Getting a mortgage in Huntsville

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by UAHgrad

My husband and I are first time homebuyers. We are looking for a good mortgage company in Huntsville. We have a small down payment. We bank with Redstone. We were thinking of looking at Redstone. Does anyone have any experience with them? If not, who do you suggest with competitive interest rates for people without a 20% down payment?

I would also suggest going to some of these new developments and find out what incentives they offer.

I know that Jeff Benton Homes was offering 4.5% for 30 yrs with 5% down and closing costs paid if you have good credit (750+ generally). Their lender is Wells Fargo.

[bluemorpho]

We got preapproved and prequalified by RFCU but haven't used the mortgage option yet since we haven't found a house we like enough to pursue. The particular person we dealt with there was not very friendly or helpful, but the others in the same office seemed pleasant enough.

One thing we liked about RFCU is that all their mortgages are kept and serviced here locally and they guarantee that. They do not sell or trade their mortgages. I've had mortgages before where my account was sold every few months to another company, and that is where the nightmare and the potential for errors often comes in. We'd no sooner get one payment book then we'd be getting another from the next lender. We got delinquent notices when we paid to one lender but they had sold the note already to someone else, and it took forever to straighten out. I remember one time our new note holder turned out to be some shady fly-by-night operation operated out of someone's basement. Scary. As a borrower, remember with many lenders you have no control over the buy/sell/trade of your mortgage.

[wakeful dreamer]

Originally Posted by bluemorpho

We got preapproved and prequalified by RFCU but haven't used the mortgage option yet since we haven't found a house we like enough to pursue. The particular person we dealt with there was not very friendly or helpful, but the others in the same office seemed pleasant enough.

One thing we liked about RFCU is that all their mortgages are kept and serviced here locally and they guarantee that. They do not sell or trade their mortgages. I've had mortgages before where my account was sold every few months to another company, and that is where the nightmare and the potential for errors often comes in. We'd no sooner get one payment book then we'd be getting another from the next lender. We got delinquent notices when we paid to one lender but they had sold the note already to someone else, and it took forever to straighten out. I remember one time our new note holder turned out to be some shady fly-by-night operation operated out of someone's basement. Scary. As a borrower, remember with many lenders you have no control over the buy/sell/trade of your mortgage.

RFCU jammed us pretty good a couple months ago. We had to move here on fairly short notice, so we didn't have a 20% down payment saved up either, but my in-laws offered us the cash. We made very sure RFCU was aware of the source of our down payment, and they said, oh, your credit is great, no problem about the down payment as long as it's a gift and not a loan. Which it was.

Then our offer was accepted on the house, and we called Redstone to let them get the process started. All of a sudden, they wouldn't make the loan because our down payment wasn't "sourced and seasoned". We were told the money had to have been in our account, untouched, for at least 3-4 months, with proven history of slow, steady growth of the funds. They would not accept a gift, money from selling something such as a car, etc etc. They COMPLETELY mislead us when we applied for the loan.

We had to scramble to find a lender. Eventually we ended up with a mortgage brokered by Courtesy First in Athens. I am grateful that they were able to get it together when we had no other options, although it is not an ideal arrangement by any means. Our first statement was also notification that our mortgage is being sold. Great. I can see that this is going to get really old, really fast. But that was our only option. Every cent we don't spend on living expenses, we use to pay down our mortgages and other debt. We didn't have $60K sitting in the bank, just in case we ever had to suddenly move to another city and buy a house there. You know?

[mm42]

I don't see any problem with a mortgage being sold.

I have had a bunch of mortgages, due to refinancing every time rates drop an appreciable amount. I have found that mortgage brokers almost always have the best deals (I don't say the best "rates", because you have to account for origination fees, points, closing costs, terms, and rates to compare), so to me having my mortgage sold is a natural consequence of getting the best deal.

I have never had a problem due to a sold mortgage either.

[Toymeister]

In the process of the loan you will be told the percentage of loans that are retained in house or turned over. There are no guarantees that for 30 years the same bank will service your loan but it is the best predictor that you can get. For the, record Pentagon Federal Credit Union retains 100% of their loans and they will not loan to anyone they perceive as risky. I suggest that you google the bank of your choice with trigger words like 'Ripoff' or 'problems'. Of course you will always get some indirect hits just because the mortgage company has a web page

I just searched zero direct hits for 'Rip Off PenFed mortgage' Not the case with wells fargo (many Many hits), Redstone has no hits although in the world of mortgages they are fairly small. As always do your own research and do not use a Realtor's mortgage broker 'just because', use who YOU trust.

[UAHgrad]

Thank you for all your suggestions! I'll definitely consider all of this while finding a mortgage broker. And I don't think we're going to go with RFCU. I have not heard much good from their services OR heard that their rates are especially good for people who do not have a full 20% down.

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

In the process of the loan you will be told the percentage of loans that are retained in house or turned over. There are no guarantees that for 30 years the same bank will service your loan but it is the best predictor that you can get. For the, record Pentagon Federal Credit Union retains 100% of their loans and they will not loan to anyone they perceive as risky. I suggest that you google the bank of your choice with trigger words like 'Ripoff' or 'problems'. Of course you will always get some indirect hits just because the mortgage company has a web page

I just searched zero direct hits for 'Rip Off PenFed mortgage' Not the case with wells fargo (many Many hits), Redstone has no hits although in the world of mortgages they are fairly small. As always do your own research and do not use a Realtor's mortgage broker 'just because', use who YOU trust.

That's not going to be a very good comparison. I'm sure Wells Fargo makes many times more mortgage loans than PenFed, being it is the second largest mortgage originator in the country.

Bottom line, read and take the time to understand what you sign and ask questions.

[friday13]

To the Original Poster:

Beware of 4 costly mortgage fees

Beware of 4 costly mortgage fees - MSN Money

specifically, obtaini the Good Faith Estimate in writing when shopping for rates.
here's HUD's standardized form, just to have an idea (even if you go for a commercial loan)