All Forum Posts by: Steve S.

What has worked for me is to find a local bank that doesn't mind my living abroad. Really easy to work with on multiple occasions now.

But that was after the other local bank, with whom I have banked for years, said no.

Better.com - like a previous poster, all was good until the last minute, when they said, oh, no, they can't work with an expat, after all their previous people saying they could.

And one poster in this thread who claims expertise in working with expats simply disappeared after I started a loan process with them. Total ghosting - no replies to emails, texts, or voicemails. Quite strange.

Moral of the story - keep trying, because all you need is to find that one (probably local) lender that will say yes.

Just found this thread. Now I think I understand why my lender wants three points for a new loan for a purchase now when it was zero points at the same rate on a loan that closed in early April.

@Stephanie P. - I think your explanation here might also explain what I'm experiencing. Closed on a house in April, zero points. Buying another now, same bank, same great scores, same rate - and suddenly, three points. Bank says it's just because it's an investment property, and LLPA has just gone up for investment properties.

Would you agree?

Can I piggyback on this one? Just negotiated a reduction in price after inspection, and no problems there. My loan is being worked on. Do I just forward the signed amendment to the lender and say, guess what, the price (and loan amount) is now lower?

Thanks.

Thanks, @Taylor Dye - that's also very helpful.

Thanks again, @Rene Owczarski! I especially like your thoughts about the advantages of working with the local bank.

I sent the competing estimates to each lender, asking if they will match/beat. (I covered up their names.) We'll see what happens.

Or does it make sense to first do the purchase and then the refi?

Thanks, @Rene Owczarski. Meantime, I got the loan estimate from the local bank...and now it has more points than the online lender. :(

A new twist: a couple of new properties just came on the market that I would like to buy. Will one lender or another be better to handle simultaneous applications?

So, after starting an application with a lender on these forums back in December, who took all the forms, checked my credit, and then suddenly stopped replying to emails, calls, and texts, I now have offers for a refi from two different lenders. 

One is local to my property area, and is offering 4% with (I think) zero points. (I'm waiting for the Estimate to verify this.) This lender does respond, but slowly. Small bank in a small town.

The other is from an online lender that is offering 4% with $854 in points on a $195k loan. Or I can choose to pay more points for a lower rate: for example, $3639 for a rate of 3.625. Or I could pay $50 for a rate of 4.375. This lender responds quickly and is ready to go forward. 

Which lender would you choose, and if the second, would you pay points? If I understand correctly, investors can't deduct points in the year that they are paid, but over the life of the loan.

Thanks.

I hope it's okay to bump the thread. I really would like people's thoughts on these questions:

• One lender has gone AWOL for a month after I submitted conventional income docs - they simply stopped responding to emails, texts, and calls. Is this unusual?

• A hard-money lender is offering a line of credit of 500k with 2 points to be paid up front for the line, another 3 points for actual draws on the line for purchases at 9.75%, and another 1 point for each refi, currently at 3.5%. 

Do I need a hard money lender? How do those terms compare with what's out there?

Is there a different kind of lender and loan I should be looking at?