Frequently Asked Questions
- I had the rate of my upcoming mortgage locked, but the APR presented to me a couple of weeks later was already different (obviously higher!) and proclaimed subject to more changes any time before closing. I mean, how is this possible in the first place?
- My broker says she’ll tell me the price of her service upfront and find me a mortgage at a wholesale price. So she is an upfront mortgage broker, isn’t she?
- There is no FICO score in my credit report!
- I authorized my partner to use my card in order to improve her credit score so that we can have a better mortgage later when we are ready to buy a home, but the information on the card usage does not even show on her credit report.
- My report is full of delinquent mortgage payments. Well, I admit I’ve skipped a payment once, but how did it turn into so many?
- I paid my old delinquency expecting to improve my credit score, but the score dropped instead!
- How can I make FHA assume responsibility for the flaws in the property discovered after their inspection?
- Can first-time homebuyers get a discount on the upfront FHA insurance premium?
- What’s the difference between an FHA mortgage insurance and PMI?
- How much home purchase money can I borrow from the FHA?
- I hear the FHA pays the insurance premiums back?
- My fixed rate mortgage payments keep changing from year to year. Am I missing something?
- How do I know if my escrow works?
- How much is an escrow payment?
- Do I always have to agree to have an escrow attached to my mortgage?
- How can I cancel my mortgage escrow?
- Is there any advantage in escrowing with the lender?
- My mortgage carries a prepayment penalty. Does it mean I can make no extra payments at all without being penalized?
- What is the difference between a hard and a soft prepayment penalty?
- Should I agree to have a prepayment penalty included into my contract?
- How much is an average prepayment penalty?
- How come my monthly payment has shrunk, while the rate has increased?
- What is the minimum down payment required to buy a home?
- Is there a way to amortize an interest-only mortgage?
- How come I have been paying my mortgage for 2 years, but the balance is actually growing?
- How come I have been paying my mortgage for 2 years, but the balance is (practically) unchanged?
- How to avoid PMI or get rid of it sooner?
- How can I reduce my monthly payments?
- How risky is a HEL/HELOC?
- It is true that a biweekly mortgage pays a lot better than a conventional one?
- ARM Rates Are Skyrocketing! I don’t want to lose my home!
- Is there a way to pay my mortgage off sooner?
