Mortgage points or origination points are fees paid as part of your closing costs on your loan. Discount points are paid in exchange for getting a lower interest rate on your loan. Each discount point that you pay will reduce your interest rate on your loan by approximately 0.25%. Each point costs 1% of the … Continued
A credit score is a number that helps lenders forecast how likely you are to make your mortgage payment on time. Each score is based on the information in your credit report and whether you can obtain credit or not. For most kinds of credit scores, higher scores mean you are more likely to be … Continued
Mortgage insurance, sometimes called private mortgage insurance or PMI, is an agreement made between a lender and an insurance company in which the insurance company pays the lender in the event a borrower defaults on their mortgage loan. If a borrower stops making payments on his or her mortgage, the home is entered into foreclosure … Continued
What is my interest rate that will be used to calculate my monthly payments? Will the interest rate change over the life of the loan? If an adjustable rate loan, what is my index, margin and rate cap? What is the adjustable rate period? How many points will I be paying? When will you lock-in … Continued
PREQUALIFYING is a quick way to determine what price range of homes the real estate agent and buyer should be reviewing. A prequalification is only an estimate of what a buyer can afford based on unverified information. A buyer who assumes that this estimate is accurate and chooses a home based on that information may, … Continued
PREQUALIFICATION determines the maximum purchase price of a house that a buyer is qualified to purchase, based on the income and debt information he or she provides verbally to a mortgage professional. All the information provided by the buyer must still be verified. This prequalifying information is not a commitment to lend. PREAPPROVAL is actually a commitment to … Continued