10 Questions to Ask the Mortgage Loan Originator
You’ve decided to refinance or purchase that new home and now it’s time to call a bank or mortgage company to apply for a mortgage. How do you know you’ll be getting the mortgage that will be the right one for you? How do you know you’re dealing with a good honest person? Asking these 10 questions will separate the wheat from the chaff in a hurry!
Question 1. Will this mortgage have an application fee and if I don’t get the mortgage will it be returned to me?
Application fees are not as prevalent as they used to be. Most mortgage lenders will pre-qualify you before they take your application. So, there is really no need for an application fee. You can find a mortgage company who doesn’t charge this fee, so, if one company does, be sure there is a good reason for it.
Application fees sometimes include an appraisal fee. Find out about the appraisal fee, too. Your property, or potential property, will need an appraisal and somebody will have to pay for it.
Question 2. How many points will I be paying on this mortgage?
Make sure the loan originator is very upfront about this so that you can compare this mortgage with other offers. Points can be almost meaningless if you are getting a good interest rate and you will not be paying off the mortgage in full for many years.
If you will be paying off the mortgage in 2 years or less, try to get a zero point mortgage.
Question 3. Does this mortgage have a pre-payment penalty? If so, please explain all the details of it.
There are lenders, even big, big lenders who charge you extra money if you refinance with another mortgage company sooner than they would like you to. These lenders will waive this charge if you refinance with them. They call this practice “protecting their interest.” I call it having you over a barrel!
With all the laws that congress passes, I don’t know how this indecorous business practice goes on unabated. Imagine, you pay an upfront fee of, usually more than $5,000 in points, the larger part of your monthly payment is interest, and still they want more money from you if you decide you can get a better rate with another lender!
These lenders will want to saddle you with a pre-payment penalty if you sell your property or refinance within the first 5 years. Make sure you look around before agreeing to accept a pre-payment penalty for refinancing and never agree to a pre-payment penalty for selling your property.
Question 4. Will my mortgage rate ever change?
At this particular time in history, a fixed rate is the only way to go. A lot of lenders have programs where you will be easing in to your regular payment from an original lower payment.
If you are applying for such a mortgage, make sure you know every detail about this payment schedule. Don’t agree to a payment that you may not be able to make at some time in the future.
Question 5. Is there any negative amortization involved?
This question is similar to question 4, but if you do have changing payments, you should know if your principle would be getting larger at any time during the mortgage. A negative amortization will do this, and with one, if you want to sell your property within the first few years, you will owe more than your original mortgage amount. These types of situations are what foreclosures are made of!
Question 6. Other than points, what other closing costs can I expect?
Make sure you get an accurate idea of what your closing costs will be, and let the loan originator know you are counting on him or her to be accurate.
If you are buying a property, you will have your own attorney, anyway. Still, this question will help you get more details about the mortgage.
Question 7. When would a monthly payment be considered late, and what would the late charge be?
You don’t want to be filling out an application while giving the originator the idea you intend to make late payments. However, if a mistake does happen, you want to make sure you are not dealing with a lender who is ready to pounce on you with an excessive fee.
4% ought to be enough for a late charge. If you get an answer like 15%, you would be dealing with someone who is not willing to work with people.
Question 8. Do I get a discount for an automatic debit?
It’s worth a try! I actually have seen advertisements from lenders who imply that if you set up an automatic debit from your checking account for your monthly payment, they will give you a slightly lower rate.
Maybe this will be the kind of question where the originator’s answer will start, “well, since you asked…”
Question 9. Can I buy down the interest rate?
Buying down the interest rates means paying more points to get a lower rate. These points used to be called “discount points.”
While there aren’t too many of these buy down programs around anymore, this question is really just meant to start the originator thinking, “Wow, these people know more about mortgages than I do!”
Remember, the mortgage originators are salespeople. They won’t mess with you after you show them you know about buy downs.
Question 10. How much escrow is the lender keeping after paying my taxes and Home Owners Insurance?
The lender usually will charge you more than your normal monthly payment each month so they can pay your taxes and Home Owner’s Insurance.
Some mortgage companies misuse your mortgage account by keeping hundreds, maybe even thousands of your dollars in their escrow accounts after your taxes and insurance have been paid.
Make sure you find out how this lender treats their escrow accounts. They should have a program in place where they will send a check to you should your escrow account get above a certain amount and stay there for a certain period of time.
A lot of originators may not know the answers to all these questions. However, they certainly will know whether or not their previous customers have been happy with a particular lender. Furthermore, after you ask all these questions, they will know you’ve done your homework and they will realize they better level with you.
Ed Lathrop is a successful Real Estate investor. He has developed EzCalculator, a Mortgage Calculator that calculates anything to do with mortgages. EzCalculator includes the famous How to Make $100,000 on Your Mortgage calculator. Come visit this free site at http://ezcalculator.com
Excuse Me, Have We Met?
According to the Harvard Business Review (Feb, 2007), self-awareness has just been recognized as the most important capability for leaders to develop. I would add that this is a quality that is beneficial for anyone to develop. After all, we are all leaders somewhere in our lives aren’t we? Emotions can play an important role in our careers, education, at home, in our community, and in all our relationships.
