higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ARMs are fine for people with good financial > knowledge who are fiscally responsible (presumably > that includes most of us here). Unfortunately, > they were heavily marketed over the last 7-8 years > to people who didn’t understand them and live > paycheck to paycheck. If you survey a bunch of > ARM holders even now, a scary percentage would > have no idea that the 3 5/8 % they pay today could > be 8% five years from now and an even scarier > percentage won’t be able to afford 8% five years > from now. I just locked in 4.125% fixed for 15 > years with TD and will be a happy camper no matter > how long I live there. I agree with this point…which is why I don’t support universal suffrage…
Folks, check out PenFed. They are a credit union, but you can join a sister organization and get in. I have a 5/5 ARM (yes, 5/5, 5 fixed, 5 float, current + 2% cap) on a 4.375. Simple process. You must have stellar credit or they won’t talk to you. They keep all their loans on their books so they want to limit their exposure to subprime.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > kkent Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > I just locked in 4.125% fixed for 15 > years with TD and will be a happy camper no matter > how long I live there. They offer 15 years?
Update – my mortgage broker got me a good rate with a lender than is not the current one I use, so I called up my lender and they agreed to match the rate. They’ve been pretty sketchy as to how long they’re willing to lock it in for, so I’m planning to grill them on the terms before signing an agreement. Besides the lock-in, are there any other “tricks” I should be aware of, like hidden points or prepayment penalties?
Make sure you get the lender to send you confirmation of your loan lock rate and the term of the lock. There have been instances where you lock the rate for 30 days and then the loan takes 40 days to get approved hence your lock “expires” and you end up paying a higher rate. Mortgage rates can change materially in a 30-45 day window. You can pay points to cut your interest rate even more, however you need to run the numbers (simple calculation) based on how long you will likely stay in the home. Make sure there are no prepayment penalties or fees. Ask if your loan will be sold. This is important because you may end up making payments to another lender if it is sold (i.e pain in the @ss). Sometimes the original lender will still service the loan even though it is sold to a Freddie or Fannie.
Don’t quote me on this, but I think in the last several years, prepayment penalties were outlawed. But I still always ask.
former trader Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > higgmond Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > kkent Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > I just locked in 4.125% fixed for 15 > > years with TD and will be a happy camper no > matter > > how long I live there. > > > They offer 15 years? Yup and they are still at 4.125% with no points for a conventional purchase. They’re a little higher for 15 year conventional refi though, 4.375%.
Update #2 – so now my current lender comes back and says that if my apartment gets re-appraised at over 75% LTV they’re going to slap on an extra 75 bps to my rate, which is absurd. I told them not to bother, I was going with the other lender.
iheartiheartmath Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Update #2 – so now my current lender comes back > and says that if my apartment gets re-appraised at > over 75% LTV they’re going to slap on an extra 75 > bps to my rate, which is absurd. I told them not > to bother, I was going with the other lender. LOL. In the middle of the loan term or before? That would be insanity if it were in the middle. Good call going with someone else.