered is excellent and pretty much the same (I assume due to my excellent credit scores) for all of them their closing costs are about 3k up to 5k. Are they generally negotiable about this? I know I could negotiate with the seller about paying some closing costs but to me that's taking eggs out of one basket and putting them all in another since I won't be paying the asking price. It would help if I could barter down the closing costs with the lender and the listing price with the seller.

2/22/2012 9:43:54 PM

Got a quote from Coastal FCU for 30 year fixed at 3.875. Still working on the paper work.

2/22/2012 9:52:24 PM

Nice, that was my original quote but I ended up saving a grand up front by going with 4.00

3K-5K doesn't sound too horrible depending on how much the place costs. The origination fee/pts is the only real negotiable thing. The rest if pretty standard. Here's an old GFE for reference. Almost all closing cost estimates showed about $1500 in fees not counting escrow and origination fee.

Origination Fee 1.000% 801 $1,480.00
Discount Points 802 $0.00
Appraisal Fee 803 $325.00
Credit Report 804 $35.00
Tax Service Fee 811 $60.00
Flood Certification $26.00
Attorney Fee 1107 $450.00
Title Insurance 1108 $200.00
Commitment Fee 1304 $425.00
Recording Fees 1201 $65.00
Well/Septic Inspection $0.00
City/County Tax Stamps $0.00
Survey 1301 $0.00
Final Inspection 1302
State Tax Stamps
Fees on 2nd Loan (Attorney and lender)

[Edited on February 23, 2012 at 11:46 AM. Reason : ]

2/23/2012 11:43:28 AM

I know the HARP has been mentioned a couple of times, but my fiance and I are trying to refinance her townhome through HARP 2.0. Unfortunately the loan is through RBC and they aren't participating until they become PNC in March. We talked to Wells Fargo and they said they internally won't do it if you're over a certain LTV (since it isn't originally their loan). We're probably at about 115% to 120% LTV right now. Does anyone have any experience participating in HARP 2.0 with a higher LTV like this?

2/23/2012 1:51:21 PM

http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/graph/Default.aspx?cat=2&ids=10,-1&state=zz&d=180&t=MSLine&eco=-1

So mortgage rates have been trending up for a couple weeks now...who thinks that's going to continue happening?

3/16/2012 11:38:06 AM

Did you end up refiing?

3/16/2012 11:43:08 AM

Mortgage rate has been going up last couple weeks I got lucky and locked in at 2.875% on 15 year fixed last Tuesdaywhen the stock market was down. I feel like that's a pretty good for not having to pay any point.

3/16/2012 1:21:14 PM

Any suggestions for places to check out about getting a mortgage? We are starting to look for houses in the Triangle. We went to SECU and they gave us a good rate and all, but not enough $$$ to cover much. We are kinda tight right now with my wife staying home to watch our littlest, but that will change in the fall when he gets in school. In the meantime our credit rating is great and our income to debt ratio is pretty good too. Our lease is up this summer and I want to get moved before school starts back for the kids in the fall, so I don't have to move them to a different school a month after they start. Any thoughts?

3/16/2012 1:39:38 PM

You can try FHA, but if things are tight, it's going to be tough.
There's no guarantee your wife will be able to get a job as soon as your kid goes to school.

3/16/2012 2:21:49 PM

^^If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get approved for? Also, I would highly recommend buying a house that you can comfortably afford on only one income. Banks chronically approve people for much more money than they should be spending. If you are feeling that what the bank approved you for isn't enough and you will be fairly reliant on the second income to pay the mortgage, you might be in danger of spending more than you really should be.

Of course, I know very little details of your situation as a whole, but that's just my initial thoughts. Definitely not a situation I would want to be putting myself in.

[Edited on March 16, 2012 at 3:30 PM. Reason : ]

3/16/2012 3:26:21 PM

Hey sorry forgot to check back and respond to this.

First off, we still own our original house. It is in Podunk Eastern NC, but I have renters who signed a one year lease and are paying the entirety of the mortgage. I am not making anything, but not losing anything either. With that in mind though, FHA is out of the question.