Ever find that you get upset easily or fairly regularly? Maybe you feel overwhelmed most of the time, stressed out, or even tired?
Remember the old joke, “Doc, my arm hurts when I move it like this. What should I do?” To which the good doctor quickly responds, “Stop moving it like that.” If your life, career, relationships… (fill in the blank) are not going the way you’d like…maybe it’s time you took a hard look at “yourself”… more specifically, your lack of self-awareness.
What is Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions, allowing us to plan our actions and develop proactive behaviors. People with greater certainty about feelings are better pilots of their lives, having a surer sense of how they really feel about personal decisions from whom to marry to what job to take.
Why is it Important
This is where constructive or critical thinking happens. As you work to develop your self-awareness you increase your self-confidence. A good leader knows when you understand yourself you are more likely to understand others. Now that’s a skill that can come in handy. Any one striving to increase their skills needs a solid plan.
How Do I Make A Plan
The process is not a quick fix rather it is a life long commitment. Change happens over time. So be patient with yourself while you are learning. Self-awareness allows us to take responsibility for our outcomes, plan our actions, and develop proactive behaviors. Here are some suggestions to get you going in the right direction.
1. Assessment- Assessments can identify your strengths, challenges, and personal style. Also, they mark a baseline and measure growth.
2. Goal setting- Now that you understand your unique style you can create a plan that identifies specific skills that are congruent with your preferences and tendencies yet challenges you to develop new behaviors.
3. Accountability- We all need to be accountable. Recruit a friend, a mentor, or hire a coach. Who ever you decide to work with, collaborate on a plan that spells out exactly what you need from them.
4. Support/Feedback- Feedback is probably the most important dimension in your personal development plan. It is through feedback we can learn to “see ourselves as others see us.”
By developing your self-awareness you are increasing your emotional intelligence. The knowledge and skills that you develop to accurately identify and express your emotions are vital for human performance not to mention, physical health.
Copyright 2007 Michelle Simms, personal development coach, works with individuals and groups worldwide at http://www.SimmsInternational.com
It Is Great To Be A Dog Owner
Pet ownership is fast becoming more popular for many. The reasons are obvious. Pet lovers do benefit a great deal from having a furry friend around them.
Attention are must be taken to understand the responsibilities of pet ownership before we eventually commit to a pet for life. Thus, decisions on weather to have a dog, the choice of breed, the breed type temperament, health needs and training responsibilities must be well thought before we decide to own a dog.
Having a dog is a lifetime commitment. We benefit a great deal from having an animal around for emotional, physical and even spiritually. However, do not be in a haste to go get one when we feel the need to have a pet. Understand the commitment and responsibilities it requires before we decide.
As more and more pet owners are depending on their pets to fill their emotional need. No matter how smart and human like they are, we should not forget they are animals after all and ensure that we train our pets to live in human society so they can be pleasant to be with. Statistics shows that only about 5% of dog owners train their pets. With more people buying and adopting dogs, and so little training them to live with us human, no wonder the animal shelter centers are getting too crowded and many dogs are also left abandoned on the streets. Most eventually are caught and euthanized eventually due to lack of facilities, home and shelters to care for them.
Here is a list of questions we should ask ourselves honestly before getting a dog:
1) Are you committed to your pet for life no matter what is changed in your environment or if she is not living up to your expectation.
2) If financial condition is a challenging situation for you right now, think twice about having a pet as we need to have the financial means to support the daily expenses as well as unexpected medical costs of pet ownership.
3) If you need to travel frequently, it will be good if there is someone you know and trust that can care for your pet when you are away. It is best if such arrangement can be done quickly.
4) Training your pet is not an option but a necessity to ensure they are well socialized with human and dogs alike. Adequate training will make life with your pet an enjoyable and fulfilling one instead of a stressful one. Ensure you have enough resources and time to train your pet.
I cannot stress enough to all potential pet owners to seriously consider the responsibilities, resources and financial needs of a pet before bringing fido back home. Many dogs are abandoned or given up too quickly when challenges of pet ownership surfaces. Read about dog ownership, talk to dog owners, know the costs involved and responsibilities of pet ownership before you head off to adopt or purchase one.
Once you have decided on a pet, ADOPT one instead of buying one. It saves you costs and most of these pets in the shelters have been spayed or neutered so this will save you the post operative care needs and operation costs as well.
The next step is to read up as much about the breed of your choice and talk to dog breeders about them to understand more about responsibilities in taking care of the particular breed. Some long haired, shedding breeds will take more time to care and groom. Certain dog breeds needs more exercise then others. Only decide to have a pet when you fully understand the commitment behind having that bundle of joy.
Veronica Eng researched on dog care from various sources for many years and summarized many effective yet simple guides to dog lovers. Her techniques have made her dogs healthy, vibrant and gorgeous coat that many envy. Natural pet health is her passion! More tips at http://www.dogcarezone.com
Types Of Cord Blood Banks: Understand The Difference To Select The Right Bank
Are you planning for cord blood donation? Then, it is important that you know about the types of these banks.
