Mortgage Hackr?

If you have a relatively straight-forward financial situation (W-2, etc.), I had really good luck with www.aimloan.com (online direct lender). Easy process, best rates I could find.

Very good point. I had an impound account when I first purchased my house and the lender screwed up big time on paying my property taxes on time. It was a big battle to try and get that cleared up. When I refi’d I made sure to never get another impound account. I’m good with saving money so I don’t mind holding onto it and paying my property taxes as needed.

Yes… I’m here… I’m listening- I haven’t reviewed everyone’s comments yet… Quickly skimming through everyone’s suggestions:

I don’t think anyone mentioned getting rid as many liabilities as possible including manually paying off your cards ahead of time (before credit pull) and transferring your car lease to a family member (or getting rid of it completely).

If you have student loans- have your payment plans ready- student loans are big deal killers- deferred doesn’t really help with some lenders- some lenders might still use 3% of the student loan as your monthly debt REGARDLESS of deferred…

I would avoid getting a loan through a bank- they almost always cost more since they normally buy wholesale through various lenders. Chase private client might be worth considering. If they offer equal or below 4% APR for a conventional 30 year. <- I came up with that number because I saw an ad the other day for 4.25% and CPC is rumored to shave off almost 30 basis points. Rates are subject to change at any given time and any hour of the day depending on the markets.

And as mentioned from previous comments- roll the fees into the loan- and ALWAYS LOOK AT THE APR (included fees).

I have a list of people I know from 4 different lenders you can shop against. PM if you want their contacts.

And yes SHOP SHOP SHOP just like cars.

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I will echo on using the Zillow Mortgages link - I found multiple suitable brokers/originators.

The last refi that I did was with:

Betty Pope
Residential Wholesale Mortgage, Inc.
11234 El Camino Real
San Diego, CA 92130
858-794-2155
bettyp@rwmloans.com

I would suggest fine tuning the filters on Zillow and then calling a couple of 4.75+ rated places and finally the broker that I listed above. This is very much like a car lease type of game.

Lastly, I am a Chase CPC client. Their rates were absurdly horrid. Wells Fargo as well - and I have personal friend who works there. His message to me was that retail banking just does not have the portfolio of favorable rates that wholesalers can offer. Delta between the banks and my last refi place was roughly 0.375%.

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"If you have student loans- have your payment plans ready- student loans are big deal killers- deferred doesn’t really help with some lenders- some lenders might still use 3% of the student loan as your monthly debt REGARDLESS of deferred… "

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This. It will really vary between the lenders. The best thing you can do is put it on a flat amortization schedule stretched as long as possible. Even with that, it might not be accepted by some institutions.

Re: Private client - my experience suggested that it’s cheaper than Wells Fargo, but still 1/4% higher than wholesalers.

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Yup- it varies by lender.

“2. The only “hack” I could get was use the family real estate agent and have her as the “broker” and as a result she gave me most of the commission she received. She also sent me a w2/w4 (forgot which one) for tax reasons as well.”

Please do not follow this advice.

It is a felony for someone who is unlicensed to receive a real estate commission (proceeds from the completion of a transaction) from a licensed professional. The person receiving the proceeds gets charged with the felony. *

I think you’re overreacting and I feel a bit of hate coming from you. Again, I was making a short generalized point on my end, did a TLDR;. To go and follow it blindly is just asking for trouble. I will counter your felony with this little piece of interesting read. So go eat it and quit hating. This is about leasehacking and trying to find the best deal.

In California, a “finder’s exception,” allowing an unlicensed person to be compensated for introducing parties to a real estate transaction, has been judicially approved since 1923. As explained by California’s Supreme Court in Tyrone v. Kelley (1973) 9 Cal.3d 1.
https://www.cresinsurance.com/allowable-referrals-commission-splits-california-real-estate-transactions/

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There is no hate involved here, just the facts. It’s good you posted that exception to increase the knowledge in the thread, but that exception has limited application. “The California Attorney General issued an opinion in 1995 that a broker can pay a referral fee to an unlicensed person for a referral so long as the referring person was not soliciting on behalf of the broker. The opinion goes on to say that the finders fee exemption can apply only if the finder’s activity is limited to the introduction, and the finder is not involved in any role in the negotiations “no matter how slight.””

http://www.brewerfirm.com/resources/commission-splits-kickbacks-and-referral-fees/

The point remains – please do not ask for a kickback from your agent/broker. It’s a bad idea with real possibilities of felony prosecution.

