Worried about Rising Mortgage Rates?

The overall costs of Lending has been on the rise for the last several months. With the latest Inflation Rate of 9.1%, this will cause the Federal Reserve to raise rates again and most likely more aggressively than previous rate hikes.

We have come up with a SPECIAL program to relieve this stress! You can now LOCK in to Today’s Mortgage Rate while you are shopping for a home. This allows you to shop up to 90 Days with the security of knowing you are locked in.

This program is good for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits in your area. Here is a link to the Fannie Mae Loan Limits in your Area. Depending upon the County you are in will determine the maximum loan amount for this program.

For more information on this program, feel free to call or email me anytime!

Bill Nickerson | NMLS #4194 | Mortgage Equity Partners | Email | (c) 978-273-3227

Take the emotion out of buying a home using good business sense

There is a good deal of emotion wrapped up in buying a home. Determining where we will spend the most intimate as well as memorable moments of our lives is no small decision. And it is no doubt one of the biggest investments most of us will ever make.

Removing emotion is no easy task. But if we make an attempt to screw our heads on as investors and looked at buying home the way we might buy a stock or mutual fund, education is the key — asking what considerations are necessary in order to have a knowledge base before acting.

If you’ve been a renter, you know there are advantages to it as well as freedom. But what about the future, and permanency? The idea of buying goes beyond renting, since you are pouring your money into a single bucket all your own — not someone else’s. Even before that final mortgage payment is made, you will have been living in your investment as physical shelter, which is why buying a home is still considered one of the safest investments around. It’s not just a piece of paper, an account number or a line on a graph.

Look at this as a business proposition first and foremost by scrutinizing the proximity and access to basic services regarding health, supply, security, and transport. That house way up on a hill may make your heart flutter, but if minimum requirements such as electricity and gas systems, lighting, waste collection, and sewer services are a concern, your little slice of heaven can soon turn into a nightmare. It’s also a good idea to inquire about infrastructural projects in the area that have the potential to increase or decrease the value of the property. Can that golf course eventually get sold to developers for more housing? Will those abandoned railroad tracks get used for future transit? Either you or your Realtor can visit the local city planning offices and pose these questions or just take a look at plans for the area.

What about your personal needs? Will local regulations or the governing entity of the neighborhood allow you to build on to the existing structure or renovate the exterior? Speaking of exteriors, building materials are not meant to last forever. Whether the home you are considering is stucco or siding, think about painting and repairs down the road. If most of the interior is carpeted, what kinds of expenses would you be subject to when you replace it all with hardwood?

It’s always recommended that you accompany the individual doing the physical inspection of the house you are considering. Try out the water pressure, check the electric meter and boards, and hold your hand up to the AC vents. If a breaker trips in the middle of the night in a snowstorm, where will you have to traipse to re-set it? This is also when you can educate yourself as to the structural system of the house, including how to access some areas you don’t need on a daily basis. Your home becomes a living, breathing entity when you think of it as a vessel that needs care, maintenance, and an occasional face-lift.

Even though a home can be staged for sale beautifully with furniture and accessories, it’s important to visually remove the temporary fluff and consider whether your own furniture will fit if you don’t intend to buy all new items. A few overstuffed chairs facing a fireplace do not equal a family of four facing a big screen TV over that same fireplace. How much room would be left over for an adequately sized sofa or sectional? And when looking at bedroom space, has the stager used mostly twin beds in secondary bedrooms? Can you turn around in the laundry room when someone opens the door to the garage?

While a home’s listing should give you most of the financial information you’ll need, it may not tell it all. The costs of things like homeowners association fees (if any) should be a concern — how well is the association managed, are there any liens or lawsuits pending against it, how often has the fee gone up and what does it cover? Does the neighborhood have supplemental taxes levied against it for expenses normal property taxes don’t cover, such as lighting and landscape corridors? Some of these extra taxes last up to 25 years from the time a home is built, and not all are write-offs on taxes.

Of course, your knowledge of the market surrounding the house you are considering is key as well. What homes have sold recently, what was included in the price and how long did they take to sell? How does this house compare to any of them, and why might it be worth more or less? It may seem like overreach, but ringing a few doorbells in the surrounding neighborhood and asking a few questions is not a bad idea when you are considering such a large investment.

