The Importance of Your Credit Report

Your credit report plays a key role when you are trying to get a mortgage to buy or refinance a home. Whether your time frame is within the next six months or the next few years, it’s time to look at your credit report and address any issues.

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A Mortgage Prequalification Ain’t as Easy as it Used to Be

If you wanted to buy a house twenty-five years ago, you would have called your lender and asked for a prequalification letter. You would have told him/her your annual income and how much cash you had for a down payment “Those days are long gone,” says Dan Avanzato, President of Norstar Mortgage Services in North…

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Must-Have Homebuyer Apps

Buying a house is an exciting time, but a stressful one as well. More often than not, homebuyers are burdened with self-doubt, confusion over paperwork and industry-related jargon, and the general stress of making a huge financial commitment—all of which make it difficult to stay on the ball. Fortunately, however, there are apps for that.…

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Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs), They’re Not All Bad

As mortgage interest rates begin to rise, some homebuyers will be looking for an alternative to the thirty year fixed rate mortgage. The truth of the matter is… if used responsibly and for the right reasons, an adjustable rate mortgage could make a lot of sense when financing residential real estate. If your only reason…

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TD Bank Strikes Again

It isn’t all that uncommon for a purchase closing to be delayed due to an issue with the buyer’s mortgage company. Problems with the appraisal, an insurance issue or a buyer that is slow providing all of the required paperwork, just to name a few. Last Friday, we were scheduled to handle a closing in…

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Should I Pay a Broker’s Service Fee?

If you’ve sold or purchased a house in the last ten years or so, you most likely paid your real estate broker/agent a conveyancing fee or flat fee commission.  This broker service fee ranges from $150 to $500, an amount due in addition to the base commission on the sale or purchase. With several different…

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Apparently customers aren’t "part of the family"

I couldn’t help but have one of those feel good moments after our company helped this young couple save so much money at closing. This story is not exceptional; the scenario I’m sharing is fairly typical for a new construction settlement when we’re involved. As the title agent hired by this Bucks County couple, we…

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The truth about real estate’s Controlled Business Relationships

We recently received an email from a potential customer who was trying to be an informed consumer and get a fair deal on a mortgage. Here’s the opening line: “I’m considering a refinance to shorten term and lower rate. Lenders are unable to provide any kind of transparency (or patience) with questions on fees.” Unfortunately,…

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TD Bank Responds

A quick update to last week’s TD Bank story.  TD saw our post about a client’s very frustrating experience when refinancing with their bank.  Within an hour or two of seeing the post, TD follows ALT Title on Twitter and reaches out to us: “@ALTTITLE Saw ur tweet. We appreciate your feedback & we’d like to connect…

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TD Bank…America’s Most Frustrating Bank

If you need to know the time and temperature while you’re watching Jimmy Kimmel, cashing a check or depositing a jar of coins on a Sunday morning, TD Bank might just be the bank you’re looking for. If you’re trying to refinance your mortgage, they may just have you looking for a bridge to jump…

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