Mortgage Broker/Lender Recommendations?

[TripleDigitRide]

As a first-time homebuyer, I'm trying to gather some information about mortgage brokers/lenders that you would recommend, and others you'd suggest staying away from.

Also, from those with experience, what is the best way to shop around for the best mortgage deal.

If it matters, I'm in the Nashville/Hendersonville area.

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Edited August 5, 2012 by TripleDigitRide

[runco]

I am a fan of local credit unions. I would start there, and like any other significant purchase, I would have 3 to work with in order to keep leverage for negotiations purposes. In the end, you will likely be sold to other mortgage companies, so it really does not matter who you choose on the front end. So just choose based upon the numbers.

FYI - I have refianced 3 times in 12 years, and considering refinancing again due to the current rates. As long as you are informed on all costs associated with a mortgage, and know how and when to negotiate, you can save money. Not much you can do on the actual rate, that is not the negotiation (you should try though), focus your time and energy on all of the closing costs, i.e. inspection fee, title company fee, actual lender points, application fee, approver fee, sit at my desk fee, etc. That is where most of the money is made by the local lender's office. The money made on the loan is either investors from afar or the U.S. gov. (Fanny mae/mac stuff). Just remember, if your credit score is good, you have serious leverage, don't be afraid to flex it, just do not leave your money on the table. Most people go with a lender they heard of, see the rate, and just go with the flow. I have negotiated as much $700 out of the closing costs before on a $100K loan and if I had not been informed, this is money just left on the table. If it wasn't for the negotiation, that same $700 will morph into $1,032 @ 3% over 30 years if I had not negotiated and had just rolled the money into the loan. I have really frustrated loan officers from car loans, boat loans, mortgages and refinancing. I have had several tell me they have to check with their boss when I said I am ready to walk unless they negotiate on a line item. Absolutely no different from buying a car / gun. Loan officers just are not that accustomed! Good luck!

Edited August 5, 2012 by Runco

[zapfbroad]

scott layden @ benchmark home loans / stewart strickland @ benchmark / greg goodman @ swbc / shawn kaplan @ access national mort. / jim hodges @ acme mort. corp. / mac mcreary @ cendera / shane atwell @ primary residential mort. / tonya esquibel @ swbc

just a few names of mortgage loan people to bounce out.. i really like scott, he's pretty dang smart on the numbers. are you not using a realtor ? they should be able to provide you with a few recommendations as well as give you a timeline idea of requirements and estimates. what happens next, next, next, etc.. it's a complicated world to navigate without getting burned. im sure there are a few agents/brokers on here somewhere too that can chime in with more ideas

[TripleDigitRide]

Yes, he realtor has been helping me along the way. As wonderful and helpful as she's been, I can't help but assume she has her best interest in mind. She has recommended someone from F&M mortgage in Mt. Juliet. She has also recommended a home inspector. The problem is, I'm not the most trusting guy, so it's always in the back of my mind that they are all working together, not making decisions that are in my best interest.

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[JPR1959]

Yes, he realtor has been helping me along the way. As wonderful and helpful as she's been, I can't help but assume she has her best interest in mind. She has recommended someone from F&M mortgage in Mt. Juliet. She has also recommended a home inspector. The problem is, I'm not the most trusting guy, so it's always in the back of my mind that they are all working together, not making decisions that are in my best interest.

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I would be very leary of home inspectors. They don't inspect much and if they miss anything, they aren't reliable. I'd probably hire a HVAC guy and a roofer to inspect those components.

[dunndw]

George Margrave at Mortage Investors is who'd I use

Top to Bottom Home Inspections as well.

I know both of them to be honest guys, and they do everything they can to help you through the process.

[Jonnin]

second on the credit unions. Its really hard to beat them --- there are a couple of things they cannot do that a bank can, but anything they can do, it will be better than a bank.

If you can afford it, try to put enough money on the table to avoid escrow, which is just another fee/service that you pay but do not need. You have to get escrow if you don't put enough down.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Yep.. Credit Unions is the way to go..

We had ours thru Countrywide .. then with BoA.. now we are with our local CU..

