Mortgage Education Q&A

Q. Why should I use a mortgage broker rather than my bank?

A.  A lender only has a few products, and if you’re not running 100’s of thousands of dollars through their bank each month, You’re a nobody to them. As independent mortgage brokers we have 100s of wholesale banks with 1000s of loan products/scenarios available to us with just a push of a button. How long and how many times would it take you to do that research, to get the best possible rates and terms? Not to mention each one of those banks you researched would be pulling your credit! We are vested in getting you a loan with our valuable time, and we do not get paid by the bank till we get you a loan! You are not just another number to me.

Q. Does it cost me anything to Use broker services?

A. Our wholesalers pay us for bringing a loan to them, with the exception of some private/hard money lenders. Because of the volume we bring to them, they reward you with lower rates.

Q. What is the difference between wholesale lender vs Retail bank?

A. Wholesale banks participate in short term investing, once the deals are complete, they bundle their loans and sell them on the secondary market, that then get traded as mortgage backed securities. Their lending guidelines are also bit looser. Retail banks hold on to their loan investments which equates to overhead for servicing your loan and those expenses gets passed on to you in their rate! Their guidelines are very strict and with higher rates comes higher Debt to income ratio. So therefore even an 1/8 of a point could disqualify your DTI as a borrower.

Q. What kind of rates can I get?

A. I need to your access your risk before I offer a real quote, I need FICO, Debt to Income, Property, Purpose, Zip, Loan to Value and then some to lock your rate. And rates change from hour to hour, day to day. Rest assured we will search countrywide, and get you the best possible low rate because we have 100s of wholesale banks! In all serious we get asked this question all the time, and personally I can’t stand it! Any broker or bank that gives you an answer without analyzing your actual documents is TELLING YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR and is BAITING YOU! We don’t want your business that bad that we would be unethical/non integral by ever baiting! We like to under promise and over deliver!!! We’ve saved individual clients 100s of thousands of dollars!

Q. Why do Loan brokers/banks/underwriters ask for so much personal paperwork?

A. They are accessing risk for their lender’s parameters! They write the checks for the big bucks! I like to say if they want a selfie of you standing on your head….give it to them! We also operate differently than most, we think like underwriters, we not only ask you for paperwork to pre-approve you, but we also ask for conditions we know the Underwriters will ask for and want! Why? So we have a fast smooth effortless closing and NO FAIL ESCROW!

Q. What do I need to get for my loan process?

A. A 30 minute conversation with all borrowers involved, so we can ascertain the list of items we will require for our lenders! You get those to us Yesterday and we can have you well on your way to being preapproved and funded!

Q. How long does it take to get a Conditional Pre-approval?

A.  Sometimes a 30 minute conversation, and sometimes 2 days. It all depends on complexity and how fast you get us the documents we need!

Q. There are so many Mortgage brokers out there, why would I use your company?

A. I promise you the way we do business as opposed to others is upfront, and personal attention to every detail! We don’t just look for the lowest rate, we look for the bank that pays us the lowest origination fee so we can pass that savings on to you!

Q. I was told My DTI (debt to income) is too High for approval, what do i do now?

A. No worries we have banks that utilizing the lowest government agency guidelines, we have some banks that go as high as 60% DTI! We also know how to structure deals to make them work! A simple discussion with your CPA, Financial advisor, or paying down debt can make up the difference. Also having a lower interest payment/rate makes up for the difference in your DTI! Hey we’ve been know for burning cars! LOL…JK

Q. My FICO is low, how can I improve that?

A. We work with several affordable and reputable credit repair companies that help repair your credit! Sometimes it’s a simple fix like raising your credit balance and lowering your utilization percentage to 30%!

Q. I found a home I love, and made an offer that was accepted what now?

A. Many new overzealous Real Estate sales agents operate the cart before the horse. We realize buying a home is personal, but you really need to see what you will be able to REALLY QUALIFY for first. *And if you have not been asked in depth questions, and your paperwork has not been analyzed- You have not been properly qualified! We do not like being the bearer of bad news! Let’s get you pre-approved, and then go shopping for the home that fits within your qualifying parameters! Besides no listing agent worth their wait will take an offer without an **AUS findings and a pre-approval letter from a reputable broker. And with rates on the rise- we have a Lock and Shop product that enables you to search comfortably 30/60/90 days without the fear of being qualified one day and not the next, because the interest rate blew up you DTI!

*Many Brokers and Lenders throw around pre-qual letters disguised as pre-approval letters, A pre-qual is what you tell me, a pre-approval is what you show me, that has been pre-underwritten. Why do they do this?…They also don’t want to lose a deal, so they throw spaghetti against the wall hoping one will stick! Meanwhile 3 weeks in escrow, you get the bad news effecting all involved in a transaction. I know! Because I’m the Hail Mary that comes in to save those deals!

**AUS is a system Brokers/Lenders use to get either a DU or LPA Approval. However the Approve Eligibility status is only has good as the person analyzing the data and inputting it! Old saying…Garbage in Garbage out! It helps to be knowledgeable in finance, to get correct and true results!