| Ask questions on journey to finding a good mortgage
Don't let your dream house remain a dream or be one that slips away, instead get smart about getting a good mortgage. Your first step to a more solid foundation is finding the right bank or mortgage company to ensure you're dealing with someone reputable. Dorothy Lofton, branch manager with New South Federal Savings Bank in Huntsville, recommends using a mortgage banker, which is typically indicated in the institution's name. Once you've narrowed down your choice of lenders, you start interviewing each loan officer, posing the following questions: How long have you been in the mortgage business? Will you make every effort to accurately put me in the right loan program? Will there be any obligation if I fill out an application? How long will it take to get a letter of approval? How soon can I lock in my interest rate, and for how long? What are the charges? Every lender basically has the same type closing costs, but they can differ substantially from lender to lender.
After 22 years, earnest money saga likely near end
Q: Twenty-two years ago, my brother was turned down for a home mortgage, but the mortgage company refused to return his earnest money of $400. Six years later, the lender went out of business, and the title company that was holding my brother's money turned it over to the state of Texas. It comes out every year as unclaimed property. My brother is a disabled veteran, and I have tried repeatedly to get his money returned. However, the state says it can't return it without a release from the mortgage company, which hasn't existed in years. How can I get back this money? A: Contact the office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and request a refund. When informed by me of this reader's troubles in getting the earnest money returned, the comptroller's staff cut through the red tape that had tangled up the money for 16 years.
Mortgage Lender New Century Seeks Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Subprime mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. filed Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and said it would fire 3,200 workers, or 54 percent of its work force, to better position the company for a possible sale. Once the second-largest provider of subprime mortgages in the U.S. based on loan volume, New Century was the latest lender to fall on hard times amid a spike in mortgage defaults caused by borrowers unable to make payments. More than two dozen subprime lenders have shut down in recent months and others are scrambling to stay in business. New Century said it has agreed to sell its loan servicing business to Carrington Capital Management LLC and its affiliate for about $139 million, subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court. .
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