I want to refinance to take advantage of the current low interest rates but my home is underwater. Am I stuck with my high interest rate for good?

Tips for Successful Real Estate Investing

Real estate investing is not for just anyone—it takes  a certain kind of person to enter into a volatile market and not only make sense of it, but also make cents ($$) of it.  Additionally, everyone who invests has different reasons for doing so, which means there’s really no one ‘right’ way of doing it. […]

“Big Player” Tactics for Closing a Sale

How many times have you found yourself in this position: you put together a brilliant presentation, your sales pitch was flawless, the potential client seems really interested, then…..nothing.  Suddenly, when it’s time to close the deal, you lose confidence and things start happening wrong. This is not only common in real estate, it’s common in […]

Prospecting Mistakes in Real Estate and How to Avoid Them

Prospecting for clients is one of the most fundamental ways you will grow your business as a real estate agent.  Simply put—do it the right way, and you’re setting yourself up for success; do it the wrong way, and you’re going to have trouble staying afloat as a business owner and entrepreneur.  There’s just no […]

What is Harp 2.0 and How Do I Qualify?

On September 7, 2008, the collapse of two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)—changed the landscape of the mortgage lending industry completely. Since then, there has been much effort within the mortgage industry to restructure itself why following stricter guidelines.  This recovery effort […]

How long does the mortgage process take?

Current turn around times to process a refinance or purchase loan is approximately 3 weeks. Retail banks can often take 60-90 days which creates a tremendous advantage for small direct lenders like Choice Mortgage Group. Another reason for the fast turn around time is the file is always overseen by the broker and not passed […]

Is there a way to reduce closing costs?

One way to reduce closing costs is to structure the loan with a marginally higher than best available rate which creates revenue for the bank to help pay your closing costs.  For instance, if the best available rate for a 30yr fix is 3.75% with standard closing costs, we can raise the rate by a […]

What are the closing costs involved with refinancing?

Here in Florida we have three components of fees which include the bank, the title company, and the state.  My bank does not charge any points and therefore our fees only change depending if the loan is a government loan or conventional loan.  Most of the title fees and state fees are promulgated by the […]

I financed my home at 5%, how low does the rate need to fall to make sense financially to refinance?

In order to analyze how much the interest rate must drop before I refinance, one would have to calculate the closing costs and the monthly savings.  Once we know how much money you are saving every month, we divide that monthly savings by the total closing costs to find your breakeven point as to when […]

Credit Faux Pas

Applying for a mortgage can be a stressful process. It’s stressful enough to have to really sit down and look at your financial profile, but when you add on concerns over whether or not you’ll be able to get the home you have always wanted you’ve created a recipe for giving yourself more than a […]

Home Valuation Code of Conduct

The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (the HVCC) offers a set of rules for the most ethical manner in which mortgage lenders (such as banks) are able to act when they commission the appraisal of a property. The actual HVCC is an industry agreement which was negotiated and accepted between the Fannie Mae , Freddie […]

Bank Statement Mistakes

Applying for a mortgage is a huge event in your financial life, and making sure you receive approval for the mortgage you need and want requires a little advanced planning. One area of your financial picture you need to optimize to increase your chances of receiving the best mortgage is your Bank statement . Most […]