Absolutely, a bank can sell your note, and they often do. They may decide to take cash up front at a discounted value and avoid the risks with holding paper. Most mortgages allow this, although if it bothers you, you can try an negotiate it away (fat chance, unless you have a lot of leverage, like your brother-in-law is the bank Prez).
But no matter who holds the paper, the terms should be the same as what you signed. If you promised to pay 6% to Bank A, and Bank B buys the paper, you still are on the hook for the 6%. You may not even know the paper was sold, as some banks continue to collect and remit the funds to someone else.
My husband and I closed on our house last December. We used USAA as our mortgage company, so I actually have a (very) little I can contribute here.
I don’t know about this 100%. This may be technically correct, but USAA does have a program where you can hook up with a realtor that will act as a buyer’s agent for you. This is what we did. It is worth looking into at least, because our “buyer’s agent” was made aware ahead of time of what we were looking for and, more importantly, what we could afford. No sense in looking at a $215k house if you can only afford a $185k mortgage. Working with “our” realtor also helped us to get access to new listings as soon as they went up. Our realtor was also very experienced and helped us big time with negotiations. As it turned out, we did not like our particular buyer’s agent, but we did like his assistants a whole lot, and on the whole it was a good program.
If I may, let me recommend US Inspect. They did both of our inspections for us (long story for another time) and I can honestly say that it was the best $500 or so that we spent (I don’t remember the exact cost). It kept us from making a $20k mistake and confirmed that we were doing the right thing when we found a house we really loved.
Sorry, missed Musicat’s post … FWIW, USAA did sell our mortgage to another servicing agency (GMAC Residential, I think). We have noticed ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE in anything, really. We can still call USAA for help, and they are still as awesome as always. Don’t panic.
Again, I have no experience in NJ or PA, but this doesn’t sound right. I’ve been told the trend nationwide is for morerepresentation for the buyer (and that’s a good thing!)
If a potential buyer calls me, I can either get him to sign a “disclosure” form stating that he is aware that I am actually an agent of the seller, or he can sign a “buyer’s agency” form, which makes me his agent. One or the other must be done in this state; no gray areas.
Any broker firm that belongs to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), by virtue of his posting of his listings (and they MUST post ALL their general listings) is making an offer to all other members of the MLS that says, “I will pay you part of my commission if you bring me a buyer and the deal closes.” That is a powerful incentive to belong to MLS, and most firms do. I seriously doubt if your state prohibits a customer from dealing thru another agent than the listing one, although the listing agent would like you to use them exclusively, of course – no one to split commissions with!
Not in Wisconsin, and maybe not in your state. Just because a buyer approaches the listing agent does not change the agent’s status. The agent is not a dual agent unless the agent has an agreement with both parties (a listing contract and a buyer’s agency contract).
Doesn’t add up unless there are vast state-to-state differences. The total commish doesn’t change according to the number of agents; there are just more agents to split the same pot. If I handle both sides of the transaction (whether dual agent or not), I get 100% of the commission (well, my firm does, then it is split to me internally). If another agent is involved, I have to share with them (not necessarily equally).
In our case, both my husband and I have good credit, but the loan was based off of his credit alone-- he had enough to where they didn’t need mine.
While I’m not on the loan, I did have to sign the papers at closing, so I’m on the deed. What jsgoddess was referring to is a “survivorship deed”. (They’ll ask you at closing if you want one.) As I understand (and probably this differs from state to state) it transfers the house to the surviving spouse in case of a death without having to go through probate.
To answer the question above about one spouse having bad credit:
Being on the loan and being “in title” to the property are two different things.
You can be one, the other, or both.
You can put your wife in title without her being on the loan if her credit is not so hot. That will mean that she is not responsible for repaying the debt, but has ownership rights to the property.
If she is on the loan and is on title, she has ownership rights and is legally responsible for repayment of the debt.
