Reducing Your Mortgage Fees

Speakers: 

Stacy Johnson = SJ

Bob [Pessimeer] = BP

SJ:When it’s time to buy or refinance your house, it’s time to borrow and borrow big.  But borrowing big also means big mistakes are possible, like paying too much in interest rates or too much in fees.

BP:85% of home loans have inflated interest rates and junk fees in them. 

SJ:Bob [Pessimeer] is a mortgage broker who also offers a service that will go over your mortgage and tell you if your rate is right and your fees are frivolous.  His suggestion for finding the lowest rate, make sure it’s at par.

BP:Par means in a sense, it’s the list price of the loan given a certain credit score and certain basic parameters of the loan.  But ask for the loan and make sure it’s at par.

SJ:That’ll help you make sure your rate’s not inflated.  But you should also make sure the fees you’re paying are reasonable. 

BP:You know, we had one client recently who, on their loan, they were going to be charged $16K in fees.  We got that knocked down to $4K in fees and lowered the interest rate from 8 to 6.5%.

SJ:How do you fight fees?  You do what this guy does.  You get the list of charges, and you go over each one.  If they seem excessive, you get them lowered by pitting lenders against one another.  Talk about time well spent!

Bottom line, lenders know you’re going to be confused by the paperwork blizzard when you borrow.  So stop.  Look at the paper.  Ask questions.  If you feel like you’re getting pushed around, push back.