And lastly, know your rights as a consumer buying real estate, whether you have professional representation or not. Read up about them online or buy a few books so that you are at least armed with a slew of questions. You’ll be glad you did a little prep work, took some of the emotion out of the equation, and looked at this as an important personal business investment.

Source: TBWS

Bill Nickerson NMLS #4194

Knowing the difference between a buyer’s and seller’s market is a good idea

There is one verse missing from the famous and well-worn song Turn, Turn, Turn written by the Byrds back in 1962. The one that should be added is “there is a time to buy, a time to sell…” Realtor’s Terri Williams likens it to a card game (which was also a song) about knowing “when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.”

Buyers’ markets and sellers’ markets are simply part of the economy journey, reflecting not just what is happening on a national level, but also what happens depending on supply and demand. They might also reflect tax laws and consumer confidence. It’s a mixed bag. When it’s someone’s “market,” that means the market favors them. So a buyer’s market means it’s a great time to consider buying. A buyers’ market usually means a period of six months or longer where prices steadily soften. Inventory usually rises, and interest rates drop to fuel the market. The bigger the inventory, the more negotiating there will be, including asking for perks such as help with closing costs, a credit in escrow for a new paint job, etc. It may also mean a quick closing if you need the place right away.

So how does this affect sellers? It’s not a happy time for them. It takes longer for homes to sell and hoping to get the price the seller thinks their house is worth is often a pipe dream. They can stack the odds for it, however by making sure their home is move-in ready and shows well both in person as well as in photos.

 

For some time now, it has been the reverse of this. With little inventory, sellers have been reaping the rewards of the market with multiple offers and naming their terms. That is, however, now changing according to a recent CNBC article, which says that consumer sentiment in housing improved in August and that they believe mortgage rates will keep dropping. Say one Dallas-based real estate agent: “It’s not a seller’s market right now. Now is not the time for sellers to put out these crazy prices. Appraisals have gotten a lot harder, and buyers are a little more cautious. They’re more willing to take their time.” The article goes on to say that while mortgage rates are low, buyers are becoming more cautious. With competition cooling, sellers can no longer command any

price.

“Unfortunately, much of the lower interest rate environment can be attributed to global economic uncertainties, which appear to have dampened consumer sentiment regarding the direction of the economy,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae in the article. “We do expect housing market activity to remain relatively stable, and the favorable rate environment should continue supporting increased refinance activity.” CNBC writer Diana Olick agrees that home prices are still higher than they were a year ago, but the gains have been moderating.

Source: Realtor, CNBC, TBWS

Bill Nickerson NMLS #4194

As-Is; What does it really mean in a Real Estate transaction?

When Billy Joel wrote the song Just the Way You Are, it wasn’t about buying a house. It would be too unromantic to say, “I’ll take you as is.” But that’s what many sellers are stipulating when they list their homes.

Those few words can have a significant impact on your transaction if you are the buyer. In a typical sale, after the buyers do all their inspections, they’re allowed to negotiate the recommended repairs with the sellers. It’s a “push-me-pull-you” kind of thing. The sellers will agree to have some portion of the work completed by a qualified professional or, alternatively, they will agree to give the buyers a credit towards the cost of the work.

That all changes when you buy a home in “as-is” condition. In real estate terms, a home that’s being sold as-is essentially means that you’re willing to accept responsibility for any work that needs to be done to the home.

This does not mean you have to skip inspections, however. You still have the option to do inspections for your own benefit, but the information you glean will be informational rather for negotiating purposes. That being said, it’s wise to do the inspections to understand what you’re in for — a new roof? HVAC system needs to be replaced? If you find that the house needs more work than you can handle, you’ll have the option to back out of the deal.

By now you may wonder why to consider an as-is purchase at all. The one big benefit is that you can usually get it for a better price. Forbes’ Tara Mastroeni writes, “Since the sellers are unwilling to negotiate on repairs, they’ll often price the home lower than would be expected in order to make their property seem more attractive to potential buyers.” She goes on to say that the other benefit is that you’ll have more control over any repairs done to the home once you’re the homeowner. “In a typical sale, the sellers get to choose who does the repairs that they’ve agreed to make. In this situation, you’d be able to hire professionals that you trust.”

