Showing posts with label mortgage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mortgage. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

NVR Mortgage Madness

Remember a while back, when I indicated that the NVR mortgage application process wasn't all that bad?  Well, I take it back.  Its turned into a damn paperwork nightmare, and because its all via email and phone, its just that much worse.

I have little to complain about, because BF has been handling the vast majority of emails and phone calls (Love him!).  But I'm still annoyed, so I'm going to tell you about it.  In great detail.

When we were first approved for the mortgage, our mortgage guy M1 sent us a list of items we would have to document before settlement.  No problem, we had 3 months to do it, right?

Well, no, not really.  Turns out that M1 the mortgage guy only handles the application.  M2 the mortgage guy handles the settlement.  So, the list the M1 sent us early on had to be completed and sent to M2 the mortgage guy.  Thing is, the settlement part doesn't get set in motion until after your settlement is scheduled.  Which means that even attempting to do anything prior to 30 days out was impossible, as there was no one to send it to.

Problem number one was the transition from M1 to M2.  First of all, can't we get guys with names different enough to distinguish?!  Jeezus.  BF had trouble remembering who he was calling why because their names were so similar.  And, the black hole that existed for several months was pretty irritating. 

The biggest problem so far for me though, has been documentation that involved stressing out other people; namely my mother, who graciously gifted us some money last winter to put towards the house.  M1 noticed the larger than normal deposit and needed gift documentation.  He told me they would mail a letter to my mother, she just had to sign and send back.  No problem.  My mom isn't the best at separating junk mail from real mail (I mean, who gets anything important in the real mail these days?) so I put her on notice and she had been diligently checking and looking for months for this promised letter.  Thing is, the promised letter doesn't go out until M2 takes over, after settlement is scheduled.  Nobody bothered to tell us this piece of information.

Last week, when M2 took over, all of a sudden it was critically important that he receive all of this documentation immediately.  He emailed a form to my mother (email, after checking the mail box all summer!) and requested that she email it back, with a copy of the cancelled check.  Who gets cancelled checks?  Because the source of funds was slightly obscure, she didn't keep records and had to spend an inordinate amount of time on the phone trying to get a copy.  Then, because she doesn't have access to a scanner or fax machine, had to go to tremendous lengths to get the information back quickly.  She went above and beyond and I love her for it, and I hate NVR for putting her in that position when there are lots of other things in her life that need tending to.

While that was my biggest beef, its been a chain of item. They want a copy of my father's will, to document the source of funds from the sale of his house after he passed away last year.  Which I couldn't locate after rifling through my ENTIRE file cabinet TWICE, then had a breakdown.  I have Verizon bills from 2003, and couldn't find my father's will and estate documentation?  I did finally find it (NOT where it should have been), but cursed NVR many times over for wanting it. 

They also wanted documentation of my intentions for my existing home (renting), which I understand, but also wanted justification for why we are moving only 12 miles from our existing home.  I fail to understand why I had to write a letter justifying why I wanted to move out of my starter home.  We also had to document lots of large deposits into our checking - which were transfers from other accounts - some as small as $1,500.  Paystubs, bank account statements... they needed it all.  And we had already gone through this when we applied!

I don't know whether this process is more difficult for this house than it was for my current house because banks have tightened down on the lending process, I actually have money to document now (as opposed to when I was 2 months out of grad school and drowning in debt) or because NVR is making it more complicated than it needs to be.  But whatever the reason, it stressed me out beyond belief last week and I hope we are done, done, done.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Renegotiating your mortgage rate lock...

This blog could also have easily been titled "Always, always ask, even if you think its the most ridiculous question in the world."

We locked our interest rate a couple weeks ago, right when it looked like Congress might not get their act together and pass the increase in the debt ceiling.  Rates were starting to rise a little bit, and we just didn't want the uncertainty, so we locked at 4.75, with 0.05 discount point.

And don't you just know it, rates went down right after that.  Like, down to 4.25, which some of you lucky bloggers managed to snag!  While we are still happy with 4.75, we were a little sick that we had guessed so wrong.  4.5% would be $50 less per month, and save $10,000 over the life of the loan.  4.25% would save even more - I don't even want to do that calculation.

So, BF asked me if I thought we could change our rate.  "No."  I said.  "Its called a lock for a reason.  We've locked it.  We are screwed."  But, I agreed that it couldn't hurt to ask.  And so the next day, BF called our mortgage guy and renegotiated our rate.

Did you hear that internet?!  It IS possible to change your rate lock!

I don't know exactly what BF did or said, but mortgage guy agreed almost immediately to lower it to 4.5%, with the same discount rate.  The going rate that day was less than 4.5, but I don't think it had crept down to 4.25 yet.

I was totally blown away.  I would have never bothered to even call and ask such a silly question.  And now we are saving $50 a month!

I thought he might not come through with the paperwork, but he did, and today we mailed back the rate lock paperwork with the new rate.  Absolutely amazing.

So if you are out there, watching rates plummet and kicking yourself in the ass for locking too soon, it doesn't hurt to call and ask!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Locked In @ 4.75%

We locked our rate today at 4.75%, with 1% origination fee and .05% discount.  Don't ask me what it all means, but basically, the "origination fee" is their mortgage brokerage fee, with fancy terminology.  For our mortgage, it will cost several thousand dollars.  We could have bought a lower rate (4.65) and paid some points, but calculating it over the long run, I'd rather have the cash in hand now so we can get some furniture, or a deck, or a garage door opener.

