Fees
Leasing a Car: 7 Reasons Why You Should Consider It
Would you like to spend less money up-front, drive away from the dealership in a brand-new car, and spend less time and money on vehicle maintenance? Consider leasing your next car. What Does Leasing a Car Mean? Leasing a car is a lot like renting oneâbut for a much longer period of time. When you… Read More
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How Much Should I Spend on a Car?
The sad thing about cars is that like boats and diamond rings, they’re depreciating assets. As soon as you drive yours off the lot, it immediately begins losing value. Some people are lucky enough to live somewhere with a reliable … Continue reading →
The post How Much Should I Spend on a Car? appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
How to Save Money as a Renter | ApartmentSearch
Options for Saving for College – No Matter How Old Your Kids Are
The post Options for Saving for College – No Matter How Old Your Kids Are appeared first on Penny Pinchin' Mom.
It seems as soon as our children are born, weâre planning for their future. Without being able to see eighteen years ahead, how can we know for sure what weâre up against and save accordingly? In this series, weâre going to break down saving for college one phase of life at a time. THE SMART … Read More about Options for Saving for College – No Matter How Old Your Kids Are
The post Options for Saving for College – No Matter How Old Your Kids Are appeared first on Penny Pinchin' Mom.
Considering a 401(k) Hardship Withdrawal? Hereâs What You Need to Know
If youâre thinking of withdrawing money from your 401(k), itâs important to understand if youâre eligible, how the process works and what the potential downsides are before tapping into retirement savings.*
The post Considering a 401(k) Hardship Withdrawal? Hereâs What You Need to Know appeared first on Discover Bank – Banking Topics Blog.
Buying Your First House? 7 Tips for Millennials and Other Generations
Buying your first house is a big decision. Not only is it a major financial investment, but the location of your home determines your community, neighbors, and perhaps where your children go to school. Becoming a homeowner isn’t for everyone—but if it is one of your financial goals, I recommend that you begin preparing as far in advance as possible.
In this post, you’ll learn 7 key home-buying tips to get prepared, save money, and become a happy homeowner. Plus, I’ll cover some generational trends and challenges that Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Gen may face when buying a home.
7 Tips for Buying Your First House
- Know when to stop renting.
- Focus on building credit.
- Check into first-time home buyer programs.
- Estimate how much down payment money you’ll need.
- Save your down payment in the right place.
- Get preapproved for a mortgage.
- Be a savvy negotiator.
Generational Trends for Buying a Home
According to a National Association of Realtors study, 36% of home buyers are Millennials or Gen Y, who are age 37 or younger. And 65% of these buyers are first-timers who are also married couples. They’re increasingly buying single-family homes in the suburbs.
Gen X buyers, who range in age from 38 to 52, make up 26% of home buyers. The NAR report shows they are ethnically diverse, in their peak earning years, and purchase more expensive homes compared to other generations. They’re the most likely to choose homes based on convenience to work and the quality of school districts.
Younger Boomers from age 53 to 62 make up 18% of home buyers. They typically move for a job or to downsize after their kids leave home. Older Boomers in the 63 to 71 age range make up 14% of home buyers. They’re more likely to move the longest distances for retirement, to downsize, or to be closer to family and friends.
Those age 72 to 92 are part of The Silent Generation and make up just 6% of home buyers. Most have already retired and have the lowest income compared to other age groups. They’re more likely to purchase a residence in a senior-care facility than a detached home.
The process of buying a home is largely the same no matter your age. But keep reading for tips to overcome some generational challenges you may face and how to get the best home deal possible.
Tip #1: Know When to Stop Renting
Most of us start out renting because it doesn’t require a big upfront financial investment. But the downside to renting is that your monthly payments are a pure expense. In other words, once you pay rent, that money is gone forever.
When you own a home, it comes with some nice financial perks, including:
- Amortization, which slowly reduces your outstanding loan balance with every mortgage payment you make (if you have a fixed-rate mortgage) and helps build equity in your home.