As for reasons NOT to buy an as-is condition home? Risk. Even if you do your inspections, that home that took your breath away at first sight might end up costing more than expected and, in this case, you’d be the one responsible for footing the bill.

If you are on the selling end of the equation, you’ll need to educate yourself before listing a home as-is. Many homeowners assume that selling as-is relieves them from all the general obligations that come with the sale of a home, including unloading the property for whatever price they can get while avoiding the need to talk about or disclose any issues with the home. This is where they’d be wrong. Disclosure still rules, but the terms of disclosure rules can vary from state to state.

Listing agents can often become the fall-guy in as-is transactions, as they are held to a higher standard when it comes to disclosing a home’s defects. This is due to the Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 93A). MaxRealEstate’s Bill Gasset says this means, “Realtors have an obligation to disclose any fact that could influence the buyer not to enter into a real estate transaction. For example, if a real estate agent knows that the seller’s basement floods every spring, this is something a Realtor has to disclose.” As for what might stand up in court if a buyer backs down, it can become a he-said-she-said conundrum.

Gasset lists examples of issues a real estate agent must disclose to a prospective home buyer, such as evidence of a structural defect like a major crack in the foundation, the appearance of mold in the home, termite damage, roof leaks, high radon levels, known plumbing or electrical issues, obnoxious noise levels and especially any legal issues such as a cloud on the title.

As for the issues a home has that are not evident or lie beneath walls and floorboards, real estate agents do have a duty disclose if they discover some problem on their own or the owner lets them know. No secrets allowed. Gasset says most real estate companies ask sellers they are representing to fill out a document called a “Sellers Statement of Property Condition” — a report that outlines what an owner knows and doesn’t know about their home.

So after all this information about as-is listings, why would sellers opt NOT to do this? Simple. There is a negative connotation with buying a home as-is. “Buyers will low-ball you,” says Gasset. “Under the assumption that your home has serious defects, the buyer will bargain with you like you are desperate. You can expect offers that are probably less than what you want, or what your home is worth.”

You’ll also have to work harder at justifying your sales price. “Because buyers will be coming into the transaction with so much negative baggage, it will be difficult to break through the assumptions to show that there are plenty of reasons why your home is desirable.”

Unless selling homes in your area is as easy as fogging up a mirror, you may also drive away a lot of potential buyers with an as-is stipulation. “Even if you are in a position where you want to put minimum effort or money into the home to make a sale, you could still benefit from avoiding the as-is designation in the listing,” says Gasset. “Let buyers come and make offers, see how you feel, and go ahead and turn down requests to make repairs if you feel it is the right choice.”

Sources: Forbes, MaxRealEstate, TBWS

 

Bill Nickerson NMLS #4194  | 978.273.3227  | Email | Website

10 Things to do before listing your home

 To help make the selling process easier for you, it makes sense to have your home inspected before listing it.  It may sound like a hassle but it could save you a lot of money and stress early on.  The inspection will pinpoint red flags and areas that have potential problems.  It also gives you the opportunity to address those issues before listing your home.  Having your home already inspected ultimately also gives the prospective buyers the comfort and confidence that the seller actually cared about their home in the first place.  Be sure to share this information with prospective buyers by supplying a copy of the home inspection.  It is perfectly okay to choose not to have your home inspected before listing.  If you take this route, just be sure to do your own pre-listing home inspection to keep things significantly less nerve-racking and not terribly costly before the buyer’s home inspector comes through.

Here are 10 areas to look at/fix up before listing your home.

1.  Fix any deteriorated paint jobs.  Touch up any dings on the walls or woodwork, scrape and paint any flaking areas.

2.  For furnaces over 10 years old; pay to have it serviced and cleaned.  Then display the inspection papers (store them in a Ziploc bag) by taping to furnace.