In some states, there are laws concerning homestead rights… where a spouse has rights to the property just by virture of being a spouse. Ask your realtor (or better yet, a your title agent) if dower (for women) or curtsy (for men) rights apply in your state.
There are several types of tenancy, or ways to take title. The most used are “joint tenancy” (where all parties in title own the entire property equally, and must come into title at the same time. This type of tenancy is often used as a way to avoid probate. If one party dies, their ownership rights pass to the other title holder or holders. a.k.a rights of survivorship)… and “tenants in common” (where two or more parties can hold different percentages of ownership, and can take or transfer title at different times if desired. If one party dies, there are no rights of survivorship. Title passes to the estate of the deceased).
What I was trying to say is that there is no such thing as a buyer’s agency around here. Absolutely use a buyer’s agent - meaning, not the Realtor who listed it. Unfortunately around here, if you use the same Realtor that listed the house, they are automatically a dual agent. No ifs ands or buts about it.
If the listing agent sells them that house they have listed, it absolutely changes their status. Their status doesn’t change if you look at the house and don’t like it but continue to use them…but it certainly changes once you write a contract on that house. They really don’t use buyer’s agency contracts in this area.
You just said what I was saying. If I handle both ends of the deal (dual agent), then the full 6% (minus what I give my company) is mine. If I have to split it with another agent, then I only get 3% (again, minus what I give my company). That is a huge difference in a paycheck! I might care a little more if that deal falls apart if I am getting 3% more! But I still don’t recommend using the Realtor who listed the house. (And as a Realtor, I really, really shouldn’t be saying that!!)
Real estate in this area is kinda funky. The only forms you sign, as a buyer, binding you to that agent is when you sign the contract. That is when it is disclosed whether the agent is representing solely a) the seller b) the buyer or c) acting as a dual agent.
Please, oh please don’t do this! In the US there are organizations called ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) and NAHI (National Association of Home Inspectors). These groups are non-profit and have very, very strict standards that all members must adhere to. In Pennsylvania, it is law that home inspectors belong to one of these groups. They MUST inspect certain items (i.e. foundations, roofs, plumbing, heating, electrical, etc.) and they are not allowed to inspect other items (i.e. a/c when it is too cold out, move people furniture, etc.). Also by law in Pennsylvania, home inspectors must carry liability insurance not less than $100,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in the aggregate. Therefore, you are completely covered if they miss anything.
Do yourself a favor and get a home inspection. When you call the company to set it up ask them about their report. How many pages is the report? Is it typewritten or checksheet? What is the turn-around time? Etc… Make sure the report is more than 10 pages and that it is typewritten. You don’t want a checksheet where they just check off good or bad next to the items. Again, PA law requires they are members of one of the groups mentioned above…I personally recommend ASHI, but it is up to you.
Yes, there is - I just bought a property in NJ and was working with an agent who pre-screened houses for me. He and the seller’s agent split the commission - standard practice. However, I am not sure whether they are willing to do this for a $100k home (I bought something more expensive).
The best thing I learned in addition to the basics (which the folks here explain very well): Do not try to save money on the hone inspection. Get a good inspector, even if the person is $100 or so more expensive. (needless to say, do not use the inspector recommended by the seller’s agent). A good home inspector will not only find everything that needs to be repaired, but also nitpick on everything else. Thus you have your to-do list for the next 2-3 years worth of home-ownership.
Do not compromise on (a) mold, (b) insects, (c) water damage. Have the sellers fix it or walk away, even if if hurts because you already paid the inspection.
They should be - they did it for us, and our house was under $100k. (Our buyer’s agent normally lists homes that are $500k+.)
The USAA program is called “Mover’s Advantage,” and for whatever it is worth, when we went through the program we actually got money back for using Mover’s Advantage and then using USAA for our lender.
My suggestion is that you don’t use a home inspector recommended by the seller’s agent, ask your work colleagues or neighbors where you live now to recommend good home inspectors. This way, you’ll get a truly independent inspector who won’t skip over defects in order to make a sale.