- Appreciation, which allows you to build equity as the market value of your home rises over time.
- Tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. You can deduct interest on up to $750,000 of mortgage debt on a primary or secondary home. Plus, you can claim a maximum of $10,000 per year for state and local taxes (SALT), which includes property taxes.
Additionally, when you own a home, you can have the lifestyle you want, spread out, and express your personal style.
But depending on where you live, renting may be more affordable than owning a comparable home. This is usually the case in big cities, such as New York and San Francisco.
Renting also comes with a convenient lifestyle, especially if you don’t like dealing with maintenance, doing yard work, or you travel frequently. So, no matter your age, knowing if you should buy a home really depends on:
- Where you want to live.
- The lifestyle you prefer.
- How stable your future income is likely to be.
Tip #2: Focus on Building Credit
For the vast majority of home buyers, you’ll need to qualify for a home mortgage to purchase property. Building credit is always important, but it’s critical before buying a home. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned homeowner, your credit is a primary factor that mortgage lenders consider when evaluating you.
Not only does repairing and building credit help you get approved for a mortgage in the first place, it’s the key to locking in a low interest rate that saves huge amounts of money over the life of your loan.
For example, if you get a $200,000 fixed-rate mortgage with excellent credit, you’ll pay about $145,000 in interest with a 30-year loan. But if you have average credit, you’ll pay close to $190,000 in interest for the same loan.
Having less-than-stellar credit costs you $45,000 just in interest. Even if you sell your home before paying off the mortgage, having excellent credit translates into a monthly payment that’s $125 less than if you have average credit.
If you invested $125 per month for retirement, instead of paying it to a mortgage lender, it could easily grow into a nest egg worth over $200,000 within 30 years. Small financial habits, like how you handle credit, really add up. Read 6 Steps to Build or Repair Your Credit Before Buying a Home for key strategies to follow ahead of your home loan application.
Building credit takes time, and Millennial home buyers may have a short credit history or more student loan debt, compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers. That means Millennials should review their credit reports and make financial adjustments earlier in the home-buying process than older buyers.
Tip #3: Check Out First-Time Homebuyer Programs
There are many great programs for first-time homebuyers that may include mortgage interest subsidies or down payment assistance. But did you know that even if you owned a home in the past, you may still be eligible?
Many first-time homebuyer programs define a first-timer as someone who has not owned real estate in the past three years.
Many first-time homebuyer programs define a first-timer as someone who has not owned real estate in the past three years. So be sure to investigate and ask your mortgage lender how these programs could save you money, no matter your age or even if you owned a home in the past.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and one of its agencies, called the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), have helped more than 30 million people become homeowners since 1934.
These agencies don’t make loans, but they insure loans. That means lenders that give them will get paid even if the borrowers don’t make loan payments. This encourages lenders to give mortgages to hopeful homebuyers who might not qualify otherwise.
With an FHA loan, you don’t need excellent credit or a high down payment to qualify. The loan limits for a single-family home vary throughout the country but typically range from the low $100,000s to just over $200,000.
Ask your lender for details about FHA programs for first-time buyers. Or contact a HUD housing counselor for free or low-cost advice about your options.
Tip #4: Estimate How Much Down Payment Money You’ll Need
Before you can qualify for a mortgage, you’ll need to prove to a potential lender that you have enough in savings to fund a down payment. It’s a one-time cash payment you pay at the home's closing.
You must make a down payment because home lenders generally won’t finance 100% of the purchase price. The bigger the down payment you can make, the less risky the loan is for the lender.
When you make a purchase offer on a home you can request that the seller pay some or all of your closing costs.
Plus, there are closing costs in addition to a home’s purchase price. These costs vary depending on where you buy a home. But remember that in real estate, everything is negotiable.
When you make an offer on a home, you can request that the seller pay some or all of your closing costs. You can also haggle with your mortgage lender not to charge certain upfront fees.
