Posts Tagged ‘lenders’

Tips for your Charlotte Home Search

Looking for a home in Charlotte? Here are a few tips to help you with your home search in Charlotte.

• Search for a Charlotte Home online.  More than 70% of home buyers begin their home search on the internet. With so many websites dedicated to real estate, you can easily search for a home at your computer. Many websites now offer access to the Charlotte MLS, the area’s multiple listing service.
  (view homes for sale in Charlotte)
• Allow a Realtor to search Charlotte homes. A home search in Charlotte will be much easier with a Realtor that knows the area and knows the market. Realtors have access to the complete Charlotte MLS. In addition to the knowledge of the area, once your Charlotte home search is narrowed down to the home you want to buy, a Realtor acting as your buyer’s agent can look out for your best interests.
  (request a Realtor referral)
• Search for a home in your vehicle. One way to know what areas of Charlotte you may be interested in is to drive the neighborhoods. While some of the roads in Charlotte can get confusing, driving the roads will make your home search in Charlotte a real adventure. And along the way you can discover the local stores, parks and other amenities.
  (get local Charlotte information)
• Ask your lender. Yeah, your lender. Most mortgage lenders work with local Realtors and investors. In many cases your lender can know of homes that even Realtors are not aware of. This can make your Charlotte home search more broad and open.
  (ask your lender for help)
• Get Pre-approved for a Charlotte Mortgage. Seriously, if you are looking for a home, get pre-approved! This will allow you to know how much you can afford and how much it may cost. This also places you in a position of strength when it comes time to negotiate the terms of your purchase.
  (apply online or call 877-411-9327)

Beazer announced that they will no longer build homes in North Carolina (and four other states). In addition, Beazer Mortgage is being shut down. This is all a result of problems found last year in their business practices, mainly exposed by the Charlotte Observer.

In my opinion, this shows why “combined services” can be very dangerous. Although the companies that combine home sales and mortgages tout it as a convenience for their clients, these combined services can also be harmful for a great number of home buyers. As evidenced by Beazer Homes, the temptation to Read the rest of this entry »

Have you heard that “No Fee” and “No Closing Cost” mortgage loans are available in the Charlotte area? Yes, and they are catching on in popularity, especially in the Jumbo mortgage loan market!

But before you jump onto the “NO COST MORTGAGE” bandwagon, you must know some hidden truths about these mortgage loans…

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Over the past few years, lenders have pushed their “interest only” mortgage loans. In many cases it was sold as a way to afford more home. But in all reality, is an interest only mortgage loan right for you?

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Several times over the past few days I have noticed this headline. The basic story here is that Wachovia, a Charlotte NC based lender is paying their loan officers additional incentives for selling their “Pick a Payment” mortgage program.

The “Pick a Payment” mortgage loan has been the staple loan of World Savings Bank, now owned by Wachovia. This loan offers the borrower several payment options, including one that leads to “negative amortization.” And in light of today’s declining market and the negative press the entire mortgage industry has endured, this certainly makes for great headlines. The problem is that the news media fails to fully explain this mortgage loan, similar to how some not so “above the board” mortgage brokers and lenders failed to explain it to their clients.

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Bank of America has agreed to purchase Countrywide for roughly $4.1 Billion. So this makes Bank of America the largest bank in America in regards to mortgages. Many industry analysts have spent much of 2008 speculating on the impact this will or will not have on the market.

And yet… this is not a “done deal” just yet.

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Earlier today, mortgage rates dropped big time. The bond market had taken a big hit and that forced mortgage rates down considerably. However, by mid afteroon, bonds had rebounded and mortgage rates took a big swing up. A jumbo loan that I had quoted at 5.75% by the end of the day turned into a 6.125% rate!

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PMI In a Nutshell (IAN)

Ok. So the headline was designed to get your attention. After all, PMI (private mortgage insurance) isn’t the sexiest of topics. But it is a critical part of the mortgage process today. For most people, private mortgage insurance is the only way they will be able to buy a home or refinance their existing mortgage! So with something so critical to this process, maybe we should discuss it a bit, don’t you think?

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As a mortgage professional in Charlotte, I go out of my way to take care of my clients. When it comes to their security and their privacy, I leave nothing to chance. So when I recently visited a local Realtor’s website and looked around their website, I was shocked at what I found.

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