Cant beat the rates they offer

[peejman]

Remember that EVERYTHING is negotiable. Don't just look at the rate. Points (if any), closing costs (by line item), rate, etc. Play the banks/brokers off one another to get the best deal. If possible, having at least a 20% down payment can make the process go a little smoother.

Unless you're very comfortable and knowledgeable regarding home construction, I do recommend a certified home inspector. I don't know of anyone in your area, but surely someone here does. Be there for the inspection, follow the inspector around, and ask lots of questions.

If you're interested, I have a couple spreadsheets I created when we were home shopping. One for comparing mortgage offers, and a simple checklist to go through while looking at a house.

[analog_kidd]

We have bought our home, and two rental properties, and refinanced most of them when lower rates came out. Each time we have gone through our local, hometown bank. They ultimately sell the loan to some big corp, like Chase, but who cares, the terms are set at my bank, and Chase honors them.

I like my bank, they all know me, we talk about each other's kids, and drink coffee over the discussion of terms. I have shopped around and everyone else either matches or is worse than my bank. They win the tie every time.

If you have a bank you do business with and like them, it won't hurt to have them give you a pre-qualification report. The one thing I like is they hold my checking, savings and HELOC accounts, so they just move the money around for me at closing.

[Randy W]

1 you said you are a 1st time home buyer. Are you going to use any THDA money that is available? If so you will be required to attend a New Home Buyer Education Class that THDA has certified. I teach at 8 of these classes a month. I am a Home Inspector located in Hermitage that covers all of Middle TN. If you have any questions I will be glad to talk with you. My web address is www.eaglesnesthomeinspection.com contact info is there. 90% of my clients are 1st time home buyers.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Pay close attention to the paperwork. They will provide you with a good faith estimate for you to review. If you find no errors it will be exactly what you sign. Read every single word of it and grab a calculator to make sure the numbers jive. Odds are you will not be screwed but do not risk it because you don't want to read the estimate. You will have plenty of time to read it because it generally takes at least a few weeks to close but sometimes even longer.

Make sure the lender can lock in your rate and is willing to honor it if the rate increases. Most lenders will not honor a rate drop either, once you are locked in you are locked in. Rates change almost daily and it is a gamble to wait but realistically the difference between a 1/8th percentage point is very small unless you have a multimillion dollar mansion. An 1/8th point difference is going to be less per month than most people spend on coffee every day. You could empty you pocket change every day and cover that 1/8th percentage point.

For us we refinanced our home and knocked 8 years off the term of the loan ans stayed within $3 of the original loan. We went from 5%+ to 3%. But we noticed they were keeping close to $800 in escrow for property taxes and insurance. Problem was they were not part of the loan because we paid it ourselves. I asked why and the "mortgage specialist" said because that is how they do it. I told them we paid our own taxes and insurance so it should not be in escrow. He argued for a minute or two then called a region specialist who confirmed what I had been saying. The "mortgage specialist" siad he had done hundreds of loans and I was the first person who brought it up. Makes me wonder how many other people were screwed out of the money because most people I know pay their own property taxes and insurance. And it also makes me wonder who got that money.

Something else they did that kind of upset me was when they did the title change they removed my wife from the deed. I contacted an attorney on here who confirmed that had I passed away my wife could be left with nothing if the CU wanted to press the issue. So another $80 later to redo the title paperwork before it was filled and that was fixed.

And finally, you have a 3 day grace period in which you can back out or cahnge things from the time you sign. I know we almost invoked that over the deed issue I mentioned above.

If you decide to do a payroll deduction or account deduction to automatically make you payments make sure you do this. For your very first payment walk in and pay it in person. And at that point setup the deduction. Then once it is setup make sure it was completed but also make sure to have the funds available in case something goes askew. Things happen when humans are involved and it would be a sad start to be late on your very first payment.

As far as insurance goes I like having the insurance rather than have it added to the loan. If something happens to our home WE get a check for the whole amount on the insuance policy no matter how much we owe. Then WE cut the check to the loan company to pay off the loan. Make sure the insurance covers the total value of your home and its contents. You would be surprized how much value is inside of your home. And periodically go back and update the numbers. A home that is bought now for $100K might be worth $200K in a few years, I hope. And if you do not update and something happens you might not be able to get into a comparable home to the one that was destroyed. I know our home is insured for about 4x the amount we actually owe now but we would be moving into and furnishing a comparable home with the insurance if something did happen. Insurance should be enough to make you whole if something happens, that is put you in another home that is comparable and owing a comparable amount.

