All Forum Posts by: Melissa Maw

Based on my experience, if it is zoned CMX, the lender will only see it is as commercial. It does not matter what is built on top, it will only get financed as commercial, not residential. If a property is zoned residential, sometimes lenders will allow a borrower to finance it as a commercial loan under extenuating circumstances. However, the reverse is not true. Anything zoned CMX cannot qualify under a residential mortgage. I haven't had any luck finding lenders who will allow that. 

The part I enjoy most is helping people; whether they are RE investors looking to grow their portfolio, or first time homebuyers. It's a daunting process, and to be the person to help guide them through that financial commitment, is rewarding.

In the beginning, you almost always start at the bottom unless someone graciously decides to hand over their book of business to you. It's a sales-oriented job, you need to find clients/buyers, otherwise you won't get paid. This is a process, and will take time. As you grow your book of business  and have processes in place, it becomes less challenging, but it will always be something you need to stay on top of due to factors outside of your control (ie 2023 when interest rates went up and housing supply was tight). 

Another thing to keep in mind is that while your job title is a loan officer/lender/etc and your focus will be on pricing and structuring loans, at the end of the day, this is a customer service job. Be prepared for that. 

if 7% is the par rate they are giving you without paying points at 80% LTV for an investment loan, then that's a really good rate. In fact, I usually see rates in the 7s for primary residence.

As a loan officer licensed in PA and NJ, I'd like to add a few comments.

First, I would second what @Dave Skow said. Prepaids are NOT closing costs and usually are required by your lender. Escrow is set by law and you cannot forgo it (no matter the down payment) if that is what your lender requires for this type of loan. Every lender/mortgage program is different. It's your money, you're just prepaying taxes, insurance and whatever interest from the day you closed. It's the responsibility of your loan officer to quote this as accurately as possible on the LE. However, the lender will verify and confirm the final numbers once they get the tax cert from the title company, the insurance premium from you (the buyer), etc.

While the "Application fee" is high at a quick glance, if you replace that with the word "underwriting", then the underwriting fee you have on the CD is pretty standard. Its usually $1495 - 1595. 

Credit Report fee is standard. In case anyone is unaware, credit agencies increased their fee in 2024. It now costs over $70 for a single borrower, close to $160 for 2 borrowers. I haven't seen credit report fees that cost $30 since 2021. Traditional banks tend to have lower credit report fees, but the wholesale lenders that I work with generally charge $180 for a credit pull for dual borrowers. 

As for section C - these are all title services and unfortunately, they are common for NJ, even the "Survey" fee.

The only thing I cannot account for is the $1400 MISC fee in Section H.

Hope that helps. If you have questions, just ask your loan officer to go over it line item-by-line item. Personally, I appreciate it when my clients ask me these questions because it means they are taking the time to understand the loan docs. 

Given that most lenders abide by Fannie Mae guidelines for HELOCS (which is for your primary home), they generally do not allow use of any rental income on your primary residence to count towards your DTI. Depending on where you are located, I would try to find a smaller lender, perhaps a portfolio lender/community bank that has their own underwriting guidelines. Second, while a HELOC offers flexiblity in terms of paying interest only when you use the line, the interest rate is going to be a lot higher compared to a regular cash-out refinance. If you know what, and when you need to use these funds for, I would consider a refi instead.

@Susie C. I am a mortgage broker and I recently closed a few DCSR loans for my clients in Dec as well as this month. The rates you posted are pretty much in line with what I am seeing with the lenders I work with. 

Hi everyone. My name is Mel and I’m new to BP. A little about me: I’m from the Philly/South Jersey area, lived in Columbus for some time, and spent 5 years living/ working overseas. My job requires me to travel extensively so I now split my time between NYC and Columbus. My first and last rental property was a duplex in Philly that I owned for a short time. While I did make a profit off that investment, I also made tons of newbie mistakes. However, it was the best learning experience and I’m looking to get back into the game with an emphasis on MF buy/hold and eventually do SFH fix/flip. I’m here to learn as much as possible, and also network with the wonderful folks in the BP community. Cheers -

@Brian Garlington can I connect with you? Considering using HW and would like to chat with someone before I make the trip out there.

@Mickey Russo Great! Just sent you a connection request.

@Hank Keller - Hi Hank. I’m an OOS investor looking to get into the Indy market. Would be great to connect with you and hear about your experience working with turnkey providers.