Miscellaneous Questions Q: Is it really important to use a Realtor? I would appreciate your opinion on the subject.
View Answer Q: I recently lost my job of 15 years, due to layoffs. I fell 30 days behind on mortgage payment. I went to pay the past due amount and the bank advised they had to have both the late payment and currently due payment. They would not accept just one. Can a lending institution refuse payment on a mortgage? I would think I would have a legal right for my payment to be accepted? This is my mortgage; I can’t believe they could refuse a payment no matter how big or small?
Anyway, all is good now, I received by early retirement package and got current on my mortgage. This just really drew my concern and I wanted an unbiased response. Thanks.
View Answer Q: Can you tell me about fees charged by the loan servicing company?
View Answer Q: We have been working on credit and finances in order to buy our first home and really appreciated your recent articles on interest rates. However, I keep reading about the real estate ‘bubble’ and predictions about whether it will ‘burst’. What do you think?
View Answer Q: I am currently living in my father’s rental property and he is willing to sell it to me so I can do some home improvements. We have considered the gift idea, but it seems to be more of a headache than anything. I am already preapproved, however, I know that they will not go for As Is property. I just don't seem to be finding anything in my price range so I have decided that maybe remodeling where I live may be a better deal. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
View Answer Q: My sister-in-law is going to loan me the down payment for a co-op in NYC ($50,000 for a $250,000 2 Br Co-op). Do I have to tell my mortgage lending institution that she is doing so? She is making me sign a promissory note.
View Answer Q: I am just totally upset with the lack of customer service I received when I got a mortgage recently with a very large lender (one of the largest in the nation, I am told). It seemed like I had to DO everything, they only reacted to my questions, kept asking me for more and more paperwork and did not offer anything helpful to let me understand this whole complicated process. Plus, they were not even available to explain my final loan documents, which were horrendous. What can I do?
View Answer Q: It is a very confusing time to be looking to buy a house, either the news that there is doom and gloom ahead or it is a buyer's market. We just started looking and are totally confused (and a little scared). Do you have any advice?
View Answer Q: My daughter grew up in SanLuisObispo but now lives and works in Los Angeles, trying to make her mark in Hollywood. In 2005 she unexpectedly inherited $225,000 and this allowed her to qualify for a CalHFA First Time Home Buyer Loan at 4.25% fixed for 30 years. I collected all the information, handed it to her and said, you go girl…but now I feel terrible as a mom for not taking a more active role in all this. Her inexperience coupled with a crafty real estate agent and overzealous loan officers resulted in a fiasco rather than the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it could have been.
The condominium she eventually bought is not a desirable property. She believed it was in Culver City, as the address stated, but it’s really in LA. Although she has invested in the appropriate upgrades, it will be difficult to sell due to bad location, poor HOA management, and being the first unit on a busy street. A local police officer told me, “I wouldn’t let my daughter live in that neighborhood.” But wait, there’s more. She made a down payment of $175,000, took out a first of $209,300 and agreed to a CHDAP of $11,700 @ 3%, no payments but a balloon in 10 years. Her PITI was 48% of her gross income. It was a struggle from the first day, and last year she took out a $12,000 home equity loan at 10%. There is also $3,000 of new credit card debt since then (that I know about). She wants to sell the condo ASAP but today’s market is so crazy that the big question now is: what can she do to prepare for a difficult sale? Should she refinance if rates go below a certain point so the loan can be assumed or rent it out if need be? Should she bail now and just take a loss so she can find something better?”
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