Closing On Your Home

The mortgage loan closing (or settlement) is the final step to official ownership of your new house. Even though you have a signed purchase contract and your loan request has been approved, you have no rights to the property, including access, until the legal title to the property is transferred to you and the loan is closed.
Every area of the country has its own unique closing customs. Your REALTOR® can guide you through this process and make sure everything flows together smoothly.

At closing, you will sign the mortgage loan documents and pay your closing costs, the seller will execute the deed to the property, and the closing agent will record the necessary instruments to give you legal ownership of the property.

Closing costs vary widely depending on your new home’s price tag, location and other factors. Overall, you can expect to pay between 1 and 3 percent of the sales price.

As soon as you receive your commitment letter from your lender, you should confirm the actual date of loan closing. Usually your real estate agent, lender and closing agent coordinate a date with you. You want to make sure that closing takes place before your loan commitment expires and before any rate lock agreement expires. The closing date also has to allow adequate time to assemble all of the required documentation.

There are standard documents and exhibits that are commonly required for a loan closing. Some of these will be your responsibility. Some of these will be the responsibility of other parties to the transaction, such as the seller and lender.

--Article taken from www.wra.org

Foreclosure Crisis

Foreclosure Crisis

September 6, 2007

I was watching the nightly news tonight, something I rarely do since my tv never changes from the Nickelodean/Cartoon Network, and a story was on named the 'Foreclosure Crisis'.

Granted the media usually makes the real estate market seem much worse than it is, this is actually a true crisis that is happening within our present day market.

The first thing to do to correct this is to find what caused it. The main reasons: loose lending requirements and adjustable rate mortgages. Combine these two together with a borrower who only lives for the moment and you've got trouble just waiting to happen.

An adjustable rate mortage will have a 'teaser' rate to begin with, typically for 1 or 3 years. This teaser rate, 3 years ago, was much, much lower than the normal 30 year fixed rate mortgage. And the lending requirements....bad credit, no credit, no downpayment....some of these lenders were just letting it all fly out. Recently, a lot of lenders have gone belly up. 3 years ago it was still a seller's market, and some people were paying over inflated prices for their homes. That is part of the reason why they can't just refinance now...the property isn't worth what they paid for it!

So what can a new borrower do to make sure they

don't fall victim to the mortgage crisis? Have a nice amount saved up for a downpayment, that way you'll have wiggle room should the market decline. Also plan for the long run. Go with a fixed rate mortgage so you know your payments won't increase. You'll also need to keep your credit score up. Lenders are becoming much stricter in their lending practices.

Remember, right now it is a BUYER'S market. With historically low interest rates and alot of inventory to chose from, right now is a great time for a well qualified buyer to buy!