From Karen Nickel:

April 15, 2010 (Thursday) 6:30 - 8:30pm

Everything You Need To Know.

Potential Homebuyers:

There seems to be more demand for another homebuyer’s workshop 101.  My last 21 workshops have received rave reviews from the attendees.  Therefore, I have scheduled this next one for  April 15th (Thursday) from 6:30PM to 8:30PM at my Hammond Residential Office:  826 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA  02467

If this is not for you, but you know of someone that may benefit from the topic, please feel free to pass the invite along.  I have had people attend the session that were a year away from purchasing a home and those who were looking outside of Boston.  That is OK!

The discussion will cover home buying 101 including the 8K tax credit that expires this year. It should last about 2 hours.  We will go through the process from offer to closing and discuss what to look for along the way.  The process involves many players, so I invited a real estate attorney and a mortgage broker.  Here is a short summary of what each of us will cover:

Me (Karen Nickel)

Senior Associate & Architect

www.karennickel.com

Agency, viewing property, offers and inspection

Jason Cohen,  Esq

www.pressmankruskal.com

Purchase & Sale process, mortgage commitment, and closings

Donna McKeown, Mortgage Broker

Pre-approval, FICO scores, mortgage commitment and types of mortgages

Parking is available in front of the building.

Do RSVP so we will bring enough snacks.

Oh - I will have my jeans on and you should too!

The workshop is free!

Thanks, Karen. 

The session will be held at Karen Nickel’s office:

Hammond Residential Office

826 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467

First conference room

RSVP to jcohen@massrealestateblog.com or jcohen@pressmankruskal.com

From Karen Nickel:

There seems to be more demand for another homebuyer’s workshop 101. My last 19 workshops have received rave reviews from the attendees. Therefore, I have scheduled this next one for Tuesday May 12 from 6-8 PM at the Courtyard Marriott, 40 Webster Street in Brookline. The Marriott is right around the corner from my Brookline Coldwell Banker office.

If this is not for you, but you know of someone that may benefit from the topic, please feel free to pass the invite along. I have had people attend the session that were a year away from purchasing a home and those who were looking outside of Boston. That is OK!

The discussion will cover home buying 101 and should last about 2 hrs. We will go through the process from offer to closing and discuss what to look for along the way. The process involves many players, so I invited a real estate attorney and a mortgage broker. Here is a short summary of what each of us will cover:

Me (Karen Nickel, VP), Realtor & Architect
www.KarenNickel.com
Agency, viewing property, offers and inspection

Jason Cohen Esq, Attorney at Law
www.pressmankruskal.com
www.massrealestateblog.com
Purchase & Sale process, mortgage commitment, and closings

Donna McKeown, Mortgage Broker
donna.mckeown@prospectmtg.com
Pre-approval, FICO scores, mortgage commitment and types of mortgages

Parking is available either on Beacon St (meter) or at the Marriott Hotel’s underground garage ($.50/hr).

Do RSVP - so we will bring enough refreshments.

The workshop is free!

Thanks, Karen
Karen Nickel, M. Arch
Realtor, Architect
Top 1% of all Coldwell Banker Brokers
Vice President Coldwell Banker, Brookline, Massachusetts
VM / eFax 617-796-6195

Should be back up and running strong now.  Stay tuned for more posts!

Regardless, it’s a problem that is usually discovered by the bank’s attorney at the next refinance.  Most of the time, the loan can still close with the undischarged mortgage or other title issue still outstanding.  However, the benefit is that it puts the owner on notice that this issue should be resolved before they try to sell.  Even if it’s an issue that’s covered by title insurance, it’s a good thing to fix to avoid any hassle or potential delay in the future when time is of the essence.

As an example, I recently had a refinance where the borrower had an undischarged home equity mortgage still outstanding from the 1980s.  I could tell by the title I ordered that the borrower had probably paid the loan off in full because other home  equity lines had been taken out after that one, and most of those had already been discharged.  I contacted the borrower and let him know of the issue.  I advised him to check his records, and sure enough, the original discharge had been mailed to him after he had refinanced in the mid 1990s.  He was a pack rat, so the problem was easily remedied, and he brought the original discharge with him to my office for the refinance, and I recorded it for him.  That completely solved that issue, and when (if?) he goes to sell in the future, he won’t have to scramble to find that discharge to close on time.

Since the spring market is (almost?) upon us, I wanted to make sure I get back in the posting game.  I’ll try to make sure to update more often.

You may have noticed that the comments to all of the posts disappeared.  I have no one to blame but myself — I mistakenly hit “delete all” to the comments and I can’t retrieve them.

Don’t let that stop you, though.  Keep the comments and e-mails (jcohen@massrealestateblog.com) coming!

Potential homebuyers:

There seems to be more demand for another homebuyer’s workshop 101.  My last 18 workshops have received rave reviews from the attendees.  Therefore, I have scheduled this next one for 31 January (Saturday before the Superbowl) from 1-3 PM at my Coldwell Banker Office (1375 Beacon Street, Brookline - Coolidge Corner) in the downstairs conference room.
 
If this is not for you, but you know of someone that may benefit from the topic, please feel free to pass the invite along.  I have had people attend the session that were a year away from purchasing a home and those who were looking outside of Boston.  That is OK!
 
The discussion will cover home buying 101 and should last about 2 hrs.  We will go through the process from offer to closing and discuss what to look for along the way.  The process involves many players, so I invited a real estate attorney and a mortgage broker.  Here is a short summary of what each of us will cover:

·         Me (Karen Nickel, VP), Realtor & Architect
www.KarenNickel.com
Agency, viewing property, offers and inspection

·         Jason Cohen Esq, Attorney at Law
www.pressmankruskal.com
www.massrealestateblog.com
Purchase & Sale process, mortgage commitment, and closings

·         Donna McKeown, Mortgage Broker
Pre-approval, FICO scores, mortgage commitment and types of mortgages

Parking is available either on Beacon St (meter) or at the Marriott Hotel’s underground garage ($0.50/hr).