3.  Make sure all toilets are flushed.  Nothing worse than having a seldom used toilet not functioning properly.

4.  Run water down sinks and bathtub drains.  All drains need to flow steadily.  No slow drains!

5.  Check for leaks under sinks and in vanities.  Tighten up joints if necessary.

6.  Check out the condition of the roof.  You want things to look normal: no missing shingles.

7.  Clean out the gutters.  They need to be free of debris for good drainage.

8.  Open and close all windows.  Check for springs working properly so windows don’t slam down. Make sure all the locks work and windows close tightly.

9.  Test any appliances like the dishwasher that you are leaving behind.  You want them working properly. Make sure all burners/oven are working on your stove.

10.  Test the auto reverse on the garage door.  Make sure the safety mechanism works.

For more information about Home Inspectors or how to prepare to list your home, call or email me anytime.  Bill’s Email  | Phone 978.273.3227

Before Putting Your Home on the Market

• Documents you will need
  • Deed
  • If you have right of ways, deed restrictions or easements get the documentation that clearly spells out the restrictions of the property.
  • Know if you are in a flood plain – FEMA’s website can be helpful.
  • Go to the Town Hall:
    • Field card at the assessor’s office
    • Get your most recent  paid tax bill
    • A plot plan
    • Title V report if it has been complete and the pumping schedule
    • Talk to the engineering department get a sense of any upcoming projects that may be done around the home.
    • Building department will have a list of all permits pulled and renovations done to the home including electrical, plumbing and addition upgrades
  • If you are in a condo
    • Condo financials to include the budget,  the last three months condo association meeting minutes and if they have it a list of current and future project that are going to be done to the properties
    • Condo Rules and Regulations
    • Master Deed and Master Insurance.
    • Verify there are no pending lawsuits with association
    • Know the owner occupancy rate of your complex
  • Home List
    • Create a list of renovations and updates that have been done to the property
    • Get utility bills for the last 12 months: Electric, oil, gas, propane, plowing, landscaping…
    • Write a letter to potential buyers of what you love about your home, neighborhood and town.

For more information about selling your home, feel free to contact me anytime.  I can be reached at 978-273-3227 or email be here: Bill’s Email

Bill Nickerson | NMLS #4194 | www.billnickerson.com | 978-273-3227 | bill@billnickerson.com

What are Closing Costs?

Closing costs are an accumulation of charges paid to different entities associated with the buying and selling of real estate. For buyers in Massachusetts, closing costs will come to about $3500 plus lenders title insurance and any pre-paid items such as real estate taxes, insurance and interest.

There may be closing costs customary or unique to a certain locality, but closing costs are usually made up of the following:

Third Party Fees (The Hard Costs)

• Attorney’s fees (yours and your lender’s if applicable)
• Appraisal
• Credit Report Fee
• Lenders administrative costs
• Recording fees
• Plot Plan or Survey fee
• Title insurance (yours and your lender’s)
• Loan discount points (click to the left to see if points are worth it)
• Any documentation preparation fees

Pre-Paid Items:

• Property taxes (to cover tax period to date)
• Interest (paid from date of closing to the following first of the month)
• First payment to escrow account for future real estate taxes and insurance
  • 3 to 4 months of real estate taxes to be held in escrow
  • 2 months of homeowners insurance to be held in escrow
• Paid receipt for homeowner’s insurance policy (including fire and flood insurance if applicable)
• First premium of mortgage insurance (if applicable)

Additional Items that No One Tells You About:

• Purchase and Sales Review
• Recorded Homestead Act
• Representation from a real estate attorney other than what the bank provides
• Home Inspection
• One Year of Homeowners Insurance up front
• Owners Title Insurance
• Buying the Oil in the Oil Tank of your new home

For more details regarding these items, please see my blog post: Home Buying Closing Costs: What to Expect

Or for more clarification on closing costs and how you can save your buyers money, feel free to contact me anytime at bill@billnickerson.com 

 

 

Adjustable Rates 101

An Adjustable Rate Mortgage provides a specific fixed rate term before becoming an adjustable mortgage.  An example: A 10/1 ARM is fixed for the first 10 years and then becomes a 1 year adjustable rate for the remaining term of the mortgage, thus giving you 10 years  of security at a fixed rate.

