Getting a mortgage loan? Here are some fancy buzz words and popular phases that you should be aware of:
First, understand that all lenders are essentially the same when it comes to programs, interest rates, and closing costs. If we advertised “USE ME – I AM THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE”, it would be pretty hard to get anyone to call. So the lender game is to use creative buzz words, and creative quoting games to make themselves “appear” better than everyone else, and get you to call:
1) NO Closing Costs: All lenders have costs to close a mortgage loan, and most of the costs are from third parties like appraisers, title company, credit reports and state taxes. The ONLY way for a lender to reduce or claim no closing costs is they simply INCREASE your interest rate to offset your costs. No Lender Fee, No Origination also apply here.
2) FREE Quote: I don’t know a single lender that charges to quote someone, so this isn’t anything special.
3) QUICK Closings: There is no such thing anymore. New mortgage disclosure rules mandate minimum numbers of days after disclosure before closing a loan (so you can think about it). Furthermore all the new rules also seriously slow down the process of getting appraisal, verifying your information with the IRS, and making you prove just about everything has turn a fast loan closing into at least 30-days.
4) In House Underwriting: Pretty much all lenders have their own underwriting teams, and pretty much all brokers do not.
5) Competitive Rates: Simply “competitive”? Not the lowest, not the cheapest… but, competitive? Why don’t they show you the rates?