If you do negotiate with a lender to avoid fees, just make sure that it doesn’t cost you more in the long run. They can make up for fees by charging you a higher interest rate or including fees in the total amount of the loan, which means you’d end up paying interest on your closing costs.
The money for a down payment can come from your savings or gifts from family. If you’re already a homeowner, your down payment can come from the money you make when you sell your current home.
If you can make a 20% down payment on a home, you’ll avoid paying private mortgage insurance or PMI. PMI is s a special kind of insurance that lenders typically require you to pay when you borrow more than 80% of the value of a property, even if you have excellent credit.
So, exactly how much down payment you’ll need is difficult to pin down. It depends on the price of the home, the type of mortgage you get, and customary closing costs in the market. In general, you need enough cash to cover these main costs:
- Earnest money is the good faith deposit you make on a home when you submit an offer. The customary amount varies by market but might range from 1% to 3% of the offer price. If your offer is accepted, the funds are applied toward your closing costs. If not, your earnest money is returned to you.â¨
- A down payment is the percentage of the home price that you must pay at closing. The more you put down, the lower your mortgage payments will be. Some loans require you pay 10% to 20% of the purchase price. Other loans designed for first-time home buyers, such as an FHA loan, may only require 3% down.â¨
- Closing costs are fees you must pay at the settlement or closing. They typically include the loan origination fee, appraisal, survey, inspections, attorney fees, taxes, title insurance, and any other processing expenses. You should receive an estimate of your total closing costs from your lender, so you aren’t caught by surprise.
Tip #5: Save Your Down Payment in the Right Place
Once you begin saving money for a house down payment, you’ll probably get a little anxious about where to keep it. You might be tempted to invest it with the hope of turbocharging its growth.
But financial markets are volatile in the short term, which means you could lose all or a significant portion of your money right before you need it. Instead, tuck your down payment savings in a high-yield, FDIC-insured savings account.
That ensures your money will be completely safe, give you flexibility, and earn some interest to boot. Online banks typically offer the highest interest rates because they don’t have as much overhead as institutions with local branches. However, local credit unions can be competitive—if you qualify for membership.
Tip #6: Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
Once you’re ready to become a homeowner, have good credit, and plenty of down payment funds, the next step is to get preapproved for a mortgage. Not only does a pre-approval tell you how much you can afford, it indicates that you’re a serious buyer who could close the deal quickly.
Depending on the seller’s circumstances, being able to close quickly could give you a huge leg up. They may accept your offer instead of a higher one that would take longer to close.
But remember that just because you’re pre-approved for a certain amount doesn’t mean you should borrow it. You’ll have other costs every month, in addition to the mortgage payment. These are called the PITI, which stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance:
- Principal is the repayment of the amount you borrowed.
- Mortgage interest is the payment to the lender for the use of the money you borrowed.
- Home insurance protects you and the lender against damage from many (but not all) natural disasters, theft, vandalism, and legal hazards.
- Property taxes are annual city and county assessments.
Taxes and insurance can be rolled into your mortgage payment and then paid by your lender on your behalf. Additionally, you’ll have to pay utilities, maintenance, and perhaps homeowner association dues.
Don’t make the mistake of stretching your finances too far to buy a home. It may leave you house-rich but cash-poor and unable to save for other goals, such as retirement.
Tip #7: Be a Savvy Negotiator
When you make an offer on a home, use your poker face with the seller or real estate agents. As I’ve mentioned, in real estate everything is negotiable. So, be interested, but not too eager.
Most sellers expect you to negotiate on one or more factors of the deal such as purchase price, potential repairs, and closing costs. Always make a purchase offer contingent on the results of a professional home inspection, a C.L.U.E. home insurance claim report, and additional evaluations customary in your area, such as a termite report. Do your due diligence carefully.
Before the closing, you should receive the Settlement Statement, Form HUD-1 from the real estate agent, closing attorney, or title company. Review it carefully, ask questions about charges you don’t understand, and make any necessary changes.
