Refi Closing Costs - Shoe Drops!
Okay, went through my 3 month refi process, and finally got the good faith estimate on closing costs. Of course it was too good to be true from my original discussions with mortage banker, and suddenly there is an $6000 origination fee and .5 point loan discount fee that weren’t previously discussed. My total estimated…
Okay, went through my 3 month refi process, and finally got the good faith estimate on closing costs. Of course it was too good to be true from my original discussions with mortage banker, and suddenly there is an $6000 origination fee and .5 point loan discount fee that weren’t previously discussed. My total estimated closing costs are 19,678–about 10K more than I was expecting. (I don’t have to go through with it.) This is a “CEMA” loan. Before I call back and ream the mortgage banker, does anyone have any reference points on this? Has anyone done a NY refi recently and can tell me what kind of closing costs they incurred. (Original mortgage 608K) New One at 633K. Any advice? Thanks!
What were your cema costs? curious how they compare to a nn-cema refinancing (since will have to pay mortgage tax again).
HSBC is not allowing CEMA refis, so if you borrow from them, and want to refinance you will be forced to use them to refinance or pay mortgage tax again! Ridiculous!
We just closed on our re-fi a few weeks ago. Whole process was approximately 4 months or so.
Called around myself b/c a lot of banks don’t deal with mtg brokers anymore. Spent a good week trying to find banks that deals with co-ops. Always the first question I asked, “Do you deal with co-ops?” If yes, proceed, if not, not much time wasted.
Finally choose M&T. NIGHTMARE to deal with. Rate & Term refi, got a 5% initially, no points, etc. Locked and loaded. Great. Got GFE, no $ out of pocket, nada. Few weeks later – they told us b/c we’re a co-op, the rate would need to higher and there will be points.
I was waiting for that…Uh-uh, I said no way. First thing I said was we are a co-op. Their mistake in giving us numbers that were not co-op numbers. Long story short, the rate stayed @ 5%, and they paid half of the points and fees.
In the end, the sr. mtg. guy there got fired (he said it was b/c of our case – we think he was just incompetent), lock extended twice w/o fees, they paid half, and the bit that we ended up bringing to closing, we will re-coup in less than 6 months.
During closing, we slammed the bank (not rudely). We wouldn’t deal with them again in the future for another property.
DUMP THE MORTGAGE BROKER ASAP….
We originally went to Chase about 18months ago to ask about refi, but they supposedly wouldn’t process us since it was a co-op… inevitably ended up going to a shady mortgage broker (recommended unfortunately), and in the end he got us a Chase loan (??!!).
Chase was a nightmare to deal with (loan officer was fired and the replacement wasn’t the brightest)… but in the end it was a good deal because the rates were good and we locked right before the meltdown. also, the chase appraiser was actually very friendly and was receptive to our input regarding comps… this was about a year ago though…
As for shady broker – he stuck us with an addtl point fee at the closing, and i think now he’s hiding from the law and the many people he’s screwed over.
Anyway, lessons learned:
1. Shop around for mort., preferably banks
2. Be very proactive in dealing with bankers/loan officers (get names/phones/email/manager’s names and follow up consistently)
3. Make sure any quotes or gf estimates are in writing
4. Join Street Easy or sim website for highest comps
good luck.
I’m in the process of a re-fi with Chase and they have been taking FOREVER (going on 4 months). I did get them to lock my rate for another 2 months (they were really slow in getting an appraiser out). The scary thing is that it appraised at about 20% less than I paid in 2007 (!!!). I had over 40% equity a year ago, now I only have just above 20%. Really sucks.
They also have been asking for tons of documentation and forms that they never asked for before. I think it’s good that they are being more careful who they loan money to, but it seems silly that I already have a loan with them and I have to do all of the paperwork (plus some) over again.
I’m waiting to get the final paperwork and costs. I’m actually on the fence if it’s worth it for me to continue with the re-fi.
Thanks, buttermilk. You have made me feel marginally more comfortable!
Switch!
***Bid half off peak comps***
i too have been through re-fi hell. came down to the bank being overwhelmed, and that my original mortgage had been sold twice before it ended up at BofA. worth it tho….
You wont find that on the GFE. I am assuming that a 1st and 2nd are now combined into one loan? And that figure should be stated on the GFE.
The GFE is just you estimate of the cost.
Once at closing you will find plenty of docs concerning the consolidation.
OP here: This is a 3 family. It was supposed to be a CEMA but I don’t see anything on GFE saying that.