All Forum Posts by: Dana Anghel

You need six month of ownership to be able to do a cash-out refinance.

The home value is determined by appraisal - for the first 6 months they will probably consider the purchase price when determining value.

You should be able to get a new appraisal after 6 months, but you will have to document why the value went up (invoices from home repairs, appreciation proof etc).

Cash-out in general is limited to 80% loan to value, but I think TX strictly enforces it - I know a few lenders in Utah that will go up to 85%, which you don't really want because of the mortgage insurance requirement that kicks in.

This information above is based on the assumption that this is a conventional loan we are talking about.

I do not have a Texas license, but to the best of my knowledge, they are pretty strict when it comes to cash-outs. On VA loans (that can go up to 100% cash-out) they will allow a cash-out refinance that pays off the main loan and any other debt (credit cards, car loans) but they will not allow cash-back to the borrower.

That being said, Texas is one of the states with the lowest rates of foreclosures and borrower defaults, probably as a result of stricter guidelines when it comes to financial risks (such as mortgage terms).

It sounds like what you are trying to do is to buy a home and get cash-back (in the form of an equity line of credit). I don't think that is possible to do at the same time.. If it sounds fishy, be sure that a lender will want an explanation of your motives.

An important fact to consider is that home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are limited to 80% loan to value (LTV), with some credit unions going as high as 90%. But for the loan to value in your situation, they might decide to use the purchase price as opposed to the appraisal value. This might be another issue for you.

I would say to check with a local credit union and see what their policy is. Or if anyone on the forum has more experience with HELOCs.. let them come forward :)

Also, most lenders and brokers have access to both conventional and government programs (unlike most credit unions and banks). They will always offer the basic 30 year and 15 year fixed, along with maybe one version of an ARM (the safest one, that most people chose).

If you want something more diverse, than a broker can locate a lender that offers multiple ARM loans (3, 5, 7 or 10 year ARMs) or a loan term such as a 23 year fixed (this is handy for people that want to refinance but not extend their loan term). This preference will usually have a price - from my experience, those lender have less competitive rate sheets.

If you have a popular local website with all sort of adds, look there for listings of loan officers and contact them.

Be careful submitting online quotes - a lot of websites are representing lenders - they are "fly traps" and they will sell your information to the highest bidder (usually 4 of them). By the end of the day, your phone is blowing up with calls from 20 different people that mostly harass you into sending them your documents without providing any real information.

If you're using the qualification letter only to show you're serious about your offer, you only need one, and it doesn't matter where it comes from.

Every lender will want to pull your credit to qualify you, and you don't want too many inquiries (or at least try to keep them within a 30 day period, 14 days is even better).

Credit pulls are good for 90 days, so if you proceed with the initial lender that did the pre-qualification within that time frame, they will not need to run your credit again (advantage).

As for shopping around for good lenders, I suggest to look for someone that will meet with you face to face, but avoid big banks. Don't just compare interest rates, compare costs. Ask for a quote on how much the adjusted origination charges will be for the particular rate, and for the next rate higher/lower. All the other fees are pre-paid items and they will be pretty much the same with everyone (title fees, escrow, daily interest).

When shopping lenders, try to get quotes the same date, because interest rates change often and can jump significantly from one day to another. If there is a huge difference, ask if the rates changed recently (perhaps give the date you received the other quote).

Very important is the time frame in which the loan will close. Some lenders are more bureaucratic than others. A direct lender might be better than a broker, because they do everything in-house. A broker might have access to a lender with better pricing, but those lenders are often very picky and you might experience delays (especially with underwriting).

Get a feel for the loan officer. A good indicator is how much they listen as oppose to how much they talk. Excessive talking is usually an attempt to prevent getting challenged on anything.

Better Business Bureau is making money off accreditation.. but I would still take a look at the complaints. There are a lot of them with loan-mill companies that care more about the volume than the service. You will be just a number in a pipeline.

Why are you going FHA? Unless you are thinking about buying a home that requires an FHA loan, the increases in mortgage insurance are pretty ridiculous. you're looking at 1.75% of your loan balance in up front mortgage insurance fee, and as high as 1.3% in annual mortgage insurance (for the life of the loan).

Hope this helps.

Seems to be unanimous, so I will check out the podcasts. Thank you Troy and Nikki!

Thank you Jerry. Reports predict Salt Lake City to have the hottest housing market in the U.S. for 2014, so I'm very optimistic :)

Hi everyone,

My name is Dana and I'm on the financing side of the real estate business. I got my Utah loan originator license fairly recent (May last year) and I'm always on the lookout for resources of knowledge.

I discovered the BP community and I'm really glad I did. I have not personally owned a home yet, and it will probably be a while longer until I do, but I've gained amazing insight in what homeownership really means, and how different factors can affect it.

My goal is to prepare myself for future real-estate investments, as well as become a resource for others more or less like me.

Looking forward to the journey!