The closing agent will have a stack of documents for you and the seller to sign. You can handle it in person or remotely through the mail. The mortgage and deed will be recorded in the county records registry and you’ll receive a copy of everything. And finally, you can celebrate becoming a homeowner.
It’s easy to get swept up in the beauty of a home, its décor, its neighborhood, or the new lifestyle that you envision there. But take a step back and view every real estate purchase as an investment, even if it’s going to be your home sweet home.
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Podcast: First Time Home Buyer
Podcast: First Time Home Buyer
For this podcast I sat down with Walt Wollet, mortgage loan officer with Pacific Residential where we discussed his experience as a first time home buyer. Learn about the home buying process from the perspective of a mortgage lender and how handled the process and what things he might have changed to make it even better. You can connect with Walt Wollet on LinkedIn, Facebook.
You can connect with me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. About the author: The above Podcast “Podcast: First Time Home Buyer” was provided by Paul Sian. Paul can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 513-560-8002. With over 10+ years experience, if you’re thinking of selling or buying, I would love to share my marketing knowledge and expertise.
I work in the following Greater Cincinnati, OH and Northern KY areas: Alexandria, Amberly, Amelia, Anderson Township, Cincinnati, Batavia, Blue Ash, Covington, Edgewood, Florence, Fort Mitchell, Fort Thomas, Hebron, Hyde Park, Indian Hill, Kenwood, Madeira, Mariemont, Milford, Montgomery, Mt. Adams, Mt. Washington, Newport, Newtown, Norwood, Taylor Mill, Terrace Park, Union Township, and Villa Hills.
Transcript:
[00:00:09] Paul Sian: Hello, everybody. This is Paul Sian, Realtor with United Real Estate license in the state of Ohio and Kentucky. And with me today is a returning guest, Walt Wallet with 5th 3rd Bank. He was with a different lender in the past, and now he’s with 5th. 3rd. We’ll talk Are you doing today?
[00:00:24] Walt Wollet: I am fantastic today, Paul. We’re out here at the on my new piece of property that you helped me acquire and I’m excited. Toe do a podcast. It’s been a while.
[00:00:36] Paul Sian: Yeah, that’s that’s one of the reasons to that we decided to do this. Podcast is hey, your lender. I’m the You know, I’ve been through the process of myself of buying my own house as a real real estate agent, so I know how it is. So let’s we want to get the perspective of a mortgage lender, you know, buying the house. So I guess let’s just start from the very beginning. What’s what’s the first step that anybody has to do If they’re they’re interested in buying a house, they skip, you know, leave out the real estate agent. They know they want to buy a house, and they’re gonna talk to a lender at 5th, 3rd, and that happens to be you. So what’s their What’s their first step?
[00:01:10] Walt Wollet: So for my first step, and we talked a little bit before this about just being an active consumer, and we’ll get more into that. But it really it really what I what I would tell people is that you need to do an honest debt analysis, and you honestly need to look at budgeting eso. You need thio when you’re when you’re buying a place you need, you need to take in all what all those costs are, you know? So what are the costs that you know you have to pay every month, is there, You know, do you have a $40 credit card bill you pay every month? Your cars? You know, your auto loans, whatever, whatever you pay every month and you need you need to analyze that. Um, just just so that way you’re not wasting your time, right? So it’s like the first thing I would do is get is get pre qualified or talk to a lender, you know, And I’m an insider, so I kind of knew what I had to do and what I did was before I got pre qualified, was paid off, paid off all my credit cards because I could, um, you know, just to make sure that when my credit was pulled, I had I had a score that was higher so that I could get the best rate in terms that are available. Um, so that that was that was that was a big That was a big thing that I that I did your credit score a big part of it is is factored by credit utilization. So a lot of times, people that are borderline approval if they can get, get added to a secure card or get added to, you know, another account, unauthorized user account or pay down credit cards, Um, you know, say from 70% to below 50% utilization than their score could shoot up. And we can, you know, we can qualify them for, for for what they really want to buy. So that that that that would say that would be the first step is always to just talk to different lenders and talk to different people. Don’t go toe one lender and just trust them and like I wouldn’t want any what, buddy? That I work with to just talk to me. I want them to do their own research. And I want them to know that I’m going to take care of them now If they find someone else that maybe is promising them better numbers or whatever. You know, we I hope that we can talk about that. But, you know, at the end of the day, we have toe, we have to perform and do what’s best for consumers. Yeah,
[00:03:27] Paul Sian: definitely looking at that. Going back to the the credit score. And you mentioned credit score affects your your interest rate. And you know what? Let’s do you have Ah, breakdown. Basically, you know what? What credit scores and how how much impact on your interest rate is? I mean, is it is something easy to quantify? Or is it a little more, you know, computer oriented than that or computer algorithm oriented than that?
