Going Rate For Pre-approval?

I have a lender that will pre-approve me for any single family residence i'd like to purchase with no money down required. They are holding the mortgage for our present home and my credit rating is around 770, so they are willing to give me what ever I need. BTW, I plan on starting wholesaleing. My question is about the pre-approval fee they want to charge me. It's $500 dollars. Does that seem a little high or does that sound about right? Thanks in advance for any input you can give me. confused

Comments(22)

  • c-brainard15th February, 2004

    A pre approval fee? I haven't been charged for that before! You might want to check out a better lender. I suggest using E-Loan. I've done a few loans with them now and they do not charge any lender fees or closing costs!

    -Chris
    [addsig]

  • john196615th February, 2004

    Thanks for the info, i'll check them out.

  • tinman175515th February, 2004

    If you are dealing with a bank, that $500.00 could be an application fee. Since you said they will give you whatever you want they must already have you portfolio. Which means they already have you preapproved for a loan. Most application fees are from $300.00 to $750.00. So $500.00 is reasonable
    Do they give you your money back if you don't buy the house? Is it applied to your total fees at the close?

    Lori
    [addsig]

  • john196615th February, 2004

    I will get the $500 back.

  • tinman175515th February, 2004

    Then you are working with a verygood company
    Lori
    [addsig]

  • john196615th February, 2004

    Thanks for the input, I feel better about it now.

  • c-brainard16th February, 2004

    I still think $0 total cost for a loan is a much better deal. The only payouts you will make are the title costs, appraisal, inspection, and pre-paids. Then again, I'm one cheap person.

    -Chris
    [addsig]

  • Lufos16th February, 2004

    Dear Cheapy,

    I am with you. With that FICO score and existing bank loan there should be no charge. If anything they should accomodate you just to keep you in the bank and friendly.

    Now that the nice Mr. Greenspan has said no interest rate increases for the moment. The loan market is still wide open. Your loan should be obtainable anywhere.

    So take your pick and be selective and bargain on costs. Remember they will probably lay your loan off after making it and pick up even more points from the ultimate financial institution who ends up owning your paper.

    Cheers Lucius

  • cpifer16th February, 2004

    I agree with Lufos.

    Your $500 refunded at closing is good BUT with your FICO, most originators would gladly wave the app fee altogether.

    C-

  • Tedjr16th February, 2004

    I even get preapproved without any upfront fees and I am forced to use hard money lenders. I am in Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 and the only upfront fee is the appraisal and a grand if I want my HML to show up at an auction with the cash. Be careful spending upfront fees. May be hard to recover

    Good LUCK and Thank You
    Hope this helps some
    Ted Jr

  • JeffAdams16th February, 2004

    I have never heard of a Pre approval fee.
    With your FICO score like LUFOS has
    suggested, you can walk into a broker's
    office and get a no-cost, easy qualifying
    loan. Done deal



    Jeff Adam
    [addsig]

  • john196616th February, 2004

    Thanks for all your input! I am going to shop around and see what I can get. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting my time. Thanks again.

  • tinman175516th February, 2004

    this being my field of expertise, I am going to use this example:

    mr. customer has a loan with chase,
    he calls and wants another loan with chase, chase says fine. Because chase shows a policy with over a million dollars this allows them to charge an upfront fee. Which is the closing costs. This fee is usually not refundable but this fee can be used on a TBD adress, so you can switch houses and still not have to pay again.

    Is this a smart thing to do?

    In most cases yes.
    Because a lot of items needed for a new purchase will be waived.

    The reason they charge this fee is because "chase" has their own loan officers dealing with people everyday. They also have brokers dealing with customers on their behalf everyday.

    THE RATES ARE DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!

    Brokers rates are lower because they get a discount for volume.

    When you go to a broker they may not know what they are doing. Everyone you talk to on the phone at "chase" has been trained by them.

    If you go to a broker you have to pay them. When a customer calls me with your question I tell them the same thing, "It's a good deal take. My closing costs will never be that low"

    Good Luck

    Lori
    [addsig]

  • omega116th February, 2004

    Lender needs your business. Use that while it last. Charging anything for pre-approval doesn't sound right. At list not in So. California. Maybe you are confusing loan doc's or similar paperwork that could be refundable out of esqrow in the end of the process ...?

    Double check this one and bring back some good news. Check www.MBNA.com and www.Ditech.com for some good rates and with your FICO, tell morgage brokers to take a hike. Specialy those new TCI memebers from other states that likes to solicit the biz in the form of the self advertising.

    Worried. Alex. [ Edited by omega1 on Date 02/16/2004 ]

  • JeffAdams16th February, 2004

    I agree with Omega. Loan officers should not be giving real-estate investing advice, nor soliciting business on this site. It is not beneficial for the members.



    Best Riches,
    Jeff Adam

    _________________
    "The only place success comes before work
    is in the dictionary."[ Edited by JeffreyAdam on Date 02/16/2004 ]

  • JeffAdams16th February, 2004

    Quote:
    On 2004-02-16 12:54, tinman1755 wrote:
    this being my field of expertise, I am going to use this example:
    When a customer calls me with your question I tell them the same thing, "It's a good deal take. My closing costs will never be that low"

    So Lori, how do you find time to close
    the 15-20 deals a month on houses that
    you are buying and selling like you mentioned in earlier posts if you are
    doing loans? Just curious.

    Jeff Adam

    [addsig]

  • diatribe16th February, 2004

    Hello.

    Is the property you are looking to buy going to be a rental property or your primary residence?

    If its intended to be a rental and you can get 100% financing for a small fee of $500. I'd jump on it. Yes, there MAY be another program out there, but you can deal with the same lender.

    The $500 will be a deduction on your taxes that will dollar for dollar reduce your tax liability, so again, I consider it money well spent.

    Maybe it's because I'm having a hard time finding a 100% financing lender for NJ (hint, hint - i need one) that it seems worth the cost.

    And of course, it would have to be refundable if the turn you down for any reason.

    Good Luck.

  • hsosa717516th February, 2004

    Yes you should nt pay for a pre qual letter. I work for a very large direct mortgage lender. We do not charge this as a fee. item. Some times lenders charge you an app fee to make sure you are serious and not a flakey borrower.

  • WheelerDealer16th February, 2004

    Tedjr,

    You got a HML guy that will show up with cash against a warranty deed with no title insurance???
    [addsig]

  • john196621st February, 2004

    Like I said earlier, the $500 would be credited back to me. The problem I have with it is that we have our primary residence mortgage with them, they know my credit score and they know how well our bills get paid. It's not like we just walked in their door. BTW, this is a loan for a single family dwelling, not a commercial loan. Kepp the thoughts coming, your imput is great!

  • Stockpro9921st February, 2004

    I have never in my life paid a pre-approval fee. Period..

  • hsosa717522nd February, 2004

    even though you paid your motrgage on time and so on and so on. Your still getting a new mortgage. I hate that line when I talk to borrowers. it gets old. just take the loan if you feel its a good deal otherwise dont waste the reps time. Im speaking from the reps side. He probaly has 10 deals that he needs to work on and having a borrower on the fence sucks.

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