Mortgage Referrals
Advice on where to go to get a mortgage. A borrower can always select a loan provider by throwing a dart at the Yellow Pages. A referral is of value if it raises the probability of a good outcome above that from throwing the dart. The four major sources of referrals are real estate sales agents, other borrowers, Internet referral sites, and builders. Real Estate Sales Agents: Home purchasers accept more referrals from real estate sales agents than from all other sources combined. Sales agent referrals generally are to individual loan officers or brokers, as opposed to firms. An agent with great confidence in a loan officer will continue to refer clients even when the loan officer switches firms. Sales agents have the same interest as buyers in completing transactions. Hence, they refer clients to loan providers who can generally be depended upon to close on time. This is the agent's major concern, and it is a concern of borrowers as well. Sales agents have no comparable interest in the mortgage price or whether the borrower is placed in the right kind of mortgage. However, the agent doesn't want the price to be so far out of line or the service provided so abysmal that the borrower throws a fit and blames the agent. Other Borrowers: Referrals from other borrowers are usually based on a single transaction. Internet Referral Sites: These Web sites provide price information for a large number of lenders and mortgage brokers, usually listed by state. They also provide quick entree to the Web sites of each loan provider listed. Builder Referrals: Builder referrals are usually to a lender with whom the builder has a financial arrangement. Hence, they are suspect. In some cases, preferred lenders price loans above the market and kick back some of the excess to the builder. Self-Referrals: Responding to self-referrals (solicitations) usually is a bad idea. Not all lenders who solicit are predators, but all predators solicit.
Popular Mortgage Terms
The sum of all interest payments to date or over the life of the loan. This is an incomplete measure of the cost of credit to the borrower because it does not include upfront cash ...
The definition of credit risk is at the core of lending. Banks lend money to businesses and individuals and expect to recover the principal and win interest. Banks offer a variety of loans, ...
The federal law that specifies the information that must be provided to borrowers on different types of loans. Also, the form used to disclose this information. Truth in Lending (TIL) is ...
Same as term Negative Points: Points paid by a lender for a loan with a rate above the rate on a zero point loan. For example, a lender might quote the following prices: 8%/0 points, ...
Owner financing or seller financing is a trending real estate concept among homebuyers and sellers. The seller reveals in their asset’s advertising or listing if buyers can purchase ...
A derogatory term for lender fees that are expressed in dollars rather than as a percent of the loan amount. ...
Loan applications that are withdrawn by borrowers, because they have found a better deal or for other reasons. ...
The number of days for which any lock or float-down holds. The longer the period, the higher the price to the borrower. ...
An interest rate index that is used on some ARMs. ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.