Do RSVP - so we will bring enough snacks.
 
Oh - I will have my jeans on and you should too!
 
The workshop is free!
 
Thanks, Karen

Karen Nickel,  M.Arch

Realtor, Architect
Vice President, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
617 796 6195 (VM & eFax)

www.KarenNickel.com

Boston.com ran a post on their real estate blog on Jan. 8 that had a user comment that I wanted to respond to here.  The commenter’s handle was “Regretful House Buyer,” so obviously there are some feelings of remorse there.  However, the post raises a few issues that are important to discuss (and rebut) in a little more detail.

Regretful House Buyer’s post reads as follows:

“There is a significant caveat to refinancing. Closing costs. Yes, closing costs, the way certain lawyers and assorted other mercenary swindlers pick your pocket in a very big way. One of my favorites: Freight Fee. You have to make sure the 18 wheeler it requires to carry all those tons of paper required to buy your your house all over again is paid for. Real estate transactions are a racket, where people you never heard of show up with their hands out. How about this: Overnight Mail Payoff. Yes, I’m quite serious - it is right in the settlement charges. And this: Obtain/Process Discharge. Say what? Someone gets paid, you don’t know who, or for what, but you pay them. But I would not feel so alone…” Posted by Regretful House Buyer January 8, 09 09:51 PM

Okay, so I’m breaking down this post to respond more fully:

“There is a significant caveat to refinancing. Closing costs. Yes, closing costs, the way certain lawyers and assorted other mercenary swindlers pick your pocket in a very big way.”

That’s up for debate, obviously.  Closing costs are not fun.  Keep in mind that there are no-points, no-closing-cost loans available at this time.  However, there are rational, legitimate reasons for each cost that is listed in line-item fashion on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.  At every closing, purchase or refinance, I go over these charges line by line and explain each one.

“One of my favorites: Freight Fee. You have to make sure the 18 wheeler it requires to carry all those tons of paper required to buy your your house all over again is paid for.”

I’ve never seen this charge.  Ever.  Processing fees, application fees, underwriting fees, yes.  “Freight fee,” no.  I don’t doubt this commenter’s claim, but I’d need more information (especially who the “payee” was on his HUD) to determine what exactly the freight fee was.  But there are certainly many lenders who don’t charge a freight fee.  And the beauty of a refinance is you can shop around, and all charges are listed on the Good Faith Estimate that you receive from the lender early on in the refi process.  You should read the GFE carefully and ask your loan officer about any fees you have questions about.

“Real estate transactions are a racket, where people you never heard of show up with their hands out.”

This statement is, in a word, inane.  Every transaction in this economy, whether for real estate transactions, meals ordered in restaurants, or the purchase of a car, benefits many people.  The difference is that in a real estate transaction, you see every entity that “benefits,” because all are listed on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.

“Overnight Mail Payoff. Yes, I’m quite serious - it is right in the settlement charges.”

Wow, this one is easy.  And very necessary.  When you refinance, the bank attorney typically pays off your current mortgage(s).  In order to make a timely payment after the new mortgage goes on record, the bank attorney will send, via overnight mail, a check to your old lender to pay off your mortgage in full.  Since interest on your mortgage typically accrues daily (and often can be hundreds of dollars a day, depending on the size of your loan), it is most definitely to your benefit to pay the small (typically less than $25 or $30) overnight mail charge to pay the mortgage off as quickly as possible and stop the interest from accruing.  And the check to your lender can be tracked, to ensure that your mortgage actually is paid off.

“And this: Obtain/Process Discharge. Say what?”

This fee is usually found in purchases, not refinances, and is charged to the seller.  The bank attorney’s obligation at closing is to clear title.  Part of that obligation obviously involves paying off the seller’s mortgages with the proceeds from the real estate transaction.  Many lenders are notorious for not promptly sending the discharge to the appropriate Registry of Deeds or the bank attorney’s office.  Sometimes the lender will send it to the Registry, but it’s incorrect.  The “Obtain/Process Discharge” fee is probably the fee the bank attorney is charging to make sure the correct discharge is recorded at the Registry of Deeds.  The fee is typically no more than $100, and usually less.  Without knowing more, I’d be surprised if this fee were charged for the refinance of the commenter.

“Someone gets paid, you don’t know who, or for what, but you pay them. But I would not feel so alone…”

I think I’ve made it clear that HUD-1 Settlement Statement clearly lists every charge and who is the entity getting paid.  That being said, if you have any questions about the HUD, you should ask the attorney doing your refinance, or your mortgage lender.  Both should be able to tell you what the fees are specifically for, and you should leave your refinance (or purchase or sale) understanding why you’ve been charged what you’re paying. ]]> http://www.massrealestateblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=136 http://www.massrealestateblog.com/?p=137 http://www.massrealestateblog.com/?p=137#comments Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:09:36 +0000 admin http://www.massrealestateblog.com/?p=137 Part of my job as a real estate attorney is helping my clients make informed decisions about refinancing.  Many people in adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) who are about to experience their first adjustment call me wanting to refinance.  In this current economic climate, with many leading interest rate indexes at historic lows, it actually may not make sense to refinance this year.  (Next year is another story.)

See this article on Boston.com, which I think sums things up nicely.  And, as usual, if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at jcohen@massrealestateblog.com or comment to this post.

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