Dappledo's Profile
Author's Posts
April 1, 2009
Need budget Appliance repairman
I have an older portable washing machine by Whirlpool and I hate to throw it out because it is not draining anymore. It agitates and fills properly but when it gets to the draining step it just stops. It is a portable washer that hooks up to my kitchen sink. Anyway- I am looking for a budget repairman that can fix it for me and/or let me know what is cheaper buy a new one or fix it. I think its a simple problem that shouldn't cost much but what do I know. Help me out Brownstoner Fam. Any recs are appreciated.
Thanks
September 10, 2008
Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
So does anyone think that jumbo rates will go down lower also. Conforming rates are really really low. But jumbos are also dropping but how far can they go? I think they are currently around 6.375%. What is the likelyhood a jumbo rate would go below 6%?
I'm trying to decide whether to go ahead an lock a jumbo at 6.375% for $440K. My gut tells me that it won't go much lower but who knows?
what does the forum think?
September 2, 2008
Mortgage Help!
We need help choosing a mortgage option. We were working with a particular bank and just last week they told us they can no longer do 90% financing. Considering that we already put down a 50K down-payment and signed a contract we don’t have the option to back out so we have started courting other banks. We have about 2 months to get everything together and get a mortgage, but we were hoping to close by the end of this month. It’s been really hard for us to choose and see what option is best for us. We don’t know We are hoping that someone in the brownstoner family can provide some good advice. PS- we are going through this process without a realtor but we do have an attorney
New construction condo, purchase price- $500K
Option 1- The major bank that denied us 90% financing has offered to finance at 85% for 6.375%. This option requires us to put down an additional $23K plus pay $25K in closing costs.
Option 2- A second major bank is offering 90% financing at 6.75%. The closing costs would be 5% of purchase price.
Option 3- A credit union is offering 90% financing at 6.875%. The closing costs would be 3-4% of purchase price.
Option 4- The major bank in option 1 has also offered us the possibility of a FHA loan at 6.5%. This is because the home is in Crown Heights and is considered a low/moderate income area. This also gives us a potential $1500 closing cost credit. This seems like the best option but I am unsure. I’m a little peeved that they didn’t offer this at first, why are they only offering this now??
Is it better to pay the additional $23K now in order to get the lower rate? Ideally we don’t want to put any more money down and also have low monthly payments. Because it is new construction we are looking at very high closing cost.
How do we know what Option is the best for us financially? Is it better to pay the money up front even though it would take a huge chunk of our savings? Opinions please!
Author's Comments
You are not alone, my husband and I are inthe same predicament but we are choosing to stick it out. Unless you live rent free- you will be spending that same amount of money ( that could be going toward equity) on rent. Yeah- the prices may go down but after that they will go up. there is no perfect situation in real estate. We decided that we would rather pay more now at a lower rate than pay less later at a higher rate. Maybe its the same thing but it made us feel better. You are lucky- you have secured financing and the place is ready for you to move in. There are others who are still trying to secure finacing and won't be moving in anytime soon - and still willing to ride out the storm. Sounds like you are in a good place and should move forward. Trust yourself over anything else.
Good luck!-
Posted by: Dappledo at October 7, 2008 10:06 AM in response to Break contract or not?
I think this is the way things are working right now. We are in the same situation and have been running around from bank to bank - looking for a bank that can get PMI with 10% down. Both of us have credit over 750 so I doubt that credit is the problem. It's just that the PMI companies are scared to put in 90%. You may be stuck having to put the extra money down. We are trying a credit union right now- I'll update you if the PMI goes through for 90%. Good luck to you.
Posted by: Dappledo at September 29, 2008 4:12 PM in response to Mortgage Advice
Why does everyone keep saying that?
None of the banks I talked with are considering the amount as conforming? Am I missing something- or are they just giving me a higher rate because of the loan amount? I'm so confused now
Posted by: Dappledo at September 10, 2008 1:24 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
we only PLAN to stay around for 7-10 years
Posted by: Dappledo at September 2, 2008 4:38 PM in response to Mortgage Help!
W could back out and lose our deposit--not an option we want to take. we had an appraisal contingency and not a financing contingency. Since the condo appraised for more than the purchase price- we don't have "a way out".
Posted by: Dappledo at September 2, 2008 3:24 PM in response to Mortgage Help!
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
We used Bank of New York and got a really great rate in Crown Heights. It was below market because CH is considered a low income area.
$25k in closing costs for 500k condo is not really that outrageous... maybe a little high...
Our closing costs came in under the estimates...