[00:03:53] Walt Wollet: So this is another. This is another question. Where it gets into every bank is gonna be different on that account. Okay, so you have the agencies Fannie and Freddie, right? That that back these the back these loans and securitized these loans. And they said, Ah, lot of what the fees and charges are on on those you know on those products and and those were built in to the actual interest rate into the actual loan. In a lot of cases,
[00:04:21] Paul Sian: those almost like base fees,
[00:04:22] Walt Wollet: right? But then other people. So what a lot of banks will do and Chase Chase is an example is notorious for this, but so say they don’t want They don’t want a certain loan. They still legally have to offer it. But they’ll raise the interest rate on that product so that they don’t have to, you know, originate or services many of those loans. So, you know, truthfully, you know certain certain companies will do that with government loans if they don’t want, You know, they don’t want to deal with the potential risk of having the the agency’s forced them to buy back those loans if there’s any sort of auditing or documentation issues, so they just set their their margins, you know, like this that their rate really high, um, to try to dissuade people from applying and you’re seeing that a lot with refinances that some of the larger lenders now, too, Just for the same. The same exact reason.
[00:05:17] Paul Sian: So what do you tell us about some of the hiccups that you had happened to you in your specific alone while you were trying to buy a house?
[00:05:25] Walt Wollet: So I would say that I would say that any hiccups we had Mike, who helped helped who helped us out on this purchase, did a did a great job with, you know, a soon as stuff came out of underwriting. Soon as underwriting came back with a message, he would reach out to me and anything we needed, we would get. We did a good job together. Me being an insider, of documenting everything up front that we needed Thio. So any letters of explanation and any sort of thing like that, I’d say that the biggest hiccup was probably and especially right now with Kobe, it was the appraiser. So you way had required a desktop appraisal on this purchase, which is essentially a drive by appraisal. Now, typically, you know, in any other market, a normal market. I guess you might say you would have that appraiser reach out. They would be reaching out to the selling agent so the agent would know. Okay. The appraiser has seen the property. They’re out here
[00:06:25] Paul Sian: there physically walked in the property, right? And almost like a home inspection,
[00:06:28] Walt Wollet: right? And so that didn’t happen with this purchase, I guess. I think he pulled. He might have pulled into the back, you know, a little bit and checked out some of the buildings and took off, right. Um and then and then the appraisal came back. Luckily, was all good, but I think one of the hiccups was just that. That that cellar not knowing that the that the appraisal was done and that the seller’s agent not knowing. And that kind of elevated there, um, anxiety, right?
[00:06:55] Paul Sian: E, remember talking with the seller’s agent, basically, you know? Hey, when’s the appraisal happening? And, you know, I asked, I did ask the agent. You know, did they praise will call you and that kind of send up red flag on her part unintentionally because, you know, they won’t be contacting her. They would just be driving by, you know, looking at the back of building or looking, walking the building that really get, you know, looking to get inside the building.