Avoid insurance policies only cover the loan amount no matter how appealing it might be. The reason is they only pay off the loan no matter how small it might be. So realistically in 20 years you could almost have your home paid off, something happens and the insurance pays the loan off leaving you with nothing. So make sure the loan covers the cost to buy a home comparable to your current home and its contents. The lender does have insurance on your property to protect themselves even if you don't. They also have insurance that pays if you default. Trust me when I say the lenders will not be caught short on any deal.

It can be daunting buying somethnig that costs so much but once you step over the thresh hold of your own home nothing is more satisfying.

Dolomite

[peejman]

<snip>

If you decide to do a payroll deduction or account deduction to automatically make you payments make sure you do this. For your very first payment walk in and pay it in person. And at that point setup the deduction. Then once it is setup make sure it was completed but also make sure to have the funds available in case something goes askew. Things happen when humans are involved and it would be a sad start to be late on your very first payment.

<snip>

Speaking of this... My mortgage is on auto pay. I'm also in a plan where I pay every 2 weeks instead of monthly. That works out to 1 extra (monthly) payment per year, which reduces the term of the loan considerably (~5-6 yrs, I think).

I also refinanced mine recently. While waiting for the auto pay to be set up, I made the first payment by check. Surprisingly quickly after the payment was due, I got a rather nasty note in the mail saying my mortgage was past due. I called and discovered that my mortgage holder (Chase) had decided to apply the entire payment to escrow. That was corrected relatively quickly and easily, but I was shocked by how fast the past due notice showed up and how strongly worded it was. Not real fun, but at the end of the day, not a huge deal either.

Regarding getting a loan.... Figure out what you want to pay monthly and stick to it. Be sure there's some wiggle room and you still have a little play money every month. Don't be tempted by that house that'll only be $150 more per month. It's no fun being "house poor". If you have good credit, the banks will typically loan you way more than you really can afford.

[TripleDigitRide]

Thank all of you for the helpful information. We are currently in the process of counteroffering the counteroffer. I'm confident we will have a deal today or tomorrow.

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[Dolomite_supafly]

And one more thing, stick to a fixed rate mortgage. No matter how temping and ARM is it almost alwys bite back later on. We got offered a ARM that was 1/3rd of our fixed rate but had we taken it within a few years it would have been double the fixed rate. That is what got a lot of people in trouble. They could afford X and X only so they got an ARM that was X only to have it morph into 2x or even 3x. I heard of people buying $500K houses for nearly nothing a month. No one in their right mind would think they can afford a $500K house on minimum wage for the life of the loan.

Dolomite

Edited August 7, 2012 by Dolomite_supafly

[Guest Juan Lazy]

Actually, There are informative sites in the internet about mortgage you can see a lot there.

[zapfbroad]

juan lazy from manila i do call you 'spammer with bad grammar'. you should be stricken from the roll call. that website is completely full of useless fragments of information with whispers of more provided you contact one of a half dozen referral programs you bounce for. your english translation isn't that great either.

Edited August 18, 2012 by zapfbroad

[Parrothead]

Take this for what its worth--I have worked with local credit unions my whole life but BB&T is beating the socks off everyone in this area. I know a good leander in theis area which makes all the differance. Be sure you shop them. As you probalbly know, you get a month from the day of the first application to shop mortgage leanders without penelty on your credit report.

[Guest brighac]

Here is who I used.... Super fast, kept in contact with me at the hours of the day that worked for me, which are odd with work... got everything ready within a couple days for me...

Jeff Wolff

888-817-3888 EX: 2529

Jeff.Wolff@firstliberty.net

[TripleDigitRide]

After many hours of research, shopping, comparing and negotiating, I decided to choose Tim Linville with F&M bank.

As far as I know, except for the appraisal, all I can do is hurry up and wait. Closing is scheduled for September 28th, so there still a whole month and a half for things to go terribly wrong.

Thank all of you for the helpful information.

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Edited August 18, 2012 by TripleDigitRide