If anyone has questions on California/Arizona real estate, I’m happy to offer more direction via private message.

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sure, again it’s a TLDR;, not exactly something to follow step by step. What I am arguing here and what I think is very important is knowledge. What you’re stating is the law. There can be a happy medium where the knowledge I gain and use doesn’t have to violate the law. You’re taking what I am saying literally and I am amending it and saying if you find a way to apply what I said in practice you absolutely will not violate the law and have some money to do renovations and such. I am NOT advocating breaking of the law, but in california the “finder’s fee” exists and it exists for a good reason.

and stop trying to shill yourself, you literally said earlier in a now deleted statement that you’re taking some real estate exam and now you’re offering to take real estate conversations offline in private message. I applaud the effort as this is a good organic way to gain potential leads, however I frown upon it, why can’t people ask questions publicly and have you answer it? Why hide information between two parties?

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Thanks for the recommendations and tips, all!

Considering I just entered 45-day escrow, it seems my priority should be on getting funded/approved and working with a reputable local broker/lender, rather than getting the absolutely lowest rate online (save that for the re-fi).

To do that, I’ve paid off my credit card balances, and will inquire about paying off my remaining lease payments, if it makes a difference. I’m gathering my W-2s, though I’d rather have lenders look at my current paystubs than what I earned in 2015…

I have an idea of the “target” deal I’m aiming for: a 30-year mortgage at 4.3% APR, no points, and bank closing costs rolled in ($0 drive-off? Lol). I’d love a 15-year loan, but I can’t afford the payments.

I’m curious if the quotes you get from lenders/brokers are accurate – or if bait-and-switch offers are common in the industry. It would be great to shop around, provided the actual terms match up with the quotes.

They will ask for 2 years of tax returns.

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Better do my 2016 taxes soon then! I just hope they consider my current income, rather than taking an average of the past two years or something.

They will consider your current income - will want recent paystubs. But will still ask for 2 years returns :slight_smile: BTW - they don’t look at an average. They want to see stable income for the past couple of years.

The REAL HACK is if you’re a recent college grad. Once you have obtained your degree and a job offer- there is no need for 2 year return. These transactions are a piece of cake- And as mentioned by someone earlier it’s best if you have a family member that is a realtor that will “FORFEIT” the commission upfront - upon a negotiated sales price. HIGHLY frowned upon by brokers since that they don’t get anything. I’d love to elaborate but due to conflict of interest :mute:

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O shoot- how can I also forget this tip… The government provides a free credit report from all 3 major bureaus EVERY year. So the sooner you obtain it the better so the clock restarts again.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

I understand your concern about making sure you have a reputable lender over a better rate, but keep in mind, rates are GOING UP! Your best bet is to try to get the best possible rate now. Don’t wait. Yellen already said the rates are going up in the next month.

I am not sure how much of hack you can do with Mortgage, But below are some of the points which I followed.

  1. Make sure you can put 20% down, otherwise you will keep paying PMI(It is difficult to get rid of it, even if you reach 20%, some banks will insist to reappraisal to remove it)

  2. Make sure you have good credit score

  3. Look for lenders whose closing costs are low and no origination fees. You can compare lenders quote in zillow.

  4. I worked with penfed, real estate rewards program which covers closing costs and no origination fees. The catch is penfed will assign its preferred real estate agents to you. But if you don’t have a real estate agent, I don’t see this as a problem.

https://www.penfed.org/Real-Estate-Rewards/

Please call them and confirm about the availability of the program.

You can join penfed, by donating $20 to one of the supporting organizations.

  1. There is another hack, if you prefer to call this way. Find a real estate agent who can share the commission with you. Believe me, such real estate agents exists(at least in competitive markets) . In a 400K house, his commission will be 12K and he might be able to share up to 50% of his commission. I did not try this personally.

To buy I use:

Adam Eyre
Production Manager
NMLS: 460076
408-603-5507
910 Campisi Way
Suite 1D
Campbell, CA 95008

Super responsive and I know my loan will close on time.

To re-fi - I use: better.com (may take a few more days but the rates are better).