Private Vs. Public Cord Blood Banks
Cord blood banks are mainly of two types, i.e. public banks and Private Banks. Normally, public banks are set up to facilitate umbilical stem cell research for disease treatment and for utilization in transplants of non-relatives. If you decide to save your baby’s cord blood at a public bank, they would not provide you the link between your baby and her blood unit. Therefore, in time of need, there is no guarantee that you will be able to access your babys blood unit. On the contrary, if you donate your baby’s cord blood to a private bank, no one else is authorized to access and use that particular unit without your permission.
Public banks have been further categorized according to profit and non-profit objectives.
The Non Profit Public Bank
An estimate says that about 75 per cent of these banks across the globe are either public or private non-profit ones, which work for public interest. They save samples for transplant or research, and for family use, if a family has a known risk with a rare HLA group.
Remember, if you donate this blood to a non-profit bank, then the bank, and NOT YOU, are the owner of it. These banks store the blood for free and add them in the donor registry, which is accessed by doctors and researchers.
For Profit Public Bank
These banks save your samples for free, but make profit by selling the cord blood units for research. The selling of freely stored blood is legal in US, but illegal in several Asian and European nations.
Private Cord Blood Bank
A private bank is an independent unit and not owned by the state. As mentioned earlier, only you are entitled to access and use your cord blood sample. Such banks charge around $500 to $2,000 to store the sample. The charges vary with different private banks. Besides this, there is a maintenance fee or handling fee, which comes to around $100 annually.
Research Public Banks (RPBs)
These are another kind of banks, which were set up in the early 2000. The cord blood samples stored in such banks are not used for transplants, but only for research. The banks take your samples for free and use them in their own research or sell them to other researchers.
So, now that you are aware of the types of these banks, you can go for donations depending on whether you want to donate the sample for family use or simply help in research. Remember, if you do not like the idea of someone else using your babys stem cells, forget using public banks.
There are two types of cord blood banks. Private banks and public banks. http://www.cordblood-banking.org offers details about the way public and private banks work and other aspects of stem cell and cord blood issues to help you make a smart choice.
The Free Article Directory – What is it?
The radical changes in the structure of the internet and its adoption by people of all ages throughout the world have lead to new business models being adopted. As a webmaster, it is now possible to provide quality free information to the public while still earning a healthy income for your hard work. The free article directory is a perfect example of a new type of revenue model that has been proliferating across the web.
While there are a few notable exceptions (such as non-profit Wikipedia.org), most content-driven websites are able to earn money by displaying advertisements on their pages. These types of advertising are either keyword-based text ads (such as Google’s Adsense program) or paid sponsorships. Keyword-based text ads allow targeted ads to be delivered to the visitor based on the content of the page. Paid sponsorships are where the webmaster receives a fee for linking to an external website. A free article directory provides a wealth of information at no charge to the visitor.
Of course, not all article directory webmasters are completely altruistic. If the directory is popular and publishes current, well written, informative articles, it can provide the webmaster with a handsome income solely from advertising. Now I have come across dozens of free article directories that exist solely to display ads. The pages on these sites are littered with advertisements, making the pages a complete eyesore. These directories typically don’t receive high traffic because visitors find it hard to actually read the articles.
The article directories that do last are the ones that have successfully integrated the ads into an efficient and eye-pleasing layout. These directories have loyal followers and typically rank better in the search engine ranking pages. It is this type of article directory that I wish to discuss – the visitor-oriented, free article directory.
You may be just a curious websurfer wondering what the purpose of an article directory is. As I have mentioned previously, it is a directory that provides content on a variety of topics of interest to the visitor. There are general directories with dozens or hundreds of different categories. There are also niche directories targeted at a certain small segment (such as health related article directories).
Authors write on a topic relating to the theme of their own website in order to establish themselves as experts in a given field and to obtain important links to their website from the article directory. The author generally submits his/her article manually to a few directories or uses an automated submission service to submit to hundreds of article directories. If the article is approved by the article directory, it provides a targeted low-cost form of advertising for the author.
For those who are looking for an inexpensive way to get your feet wet in web marketing, this could be an attractive option. I have built dozens of websites, and article directories are among the easiest to manage and promote. You can obtain quality directory software for free (ArticleMS and Article Dashboard are the two most popular). They have excellent content management systems and can host thousands of articles with no problem.
Once you have the backend in place, you can customize the free skins that are available. Then you need to promote, promote, promote. Trade links with other related websites and directories, and write a few articles yourself. Play with different advertising methods on your pages. Because these sites are dynamic, it is usually possible to cut and paste a single snippet of code in order to place an ad on every page of your site.
A free article directory proves that it is possible to provide a quality free service, and still be rewarded for your efforts. Hopefully we’ll see more and more online businesses turning to this type of revenue model.
The author is the developer and operator of Articopia.com – Article Directory. Submit your article to our free article directory at http://www.articopia.com