Good luck
Posted by: CrownGardener at September 5, 2008 7:55 AM in response to Mortgage Help!
I recently locked in at 6.375 on a jumbo after weighing the same data as you. I have no knowledge of how rates will go but to me it seemed low enough to go for. I might be kicking myself in a few weeks but at that rate I feel pretty good.
And I think gkw is right that 440 is not a jumbo. But then again you probably know better than either of us!
Posted by: wasder at September 10, 2008 1:26 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
The new conforming limit is $729K. The catch is, I am not sure that it applies to coops or condos. It definitely applies to single-family homes b/c I rec'd a rate of 6.2% on an amount above $440K back in May--bought 1 point.
Posted by: jurist at September 10, 2008 1:43 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
I am considering refinancing my jumbo as well but still have 3 years on current fixed rate of 5.5 so I am hesitant. Hoping rates go down a bit before I pull the trigger. Here's my ?: My mortgage is with Chase and when I recently spoke with them about refinancing directly with them they said I could save a lot of $ on fees by doing it with them and not with a mortgage broker--especially in NY. Is this true? Do folks generally go with mortgage brokers for refinancing? It was my understanding, that despite logic, one could actually get lower rates using brokers. Any advice would be great.
Posted by: julier at September 10, 2008 1:49 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
Chase is correct because if you refinance with the existing bank, they can do a note modification where they swap out just the promissory note and replace it with another note with the new rate, but they don't touch the mortgage itself, which saves you admin and recording fees.
HOWEVER, in this climate I'm surprised that Chase or the other big boys would still be willing to do that, since I thought they were trying to dial down their exposure to loans on their books. Maybe Chase is in a better position than the others.
Posted by: NorthHeights at September 10, 2008 3:05 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
If I'm not mistaken, I think a loan or note modification can only happen if the terms don't change.
Posted by: BKRed at September 10, 2008 7:38 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
Thanks for the input. But do folks agree that one can get a lower rate with a broker vs. going directly though your existing bank/or another bank? And would the savings on the fees generally make a bigger difference than a lower rate with a broker? I suppose all of this depends on the amount of the mortgage. But being that we have a jumbo--even with the new limit--I am just hoping to do the right thing.
Guessing what is going to happen with mortgage rates is really tough for me and I feel like any input from a mortgage broker is about convincing me to refinance so they can get paid.
Posted by: julier at September 10, 2008 9:43 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
Here is some clarification on conforming, jumbo, and conforming agency jumbo. Anything 417k or under is conforming. Anything above 417k is jumbo. However, temporarily there is a program until the end of this year for loans between 417,001 to 729,750 to qualify under the conforming agency jumbo loan program. The rates are slightly higher than the conforming but lower than your standard jumbo.
Julier, I work for the bank. In this market, I think it is advantageous to go directly with the bank because of all the uncertainty in the market. At the end of the day mortgage brokers are middlemen. The banks they deal with can change a loan on them on a flip of a switch. I have been on the broker side and sometimes rates can be lower. But if you work with a top producing loan officer from a bank, they should be able to get you a pretty competitive rate as well. As far as the CEMA to avoid repaying mortgage tax, you can do that with almost any lender, doesnt have to be Chase.
You have a 5.5% but only good for 3 years. If you can lock into something like 5.75% for 30 years then I would say go for it. Anyone that tells you where mortgage rates are going doesnt know anything. No one knows. Im sure you want he best rate possible but now is not the time to get greedy. What will you do if rates go back up and you never find an opportunity to refinance at a low rate? Sure you will have 5.5% for 3 years then it will go up. You will probably see lots of volatility in rates the next few weeks and 5.5% is not out of the question but when was the last time we saw the 30 year fixed that low? But if rates hit 5.5% I will be sure to post it. Just my thoughts.
sunny_hong@countrywide.com
Posted by: shong1 at September 11, 2008 1:13 AM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
I revise my view from above. Somehow my mortgage broker managed to unlock us from 6.375 and relock us at 6.00 on our jumbo loan so I guess rates could still go down farther. Locking at 6.00 certainly is pretty good though so I don't know how much longer I would ride it out personally.
Posted by: wasder at September 11, 2008 12:58 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
Who's your broker? Happy with them? I am really surprised about 6.00. Is that within the this year's conforming limit for a jumbo? We are still above that amount. Grrrrrr.
Posted by: julier at September 11, 2008 3:00 PM in response to Will Jumbo Rates go down further?
Just wondering- are you buying at Maple Street?
Posted by: Dappledo at December 10, 2008 12:04 PM in response to Electric Hotwater Cost Estimate