Mortgage lending and things you should know

  If you are thinking of buying or refinancing or just looking to give some advice to a friend or family member, read ahead.  Some words of wisdom: that we can all benefit from:

•  If you are speaking to a loan officer at a bank, a mortgage banker or a mortgage broker and they ask that you help them fill out an application without going over your financial pedigree, you may be asking for a lot of trouble.
•  If you are refinancing your mortgage to pay off credit card debts, you may very well be asked by the lender to pay the balances to zero AND close out the account.
•  Always ask your loan officer what happens and what your options are if the appraisal comes in less than what you expected.
•  Know what your approximate closing costs are before doing an application.  If your loan officer doesn't volunteer the information, ask.
•   Be prepared for a long, tedious process.
•  Banks will not look at your liquid asset statements if there is 1 page missing.
•  Assume that the bank will ask for a letter of explanation for the smallest of deposits in your account.
•  Any credit inquiries on your credit report within the last 90 days will require a letter of explanation.
•  Be prepared to sign many disclosures that don't make a lot of sense.
•  If you are buying a home and the appraisal comes in at less than the purchase price, you will probably have to write a letter that says you understand the value is below the purchase price and you still want to move forward.
•  At this point in time, no matter what rate you end up getting, you're a winner.
•  Never assume that the appraiser has done everything correctly.  Mistakes are made all the time.
•  "Common sense" underwriting no longer applies.
•  Loans are getting closed despite what we see on the news.  Just be patient, give the bank everything it asks for and be patient. (I said that already, didn't I?)