Best places in Triad for home loans?

Tacoma747

Tacoma747

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Winston-Salem
Called my Credit union, their rate seems way too high for what I hear rates are going nowadays.

They were telling me it'd be probably 7% on a 30yr fixed rate.

I would like to get down to 5-6% if possible. Anyone have suggestions on where to go?

I've got good credit, and my truck is paid off, so I don't have any bills (other than phone/insurance).

The CU would allow me more than I actually need, but at a 7% rate when rates seem to be going as low as 5% seems high. Worst case I guess I could buy and refinance after a year?

New to all this obviously :)

Thanks
 
If you don't mind driving to Mooresville, there is a guy that I use there. Mortgage company is called Five Star Mortgage, ask for Preston. I was in there on Friday and he had me at 5.5, 30 year fixed. He has always been very competitve on rates.
 
I will say that the NC SECU was the easiest loan I've ever gotten. We have our house financed there, took like 2 visits, one to get pre-approved, 1 at closing. No endless hoops to jump thru like some commercial lenders.
 
Your rate is going to have more to do with your credit than your lending institution. especially now that there is a "Mortgage Crisis".

Don't borrow more than your home is worth. thats just silly.

If the rate they offered you is 7% hold off a while, get your credit in order and save for a bigger down payment.

I'm not saying you have bad credit. Just assuming so because of the high rate. there could be other factors, such as lack of job history, lack of permanent address history, immigration status (i know...not likely).
 
Call Ashby Cook Financial at 336-855-8981 in Greensboro. There is a guy in their group that does home loans reasonably named George McClellan.
 
Everyone I know who has ever dealt with Piedmont Federal has been more than pleased. Good rates, no BS, and they don't sell their loans. that's worth a quarter point to me!
 
X2 on a credit union. Since their non for profit like a bank, the rates will always be competitive. Plus they tend not to fluctuate as much, due to not having to be worried about corporate stock value, etc. They also aren't as badly hurt by the high-risk loan fallout business going on now.

Keep in mind that in all reality, loans from any lender that are all based on the same terms should be within ~.5% of each other. If not, (e.g., exceptionally low or high), you need to find out why. The bulk of the rate is set by the feds and other factors which the lenders have little say on... the amount of the total % APR that is their profit is very small.
Therefore, if you are definitely getting a standard conventional loan, then shopping around isn't going to make a whole lot of difference.
That said, since you are young and thsi is your first mortgage, tehre are programs for "first-time buyers" that are backed by the state specifically for folks liek you. For example, when we got our loan back in '02, the best rate I could find was 6.25%. However, I was able to get 5.99% with only 3% down, via a state program. The deal is that the state is paying the remaining .26% of interest on your behalf.
You have to be careful about things like that, though - the restriction in our case is that if we sell the house within < 7 years, we have to pay back a fee to the state, pro-rated based on time remaining in that 7 years etc.

Are you going for FHA or can swing a conventional loan?
As mentioned, I'd be suspicious that the higher % you're being quoted is due to your age and lack of credit history. Have either of you had credit cards for very long?
 
Oh and re: location - we only had to physically visit the lender 1 time, at closing. Everything else was done by phone and fax.
Once you have the loan, you'll inevitably set it up for automatic payment and an escrow, so you'll never see the lender's face again.
 
Depending on the amount put down don't forget about PMI. I had to pay it when I initially bought my place, ~75$/month (side rant, imho that WHY the banks are SOL right now, they don't look at peoples credit, they hand out loans, sock you with PMI, well guess what, it back fired.. They should have NEVER given out many of those loans) For my 2nd refi, i did an 80/10/10 where it was 80%base, 10% equity(down) and 10% as a home equity line, which I paid on separately for about 1 year.. (I had to pinch for a while, but it got me out of PMI for about 3-4 years. )

As said not owning anything != good credit, there are TONs of factors..

I also only made 1 visit to the loan person. The loan has since been sold twice and BBT owns it now, i use auto pay online and don't have any need for 'service' so I could care less who's holding it..
 
SECU will be coming out with some different fixed rate loans in the near future. According to the wife, Freddie Mac loans there are currently discontinued due to Freddie requiring excessive fees (apparently trying to make up for risky loans in the past that SECU never participated in originating).

