Posted on 05/06/2011 2:10:57 PM PDT by newnhdad
Have a question about a mortgage item. We are in the process of finalizing mortgages and we have excellent credit (over 800). We currently have two companies vying for our business and each has offered "lenders credit" towards closing costs. It sounds nice but I'm not really sure that at the end of the day, it will lower our mortgage much since our closing costs are all out of pocket. Actually, I'm not really sure what exactly a "lenders credit" is.. Help.
Ask your escrow agent (or title insurance agent)
I don’t know what a lender’s credit is either, but I’m guessing it will be identified on your Settlement Statement somehow. And the Title Company can explain it.
Think of it as “negative points”. The bank is giving you money to pay off some of the closing costs.
See if they will lower your interest rate if you tell them they can keep the Lender’s Credit.
Lender credits can be used for such things as closing costs. Keep your money in your pocket. We got a bank to pay $28,000 in costs, saving us that money in one form or another.
Your loan officer is taking a portion of their fee paid directly to them from the bank and paying some or all of your closing costs with it. This is how no closing cost loans are done.
I don’t think, in this economy, buying a house is the solution.
With hundreds of thousands or millions of homes currently being unoccupied at the moment, squatting is the best move.
Can you clarify what you mean by “squatting?”
Free housing.
Just don’t let anybody see you go through the window and keep the lawn mowed.
Squatting is stealing.
It’s only theft if somebody owns something. An abandoned home is owned by nobody.
An abandoned property is owned by the last owner named on the recorded deed at the county courthouse. If that owner doesn’t pay the property taxes, the title eventually is awarded to the county in which the home is located.
The only unowned properties in the USA are those classified as vacancies. That’s a different animal, but was once a lucrative pursuit for those in the know, especially in oil and gas country. Better surveying has done away with that fun.
But you can always squat until you get caught. Even if the owner just went out to dinner.
That was interesting, thank you.
The lender is going to pay some of your closing costs. They are doing it I assume as an inducement for you to deep six the other lender and go with them. As long as both are offering the same interest rate and similar closing costs take the lender credit. I have done it a million times to get the deal. It just meant I didn’t make as much money but at least I got the deal and made something.
we tried that with one firm and I have a message in to the second one. I hope they do because our ultimate goal is to get that monthly down as much as possible.
we have them both offering amounts that will just about cover closing costs which is nice. I could use that money to get the blinds or a new Weber grill or both. Or, as another poster suggested, just offer it back to secure a lower interest rate.
That is an option. You can “buy down” the interest rate by usually paying a point (which is 1% of the purchase price) and take 0.25 to 0.5% off the interest rate, depending on the bank, etc.
We got the bank to pay the 1 point fee and took a 4.5% interest rate to 4.25%, which is not half bad.
If their offer isn't increasing the APR it's a discount and you would want to take advantage.
This is my thinking. I’ve been involved with three purchases and the previous two have been pretty easy because my wife has been taking the lead. Now she’s been transferred to a job that has her traveling and unavailable so I’m doing the negotiating.
It’s funny because when I was doing negoiating at my job, I had more than a few million dollar contract deals, it was always easier because it was someone else’s money and I was in the drivers seat. Now, we have “some” of the money and and I feel as if we’re dealing from a position of disadvantage because we can’t really walk, we need someone else’s money.
I’m playing the best two offers against each other and we’ll probably walk with paying no closing costs, which is ideal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.