hello all,

i have been reading all the comments about refinancing and wanted to add some input here.

firstly to all those who believe that a mortgage broker who works on the wholesale side is better than working with someone who works on the retail side directly for the bank, i hate to differ but their access is very limited and there are almost no more banks who do business with the brokers anymore.

secondly - i work for wells, and my name comes up here from time to time and im glad to say that its only come up for good reasons, therefore i want to explain some of this process to all at least on the wells retail side.

a refi will always take longer then purchases as purchases have timelines that must be adhered to, and at wells we ahve our closing gaurantee as well. a refi can take up to 90 days these day but not much longer, the refi boom has died down a bit and the banks are seeing less volume, today a refi should be not more then 60 days, even with the rates back down to the low 5's and the 5/1 arm rates in the mid 4's, coops are more complex dont get me wrong but if the person you work for knows the guidelines upfront then you should be set, condo's have their own set of guidelines but yet again if the person your working for knows what they are doing and knows what needs to be done and gets all the correct information upfront , then you will be golden.

i know there is much confusion and frustration out there, but you need to make sure the person you are working with is competent, im reading here how people are working with people from Minneapolis,im presuming its out of a call center, why would you want to work with someone from out there, when you should be working with a ny person who knows his stuff.

extensions should be paid by the lender if its the lenders delay, but a broker usually cannot cover that cost where as the bank sales guys like me can have the bank cover it without you ever knowing that there was any cost to begin with.

im always available for questions email me at benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com

Posted by: Blev9701 at September 2, 2009 12:32 AM in response to How Long to Refinance?

these days can someone count for me more then maybe 7 wholesale lender still out there????

once upon a time a broker can outdo going to a bank directly any day, if i read correctly yesterday, it said that now 65% of all loans are originated by lenders on the retail divisions,and about 30% by the wholesale or brokers, 3 years ago that number was reversed, so i think your answer is pretty clear.

i can be reached via email benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com i can reffer you to many satisfied customers in brooklyn, on bronstoner and realtors in the parkslope area as well.

Posted by: Blev9701 at July 7, 2009 11:37 PM in response to Benefits of a Mortgage Broker?

cris,

there are many diffrences when it comes to conventional financing or fha financing it all depends on the entire picture of your deal, and needs.

feel free to contact.

benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com

we are lending money .

Posted by: Blev9701 at July 7, 2009 11:33 PM in response to FHA Loan

this sounds very off, and sounds and smells fishy.

i would walk away from the bank and loan officer, just sounds very odd.

sometimes they want a letter of explanation for various things, but not why you are buying a house and letters of recommendation.

if you need any help ill be glad to advise.

thanks

Posted by: Blev9701 at July 7, 2009 11:30 PM in response to Letter of Persuasion to Bank

Hello,

PMI is a very tight squeeze these days, for more then a single family with a loan amount above 417k you will NOT get PMI, the only times mortgage insurance companies are giving out any pmi is a single family home credit score above 700, debt to income ratio below 43% then and only then will you get pmi.

however when you do get pmi it is not cheap, rather very costly.

your only option which is not a bad option is to fha the loan, most people think fha is for people with porr credit whcih is incorrect, and on a two family house they allow you to calculate the rental income 10 percent highe, so if the debt to income ratio is tight this might help. yes there is upfront pmi, but that can be financed in on top of the max ltv of 96.5, however the mortgage insurance is much cheaper, and rates are very good as well.

feel free to contact with anymore questions.

benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com

Posted by: Blev9701 at July 7, 2009 11:20 PM in response to Still Hard to Obtain PMI?

have you found anything yet? as wells fargo is rolling out a special super credit jumbo product which might be very attractive to you.

email me at benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com for more info

Posted by: Blev9701 at January 28, 2009 2:40 PM in response to Jumbo Mortgage Rates

in regards to purchase cema, its a great thing when ti can happen, it saves lots of money to the buyer on a purchase and it saves the seller money on the nyc transfer tax.

however not all lenders will give a purchase cema, and not all lenders will accept a purchase cema, wells fargo does accept purchase cema's.

in regards to closing costs on a refi, as adam stated the two bigf ticket item is the mortgage tax and the title insurance, however when you refinance from one lender to another lender the cema costs are higher because the old lender charges money to give the cema and the bank attorney charges more money to prepare the cema docs.