Advantages: If you know that you are selling your home in a short period of time, 10-12 years or less, you can get a mortgage rate that is 3/4’s to 1 full percent below the traditional mortgage rates.  Today a 10 year ARM is 3.25% and you can borrower up to 2 Million Dollars.

How do they work?

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM’s) come in many different varieties.  The most common ARM’s are the following:  Three Year, Five Year, Seven Year and a Ten Year.  You will also see them displayed in this format as well:  3/1, 5/1, 7/1 and 10/1.  The first number represents the amount of years the loan will be fixed for and will not change from its original start rate.  The higher the first number or term, the higher the interest rate will be.

The second number represents how often the ARM will adjust after the fixed rate term ends.  Using a 5/1 ARM as the example, when your fixed term is about to expire, the Lender will send you a notice via mail notifying you that your rate is about to adjust and what that adjustment will be.  This will occur 45 days prior to this expiration date, in this case that would be 60 months in to this loan (5 Years). The new rate will be set for one year, or the term that is stated in the second number, 5/1.

The adjustments are based on 2 variables, the index and the margin.  The margin is set on the day you get the mortgage and is usually in the range of 2.25 or 2.75 depending upon the type of ARM you go with.  This will never change and is set for the life of the loan.  We would then add the current Index to this margin and combined that would create your new rate.

The Index can come from many places but is selected when we lock in your loan.  Typically we use the One Year Treasury Bill or the One Year LIBOR.  Both indexes move fairly slowly.  These Indexes are always posted in the Wall Street Journal but is very easy just to Google these terms. This will show you the current rate as well as show the history of these rates. You can also click this site at the US Treasury

Today’s one year treasury is at 1.30, this is the index.  Add this to the margin of 2.50 and your new rate today would be 3.875%. This rate would be rounded up to the next highest 1/8^th and this would give us 3.875% for one year.  Remember, this is what the rate would adjust to after the fixed term has ended.

Caps: Your loan comes with caps of 5/2/5, each number represents how your loan will adjust.  With the first adjustment the loan can adjust 5% up or down from the original start rate. The second number “2” is what it can adjust each time for the remaining years of the loan.  So, the second adjustment and every one after that the rate can move up or down a maximum of 2%.  The last number is the Life Cap.  This rate will never go higher than 5% of the starting rate.  So if you lock in a rate of 3.25% today, your rate would never exceed 8.25%.  To give you an idea, since 1996, this rate has not exceeded 8.25% at its high point. In the last several years, this rate as adjusted downward and as low as 2.00% in many cases.

I hope this is helpful. Always feel free to ask questions about any of this information. Email me at Bill@billnickerson.com or call 978-273-3227.

Thank you very much,

Bill Nickerson NMLS# 4194 | Flagstar Bank| 1500 District Avenue, Burlington MA

Pre-Qualification vs. Pre-Approval

In Today’s Real Estate Market, it is more important than ever to have a Pre-Qualification in hand when shopping for a home that has been prepared by a reputable Lender, Bank or Credit Union.  The terminology has changed from Pre-Approval to Pre-Qualification depending upon the detail of the Approval provided.

Pre-Qualification

A mortgage loan pre-qualification is an estimate of how much house you can afford and how much money a lender would be willing to loan you.  The best time to get pre-qualified is right before you start looking at homes.  This way you can focus on looking at houses that are within your price range.  By providing a loan officer with your income, assets, debts, and a potential down payment amount, he would then be able to give you a ballpark figure of how much he thinks you could afford to pay for a monthly mortgage.  Your Credit is reviewed and your loan is submitted through an Automated Underwriting Service (AUS). There is no cost to this service and no commitment is required.  This estimate is a helpful tool to you in figuring out if buying a home is a viable option, and if so, what your price range would probably be. A pre-qualification is to give you a range of home prices and in no way is a commitment to lend on a home. The time frame for this is less than 24 hours.

