Re: Mortgage question
 

Basically what you need to do is get a GFE (good faith estimate) from a few lenders and make a decision based upon the total scenario.

You need to take a look at the closing costs, escrow requirements and naturally the rate that you will be paying.

Just be wary of the killer rates at they are usually making it up on the closing costs.

Also, you can NEGOTIATE the rate. Remember that the originating entity is going to make money on all the junk fees that they charge like underwriting, processing etc and they are also making money on what is called the yield spread....in other words....they "buy" the loan at 6% and "sell" you the loan for 6.5% and they get paid a commission based upon that difference in interest rate.

Remember that the vast majority of bank/mortgage brokers/mortgage bankers sell their loans in the secondary market. So there is a very high probability that you will not have your loan serviced by the entity that originated it.

I am speaking from 15 years of residential real estate brokerage experience. Also, try to stay away from the "online" banks. They are just too difficult to deal with.

Should you have any questions that you want to ask me in a more private forum, just PM me.

Re: Mortgage question
 

Thanks Dug - that was it. Adam clarified everything for me as well. We have a couple of options that ARE private lenders - ie, individual investors. We're going to stick with a private COMPANY or a bank, we're not willing to take that big of a risk.

We have quite a few quotes now, we've narrowed it down to 3 and are letting them play out a bidding war, basically.

Stacy