i can only say form my knowledge here at wells, when doing a wells to wells internally, we do not charge the client a cema fee, one that would be charged when to a wells to wells on the wholesale side, and the bank attorney would not charge anything extra because they dont prepare any extra docs as wells does all the legwork, and saves the borrower money.

just my humble understanding and knowledge.

benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com

Posted by: Blev9701 at January 28, 2009 2:02 PM in response to Refinancing Closing Costs

Id like to answer some of first timers questions from the perspective of the financing/mortgage part.

firstly in today’s market because the banks have so many refinance applications, their turn times have gone up dramatically, however they are prioritizing purchases first but know that it will take 3 to 6 weeks to get all the financing in place.

In regards to how much money you will have to put as the down payment, there are many variables,
Firstly Fannie and Freddie have added another hit to condos and coops above 75% financing so if you only put down 20% you might get a higher rate or have to pay points because of that.
also with good credit and enough income to qualify banks will lend 90% money to a buyer, yes you might have to pay pmi but if you can manage the payments and plan on staying long term in the house its definitely worth it then not having any savings left over at the end.

hidden costs that will not even show up on a good faith estimate are a few, firstly in ny most buyers have a lawyer that represent them in the purchase and this is something which you might pay the lawyer a month after closing when he sends you your final documents and the bill, most lawyers for such transactions charge in the area of 950 to 1500 dollars per transaction depending on how much work they do, and some just have a flat fee no matter how much work they put into the transaction, second item would be a home inspection, if you were buying a two family house and wanted to make sure its safe and sound, electricity, wiring, lead, asbestos floors, piping etc. this is not an appraisal as an appraisal is a fee quoted to you from the bank, and its not the same thing. There might be a few more but usually what costs you have associated the bank can outline in pretty black and white numbers.

when buying a new construction condo most developers require the buyer to pay their closing costs which can add upwards of 10k to your closing costs, but with prices dropping and developers looking to sell, i have seen many cases where the buyers were able to negotiate that the seller pays their own fees and saves the buyer a nice chunk of change.

buying a home is always a scary thing when your not guided correctly on all fronts, realtor and bank, so its very important to choose someone who is knowledgeable in their field, as they know the most up to date (or supposed to) guidelines and way to work, that being said there are bankers who know the realtor side very well as they work on both ends and vice versa, but make sure you are getting the correct information, that will be the crucial step in getting the best price, mortgage interest rate and closing costs for you.

If you have any more questions on this please feel free to contact me privately and i can lend more assistance to the matter, and help you get pre-approved etc...

Posted by: Blev9701 at January 28, 2009 1:30 PM in response to First-Timer Questions

to parksloper,

while you may be correct in worrying about your value of your home,

the one other option you may have, which is just an option but not the best is to have the original lender take a lesser payemtn to satisfy the mortgage, now again im going to say its not the best option but an option never the less, these days rates are extremely unpredictable like big time, and alot of changes are colming in 2009, so beware of what you hear and see, but know that if you do decide to refinance your home its still doable with the right lender.

if you have any questions just pm me and ill explain more.

Posted by: Blev9701 at October 19, 2008 11:30 AM in response to Jumbo Mortgages: How You Lookin'?

well it really only affects mortgage brokers,
retail outfits of wells doesnt haqve that restriction right now, so if you want a mortgage go to wells retail and they can close it up to dec 31st.

and i can help you do that. just give me a holler

Posted by: Blev9701 at October 10, 2008 9:32 AM in response to Banks Putting the Squeeze on Jumbo Loan Borrowers

hey,

it used to be that there were some lenders who didint require to see the c/o and if the property was used as a two family even though its c/o says three family you would still get the better rates, of course its always good to have everything legal.

today for example chase will nto allow to close on a property that is being "underused" even though its should not pose a problem but chase has an issue on "undersue", all banks have an issue of "overuse" which means using it for more then the legal amount says it can be used.

but there are lenders that will ahve no problems with this, but if you start anything with the buildings dept. no lender will close these days with an open permit on title so be careful what process you start now.

if you want shoot me an email and we can discuss this more, benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com

thanks

Posted by: Blev9701 at October 7, 2008 11:57 PM in response to 3 Family to 2 Family C of O Conversion

Dont forget for any consults for a mortgage email benjamin.levin@wellsfarego.com or call 917-837-5794.

