May 19th 2011 10:30AM
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advanced its overhaul of annoying, incomprehensible mortgage forms on Wednesday in its first regulatory maneuver since the agency was created by last year's financial reform bill. The CFPB rolled out two prototypes for a single, streamlined form to replace two complex and... Continue Reading »
May 12th 2011 10:30AM
A new survey reveals that more than half of homebuyers today don't know what the Good Faith Estimate is actually good for - namely, to shop around for the cheapest mortgage loans on the market. In a survey released by ING Direct on Wednesday, 56 percent of respondents did not use the GFE to compare lenders' associated... Continue Reading »
Jan 27th 2011 10:14AM
With the housing market on the slow path to recovery, many brokers continue to offer low-cost refinances -- a mortgage payment revamping that covers closing costs -- to sweeten the deal for homeowners. According to mortgage broker Kirk Tatom of Dallas-based Tatom Lending, a low-cost refinance also referred to as a... Continue Reading »
Aug 19th 2010 1:45PM
The average origination and third-party fees on new mortgages are up 36.6 percent over last year. In 2009, the average costs for closing a mortgage totaled $2,739, but that cost is up to $3,741, based on BankRate.com's 2010 Closing Costs Survey. The biggest difference is in third-party costs for appraisals and title... Continue Reading »
Jun 17th 2010 4:10PM
Many homebuyers mistakenly arrive at closing unprepared for a laundry list of closing costs: major and minor fees that are a routine part of any home purchase. This can be because the lender increased fees on lender-controlled aspects of a transaction, or because a buyer chose a third party (appraiser, inspector,... Continue Reading »
