Mortgage

Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: 10 commandments for mortgage loan officers

And the truth behind home renovations

Monday Morning Cup of Coffee takes a look at news coming across HousingWire’s weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues.

While it is the job of a loan officer to help get a borrower through the financing process and into their dream home, it isn’t a fast process to close a loan, and there is a lot a borrower can do to mess up their uniquely packaged loan.

In light of this, two loan officers from Solano Mortgage published a hysterical piece in the Daily Republic, which is located in Fairfield-Suisun, California, on the Ten Commandments of applying for a home mortgage.

Let’s see if any of these hit close to home. Here is a preview of the first three.

  1. Thou shall not change jobs, become self-employed or quit your job.
  2. Thou shall not buy a car, truck, refrigerator or any other large purchases.
  3. Thou shall not use charge cards excessively or let your accounts fall behind.

Before assuming you can be the next star of an HGTV show, there are some significant variables to consider when you choose to remodel your home.

According to an article in MarketWatch, homeowners aren’t usually thinking about their future tax bills when they embark on a remodeling project, although they would be wise to consider it.

The article explained that renovations can significantly raise a home’s value, which can increase the amount for which it is assessed, resulting in a possible increase to their property taxes.

While it is common for the local assessor’s office to learn of a project through filed building permits, the article said that homeowners can ask in advance whether a particular improvement will increase their home’s assessed value.

The article lists three examples of improvements that can increase taxes. Here is a sneak peak at number one.

1. Additions and increasing living space

“Anything that increases the square footage of the living space is likely to increase the value of the home, and therefore the assessed value,” said Tom Shaer, deputy assessor for communications with the Cook County Assessor’s Office.

Or maybe instead of remodeling, you choose to go a completely different route and buy a new home.

The decision on whether or not you can afford to buy a home largely boils down to two things: where you live and how much money you earn, an article in Realtor.com explained.  

In order to help simply the decision making process, the article looks at the minimum salary needed to purchase a home in various cities, finding there are giant variances across the country.

This is one example listed of two cities with very opposite price requirements.

Chicago

Chicago Skyline

Median home price: $229,300

Monthly mortgage payment: $1,432

Salary needed: $61,500

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Median home price: $506,800

Monthly mortgage payment: $2,322

Salary needed: $99,500

Urban Financial of America announced it decided to change its name and will now go by Finance of America Reverse.

As of Dec. 1, the reverse mortgage lender said that all contracts and any services provided on or after that date should reflect our new name.

However, the company noted that while at this time, it is believed that “Finance of America Reverse” will be used in all 50 states, if it does change, people will be notified immediately.

According to the company’s website, it was founded in 2003 and is one of the top lenders of reverse mortgages.

No banks were reported closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for the week ending Nov 27.

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3d rendering of a row of luxury townhouses along a street

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