Should I lock in my rate? Borrowers ask this question all the time. And you should — you’ve spent a lot of time finding the best deal. If you don’t lock it in, the rate could change. Obviously, if you thought rates were going up, you should lock in the rate. And conversely, if you…
Let’s say you’re shopping for a mortgage, and you’ve decided you want an ARM. You’re fairly certain you’ll only need this loan for 5-7 years (maybe you’re going to relocate or you’re buying a starter home and you’re confident you’ll be moving to a bigger place within that time frame). You get rates for a…
ou applied for a loan two weeks ago, and you gave your loan officer everything he asked for. The appraisal has been done, but you don’t have a commitment yet. You call your loan officer, and he says your loan is with the underwriter. Finally, he gets on the phone and says, “Your DTI is too…
Imagine your loan is an apple, on a conveyor belt, along with tons of other apples. And there’s a sorter who’s paid to pull out the bad ones — the wormy apples, the bruised ones, the ones that won’t sell. The good apples — the ones that are standard size, color, shape — they get…
Where’s my what? You just met with your loan officer. You’ve chosen a lender, locked in a rate. He asks, “Where are your docs?” You give him a blank look. “My what?” Your income and asset docs. Your lender can’t approve a loan without your help. You need to provide certain specific pieces of paper…
So you’ve applied for your mortgage, and you decided to float the rate initially because you think rates will come down. You call your loan officer every day to check on rates. He tells you a rate you like. It’s Wednesday at 3:00 pm. You tell him you’re going to think about it and get…
What do you mean, my rate’s not locked in? You just got a call from your loan officer. Your loan is ready for closing. They’ve drawn the docs and prepared the HUD1. You say “and the rate’s 3.25%, right?” Silence. He says, “Um, no, it’s 3.75%.” You flip out. “I applied for 3.25%!” Loan officer:…
A “float down” is an option a lender might offer you, and it works like this: you apply, lock in your rate, but you still want to be able to get a lower rate if rates go down. There are a variety of float downs available. Some say that if you lock in your rate…
Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But at Amerifund, it’s real. A no closing cost loan. No closing costs – zero – zip – nada. How do you get one? Just ask any Amerifund loan officer. First, let’s be very clear – these loans are usually (not always) at a higher…
LTV stands for loan-to-value. It is simply your loan amount divided by the lower of the purchase price or appraised value. That last part is in bold for a reason — it’s important. Let’s say you’re buying a house, and the sales price is $300,000. You’re putting down 20%, so your loan amount is $240,000.…