Pre-Approval

Getting pre-approved means that you have a tentative written commitment from a lender for mortgage funding.  In the pre-approval process, you provide a loan officer with actual documentation of your income, assets, and debts.   The Loan Officer is submitting this as if it is an actual loan and a property has been identified.  This will be reviewed by the lenders underwriting team.  The lender will run a credit check and verify all your employment and financial information. Once the final approval comes in, the lender will give you a letter of commitment stating how much money the bank is willing to loan you for a home purchase. Having a certified pre-approval in hand when you start house hunting lets real estate agents and sellers know you are serious about buying when they see you have your mortgage funding in place.  By having your funding in place, it becomes an extreme advantage over other buyers when it comes to negotiating your home purchase as your offer will stand above the rest and you will be able to close in a much shorter time period. The timeframe for a Pre-Approval can take up to 5 Business Days.

It is important to note that a pre-approval and a pre-commitment is still subject to further review as any loan is.  As variables change in lending or in the borrowers financial picture, additional items may be required. In addition to the financial commitment, the lender will also need to verify the property appraisal and title search.

Bottom Line:     

Pre-Qualification is an estimate of a price range of what you can afford by verifying credit, income and running your loan through an Automated Underwriting System such as Fannie Mae or FHA as well as others.     Pre-Approval is a verified commitment from the bank stating how much money it will loan you. Make sure your Pre-Approval is an actual commitment from the bank as opposed to a Loan Officer just doing a quick credit check.

For More Information about Loan Approvals, Loan Programs and mortgages that are best suited to your financial needs, contact me anytime at 978-273-3227 or  email me  and  you can always visit my mortgage site at www.billnickerson.com

Bill Nickerson

The Perfect Loan File

This article came from Mark Greene contributor to Forbes Magazine.  It is very helpful to all of us so that we can truly understand what is going on in this industry and so that we can educate our buyers and sellers.

The media has it all wrong – securing mortgage approval and satisfying credit underwriting guidelines are not the difficulties plaguing mortgage consumers. It’s in meeting the rigorous documentation requirements that most people fall flat. The good news is, the fix is simple. Just scan, photocopy, fax, and deliver every aspect of your financial life. Then, shortly before closing, check everything again.

Mortgage consumers who enter the mortgage approval process ready to battle their chosen mortgage lender will come out with a nightmare story to tell. As the process, requirements, and guidelines are the same for everybody, your mindset is the game-changer. Accepting the redundant documentation necessary for lender approval will make everyone’s life easier.

When I was a kid, my father occasionally issued directives that I naturally thought were superfluous, and when asked why I needed to do whatever it was he wanted me to do, his answer was often: “Because I said so.” This never seemed to address my query but always left me without a retort, and I would usually comply. This is exactly what consumers should do during the mortgage approval process. When your lender requests what seems to be over-documentation and you wonder why you need it, accept the simple edict – “because I said so.” You will find the mortgage approval process much less frustrating.

So, what’s the perfect loan? Well, it’s one that (a) pays back the lender and (b) pays back the lender on time. Underwriting the perfect loan is not the goal that mortgage lenders aspire to today.

The real goal is the perfect loan file.

Mortgage lenders have suffered staggering losses and gone out of business because of the dreaded loan repurchase. As mortgage delinquencies increased, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began to audit mortgage loans they had purchased and discovered substandard and fraudulent underwriting practices that violated representations and warranties made, stating these were high quality loans. Fannie and Freddie began forcing the originating lenders of these “bad” loans to buy them back. So a small correspondent mortgage lender is forced to buy back a single mortgage loan in the amount of $250,000. This becomes a $250,000 loss to a small mortgage business for a single loan, because it will never be repaid.

It doesn’t take many of these bad loan buybacks to close the doors on many small mortgage operations. The lending houses suffered billions of dollars of losses repurchasing loans from Fannie and Freddie, and began to do the same thing for loans they had purchased from smaller originators.

The small and medium sized mortgage originators that survived created underwriting guidelines and procedures to eliminate the threat of future loan repurchase losses. The answer? The perfect loan file.

It’s no longer necessary to have excellent credit, a big down payment and stable employment with income sufficient to support your debt service to guarantee your loan approval. However, you must have a borrower profile that meets the credit underwriting guidelines for the loan you are requesting. And, more importantly, you have to be able to hard-copy-guideline-document your profile.