[00:07:20] Walt Wollet: But as far as just just hiccups now and generally on in this market with loans is ah, big thing I talked to with my team and my manager all the time is just getting things in is clean and as clear as possible, you know? So what I think a lot of especially first time clients don’t understand is you cannot tell me that your student loan payment is this when really, it’s this and you cannot You cannot say that you make this much money when really you make this much money and every little detail of that application is gonna be verified and is gonna be put through extreme due diligence. So with that said, you know, like where when where we run into problems or where any lender will run into problems is when the story changes, you know? So it Z okay, we’re calculating, you know, 40 hours a week for your income, and then we get you know, the verification of employment back. And it’s it’s 32 you know, a week. Um, even though your recent pay stub stay safe 40 like, you know, those kind of issues I think everyone runs into and deals with, and it’s just like we have to have it perfect, you know? So if we’re talking about homeowners insurance numbers up front and this is what they are, and this is what you know, this is what they need to be. Then that’s what it is, you know. So we can’t I guess we can’t have, you know, radical changes in process or else you’re gonna have a loan that goes on forever and ever.
[00:08:45] Paul Sian: Yeah. So make sure you, you know, you’re dot your I’s cross your T’s and making sure the information is 100% correct. I mean, probably one of the best ways to do that is, you know, go on your own, pull your own credit report. Make sure you see all your accounts. Kinda like you had mentioned the beginning. Take a look at all your debts and and your assets as well. You know, make sure all your income is properly documented. Make sure all that’s documented. You know, the numbers that you’re reporting are what you’re being, what it is being reported to the lender that way. It you know, it’s smoother process underwriting is gonna have less less questions and you know you’re the one will go through easier,
[00:09:20] Walt Wollet: definitely. And one thing that I advise a lot of people to is I like to have, if possible, if time permits have that credit conversation with the clients up front. So even, you know, two weeks before they’re ready to shop, you know, even months before ideally, we talk about the credit and that there was a There was a case recently with a friend of mine, a client who’s a doctor, and he had mentioned, though I you know, I have this collection from this utility and I don’t know where it came from. And you know, there’s there’s laws that debt collectors and that people have to follow. And a lot of times you know what we’re seeing in the world, right is with with corruption and people not following rules and people not doing what they need to dio Ah, lot of times you as a consumer and you do you have rights to dispute that and toe thio and try to clean up that information yourself. The, uh, credit bureaus have legally every year have to send you a copy of your credit report if you request it so and I always advise people to do that, definitely
[00:10:21] Paul Sian: take a look at it. It mentioned fees earlier. We talked about a little bit about lenders fees and let’s talk a little bit more. I mean, what? We have your base fees that the the these other, like government sponsored entities, so to speak, the Fannie Mae Freddie Mac’s that they have charged. What sort of extra fees are you know, Banks, tacking on the loan and whatever. I guess what? Some of the reasons for these fees
[00:10:45] Walt Wollet: so every every loan requires people that work on it. So one thing is, is that I always say is you know, I would advise consumers toe, look at different lenders and talk to different people Now, I’ll tell you right now that cheaper is definitely definitely, definitely not always better. And a lot of times there are lenders out there that you know they’re overpriced and they’re at the top of the market and they know it, um, and so I guess there’s a There’s a huge discrepancy between fees in various programs and various lenders, and it’s just a matter of going and asking those questions. Okay? What is you know, why is the processing fee this why, you know, what’s this underwriting fee? And then it’s always okay to ask. Well, hey, is there anything we can we can do about this? So in my case, when it comes toe the fees or the stuff that I that I had to pay for it. So you know, certain things that the bank paid for because I’m an employee, which is a great benefit to us. Um, you know, help me, Help me, you know, save money. As I bought this place, one thing that a lot of buyers don’t think about is all those incidental fees. So every home inspection is 4 to $500. You know, every, um, you know, just just buying garbage cans out here was $150 you know? So there’s these. There’s these costs that come up, you know, the wax seal on the toilet stuff will come up, and you just have to make sure that you have that budget it in and that you’re prepared for those expenses. And so, like we you know, a lot of times if there’s multiple people living in a house and it’s it’s one person on the loan, you know, like that’s when I’ll look at it and be like Okay, well, you know, really, there’s three people that are gonna be living in this house. Three people sharing expenses. It’s different. Um, but those kind of loans are are always more difficult, you know? So you really want to make sure that, um, you understand all the costs involved, Especially if you’re especially if your debt to income ratio is higher as it is because you have a lot more expenses. So,
