Recent Articles
Your Mental Health as a Mortgage Shopper: Crucial Facts Your Mortgage Broker Forgot to Mention About Paying Points
written by John Crenshaw
In shopping for the best rate and lowest closing costs on a mortgage, the idea of low to no-cost loans capture the attention of even the most skeptical of borrowers. Advertisements abound with promises of no points and there is a lot of advice out there encouraging people to pay as little as possible toward [...]
What Is Yield Spread Premium and What’s Wrong With It, If Anything?
written by John Crenshaw
Recent News On HR3915 To Outlaw YSP, Among Other Things
If you follow the mortgage or real estate markets at all you’ve probably heard about HR3915, the new proposition to, among other things, outlaw Yield Spread Premium (YSP) in mortgage transactions. If you haven’t heard about it, just do a Google search on HR3915 and you’ll [...]
Lead Brokers - How Mortgage Companies Generate Business
written by John Crenshaw
You may have never thought twice about how mortgage companies generate business; I sure didn’t until I got into the business. What I learned was definitely not what I expected; what I expected was pretty simple, I always thought companies, including mortgage companies, generated business through their own marketing efforts, but that turned out not [...]
What’s the Point in Paying Points?
written by John Crenshaw
A while back I wrote an article about paying points to refinance and why, even though we tend to hate the idea of upfront costs, it can be a huge benefit in the long run. In that article I said that you’d benefit from paying points upfront “when the cost of the buy-down pays for [...]
Behind The Wall - An Insider’s View Of The Mortgage Process
written by John Crenshaw
Ok, if you’ve ever refinanced, you’ve probably wondered at some point just what the hell goes on between the time you complete an application and the time your loan funds. I mean, if you’ve had a half-way decent loan officer, he or she has probably given you a little insight, but nowhere near what I’m [...]
Top 3 Reasons Mortgage Rate Shopping Will Cause You Grief
written by John Crenshaw
Because both lenders and brokers will lie to you.
Because Interest Rates Change Every Day, Sometimes Several Times A Day.
Because You Really Don’t Know Who You’re Talking To.
When You Should Pay $10,000 in Points to Refinance
written by John Crenshaw
Why in the world would anyone want to pay $10,000 to refinance; especially when there are all kinds of lenders advertising “free” loans? Well, because the idea of a “free loan” is a little misleading and lenders use this to their advantage when advertising these programs. If the idea of paying closing costs makes you cringe, you need to read this.
Who Has Your Social Security Number?
written by John Crenshaw
If you’re unfamiliar with LowerMyBills, it’s similar to Lending Tree, and if you’ve watched any TV at all, you know that Lending Tree markets itself as a place where you can have banks compete over you. It’s a great concept, but the companies that call you in response to your applications on these sites are [...]
How to Save Money With a Mortgage Broker
written by John Crenshaw
This is the third installment of the Mortgage Shopping series. In the first installment, I went over how Rate Shopping can Hurt Your FICO Score. In installment two I reminded you of a forgotten concept in mortgages: You Get What You Pay For. I left a major question unanswered, “If I shouldn’t be shopping, then [...]