About Us

After you have completed your loan application with your Mortgage Professional,
your file will begin its journey to closing. There are three basic departments which your file will go through:

• Processing (Documentation)
• Underwriting
• Closing

Processing (Documentation): This department is in charge of ordering credit reports, appraisals, title work, surveys, and verification of your employment, rent history and funds. With the exception of title work and survey, all other items must be in your file before it is ready for underwriting.

Underwriting: This department has the responsibility of making sure that your loan meets the necessary requirements for your loan program. The underwriter’s job is quality control. The three most important things an underwriter is looking at are credit, the property itself, and your ability to afford the new house payment along with your current obligations. The underwriter is the person who approves the loan.

Closing: The closing department has your note and deed of trust prepared along with about two million other documents you will sign when you go to the title company to sign your final loan documents.

There are a few things you can do to speed things along and reduce last minute problems:

• DO NOT add money to any of your accounts (more than what is customary for you) without saving documentation on where it came from, i.e. a checkstub, a copy of the check you’re depositing from the IRS, a bill of sale and a copy of the check from the sale, or a copy of your “sold” receipt if you cashed in stocks or bonds.
• Keep your bank statements and paystubs as we will need to update them as we progress. We always need all pages of bank statements, tax returns, etc….
• Try not to add any debts between loan application and closing because sometimes we have to re-verify your credit report at the last minute.
• If you have any slow payments, or if you have inquiries on your credit report, we will need a letter of explanation from you regarding this. On any slow payments, give a specific reason for each delinquent account. When someone has checked your credit, we want to know if accounts resulted from the inquiry and if so, are they already posted to your credit report.

Before your files goes to underwriting the processing will review the file and make sure it is easily understandable and has all the necessary documents in it.

Someone may call you at that time to ask questions or request additional information.

No matter how careful we are at that time, sometimes the underwriting may still want additional information to make the loan better. Most of the time, items requested can be faxed to us. This is the most irritating phase in the entire process, but by all of us working together it won’t last too long!!!

About this time, the title work and survey have hopefully come in and your papers are prepared at this time. You may make your own appointment for closing with your seller, and/or real estate agent. You will need to be sure that your insurance agent has sent your policy to the title company. You can call your Title Company about one or two days before closing to find out the exact amount you will need to bring to closing in the form of a cashiers check. Your good faith estimate will give you an approximate total for now.

Time frame:

• Processing – 10 days to 3 weeks, slightly longer for VA.
• Underwriting – 2 – 4 days.
• Closing – 48 hours.
• Pre-qualification will be known within 72 hours, and a final approval within 30 days on conventional loans.
• Your actual loan closing will only take about an hour.

Accrued Interest. The Accumulation of interest that is added to the loan.

Amortization. The process of gradually eliminating a debt by making periodic payments to reduce it.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR). The actual interest when all finance charges and up-front fees are included. Federal Truth-in-Lending laws require all creditors to state the cost of their credit in terms of both the finance charge and the APR.

Collateral. The property offered as security for the loan.

Creditworthy. A determination that the applicant has the ability to repay the loan upon examination of the applicants credit history. Factors in the evaluation may include a maximum debt ratio, credit bureau report, and previous experience with credit.

Debt Consolidation. Paying off, with the proceeds from a loan, a number of higher-interest debts such as credit card balances.

Debt to Income Ratio. How much of your monthly earnings are used to pay all of your monthly debt obligations, including but not limited to credit cards, automobile payments, mortgage payments and the payment of the debt you are applying for.

Default. The failure of the borrower to make an installment payment when due, or failure to meet any other terms of the promissory note, to the extent that a reasonable conclusion is that the borrower does not intend to pay.

Deferment. An approved postponement of payment for a specified period of time.

Delinquency. Failure of the borrower to make a loan payment when due, or failure to meet other terms of the promissory note, but insufficient time has elapsed to classify the borrower in default.

Direct Financing. A loan directly through a bank, not a third party.

Disclosure Statement. Statement of actual costs to the borrower for a loan including the interest rate and any additional finance charges.

Finance Charge. The cost in dollars of borrowing funds from a lender. This will be determined by the interest rate applied to the amount borrowed as well as any fees added and the length of time that elapses before the loan is fully repaid.

Fixed and Adjustable Rates. The way interest on your loan is determined. A fixed rate of interest remains the same over the life of the loan. an adjustable (or variable) rate changes, increasing or decreasing periodically according to an index which reflects general trends.

Forbearance. A temporary postponement or extension of payments or an agreement to reduce payments by special arrangement between the borrower and the lender.

Index Rate. A composite rate used by lenders which reflects general trends of interest rates such as those on Treasury notes; when determining changes in interest rates on adjustable rate loans, lenders charge a set amount above such index.

Interest. The fixed or adjustable rate at which the lender agrees to finance a loan. the borrower’s monthly payments are divided proportionally between principal balance and interest owed.

Loan Proceeds. The money you borrow.

Maturity Date. The due date upon which the loan is expected to be fully paid.