Posted by: Blev9701 at October 6, 2008 7:04 PM in response to Brooklyn Bargains? Condo Price Cuts

a heloc is a line of credit,

payemnts on helocs are usuallt interest only for the entire draw period which usually lasts ten years, and interest is only due on the part of the line that has been drawn, so if you are not using the entire line or plan on repaying part of the line back dont lock in a fixed rate, becasue by locking it in it will become tougher to payoff if you get a bonus or know you can pay it down shortly.

all the best

benjamin

Posted by: Blev9701 at October 5, 2008 2:46 PM in response to Help! should I lock in my HELOC????

hi salty,

i read your post and wanted to just give you some insight,

in regards to the conversion it will take some time but as long as they go through the entire process its no diffrent then a new construction, accept that once the ag approves it they can sell it no problem.

in regards to the mortgage yes you can lock in a long term rate with most lenders, including wells fargo home mortgage the strongest lender out there.

contact me with any question benjamin.levin@wellsfargo.com 917-837-5794.

Posted by: Blev9701 at October 5, 2008 2:37 PM in response to Condo Conversions on Butler Place - Grand Army Plaza

I've been kind of curious about this. We have a three family building that we use as a one family. I've never been able to get a straight answer on whether we're getting ourselves into trouble by combining electric meters, removing fire doors, etc. I believe that in principle the taxes should be lower assuming the property's been assessed in the last 30 years or so when you down-zone but I'd be curious to hear from someone more knowledgeable.

Posted by: bunkerlabs at October 8, 2008 6:24 PM in response to 3 Family to 2 Family C of O Conversion

UPDATE: I was just approved for PMI with 10% down for a co-op in Fort Greene and am a few days from closing. Good luck!

Posted by: brooklyncurious at July 28, 2009 10:00 PM in response to Still Hard to Obtain PMI?

brooklyncurious, congratulations !

I was wondering if you would share what bank you used, and the name of your contact there.
I have been in contract since mid-june, and have been unable to get financing for my 10% down deal. This is despite having an 800 credit score, no debt, and the monthly payments are less than 30% of my gross income. I've been told its impossible to get pmi and that my only option might be a SONYMA loan. I might lose the place...

Posted by: FalulahBaker at July 31, 2009 6:12 PM in response to Still Hard to Obtain PMI?

brooklyncurious, congratulations !

I was wondering if you would share what bank you used, and the name of your contact there.
I have been in contract since mid-june, and have been unable to get financing for my 10% down deal. This is despite having an 800 credit score, no debt, and the monthly payments are less than 30% of my gross income. I've been told its impossible to get pmi and that my only option might be a SONYMA loan. I might lose the place...

Posted by: FalulahBaker at July 31, 2009 6:13 PM in response to Still Hard to Obtain PMI?

hi ben levin. ironically, i tried to refi directly through Wells at the end of 2008. i called the bank and was told they'd call me back in a couple of days. a couple of days later, a sales manager in queens contacted me. this was one of the least intelligent, least competent people i have ever dealt with. she couldn't even get my name right, calling me "Lisa" on my good faith estimate. she also couldn't explain the closing costs/good faith estimate to me. she didn't seem to have any idea how the most basic numbers/concepts work in a refi (payoff amount, interest charges, timing for last payment under the existing mortgage, etc.), or any idea what was happening with rates in the market. i was also told i would have to pay points for a lock, which didn't happen when i used a mortgage broker. everything was so much more difficult and the process seemed so unnecessarily convoluted that i eventually just gave up (until March when i used a mortgage broker). i think it's funny you're on brownstoner doing damage control for Wells.

Posted by: panamac at September 2, 2009 1:06 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

We recently refinanced two properties: our primary residence and an investment property. We originally tried to refinance the primary through Chase, the current lender, but they were PAINFULLY SLOW. We simultaneously worked with a broker on the investment, since that's a little tricky. That investment deal closed in 6 weeks!! Chase was still trying to gather paperwork.

Alas, we went with the same broker for the primary residence--he got us a better deal, closed in 4 weeks.

Of course, you may have guessed by now that the investment loan was SOLD BACK TO BofA, and the primary residence loan was SOLD BACK TO CHASE.

Love it... sometimes I think these big banks couldn't find their asses with both hands.

Bottom line, it pays to use a mortgage broker.

Good luck!

Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at September 2, 2009 2:26 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?