Mortgage broker for HELOC??
Does it seem exhorbitant for a mortgage broker to charge me up front a $400 application fee, and then an additional $800 taken dirctly from the home equity line of credit once I’ve closed? ‘ve used mortgage brokers before, and dealt directly with a bank, but I don’t remember paying these fees to a broker..(i…
Does it seem exhorbitant for a mortgage broker to charge me up front a $400 application fee, and then an additional $800 taken dirctly from the home equity line of credit once I’ve closed? ‘ve used mortgage brokers before, and dealt directly with a bank, but I don’t remember paying these fees to a broker..(i thought they got their commissions from the bank..) I’ve been impressed by his professionalism/attention so far, and I need to move on this pretty quick, but I don’t obviously want to be screwed over.. thoughts?
We’re having our HELOC done along with our mortgage so we can start renovating right away. Our broker hasn’t mentioned this costing us anything more than the $350 we paid him at the beginning of the mortgage-finding process.
check out e-loan, I think they have the best HELOC deal at the moment.
You don’t need a broker for a HELOC, just check out all the major banks, the big ones appear to be the most competitive and they give you all the info you need to compare right on their websites.
when I bought my condo 2 years ago, the mtg broker attempted to charge me (a few thousand) a percentage of what my condo cost. No application fee. I thought it was ridiculus and I took some extra time an went “bank shopping”. I ended up getting a better interest rate and learning more about different types of loans-invaluable lesson!
I read in the Times that as the market slows down, with less customers knocking on their doors, mortgage brokers actually get MORE sleazey, trying to pull off all kinds of scams.
All those fees are negotiable. Tell him you are not paying an application fee under any circumstances. It’s the easiest place to start. And remember brokers aren’t doing the business they were a year ago, or five years ago. Buyers have more power now.
Sounds like nonsense to me, honestly. I’ve taken out helocs three times on two different houses, and the worst experience was the one time I used a mortgage broker, and not that using one is per se a bad thing, as I have on occasion for primary loans. What I did find was that we didn’t have the control over the process, and wound up with a local bank we could have gone to ourselves, and I might mention wasn’t the bank with the best terms as far as bank policy regarding subordinating that loan to the first. So, I’m convinced that there is no reason not to just do in on your own, it’s fast, and any closing costs should still be waived as long as you take a minimum draw and don’t get on the wrong side of a prepay penalty. Good luck.