Secondly, I think my wife said they qualified us at like $100k. They were a lot more conservative, but we could get a townhome in Cary for $125k off Harrison, so its not like I need a bank to double the credit that SECU would extend to us. And yes I definitely understand what you mean about getting something we can afford even on one salary. The thing I don't like is we got a helluva deal on a 2BR apt. in Carrboro for $600/month. Its not big though and my youngest son starts school this fall. I would like to keep from having to move from school to school, so I would like to get in a neighborhood or area where I can buy a townhome now, and maybe within 5 years upgrade to a standalone house. Also the apartment was low on occupancy when we signed and now that they are tighter, prices have gone back up a good bit. I don't want to shell out $750+ for our little place. I feel it is a good value now, but at the prices many apartments are talking about for more spacious 2-3 bedroom apartments, I could have my own house or townhouse.

3/20/2012 9:33:57 AM

Quote :

"2.875% on 15 year fixed"

amazing rate. I was all proud of myself for getting 3.25. Congrats!

3/21/2012 11:36:33 AM

for the cfcu folks, how much did your closing costs end up being on the fixed loans?

3/21/2012 3:17:51 PM

I can't decide what to do.

I'm currently with BB&T. They'll do a streamline refinance which means no appraisal (lower closing costs) and no chance for PMI coming into play. Being under 20% equity is a very real possibility if I re-appraise and I'd prefer not to have to write a check to bring the loan value down. Their rate is normally competitive, but they're at 3.5% for a 15 year today. CFCU is at 3.375% and Pentagon Federal is at 3.25%. CFCU has offered to cut their origination fee by $700ish, so that negates the savings from the BB&T streamline loan, but it's still a higher interest rate and the possibility of having to write a check to cover 20% equity.

Another option is the Pentagon Federal 5/5 ARM at 3.125%. They're currently paying all closing costs (with that particular loan only), so that's a $2k-$3k savings immediately and I could do some serious damage to the principal by adding ~$600/month to the payment (basically turning it into a 12 year loan + a little for however much it adjusts at the 5 year mark and 10 year mark.)

Honestly, if BB&T would just match CFCU's rate I'd probably go with them and not worry too much about it, but they're just not quite competitive. Can't decide if I want to pay a little more to stick with them or not.

^ The original estimate I received was $3100 with $147 of that being daily interest charges. It's down to $2400 with the lower origination fee they're offering me today. It also estimates $550 for a title lawyer. I'm hoping to cut a little there by using the same lawyer I've already used twice.

[Edited on March 21, 2012 at 3:44 PM. Reason : l]

3/21/2012 3:31:06 PM

Mine (sans escrow) was almost exactly $2400 as well.

3/21/2012 4:13:25 PM

^^With interest rates as low as they're likely to ever be, I would advise you NOT to get an adjustable rate just to save a little on closing costs. You might end up regretting it.

3/22/2012 9:08:36 AM

Quote :

"Mortgage rate has been going up last couple weeks I got lucky and locked in at 2.875% on 15 year fixed last Tuesdaywhen the stock market was down. I feel like that's a pretty good for not having to pay any point. "

Wow. With what company??? I just closed a couple days ago on my refinance at 3.125% on a 15yr and that was the lowest I have ever seen, I've been watching mortgage rates almost daily for the last 6 months or so.

3/22/2012 10:55:21 AM

^where did you go and what were the costs?

3/22/2012 11:10:03 AM

^^first financial. It's a broker from charlotte. I found them through Zillow. Like I said, i got lucked out on that day and the rate dropped to 2.875. It was hovering around 3% before that.

3/22/2012 11:13:05 AM

does anyone have experience with Quicken Loans??
(buying a house in NY!)

thanks!

4/24/2012 7:35:41 PM

^I just refi'd with Quicken. They are ridiculously easy to deal with and send someone out to wherever you want to finish the paperwork. A++ would recommend!

