What Is The Debt-To-Income Ratio (DTI)?
Measuring your existing debts against your existing income is one part of a lender’s required assessment of your ability to repay a loan.
Like the video says: debts are existing financial commitments; a car payment is a debt a gro... read more
What Is A Certificate of Eligibility, or COE?
What Is A Certificate of Eligibility, or COE?
The COE is the key document that verifies to lenders that someone is eligible for a VA-backed loan.
Servicemembers, Veterans and National Guard and Reserve members may apply online or through their lender; most lenders... read more
What Does Ability To Repay Mean?
What are the “Ability to repay” rules about?
In a nutshell, as this video shows, new laws require lenders to make a good-faith assessment of a borrower’s capacity to pay back their loan over time.
It’s a longer-term view that goes... read more
What Is A Qualified Mortgage?
As this video explains, Federal laws put into effect in 2014 and supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau define lending practices and loan terms for a new category called “Qualified Mortgages.”
They provide stable lo... read more
What Are VA Home Loans?
What Are VA Loans?
As the video says, the name is misleading - they’re not loans FROM the VA.
The VA - short for “US Department of Veterans Affairs” - is the Federal military veteran benefit system.
The VA admi... read more
What Are The Major Types Of VA Loans?
What Are The Major Types Of VA Loans?
Major Veterans Affairs loan programs described in this video include:
1) Purchase Loans.
These help eligible parties buy a home at competitive interest rates with little to no down payment a... read more
What Is A Rate Lock?
Mortgage rates change constantly through an unpredictable combination of government policies and economic conditions. This video explains the common term 'rate lock.'
A “Rate Lock” is a guarantee that a lender will honor a read more
When Do I Get My Loan Closing Disclosure?
If an eligible loan proceeds from Estimate to closing, creditors must provide a Closing Disclosure form documenting the actual transaction terms and costs THREE business days before consummation. It must be in writing, whether paper or digital, and disclose ONLY the... read more
Understanding Your Loan: Additional Information Can Be Important
Page 4 of your Closing Disclosure is important. It is NOT just standardized form information that is identical for every loan.
Review these terms:
Assumption: can this loan be transferred to another person if you sell or transfer the property?
... read more
Understanding Your Loan: Closing Disclosure Page 1
The first page of your Closing Disclosure documents:
The Loan Amount - the total you will actually borrow
The Interest Rate - which does NOT include the fees factored into the APR on Page 5
If this loan has a penalty for pre-payme... read more