We are a little close for locking in, but with the debt ceiling debate/hostage situation in DC we were really anxious about what rates might do under the various scenarios that could happen: no debt ceiling increase (super bad for rates); short term extension in debt ceiling (uncertain markets make bad rates); or an actual, honest to god agreement (which will probably happen now, and rates will plummet back down to 4.25 or 2.5). 

I'm happy with 4.75 but we are still taking a chance.  60 days from now is Sept 23.  BF talked to both our sales rep and PM today about it.  Our originally scheduled completion date was August 30, but PM changed it to Sept 15.  He is still telling us that it will be the first or second week of September.  But, if there are any major delays, we could run out of time on our 60 day lock.  So, its a little anxiety inducing.  However, I think we will have a little more control over the house and our PM than we do of Congress.  Maybe a lot, come to think about it...

So, cross your fingers for me that all goes smoothly over the next 60 days, and that I don't want to cry when rates actually end up dropping in two weeks!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Good News on Rates!

We got our mortgage approval today.  Besides the few mistakes the broker made on the initial application paperwork, the process was easy.  He hasn't come back for any other information (yet).  I think we did a pretty good job of documenting our accounts, our credit is good and we've got enough liquid assets in the bank to cover the down payments - I'm sure all of these things helped the process along.  It wasn't quite so easy the first time I got a mortgage; though, come to think about it, maybe it was.  I only had one bank account then, no investments and no retirement account.  When you've got nothing, documenting it usually ain't that difficult.  :)

But, I digress.

The REAL reason for this post is that the broker told us the NVR rate is now 4.5%!

Yup.  4.5%!

YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its no 4.25% like Noey got to lock in, but its definitely headed in the right direction.

With the economy still in the crapper, unemployment rates soaring and the debt ceiling debate in DC, I expect the rate to remain at that level or lower at least through the summer.  With any luck, we'll get to lock in before it goes up.  And you all too!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

NVR Mortgage App and some other stuff

We had to go back to the model house to sign more paperwork this week.  We didn't finish signing the disclosure forms on the first round, because there was some questions that our sales rep couldn't answer so we knew we had to go back.  Turns out, she also forgot to have us initial several other pages of stuff.  Sort of annoying, but no big deal.

The visit back to the model allowed us to ask more questions and take a closer look at some options.  We added the recessed lighting in the kitchen.  I'm still ambivalent about it, but BF really wanted it.  We did a quick calculation in our heads and decided that it would likely cost more than 500 bucks to do it ourselves later.  

I also looked at the siding colors again.  No revelations there.  Still thinking and wondering.  We did, however, go back to the lot and take a look at the houses around it.  The other side of the street was developed in 90's; the one next to it was developed by a custom builder several years ago that then went belly up (hence Ryan Homes taking over).  Lots of tan, light yellow and taupe.  Guess we will fit in just fine.  :)

The biggest thing that happened this week was that we sent the mortgage application in.  BF had already sent Mark, the broker, all of our account info so he could fill in the blanks.   The application was fedex'ed to us after he filled in the blanks.

I felt a little weird about filling out the application without being able to ask questions on the fly to the broker.  We are really smart, but I don't understand things like origination fees and how they get their discount rates.  The last time I filled out a mortgage app, I sat at the dude's desk and we went over it line by line.  I didn't particularly like doing it at my kitchen table.

Because we were filling it out on our own, I took a really close look at everything and re-did calculations that he had done.  I also found out that he had screwed up our account info.  Some accounts that were mine were listed on BF's page, as was my mortgage.  It honestly, was just a sloppy job.  So between that and some calculation problems, we called the guy.

He called us back at 8pm, and went over all of our questions.  We fixed the errors, initialed them, and sent it back in.  He explained the discount points  (I'm still hazy on that) and some other things.  My advice to you:  ASK ABOUT EVERYTHING and whether there is a cheaper option.  Title insurance is one - they set you up with a premium package - you can get that cost reduced by 20% or more, depending on which state you are in.  I think there is still some room to bargain a bit, so don't be afraid to ask some tough questions.

Next step:  Flooring appointment on Tuesday!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Pre-approved.

When we picked up the contract so we could check it out before signing it, our sales rep also handed us a large folder stamped NVR.  Yikes.


I was expecting to not have to do any mortgage paper work until after we signed the contract, so I immediately started that little panicky feeling in my stomach, coupled with hot flashes.  Things are really crunched right now and I don't have time to look up all my financial info before next weekend.  I've been moving money around, closing accounts, opening accounts, making IRA contributions and quite frankly, because its all been done so recently, I have no idea what money is where.  And don't have time to figure it out until next week.

(of course, I have time to blog, but that's besides the point).

Luckily, the only thing we really had to do this week was sign the permission sheet so the loan officer could check our credit scores.  BF sent them over yesterday morning, and by the end of the day we had our pre-qualification.  I guess that's all we need to sign the paperwork.

Eek.

Next step:  Call and schedule our contract meeting.

Am I really doing this?