FAQ

It's your first real look at the numbers, replacing what used to be two separate forms. I'll get you your Loan Estimate within 3 business days of your application, laying out your rate, payment, and closing costs in plain terms so you can compare it against any other quote you're holding.

Your APR wraps your interest rate together with certain fees, like origination charges, into one yearly percentage. I point clients to it because it's the more honest number: it shows what a loan actually costs you, not just the rate you were quoted.

It's the actual amount of credit extended to you after certain prepaid finance charges are backed out. It's a calculation number more than a spending number, I use it to work out your installment payments over the life of the loan.

No, and this is a question I get often enough that I want to be direct about it: if I approve you for the amount you applied for, that full amount is what gets credited toward your purchase or refinance at settlement. The amount financed is just a math input, not a cut to your loan.

Here's the mechanic behind it: the amount financed is a net figure, your loan amount minus certain prepaid finance charges. Because APR is calculated off that smaller net figure instead of your full loan amount, it comes out a little higher than your quoted interest rate. Nothing about your actual loan amount or monthly payment changes, it's just how the math is required to be shown.

Your Disclosure Statement is where I lay out your estimated payments in black and white. Your interest rate is what drives your combined principal and interest payment, and I'll walk you through exactly how that number was built before you sign anything.

It's the total interest and loan charges you'd pay if you kept the loan for its entire term, origination charges, discount points, and mortgage insurance included. Almost nobody keeps a loan for its full term, so treat this as a worst-case ceiling, not a prediction.

It's the full amount you'd pay over the life of the loan, principal, interest, prepaid finance charges, and mortgage insurance if it applies, assuming you make only the minimum payment every month for the entire term. It's a disclosure number, not a forecast of what most of my clients actually end up paying.

It just means you're only ever charged interest for the time you actually had the money. Prepaid finance charges and interest already paid aren't refundable, but you also won't pay anywhere close to the full original finance charge estimate, since that number assumed a full-term loan you're not actually keeping.

I'm required by law to get you this information in a timely way, and your signature just confirms it reached you. It doesn't lock you or me into anything, it's a receipt, not a commitment.

Both are letters estimating how much you may be able to borrow, based on certain assumptions, and neither one is a guaranteed loan offer. What they're genuinely useful for is house hunting: they tell a seller you're a serious, financeable buyer before you've even found the house.

Yes, as long as they clearly show the bank's logo, name, and your correct account number. That's all I need to work with them.

Locking means we've secured a commitment on your rate with the investor, so it stops moving with the market. I watch rates daily, and when it's time, I'll tell you, this isn't a decision I hand you cold.

Mortgage rates can move daily, sometimes hourly. Once I lock yours, it's frozen between lock and closing, as long as we close inside the lock window and nothing changes on your application. Unlocked, it can move anytime. I typically work with 30, 45, or 60-day locks, sometimes longer if your timeline calls for it.

Sometimes, yes, it's called transferring, and it happens right at closing. You'll get full information on your new investor either way, and I stay in your corner to make sure your first payment lands smoothly. Selling the loan doesn't mean I disappear.

It's the rate we land on together as the best fit for your specific situation and goals, not just whatever number happens to be lowest that day.

No. If anything comes up along the way, questions, second thoughts, a change in plans, just call me directly. You're only fully committed once you sign your closing documents and the loan actually funds.

They're percentages of your loan amount that affect your rate and the total cost of putting the loan together, and I'll walk through whether paying points makes sense for your specific numbers before you decide either way.

Your contract specifies the closing location. About 3 to 5 days out, I'll tell you exactly how much to bring, which should be a cashier's check made payable to the title company. You can cover up to $1,000 of any small difference with a personal check, and anything extra gets refunded to you right at closing.

I stay in touch the whole way through, before your application's even finished, right after it's submitted, once your appraisal lands, and again at 7 to 10 days and 3 to 5 days out from closing to confirm final numbers. Ask me anything in between. There's no such thing as a dumb question here.

They're the costs beyond the purchase price that buyers and sellers pay to close a real estate transaction: things like loan origination fees, discount points, appraisal fees, title search and insurance, surveys, taxes, recording fees, and credit report charges. I'm required to give you a good faith estimate within three days of your application, and they typically land around 2 to 3 percent of your loan amount.

It's insurance that protects the lender, not you, if you stop making payments, and it typically comes into play on a conventional loan when your down payment is under 20 percent, or you're refinancing with less than 20 percent equity. It's not a penalty, it's just how lenders offset the risk on a smaller down payment, and I'll show you exactly when it drops off.