It's always fun to write about Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, so I guess I'm a little disappointed he's not going to trial in his Katrina lawsuit against State Farm. says he and State Farm have settled. The terms were not disclosed. Coincidentally, I checked the docket in Lott's case late last week to see if anything was going on in the case, and noticed that Magistrate Judge Robert Walker considered Lott's motion to unseal deposition transcripts where State Farm employees had taken the Fifth, and denied it in part. The depositions in question were taken in another case, McFarland v. State Farm. Judge Walker said where that in any case where the witnesses had invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, the depositions would remain sealed. In any cases where they had not invoked the Fifth, however, the transcripts could be unsealed.
If you are in the process of refinancing your California home mortgage on the Internet, Computerized Origination fees could cost you as much as $1,300 for your new loan. This happens to homeowners who do not read disclosure statements found on many of the mortgage sites found online. When shopping for a new California mortgage loan you can find the fees disclosed in the licenses and disclosure statements found on the bottom of many of these sites.
What is a Computerized Loan Origination fees? Many of the sites you visit have absolutely nothing to do with mortgage loans. These are businesses that make money generating leads for mortgage companies. They put up a website to collect your contact information and sell “leads” to the highest bidder. There’s nothing wrong with lead generation sites when the fee is paid by the mortgage company or broker; however, many mortgage lenders pass the fee on to you at closing.
One example of a site that charges you the Computerized Loan Origination fee with your California mortgage is Lending Tree. If you look at the licenses & disclosure statement found on Lending Tree’s website you’ll find that Lending Tree receives as much as $1,300 for selling your information. The bad news is that the lender passes this fee on to you. If you refinance your California home loan with one of the lenders in Lending Tree’s “network,” the Computerized Loan Origination fee will appear on your Good Faith Estimate and you’ll be required to pay it at closing.
You can learn more about refinancing your California mortgage without overpaying with our free mortgage tutorial.
If you are considering refinancing your California mortgage loan and would rather deal with a wholesale mortgage lender instead of your bank, you will need to enlist the help of a mortgage broker. Before choosing a mortgage broker you should negotiate with potential brokers and find one that agrees not to charge you Yield Spread Premium. Here are several tips to help you secure wholesale mortgage rates when refinancing your California mortgage.
Yield Spread Premium is the retail markup of your mortgage interest rate for a commission. When you refinance with a mortgage broker the wholesale lender behind your loan qualifies you for a specific wholesale mortgage interest rate. Your broker marks your mortgage rate up because the wholesale lender pays them a bonus for every quarter percent you agree to overpay above the rate you qualified. This problem of Yield Spread Premium is magnified by the high cost of real estate in California.
Homeowners typically do not have access to wholesale lenders in California; however, once you find a mortgage broker that agrees not to charge you Yield Spread Premium you will have access to wholesale mortgage rates. Tell your potential mortgage brokers that you understand Yield Spread Premium and will not accept a mortgage that includes this markup. Let them know you will pay a reasonable fee for the origination and all necessary closing costs; however, you will not tolerate retail markup of your mortgage rate. If possible try and deal with the owner of firm you are dealing with when negotiating and make sure the mortgage broker is licensed in the State of California. You can learn more about refinancing with a wholesale lender in California, including costly pitfalls to avoid with our free mortgage tutorial.
QBE Insurance Group has raised $US550 million ($A659 million) from the sale of non-cumulative perpetual preferred securities to institutional investors in the US private placement market.
Mortgage loans can be very confusing and there is an abundance of bad advice available on the Internet. Much of the mortgage information you find online is sales motivated and if you’re not careful you could wind up paying thousands of dollars unnecessarily. This is why doing your homework and carefully researching mortgage offers is important before applying for a new loan.
Doing your homework means more than simply comparing loan offers and choosing the loan with the lowest mortgage rate. You’ll need to negotiate with the mortgage companies you request quotes from to avoid paying Yield Spread Premium. This markup will cost you thousands of dollars in unnecessary mortgage interest each year if you accept a loan that includes this markup.
What is Yield Spread Premium? This is the markup your loan representative adds to your interest rate to boost their commission, often without telling you. Here is an example of how Yield Spread Premium works: suppose you are refinancing with a $300,000 loan using a mortgage broker. Your broker tells you that you qualify for a 6.5% mortgage rate and charges you 1.0% for the loan origination fees. What your mortgage broker isn’t telling you is that the lender approved you for 6.0% mortgage rate and they marked it up to receive a 2.0% bonus from that lender. The difference between the 6.0% mortgage rate you qualified and the 6.5% rate that you closed is Yield Spread Premium.
Once you understand how Yield Spread Premium works you can negotiate to avoid paying it. Tell your potential mortgage brokers that you will not accept this markup with your loan. Tell them you will pay a reasonable origination fee and all necessary closing costs; however, will not pay any amount of Yield Spread Premium. You can learn more about refinancing your mortgage without paying too much with our free mortgage video tutorial.
Refinancing your home mortgage gives you the opportunity to get cash and lower your monthly payment. For many people their homes are the single largest asset they own; this also makes the mortgage payment the largest expense for their budgets. There are several ways to lower your monthly payment and put cash in your pocket even if you cannot qualify for a lower interest rate.
Cash back refinancing allows you to take advantage of the equity you have built in your home. For many homeowners refinancing with cash back is a more affordable option than a second mortgage or home equity line of credit. Refinancing with cash back allows you to qualify for a lower mortgage rate because your home is secured by only one loan.
If your financial situation has changed since purchasing your home you may qualify for a better mortgage rate. Many homeowners find being promoted, taking a new job, getting married or divorced changes their qualifying ratios and improves the mortgage rate they receive. Even if your credit prevents you from qualifying for a lower mortgage rate you can still lower your payment amount by extending the term length of your loan. Term length is the amount of time you have to repay the mortgage; the most common term lengths are 15 or 30 years. There are now 40 and 50 year terms to allow the greatest amount of flexibility when refinancing with cash back.
The cash you receive from refinancing can be used for any reason; many homeowners use this money to consolidate higher interest debt. The advantage of using the money for this reason is that you gain a tax deduction for consolidating your bills. Other common uses include home repairs and renovations and education expenses. You can learn more about refinancing your mortgage while avoiding costly mistakes with our free mortgage tutorial.
ING Real Estate Community Living Group (ILF) has entered the Canadian seniors housing market, acquiring a 50 per cent stake in eight long-term care facilities in Toronto for about $136 million.
ING Direct Australia gained a larger slice of the mortgage market last year to drive a 19 per cent profit rise - a trend the fund hopes will continue this year.