Pre-Approval or Pre-Qualification. An early assurance by the lender that you appear to meet the requirements for a specific type of loan.

Pre-Payment. Any amount of money that is paid on a loan prior to the scheduled time. Usually, but not always, prepayment reduces the cost and carries no penalty.

Pre-Payment Penalty. A fee imposed by certain lenders if debt is retired early.

Principal. The original amount of money you borrowed; does not include any interest.
Principal balance. The money still owed on the original amount of your loan, not including interest.

Refinancing. Securing a new loan in order to pay off your existing loan.

Repayment Schedule. The plan for monthly installment payments on a loan. The specific monthly amount is determined by the length of the repayment period and is normally calculated to amortize the loan evenly throughout the repayment period. Much of the funds from earlier payments are channeled to pay interest and a small portion of the principal, but as the principal decreased over time, less interest is charged and more of the payment is channeled to repay the principal. Sometimes a minimum monthly payment applies.

Stipulations. Conditions or requirements (information, documentation, etc.) attached to a pre-approval which, must be met before your loan is completely approved.

Terms and Conditions. These are the characteristics that spell out the rights and privileges of both the borrower and the lender and what actions each may or must take. Examples include interest rate, length of repayment, repayment options (equal or gradual payments), deferment options, late payment charges, and delinquency or default consequences.

Unsecured Loans. Loans such as credit card debts, which are riskier for lenders because they are not as well protected from default as secured loans. They are not secured by “property.”

Calming Fears About Your Home Purchase
Fortunately for most buyers, worries about a home purchase usually melt away in the morning light the day after the contract has been signed. But for others, fears linger for days – tempting them to opt out of a deal through an escape clause in the contract.

“There’s a lot of anxiety around change. Moving to a new house ranks right up there with death in the psychological stress it puts on people,” says one real estate agent, who once worked as a therapist. Trepidation has always been an element in home buying. Yet there are several reasons today’s home buyers are more prone to panice attacks than those in the past.

Still another current reason buyers panic is that they have lived through a period of gyrating housing values. In the first instance since World War II, home prices actually began to slide in many U.S. markets during the 1980’s. Even in markets that have since stabilized, those memories are fresh and leave buyers with fears. Of course, buyers are justifiably nervous when making a purchase as large as a house – especially if they are first timers. Still, it’s important for buyers to keep their fears in perspective. Realty specialists offer these pointers: Hire a thorough home inspector, but not an alarmist. Gather more information about aspects of a house that troubles you. Get estimates of potential concerns and realistically make a decision based on these factors. Do not expect your relatives to endorse your buying plan. They feel obligated to stress the negatives – in an attempt to spare you disappointment later. Remember, it has probably been years since they purchased a house, so are they really currently informed?

For one thing, buyers are better educated on home hazards than they used to be. They’re more aware that dangers – ranging from fadon gas to termites – can lurk in a house. For another thing, the widespread use of home inspectors gives buyers more data on home defects. And every home, no matter its age or location, is bound to have some flaws.

Consultation with a Mortgage Professional can belay a lot of fears about your new home purchase. The Mortgage Professional will analyze your financial position and advise you on the maximum amount of home that you can afford without straining your budget or your lifestyle. From that point forward it is simply for you to decide what type of home best fits your housing needs.

Just because you are fearful does not mean you are buying the wrong house. Buyers can be apprehensive over wonderful properties. Worry is Normal.

Remember, Don’t Panic.
Call 918.270.2567

Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus, experienced a massive data breach. The hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people.

Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus, experienced a massive data breach . The hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people.

Was my information stolen?
If you have a credit report, there’s a good chance it was. Go to a special website set up by Equifax to find out: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Potential Impact,” enter some personal information and the site will tell you if you’ve been affected. Be sure you’re on a secure network (not public wi-fi) when you submit sensitive data over the internet.

How can I protect myself?
Enroll in Equifax’s services.
Equifax is offering one year of free credit monitoring and other services, whether or not your information was exposed.

Monitor your credit reports.
In addition, you can order a free copy of your credit report from all three of the credit reporting agencies at annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to one free report from each of the credit bureaus once per year.

Monitor your bank accounts.
We also encourage you to monitor your financial accounts regularly for fraudulent transactions. Use online and mobile banking to keep a close eye on your accounts

Watch out for scams related to the breach.
Do not trust e-mails that appear to come from Equifax regarding the breach. Attackers are likely to take advantage of the situation and craft sophisticated phishing e-mails.

Should I place a credit freeze on my files?
Before deciding to place a credit freeze on your accounts, consider your personal situation. If you might be applying for credit soon or think you might need quick credit in an emergency, it might be better to simply place a fraud alert on your files with the three major credit bureaus. A fraud alert puts a red flag on your credit report which requires businesses to take additional steps, such as contacting you by phone before opening a new account.

How do I contact the three major credit bureaus to place a freeze on my files?
Equifax: Call 800-349-9960
Experian: Call 888-397-3742
TransUnion: Call 888-909-8872