Every nook and cranny of your financial life has to be corroborated, double- and triple-checked, and reviewed again before closing. This way, if the originating lender has created a loan file that is exactly consistent with published underwriting guidelines and has documented while adhering to those guidelines, the chances are that your loan will not be subject to repurchase.

Borrowers also need to prepare for processing and underwriting. Processors and underwriters are the people trained and charged with gathering (processors), all of your required-for-approval financial documents, and then approving (underwriters), your loan. You can assume these people are well trained and very experienced, as they are tasked with assembling and approving a high-quality-these-people-will-pay-us-back loan file. But just how do they go about that?

The process begins with the filter – the loan originator (a.k.a loan officer, mortgage consultant, mortgage adviser, etc.) – tasked to match the qualifications of a particular mortgage deal to the appropriate underwriting guidelines. It is the filter’s job to determine if a loan scenario is approvable and to gather the documentation to support that determination. It is here, at the beginning of the approval process, where the deal is made or broken. The rest of the approval process is just papering the file.

The filter determines whether the information provided by the borrower can be validated and documented. This is simple, since most mortgages are approved by automated underwriting engines such as Desktop Underwriter, and the automated approval generates a list of the documents needed to paper the loan file. An underwriter can, at this stage, request additional supporting documentation evidence at their discretion, as not all circumstances neatly fit into the prescribed underwriting box. If the filter creates a loan file with accurate information, then secures the documentation resulting from the automated underwriting findings, the loan will close uneventfully.

So, let’s begin with the pre-approval call. Mortgage pre-approval is typically accomplished with a telephone interview. A prospective borrower calls a mortgage rep (filter), and the questions begin. There will be lots of questions as this critical phase of the process is akin to the discovery period in a trial – you’ll need to disclose everything. Expect to answer queries on what you do for a living, how long you’ve been employed in your current field, and what your salary is. If there is a co-borrower, they will have to answer the same questions.

Every dollar in checking, savings, investments and retirement accounts, also known as assets to close, as well as gifts from relatives and non-profit grants, has to be accounted for. Essentially everything appearing on a borrower’s asset-radar-screen has to be documented and explained.

If you were previously a homeowner and sold your home in a short sale, or if you own a home now and plan to keep it as an investment or rental property, there are new and specific underwriting guidelines created just for you. In these cases, full disclosure of your credit and homeownership past can potentially eliminate unforeseen mortgage approval woes. For instance, Fannie Mae has a new underwriting guideline called “Buy-and-Bail,” for current homeowners’ planning on keeping their existing home as an investment/rental property. Properties not meeting the 30% equity test for “Buy-and-Bail” result in additional asset requirements to purchase a new home. Buyers with a short sale history may have to wait two to three years before they are eligible for mortgage financing again. Full vetting of your previous mortgage life will save you the dreaded we-have-a-problem call from your mortgage lender.

It all comes down to your proof. If the lender asks for a specific document, give them exactly what they are asking for, not what “should be OK,” – because it won’t be.  This is where the approval process tends to go off the rails, when the lender asks for specific documentation and the borrower supplies something else. Here, too, is where both sides get frustrated. So if the lender asks for a bank statement and there are 5 pages for that bank statement, send them all 5 pages, and not just the summary. If you send them the summary page and they ask again, don’t complain that the lender keeps asking for the same thing when you never sent it in the first place. This may sound elementary, but the vast majority of mortgage approval process woes stem from scenarios just like this.

The reason the mortgage approval process is now so rigorous is simple. Avoiding defaults and loan buybacks has become the primary goal of mortgage lenders.   Higher standards are reducing loan defaults, which should mean fewer foreclosures in the future. Government data shows that less than 2% of loans originated in 2009, that were resold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae went into default after 18 months, down from more than 22% default rates for 2007 loans.

So when your lender requests specific documents from you, give it to them just “because they said so.”

For more information about lending and financing, please contact Bill at 978-273-3227  or by email  Bill’s Email

Mortgage Document Checklist

APPLY ONLINE