Growin' Up Gregory

Over the past week, mortgage rates hit an all-time low...again.  If you didn't get in, don't fret.  They've only crept back up slightly.  For some, it makes refinancing at these ridiculous rates not as beneficial.  But for others, they still stand to save significant amounts of money by refinancing.  My recommendation - examine your budget, find an expert mortgage loan officer, and do some math. What's Your Goal? What's your goal from refinancing?  Do you just want to say you have a stupid low rate?  To be honest, that was part of the appeal for me - I felt like it would confirm that I was an expert.  Never mind the part that I pulled the trigger last August and refinanced then when I thought they had bottomed out.  We can watch trends and make guesses, but none of us inside or outside the industry knows exactly what rates will do in the future. Are you looking for monthly savings (lowering your payment) or long-term savings (reducing th...

I wrote the other day about if you should or shouldn't escrow. If you choose not to, here's a method my wife and I have been using for a few years to help ensure those annual or semi-annual bills don't break the bank...or ruin Christmas. 1. Calculate your annual or irregular expenses - hashtag # house hashtag # tax & insurance, car tax & hashtag # insurance , life insurance, etc. House Tax = $900 House Ins = $720 Car Tax = $300 Car Ins = $900 Life Ins = $1,000 Total = $3,820 2. Divide that total by 12 = $320 (rounded). I also like to keep this on a spreadsheet so I can update it every year or so. 3. Set up a separate interest bearing hashtag # savings account for your "escrow." Note: this should NOT be the same as your regular savings account since this money is already allocated for a special purpose. Plus, instead of the hashtag # bank earning interest of your money, you do! 4. Now comes the hard part, being disciplined enough to put that amount into...

If you have a hashtag # mortgage , you've probably heard the term escrow. Escrow is simply the monthly payment to the bank to pay your house taxes and insurance at a later date when they come due. This amount is added on top of the principal and interest payment you make to cover your loan amount and will likely require a "cushion" or escrow deposit at your closing. So should you do it? It depends. If your bank charges a fee, absolutely not. If not, it's your call. If you are really good at managing your money, you can place the money in a savings account monthly which earns you interest and then you pay the taxes and insurance when they are due. This works well for those who really like their house payment staying consistent, like earning interest, and can budget well. If you aren't great at disciplined saving, an escrow account requires you to pay that hashtag # money to the bank each month and they take care of those bills when it's time. However, this can...

If you've purchased, refinanced, or built a home in the past three years, odds are that you signed a slew of paperwork during your mortgage process. Hopefully, you had a lender who explained all of the details and answered any questions you had in order to make sure that you fully understood your mortgage terms and options. I can't count the number of people who have commented, "This is a lot more paperwork than the last time we did this." In late 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) introduced two new forms, the Loan Estimate (LE) and Closing Disclosure (CD), which went into effect at that time.  Like most new rules, regulations, and forms, there were some things they got right, some things they got wrong, and some things that have room for improvement. From both a borrower and lender's perspective, here is some background info as well as my thoughts on the current status and changes that should be considered. Purpose An explanation of ...

The housing market seems to be heating up nationally and even in our small town.  With that being the case, I would like to share a few tips and try to offer a better understanding of the home buying and mortgage process for both seasoned and 1st time home-buyers alike from someone's perspective who has sat on both sides of the desk as a loan officer and consumer.  Hopefully, these tips will help make your home buying process go as smooth as possible. 1.  Know YOUR budget.  Yes, the bank can tell you what you qualify for based on credit and debt ratios.  But only you know your spending habits.  Are you ready to commit to a house payment, insurance, taxes, improvements, and repairs?  Or do you want more freedom for season tickets to your favorite team?  Or extra cash to rush off on spontaneous getaways?  Begin to think about how much money you can do without each month, how much you're paying now in rent, or how much you're saving towards a ...