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California refinance article
Getting ready shop for a new loan in California
There are those individuals on this planet who enjoy shopping and bargain hunting as if it were some
quest for secret buried treasure.
I am no such individual.
If this were a perfect world, every loan agent would be honest as the day is long. I would simply pick up the phone
and dial the number my finger landed on in the phone book. Loan Officers/Agents are driven by their boss, the broker,
their own bills and the bank to profit as much possible from the transaction of your loan. So when you end up
spending your child's college tuition on mortgage payments, you'll be wishing you had done more homework.
There are many variables to creating a loan for each individual and their home. The largest investment 95% of most Americans
will make deserves careful consideration.
Deciding to go with the first loan agent you happen to talk to is inconsiderate to yourself, and your family's future.
Less paperwork and more personal attention means you enter a frustration-free zone from application to decision.
With that in mind, reserve your frustration for more important matters when it comes to giving your loan agent as much
information as possible when shopping for a loanget a Good Faith Estimate.
The less information you are willing to divulge to a qualified Loan Agent, the greater chance of the quote you were given
over the phone changing by the time you reach his or her office.
Here is the information any loan officer would need in order to give you a valid quote for refinancing your home, condo or commercial
property.
Print this article and have the answers written down before shopping.
1. Property and Residence
2. Phone contact numbers? (email)
3. Purchase date?
4. Purchase price?
5. Value? (Loan amount compared To the property Value = LTV %)
6. Bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage?
7. 1st mortgage balance and loan date? (when the loan began)
8. 2nd mortgage and date?
9. Yearly income? (borrower and co-borrower)*
10. Self employed? (stated income / easy doc)
11. credit (Fico) Score?* {Free @ sierra western}
*Annual income is needed to calculate Debt to Income Ratio
A valid quote cannot be given without having a credit score, rates for loans are based on credit score first.
Run your own credit check, all you need is your three digit score to get an approximate quote or get one free from the
Sierra Western Home Loans EZ-Application page.
Each required item above is based on lender information by all banks for the loan processor and the Escrow Department to begin the analyzation of your individual loan request.
Some loan requests may come back as many as 5 times. Sierra western rarely has a loan denied.
So for some brokers to take on the responsibility of processing a loan, the expense of paying highly trained employees is taken into consideration when asking for points to be put on the loan.
Most borrowers see adding points as adding commission for the loan officer.
Is this agent working hard to find the cheapest loan for you, is he disclosing as much information as possible to educate you and keep you apprised of the ongoing process?
Each rate has its own set of variables.
LTV (loan to value), what percentage your current loan compares to the value of your home.
If youre willing to have a Pre-Pay penalty attached if decide to close the loan earlier than the agreed upon time.
The length of the loan or the length of the initial start rate
Are you doing a fully-documented or stated proof of income
Finally, how much loan do you qualify for
Print this article and keep it next to your phone or computer when hunting for your best loan.
Run your own credit report. Stick to the eleven points in this article, if a loan officer asks for less hes just giving you the quote you want to hear, not what he can deliver.
Get that good faith estimate; it is the starting brick from which your broker will build the castle of trust between you, and he is responsible for keeping it in good standing.