[00:12:54] Paul Sian: yeah, we’re talking about those fees. I mean, it’s almost example is some of the car dealers used car dealers or even new car dealers? I mean, you know, the you get through the negotiation process you got, you got the price on the car, and then you go talk to the finance finance manager quote unquote. And that’s where they you know, they start trying to tack in all these, you know? Hey, let me let me throw this warranty on you. Let me throw, you know, non, you know, payment protection in case you’re disabled. Campaign and So that’s where they start packing in things, packing their basically fees. You know, they’re fattening the bottom line of the car dealer, of course. And you know, that’s that’s part of their job. But you know, the same time to as consumers, our job is to look at that critically and say, You know, do I really need that? You know, Do I need a no payment fee? You know, because I’m disabled. I’m not currently working, but at the same time to, you know, turn around, look at your auto insurance or look at your homeowners insurance. Are they providing some similar coverage that you know that you would need or you know would would avoid? And least in that case, in the autos auto example, It’s not so clear cut. You always don’t have that type of thing. You know you’re homeowners insurance. Not necessary gonna cover you. You know, if you can’t, you can’t pay the mortgage, but there might be other, some other benefit or some other protection. You know, your employer might be offering something for you too, you know. Why pay the extra fee to the lender. You know, when it’s saving you money and they’re just trying to pad their bottom line versus, you know, you’re trying to save your dollar and you know, it’s a long term purchase you’re investing for, you know, 2030 years. Mawr costs them or the higher the interest rate. I mean, the more you’re paying overtime,
[00:14:35] Walt Wollet: and that’s why it’s so. It’s so important up front. You have, You have power is a consumer, you know, like and lenders, you know, if if any lender doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t wanna be competitive. That za red flag, probably. You know, so especially with with us in the bigger banks, you know, we we have you know, we did until, you know, kind of some of the, you know, the new fee with Fannie and Freddie for refinances, um, kind of cut into our margins a little bit. But, you know, we’re willing, toe, do you know we’re willing to do whatever we can do toe win business, you know? But at the same time, we have to pay people off a fair wage and we employ Americans, you know, So that Z you know, that can can be a difference, right? But it’s just a matter of like weighing, weighing out things. You know different. You know this. This lender might have the best deal, but they might take a really long time to get it done. You know this lender there there really fast, But they’re very expensive, you know? And what’s the What’s the trade off? And so you know, it’s always good toe talk to multiple people about that to gain a broader understanding for yourself.
[00:15:46] Paul Sian: How are they giving those fees? I mean, I’m presuming you need to get a credit report. Run right, Okay. And then how how big of an impact is that? You know, you’re getting multiple credit reports. Let’s say I talkto 34 lenders and I say, Okay, go ahead, run my credit if I, if I do it over the same day or a couple of months, is a big difference.
[00:16:05] Walt Wollet: So as as Faras a assed faras, a hit on the credit report. Yes, it’s it’s 30 days, so you’re allowed. What sends a red flag to the to the bureau’s is when you shop for a bunch of different things. So say that when I was buying this house, I also have my credit pulled for a car and I had my credit pull it for a tractor on and I did all this financing stuff. Well, my credit score, which just start to tank because it’s because the way the agencies that their algorithms or reading that is this person doesn’t have any cash right there. They’re financing everything you know. Here’s another credit card inquiry, so it’s all within that 30 day window. So you legally you get your credit pulled once with a lender, and then you have 30 days and you could have the credit polled, so long as it’s a mortgage inquiry and not any sort of general finance inquiry. And it’s how they’re coded to the to the actual credit providers, right? But so long as it’s a mortgage inquiry, it only it’s only gonna count is one hard inquiry. So you you’re you’re the credit agencies. They don’t wanna dissuade people from shopping for mortgages because we need to have a fair, you know, a fair and ethical mortgage market. Um, and it and it iss you know it. It’s definitely better than at what I’ve heard about, you know, from from some of the people I work with in before 2000 and eight. Right? But, um,
[00:17:30] Paul Sian: but comparison comparison shopping is, uh, could be a big saver. I mean, you know, thousands upon thousands over the life of the loan. Definitely going back. Now, we’re going back to your own personal experience looking. You know, hindsight is 2020 looking back at the whole process. Is there something you think you could have done better? That you know, would be good advice for somebody else?