4/25/2012 8:47:34 AM

^thanks! I'm a little skeptical about going with a direct lender and doing most of the work via phone/email but I read the reviews online and the majority seem positive and should work for us.
Best rate from the 5 lenders we checked with and they can close within 3-4 weeks.
Very excited about the new house! fingers and toes crossed that we can negotiate on the price (offer made this afternoon)



[Edited on April 25, 2012 at 8:18 PM. Reason : c]

4/25/2012 8:13:05 PM

I need some advice

I'm talking to 2 lenders right now about a refi

Lender #1 can give me a good rate right now with no appraisal, but cant get cash out either

Lender #2 can possibly give me a much better deal IF we get a good appraisal, and I should be able to get cash out

Lender #1 is like "yeah we can sign today, come on over right now!" like their life depends on it

Lender #2 can get paperwork started Wed and order the appraisal

so how do hold off on Lender #1 without pissing them off in case I need them later?

5/14/2012 8:41:53 AM

first off, there's no pissing off lenders. They're all fairly desperate these days, it seems.

That said, chances are pretty good you won't get the appraisal you're hoping for. You just have to decide if you want to shell out the cash (~$400) to find this out.

I'd take the 1st deal and not look back.

[Edited on May 14, 2012 at 12:40 PM. Reason : d]

5/14/2012 12:39:56 PM

about to lock on 3.5% for 30 yr fixed!

5/14/2012 1:36:18 PM

Thru?

5/14/2012 1:45:17 PM

DNJ

5/14/2012 1:47:18 PM

Just starting the homebuying process. Quoted 3.87% through BoA on my prequal, but I'm thinking I can do better if I shop it out a bit. I also have Duke Employee Credit Union to take advantage of.

5/14/2012 3:16:15 PM

^first time home buyer? putting anything down?

Look at BB&T, DNJ, Wells Fargo those 3 had the best deals for me.

5/14/2012 3:21:21 PM

What is DNJ?

5/14/2012 9:55:31 PM

Never heard of DNJ Mortgage? Corchiani works for them.

5/14/2012 10:15:28 PM

Quote :

"^first time home buyer? putting anything down? Look at BB&T, DNJ, Wells Fargo those 3 had the best deals for me."

Yes. Yes, $50,000.

I was planning on looking at them too based on what I've seen in this thread. Wells Fargo has kind of been dicking around with my sister's mortgage though so I'm not to hot on them at present.

5/15/2012 7:32:26 AM

Anyone have the contact info for DNJ?

5/15/2012 7:34:24 AM

PM sent

5/15/2012 7:58:33 AM

Quote :

"Just starting the homebuying process. Quoted 3.87% through BoA on my prequal, but I'm thinking I can do better if I shop it out a bit. <snip> Yes, $50,000."

What is this down-payment as a percentage of the home you're looking at?

If it is anywhere close to 20% I am surprised that they haven't offered you a lower rate.

5/15/2012 11:40:05 AM

The lowest rate I got was from zillow, just go on there and search for some quote. They pretty much beat every local bank and its not even close.

5/15/2012 11:40:07 AM

Quote :

"If it is anywhere close to 20% I am surprised that they haven't offered you a lower rate."

Eh, I didn't really notice lower rates when I put down 20%. Not having to pay pmi was a big incentive though.

5/15/2012 12:24:20 PM

well, there are several programs with no PMI, for those without a down payment or those who don't really want to put up a down payment.

5/15/2012 12:28:13 PM

So I've started looking at all this, and already got one quote for an FHA loan.

What I want to know, though, is what I specifically need to look for lender to lender. The first guy I talked about mentioned that the rate (3.75 quoted) would be pretty much the same for each lender since that's what the banks were doing. I was originally under the impression that the rate was the primary metric to watch, so perhaps I'm still woefully uninformed .

If it matters, my credit score is pretty much a thin-file. I have one score from a credit card but nothing else (no car or student loans). I do have a decent amount of money saved up (don't want to use it all, though) and really want to avoid a PMI. So what should I be targeting?

6/30/2012 12:32:35 PM

I would look at monthly payment and closing cost. Monthly payment should directly correlate to the APR, so lower the payment, lower the APR.

6/30/2012 1:27:02 PM

bttt I'm looking to refinance soon. Any new suggestions?

7/29/2012 11:10:50 PM

DNJ has been good to me for my first mortgage thus far. I can provide more information in about a month... when I hopefully close

7/30/2012 8:09:22 AM