Anybody with Reverse Mortgage experience?
Roberta_z5
17 years ago
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Comments (8)
quiltglo
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Don't Prepay Your Mortgage [Consumer Reports]
Comments (34)Hi Penny, Is it really better to always invest or save rather than pay down? Nothing is ever "ALWAYS" anything, of course. Paying your cash into your real estate equity rather than into safer, more accessible accounts, or accounts with principal protection guarantees, is primarily an emotional benefit for those who choose to do so. For these folks the emotional "feeling" is more important than the actual financial security... and that is FINE when the choice is made with eyes wide open to the risks of only getting halfway there and being trapped with remaining payments and no income or savings. What if you are older and almost living paycheck to paycheck and so can save/invest little...wouldn't it be best to reduce the debt? If you are older and living paycheck to paycheck then SAFETY RESERVES are exponentially more important than reducing your debt prematurely. CASH IS SAFETY... when you are swimming in excess cash, THEN you can safely eliminate the longterm debt. I'm a relatively recent lurker here, but would like clarity, as this is an area of great worry for me, a middle-aged, single first-time homebuyer. Since my 30 year fixed mortgage on my inexpensive home will have me making payments until my late 70's,I have felt compelled to pay what extra I could on the principal over the last 5 years, only reducing my loan about 2 years worth or so, so far. All of that hwile still living paycheck to paycheck? (Or was that a hypothetical of somebody else?) Far better to build up your safety reserves as fast as you can. A surprise stoppage of income for an extended period of time can never be "saved" by partially reduced debt... but accumualted cash CAN save your hide. Unfortunately, I recently stopped extra principal payments reasoning that I need to focus more on paying down my hefty student loans. I am nervous about having all this debt! Accumulate cash first, at least until you have enough safely saved to pay all of your total living costs for at least 12 months if you found yourself unemployed and without supplemental income sources. Once you have that safety net underneath you, THEN if you emotionally must, you can begin chipping down the debt balances. If you ultimately die in debt but never without the ability to pay... that is better than trying to live without cash but only partially debt-free. At any rate, I know that I will be forced to work until my mortgage is paid off...Given the circumstances, wouldn't it make sense to want to pay it off? Sigh, wondering if I'm doing it all wrong...Penny. It only "makes sense" emotionally, not financially. Go for safety and security FIRST, and you can go for the emotional good feelings later, when you can safely afford them. Good luck, and welcome to the boards! Dave Donhoff Strategic Equity & Leverage Planner...See MoreMortgage Broker WOES...we are going to lose our dreamhouse!
Comments (18)Loan players are as follows: Broker: A person that has access to a network of lenders...some private, some banks, some have actual money themselves. They are the "sales people" in the equation usually. Loan officer: Usually the term for a broker-type, but they work directly at a given lender. Sometimes is used interchangeably with broker. Processor: The person that works with the broker/LO and the client to get all the necessary paperwork together. Essentially gets everything "packaged" into a folder to present to.... Underwriting: Underwriters are the final go-ahead people on the broker/LO end. They make sure the loan meets all the requirements set forth by the given investor. I.e. if the broker has you plugged into Acme corps "whiz-bang no money down option loan" then the Underwriter makes sure that all the requirements are actually met. If they don't, they return it to the processor to get missing information. If it's a case of you not meeting the requirements at all, then they kick it out permanently. This is called "falling out in underwriting." Even if you fall out then, a broker will try to find other programs that you might qualify for. Generally, the more lenient (the fewer requirements for you to meet), the greater the risk to the lender, so the higher the fees and interest rate. I have a handful of our closest friends that work in each of these positions and I can tell you that the lines and job descriptions are far from standard. At some places, the processor is just a clerk. At others, processors basically do the processor and underwriter job. Also, even though an underwriter may underwrite a loan (say "this candidate is good to go for that program) the loan can still fall out with the investor's side for a number of reasons. Obviously if you're dealing with a direct lender, when it meets underwriting, then it's done because they actually lend you the money. aiki...See Morebank-owned winterized home: inspection and mortgage questions
Comments (23)cordavamom: "He said as long as the house had power he could do an inspection on the whole house, he'd turn on the water etc. The bank is okay with him doing this. Winter is well over, (it's 77 degrees here today). the bank has made no mention of my son having the home re winterized if the contract falls through -- is this normal?" I can't speak for what is normal with a bank. That said, obviously if the house has power and gas, the electrical and HVAC system can indeed be inspectedand of course, roof structural, which are non-utilities dependent. However, IMO, the HI is a fool to turn on the water....as he is bargaining that there are no problems with the plumbing that could cause property damage. Granted, with a 3 year old home, the chance of that being the case is less than with an older home...however, with a foreclosure, all bets are off as far as the norm...as all too often foreclosed properties are damaged due to owners who want pay-back because of the foreclosure (such as those who were duped by the predatory lenders) or, in a divorce, people can get mighty vindictive. Sometimes the damage is obvioussometimes hidden. We had neighbors who divorced. They had a beautifully upgraded home, very well maintained; the hubby was the original owner of the house brand new, pre-marriage. They split because the wife was having an affair; she continued to live in the house with the children...then had affair guy move in with her. Needless to say, soon to be X was VERY upset...the house went into foreclosure. Wife and affair guy moved out. The bank held an open house through a realtorand we were shocked to see what had been done to the insidedamage everywherethe couple who bought it spent thousands on repairsand he was a contractor..so labor was not an issue. That said, your son needs to make certain that the HI carries errors and omissions insurancethat way, if any damage occurs once the water is turned on, the HI has the financial resources with which to cover it....in addition, your son should make sure that there is some sort of condition in the HI contract where your son cant be held for damages due to the HI turning on the water when he hasnt a clue as to whether of not there is a plumbing problem Last but not least, the water should be on for at least 48 hours prior to inspection, in order to determine if there are any leaks as water somtimes needs a while to circulate before some problems can become evident Last but not least, as you son has no claim to the property, the bank, as the owner/seller would be responsible for any required "winterization", unless your son signed something agreeing otherwise Hope this helps...See MoreOur buyers need more time to get a mortgage committment
Comments (54)I merely mistyped on first posting you quoted, Summers. Complete accident ( I was probably interrupted and failed to read back). I use a broker to LIST only (so to sell, not buy). I do buy direct, and my second post is accurate. My listings are indeed short. Again, why obligate myself to someone for a long period of time, and of course, if we are in a transaction when the listing ends or if the broker was the procuring cause, I am on the hook anyway. So there is no reason to enter long listings or equivalently, enter long relationships with Buyer brokers. You can always renew. That was the point of that post in which you caught my inadvertent use of the wrong word. My error, and I can see how that caused confusion. I apologize for stating the word "buying" when I meant "listing". I have one user name only, by the way. That said, I stand by what I said in this post regarding the strange delays. And I do hope it works out for this poster....See MoreChemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agojannie
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agopamghatten
17 years agolast modified: 9 years agojoyfulguy
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemma
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agojoyfulguy
10 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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