[00:17:51] Walt Wollet: Yeah, I think I am. I think I probably I probably should have paid off all my all my dead sooner, you know? So that was that was one thing is I really, um
[00:18:05] Paul Sian: when you say sooner, how much sooner? And say prior to applying the loan. How much quicker should you have done
[00:18:12] Walt Wollet: that? So just as an example, I had There’s a company. There’s a rental verification company, and I pay them a fee toe, add toe, add my rental trade lines to my credit report, and those were not added before my credit report was pulled. So just like things like that that I had done to strengthen my credit profile in my score, they weren’t reported, right. And then I paid off all my cards, like I said, but some of them were still reporting balances when we pulled s. So it was kind of like take
[00:18:45] Paul Sian: 30 to 60 days for some companies report.
[00:18:47] Walt Wollet: Exactly. And so And here’s what I found out is that you most companies will offer what’s called off cycle reporting so you can call them like, Hey, I’m you know, I’m gonna get my credit pulled for, you know, this investment property loan. And I just paid off this credit card. I’d like it to report. And so some of them were honest with me, and they’re like, Oh, well, yeah, we can report And they did, and others said they did, but they didn’t. And it’s just the nature of, you know, the nature of it. So I would I would say a lot of that stuff. I would I would just, you know, I would just get it done as soon as possible. If you know, you know, if you know that, that’s gonna happen. Like I had my I had my credit pull twice for this home purchase. Um, because the original credit report expired right. Um, and I did that in February, you know? So I knew in February like, Okay, that’s what my actual score is. And then I use that credit report to attack the, you know, some of the balances and anything. Any other derogatory is that we’re keeping my score lower than where where I wanted it to be. Okay, so
[00:19:50] Paul Sian: all great advice and all great conversation. So I appreciate you taking the time to be on this podcast with me. Any final thoughts?
[00:19:59] Walt Wollet: Um, I, uh I just I just say everyone stay safe out there. And, um, you know, it’s just like with with what we’re talking about with with lenders, you know, and with getting different opinions and different perspectives in the world right now, that is what I would advise everyone to dio, you know, So, ah, lot of people there usedto watching CNN. They’re used to watching Fox News. They get their perspectives in their opinions, you know, from this one place. And I think that, you know, especially right now, is as you know, things were kind of, you know, getting getting a little crazy
[00:20:38] Paul Sian: up in the air,
[00:20:39] Walt Wollet: right? We need we need to All kind of, like, you know, realize that that everyone’s a person and that, you know, people are people and that we just way have to We have to do a better job working together. We have to hold our leaders accountable in this country.
[00:20:55] Paul Sian: We’re in this together basically,
[00:20:56] Walt Wollet: right, you know, And then and then that’s that’s all I That’s that’s all I would say to people is just and especially if you’re working with mortgage lenders right now, we’re all you know. We’re all stressed out and we’re swamped. And, you know, your I promise you you’re not the only client you know. So it’s like, you know, just just be patient with people. Um, you know, there’s a lot of people that that, you know, behind the scenes that work on these loans and your your loan originator eyes going to do their best for you. But a lot of times things, things happen. Unfortunately, and you know, you just need to take it as a learning experience and move forward. And I think that’s what our country needs to do with, uh, a lot of this craziness right now
[00:21:38] Paul Sian: wholeheartedly agree in the awesome advice. Thanks again for being on
[00:21:42] Walt Wollet: awesome. Thank you, Paul.
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