Jul 20, 2017 | Uncategorized
“Closing Costs” are the fees that cover the various services involved in the sale of residential real estate. Buyers and sellers negotiate to decide how to share these costs.
As indicated below, many of the buyer’s closing costs are related to the costs of originating the mortgage loan. Since Dove Mortgage Corporation is highly experienced with closings and mortgages, we can help you understand your closing costs.
The Good Faith Estimate (GFE)
Buyers will receive a “Good Faith Estimate” of closing costs at the time the loan application is submitted to the lender. The closing costs enumerated in the GFE are estimated based on our experience with mortgage loans, but costs usually change by small amounts between the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and closing. We go over Good Faith Estimates with buyers almost every day, so we’d be glad to answer the you have about closing costs.
Below you’ll find a generic list of costs for buying residential real estate. We will always provide a specific list of your closing costs when we provide your Good Faith Estimate.
Standard Closing Costs
- Various Taxes
- Loan-related costs
- Points — lower your mortgage interest rate (optional)
- Appraisal Fee
- Obtaining Your Credit Report
- Interest Payment
- Escrow Account
Property Taxes
- Recording Fees and Transfer Taxes
- Insurance
Homeowners Insurance
- Title Insurance
- Flood / Earthquake Insurance
- Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
Jul 20, 2017 | Uncategorized
What information will be needed for the application (and how it’s kept private)?
Anything you submit over our website is 100 percent, fully secure. And we never, ever share it with anyone except by permission — that is, if you’re giving us information you want us to use to get you the best loan, we use that information to tell mortgage lenders about you and convince them to loan you money. In turn, those mortgage lenders are bound by federal law to keep your information secure.
Here is a list of the information mortgage lenders will use to consider your loan application.
For all loans
- Social Security Number, for borrower and co-borrower (if any)
- Employment History
- For the last two years, employment dates, addresses, salary.
- Current pay stubs or W-2 forms.
- Check and Savings Accounts and Certificates of Deposit
- Location of bank accounts, account numbers and balances
- Address of bank if out of town
- Last 3 months’ statements
- Stocks, Bonds, and Investment Accounts
- Broker’s name and address, description of stocks, bonds, etc.
- Last 3 months’ statements or copies of stock certificates
- Life Insurance Policies
- Insurance company, policy number, face amount, cash value, if any
- Retirement Plan
- Approximate vested interest value
- Copy of latest statement
- Automobiles
- Make and model of automobiles, their resale value
- Other Assets
- Market value of personal and household property
- Liabilities and Other Non-Mortgage Debt
- Creditors names, addresses, account numbers
- Monthly payments and balances
Other income information you may need
If you’re self-employed:
- Two years tax returns, profit and loss statements, both company and personal if separate.
- Current balance sheet and profit and loss statement if more than two months into the new fiscal year, signed by CPA.
If you have income from:
- Commission
- Overtime
- Bonus
- Partnership
- Rental Property
- Trust
- Notes Receivable
- Interest/Dividends
- You’ll need two years’ personal federal tax returns
If employed in family business:
- Personal federal income tax returns and all schedules for the past two years
If divorced or separated:
- Complete executed divorce decree and settlement agreement
- Payment history of alimony/child support over the past 12 months, if it is a financial obligation.
- If you choose to have this be considered as part of your income (you don’t have to), be prepared to provide 12 months canceled checks or bank statements reflecting income deposits.
If you own real estate
- Name and address of all mortgage lenders for the past 24 months, account numbers, monthly payments and balances
- If you’ve sold your home but not closed: A copy of the sales contract
- If you’ve sold your home, closed, and you will use the proceeds for your new down payment: A copy of the HUD-1 Uniform Settlement Statement
If you rent
- Name, address and phone number of landlords for the past 24 months
If you’re buying a home
- Purchase sales contract or offer to purchase and all addenda
- Furnish contract with original signatures of buyer and seller
- If a source of your down payment is a gift:
- Name, address and relationship of donor. Gift funds will be verified in both the donor and recipient’s accounts.
- Note: Not all loan programs allow gifts to be part of your down payment.
- For FHA Financing
- Evidence of Social Security Number and photo identification
- For VA Financing
- DD214 and Certificate of Eligibility
- For Construction/Perm Loan
- Signed construction with cost breakdown, builder plan and specifications
Apr 21, 2017 | Uncategorized
How can you improve your credit score?
It’s virtually impossible to change your score in the time between when most people decide to buy a home or refinance their mortgage and when they apply. So the short answer is, you really can’t “on the spot.” But there are strategies you can live with to make sure when you apply for a loan your score is as high as possible.
Make sure that the information each of the three credit reporting bureaus has on you is consistent and up to date. Order a copy of your credit report about once a year, and dispute any inaccuracies.
Note: Theoretically, if a series of credit reports is requested on your behalf during a limited amount of time, your score goes down until time passes without any inquiries. Changes in the law though have made “consumer-originating” credit report requests not count so much. Also, a series of requests in relation to getting a mortgage or car loan is not treated the same as a number of credit card requests in a limited time. This is because the credit bureaus, and lenders, realize that people request their own credit reports to keep up with what’s on them, and smart consumers shop around for the best mortgage and car loans.
Unsolicited credit card solicitations in the mail don’t count against your credit report, so don’t worry.
The two main components of your credit score are your payment history and the amounts you owe. Bankruptcy filings and foreclosures, which can stay on your credit report for as long as 10 years, can significantly lower your score. It’s never a good idea to take on more credit than you can handle.
Late payments work against you. It’s extremely important to pay bills on time, even if it’s only the monthly payment.
Don’t “max out” your credit lines. Since the size of the balance on your open accounts is a factor, lower balances are better.
It’s said that by carefully managing your credit, it’s possible to add as much as 50 points per year to your score.
