Getting a mortgage in Huntsville (Athens, Union: mortgage broker, credit, loan)

[hsv-crew]

I have Countrywide, and they have never called me about refinancing, however you will get a piece of junk mail from them at least once a month about refinancing. My 1st experience with Countrywide was a refi, and I was very satisfied, but my 2nd loan experience with them was only average.

I really like Redstone as a credit union, but in the past their loan rates have not seemed as competitive.

And yes, you can get a loan without putting 20% down, but you will have to pay PMI, which is a total waste of money. I had to pay PMI on my first loan, a couple of thousand up front, and an extra $50 or so every month. I vowed that I would never pay PMI again. So, save up your money, borrow from relatives, do whatever you can to avoid PMI, because it is just money down the toilet.

[southern by choice]

A pre-qual letter is not the same as a pre-approval letter. It is not saying definitively that this person can get the financing. A pre-approval letter is saying that. It delves deeper, ie. credit report is checked, more information is obtained from you, etc. It is much stronger having a pre-approval letter from your lender versus a pre-qualified letter when you are house hunting.

[mm42]

You can avoid PMI without 20% down on a conventional mortgage. What you have to do is get a 1st mortgage at 80% LTV and then get a 2nd mortgage at 10% LTV. The 2nd mortgage will generally be at a higher interest rate, but it is still a much better deal than PMI. PMI is a total ripoff and should be avoided by any means necessary.

[southern by choice]

Originally Posted by mm42

You can avoid PMI without 20% down on a conventional mortgage. What you have to do is get a 1st mortgage at 80% LTV and then get a 2nd mortgage at 10% LTV. The 2nd mortgage will generally be at a higher interest rate, but it is still a much better deal than PMI. PMI is a total ripoff and should be avoided by any means necessary.

This is called a piggyback loan, and its not a bad way to go, considering the 2nd mortgage is tax deductable whereas PMI is not. But I didnt think this kind of financing was still available, given today's current circumstances ???

[JakeWilliams]

Originally Posted by southern by choice

This is called a piggyback loan, and its not a bad way to go, considering the 2nd mortgage is tax deductable whereas PMI is not. But I didnt think this kind of financing was still available, given today's current circumstances ???

Redstone offers this today. Their rates are decent. Their loan servicing department was pretty terrible for me - not returning calls or emails. I decided not to go with them.

If you think you'll be in it short-term (starter home) then I strongly suggest you talk to Alabama Credit Union (alabamacu.com). They have a 90% Loan To Value Adjustable Rate with no PMI and very low closing costs, plus they don't require escrow. I used them with my first home since they didn't require PMI and it was great, I saved a ton of money. However, it is an ARM so you have to be sure you're willing to take the risk of the higher rate (which may not be a big deal if you don't plan on staying in your house long-term). They have great personal service - the branch manager was at my closing in person, and she told me that she has the shortest tenure of the UAH branch at 5 years!

Jake

[milledj]

A friend of mine had a mortgage with RedFed, and they had automatic payments taken from their RedFed checking account. Strange thing was, that they got billed for late payments, and RedFed had set the whole thing up. Of course, this was one person, but it made me worry a bit about them.

As first time home buyers, I will assume you know about the government's incentive for this? I think it was up to $10,000, wasn't it?

Good luck!

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by milledj

A friend of mine had a mortgage with RedFed, and they had automatic payments taken from their RedFed checking account. Strange thing was, that they got billed for late payments, and RedFed had set the whole thing up. Of course, this was one person, but it made me worry a bit about them.

As first time home buyers, I will assume you know about the government's incentive for this? I think it was up to $10,000, wasn't it?

Good luck!

I agree that auto payments can be tricky. There are two types of auto payments: Push or Pull. In any situation where you set up a bank to 'pull' your payment for you, especially from another bank, in my opinion you are turning over control to the banks. Why on earth would you want to trust any bank? As anyone who has read my comments knows I believe in personal accountability and being a wise consumer. I recomend that you push a payment to banks. You decide when the bank gets paid. You do this by setting up a web bill pay and push the cash to them at the time the payment is due.

I have had three mortgages with penfed with zero problems, while I currently have a countrywide loan and I have had nothing but nagging phone calls from them, all sales calls. Granted that may not happen to everyone but it has to me.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by milledj

A friend of mine had a mortgage with RedFed, and they had automatic payments taken from their RedFed checking account. Strange thing was, that they got billed for late payments, and RedFed had set the whole thing up. Of course, this was one person, but it made me worry a bit about them.

As first time home buyers, I will assume you know about the government's incentive for this? I think it was up to $10,000, wasn't it?

Good luck!

Its $8,000 for a first time home buyer. First time is defined as not owning a home for three years. I'll leave it up to one of the prolific link posters to post the link to that, or you can google it yourself

[ISellHSV]

Here is the link for the Federal Housing Tax Credit: Federal Housing Tax Credit for First-Time Home Buyers: Home (http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/ - broken link)

[caution]

nevermind it's the new one