Credit unions can usually save some money in closing costs, that is something to check along with interest rate.
 
with average credit you should be seeing sub 6 right now.
the .75 cut last week has started another spiral.

I had my rental in CHT with Richard Tecatto (sp?) he had some blazing rates (but that was in 03)
 
How realistic these numbers are, I dunno, but www.bankrate.com is the best source to get an idea of what's out there.

I was looking at Construction loans about 2 months ago and got 5.75% with 1 point, no closing costs from BB&T.
 
Ours is with AllegacyFCU (aka anything associated with Reynolds Tobacco :rolleyes: ) at 5.1% ('03)...

I'd wager the reasoning behind the % numbers you've been given has alot to do with the short time of your credit history. Outside of your truck (& maybe a CC) on record, you probably have no other "history" and they're looking for a 3-5 years (worth of history) to make the assessment.

My BIL (former banker/loan officer) always said the best way to build on the length of credit history was to borrow the most you could (unsecured) for 90 days, deposit the check, and pay it off early... then repeat the process with a larger amount. He says within a year, you'd be in the "high roller" brackets for larger loans, etc.
 
My credit score is mid-700 I think.

I've had 3 loans (2 personal-motorcycle/4-runner), 1 auto (f-250)

I paid them all off VERY early, paid my truck off in a year and 4 months on a 3 year loan (for the sole purpose of getting it paid for BEFORE buying a house, and so the bank would allow me more $$$ for a house).

My parents said the CU was not the place to get a home loan, said their rates are normally higher (for first-time buyers at least). I'm a member at Piedmont Aviation CU (not Piedmont Federal).

They said 7% over the phone, but that is not set in stone. I'll probably stop by the office sometime so I can talk to them about it. But I'm still gonna call around.

Thanks for the info.
 
Contact David Benson @ Bank of America Mortgage in W/S. His office was great to work with; I have a first time home buyers loan 30yr. fixed @ 5.75% and all of my taxes escrowed/ home insurance w/ no PMI.

I lined up all of my financing, met with the realtor and started looking that way when we found the house we were ready to go.

-steve
 
Michael I used Southern Community Bank (Kernersville) because that is where I keep my CDs and various checking accounts. I REALLY like the small bank feel, they treat you like a real person and had good rates.

Here is a quick warning...SUPER LOW rates that you see advertised are often because they are charging SUPER high loan origination fees, points up front, etc. They are working every angle and you will pay for the privledge of that "super low rate."

However with all that said IF you are going to stay in the house for at least 10 years or more then the 'effective' interest rate will even because that low rate has a chance to work. So many folks don't realize their "effective" rate on that loan is much higher than advertised and even the APR they show you ignores certain of these fees.

Ok, lets make this more simple, if you have to end up paying $5-6000 in various points, origination fees, processing fees, fees to xyz, etc and land a 4% loan...you have to consider the fact that paying $1-2,000 in fees and 5.5% is a MUCH better idea IF...you are going to make a change in a few years anyway.

If you are gonna live there 30 years and pay this house off, then the 4/5k is evened out and is ok....but for most folks this is not really true.

LSB (Newbridge now) was 4.75% for 15 years the other day and 5.75% for 30 yr fixed I believe. That is about realistic... stick with a REPUTABLE lender because of the "fees" issue, you might pay an extra .25 or even .50 or more but trust me when I tell you, you really ARE paying more to get that low rate (and thus effectively paying the same rate or more as the reputable bank)

SoComm will sell off your loan, usually to Wells Fargo, which is one of the largest lenders out there.

One final thought, ColdwellBanker Mortgage, a 30 minute 1-800ph call, approved right there on the phone (no cost from what I remember for that tentative approval) and they will give you the rate. If you decided to go with em, then you start giving them documentation and the fee and as long as what you told em on the phone is true (income / debt is correct) then all is good.

But locally, SoComm or LSB would be my first choice, the small bank feel will really help you / of course you may want to consider moving your banking to them as well. Trust me when I tell you they will treat you MUCH nicer than Walkalloverya or other big banks.
 
Wait 6 months to a year things will get cheaper and the rate should get better. I've been sitting back waiting for things to get a little worse(economy) to buy some more rental properties.
 
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