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Hi everyone,
We're planning to venture on the housing market (first time homebuyers) sometime in early-mid Spring. We've spoken to a few folks in the field who advised going with local lenders and staying away from big banks (BoA, Wells Fargo, etc.) because they've had enormous problems lately with them "not getting their acts together" for closing with clients. One lost a home because of it.
Any recommendations for local lenders? We're not opposed to working with a mortgage broker and got a few recommendations from our agent, but I'd like to consider other options as well. Seems agents always make recommendations on who is easiest to work with and don't necessarily factor in rates. I know rates are on the rise since the election and unfortunately seems like they will further increase in December (not sure by how much). Not much to be done as we're still saving for a down payment. Planning an 80/10/10. Nothing crazy. Stellar credit and will be buying immensely below what we expect we'll be approved to buy.
Duke credit union? Other credit unions? Any online companies? Any recommendations would be appreciated.
I suggest you shop around. Call a few big-name banks and local ones. See who can offer the best rates, lowest closing costs, etc. I wouldn't worry about the banks not "getting their acts together." Much of that depends on which title company is used, how quickly you respond to the bank's requests, and various other factors.
We're using First State Bank. Haven't closed it yet, but so far all is going well. They sure required a lot of documentation, but other than that it's been good.
We used PRMI (Primary Residential Mortgage Inc) for ours. They are a broker and shopped around and found us what we wanted at the best rate. They were easy to work with, fast and were ready to close early. And we got the best rate through them - we did shop around a bit.
We had to give some documentation but not really all that much. but we were well qualified for our loan (high credit scores, 20% down, salaried with steady income for 5+ yrs from same company and buying below our means and no contingency to sell our current home). Our broker said we were the easiest closing she'd done in a long time.
You can always shop around with banks yourself and then go to a broker and see which is the better deal for you.
the reason you're eliminating the "big banks" is because they don't have their acts together ... not because their fees or rates are higher. It's because you know somebody that LOST A HOME.
If your agent is recommending ANYONE other than "this is a professional who gets it done", then they're not doing you a service. Those professionals don't really get paid much more at all than the bottom feeders who compete solely on price. The mortgage rates are well-known, and every lender is going to be within 1/8% of each other.
Are credit unions doing 30 year fixed rate mortgages right now, or still just ARM's? don't know, as most folks I've worked for the last 4 years have been using banks. Most seemed to use CU's from 2009-2011.
Last 2 houses I bought I went with the builder 's lender on new construction and with navy federal credit union on resale. No problems closing on tice with either but nfcu required much more documentation. I have also refinanced several times with each house and always find someone online for that.
the reason you're eliminating the "big banks" is because they don't have their acts together ... not because their fees or rates are higher. It's because you know somebody that LOST A HOME.
If your agent is recommending ANYONE other than "this is a professional who gets it done", then they're not doing you a service. Those professionals don't really get paid much more at all than the bottom feeders who compete solely on price. The mortgage rates are well-known, and every lender is going to be within 1/8% of each other.
Are credit unions doing 30 year fixed rate mortgages right now, or still just ARM's? don't know, as most folks I've worked for the last 4 years have been using banks. Most seemed to use CU's from 2009-2011.
My experience has been that credit unions are better at arms and exotic loans (90 or 100% cltv with no pmi) whereas brokers are competing in the 15yr/30yr fixed space which they can easily resell to fanning mae.
I agree with Bo - don't even think about online as a first time buyer (and I used to sell mortgages online!) And he's right - an 1/8th of a point or $200 extra in closing costs is not worth dealing with the bottom feeders.
I'd also say that if you're dealing with the RIGHT realtor, their recommendations will be spot on. The RIGHT realtor wants the deal closed properly, efficiently and on time - AND they want their clients happy. They want referrals from you. They have a built in incentive to be sure their clients are being treated fairly.
Now if you've chosen a crappy or inexperienced Realtor, all bets are off.
ETA: one possible exception to the 'no online mortgafe broker' rule. New construction lenders. You'll deal with them entirely online, email and maybe phone. Compare those deals with a local broker before you finalize.
Pass up the commercial banks and mortgage brokers.
Commercial banks are too unreliable, and some costs are out of line. And then there is the whole push to sell you credit cards, checking and savings accounts, cd's, insurance, car loans, etc. And, actually, those lines of business are more important to the banks than home loans.
Mortgage brokers are a middle man, using other people's money, processing and underwriting.
Use a mortgage banker.
Mortgage bankers have one raison d'etre:
To write home loans.
And, they use their own money, with in-house processing and underwriting.
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