Texas Home Loans and Mortgage Information

US Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD's mission is to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination.

Questions about paying off your mortgage early - Why Should Early Payoff Be Viewed as an Investment?
What Is the Yield on Such Investment? This site also covers many more questions about early payoff.

Regulating more than 29,000 Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers throughout Texas.

Regulating over 400 Mortgage Banking Companies.

Texas Department of Banking

Department of Banking Our mission is to ensure Texas has a safe and sound financial services system. www.banking.state.tx.us

Phone: 979-845-2031
Fax: 979-845-0460
2115 TAMU
College Station,
TX 77843-2115

Texas Real Estate Center  -The Center's staff conducts research on financial, socioeconomic, public policy, trade, legal, land use and local market analysis issues related to real estate.

The results of Center research are communicated in a variety of formats, including this website, print publications (many of which are available as free downloads) and videos. The Center's flagship periodical — Tierra Grande, a quarterly magazine — has a circulation of 117,200. Twice a week, an electronic real estate newsletter, Real Estate Center Online News (RECON) is sent to over 11,000 subscribers.

The Federal Reserve Remember: Shop, Compare and Negotiate
When buying a home, remember to shop around, to compare costs and terms, and to negotiate for the best deal. Your local newspaper and the Internet are good places to start shopping for a loan. You can usually find information both on interest rates and on points for several lenders. Since rates and points can change daily, you’ll want to check your newspaper often when shopping for a home loan. But the newspaper does not list the fees, so be sure to ask the lenders about them.

Mortgage Information and Mortgage Shopping Worksheet

Where to Shop for a Mortgage and What to Look For

The Mortgage Application Process

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation chartered by congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing.  www.FreddieMac.com

Home Mortgage and Finance Articles, Tools, Links, Advice and Information

How to Choose the Best Home Mortgage for You
There's no such thing as the single best home mortgage. The best home mortgage for you is the one that fits you and your personal situation. Here are some things to think about before you decide.

How mortgages work: Understanding the Key Elements
A mortgage is a long-term loan that a borrower obtains from a bank, thrift, independent mortgage broker, online lender or even the property seller.

MSN House and Home Articles
Looking for a particular article? These financing articles are featured currently on MSN House & Home.

The Anatomy of a Mortgage
What exactly is a mortgage? Simply put, it's a loan from a financial institution to you. In return, you pay interest on the amount loaned.

Free Articles on how to sell your house, buying a new home and home refinancing.

Mortgage Calculators

Yahoo's Loan Center

Librarians' Index for Home Mortgages

Texas Mortgage Bankers Association
Our goal is to maintain a presence as the leading trade association in Texas for the real estate finance industry.

The Mortgage Bankers Association seeks to create an environment that enables its members to invest in communities and achieve their business objectives.

Military Home Financing Information Finance Center helps you get a grasp on all your money matters, inside the military and out.

Understanding Your Credit
How to improve your credit
Your credit report
Credit scoring and how it works
Your credit profile
Credit reporting agencies
Credit grades

Chase Bank
1-800-848-9136
1-888-765-2849
Mortgage Home Page
www.Chase.com

 

Annual percentage rate (APR) is the cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate. The APR includes the interest rate, points, broker fees, and certain other credit charges that the borrower is required to pay.

Conventional loans are mortgage loans other than those insured or guaranteed by a government agency such as the FHA (Federal Housing Administration), the VA (Veterans Administration), or the Rural Development Services (formerly know as Farmers Home Administration, or FmHA).

Escrow is the holding of money or documents by a neutral third party prior to closing. It can also be an account held by the lender (or servicer) into which a homeowner pays money for taxes and insurance.

Fixed-rate loans generally have repayment terms of 15, 20, or 30 years. Both the interest rate and the monthly payments (for principal and interest) stay the same during the life of the loan.

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money expressed as a percentage rate. Interest rates can change because of market conditions.

Loan origination fees are fees charged by the lender for processing the loan and are often expressed as a percentage of the loan amount.

Lock-in refers to a written agreement guaranteeing a home buyer a specific interest rate on a home loan provided that the loan is closed within a certain period of time, such as 60 or 90 days. Often the agreement also specifies the number of points to be paid at closing.

Thrift institution is a general term for savings banks and savings and loan associations.

Transaction, settlement, or closing costs may include application fees; title examination, abstract of title, title insurance, and property survey fees; fees for preparing deeds, mortgages, and settlement documents; attorneys’ fees; recording fees; and notary, appraisal, and credit report fees. Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the borrower receives a good faith estimate of closing costs at the time of application or within three days of application. The good faith estimate lists each expected cost either as an amount or a range.

A mortgage is a document signed by a borrower when a home loan is made that gives the lender a right to take possession of the property if the borrower fails to pay off the loan.

Overages are the difference between the lowest available price and any higher price that the home buyer agrees to pay for the loan. Loan officers and brokers are often allowed to keep some or all of this difference as extra compensation.

Points are fees paid to the lender for the loan. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. Points are usually paid in cash at closing. In some cases, the money needed to pay points can be borrowed, but doing so will increase the loan amount and the total costs.



 

Suspicious activity to look for when applying for a mortgage loan:

1. If it's to good to be true, it usually is.
2. Avoid high pressure sales tactics.
3. Unclear, vague, elusive, uncertain answers to your questions.
4. Unexplained and excessive costs or fees.
5. Last minute or frequent changes in costs or fees, especially at or just before closing.
6. Wanting to meet outside of an office or place of business (their licenses are required to be displayed there).
7. The only phone number given is a cell or mobile number.
8. You are asked or pressured to NOT shop around for the best deal you can find.
9. You are asked to sign ANY document you do not understand and have not had time to review or have
reviewed.
10. Requiring prepayment of any costs or fees (including down payments) other than a credit report and if
applicable, an appraisal fee. Do NOT pay more than the actual cost billed to the broker, loan officer or
mortgage banker.

1. Pre-pay ANY fee for ANY service without “closely” reading/acknowledging/fully understanding disclosure document(s) regarding the treatment of those/that fee(s). Make certain that the broker/banker/loan officer also acknowledges the same document(s). You may want to remind the broker/loan officer/banker, if asked to pay up-front fees, that you are aware they cannot charge you for more than the actual cost of third party charges (i.e. credit report charge and appraisal fee). You may ask to see the actual invoices those third parties billed the broker/loan officer/banker for work on your behalf.

DO:

1. Call or check website of the TSLD ( www.tsld.state.tx.us ) to ascertain if the lending company or broker/loan officer are legitimately authorized to do business in Texas. Check out the company and each principal before you do business with them. This department licenses or registers State Savings Banks, individual Mortgage Brokers (and their Loan Officers) and Mortgage Banking companies doing business in Texas. Other than a chartered Savings Bank, if they are one of these types of originators and not listed on that website under “searches”, they most likely are NOT an authorized or legally operating in Texas. You may also call the TSLD in Austin, Texas at (512) 475-1350 for clarification.

2. Try to go to their offices to further assure they are legitimate. Look for their displayed license(s) in their office(s) from the State of Texas if they are brokers/LOs.

3. Ask for and be certain to call or visit in person, references. Record and retain their name, phone numbers and addresses and try to cross verify this information in the phone book or other sources. If they are not legitimate, and there are problems later, the authorities will want to pursue the culprits AND their accomplices.

Consumer Complaints against mortgage brokers and bankers and state savings banks, doing business in Texas. You have the right to file a complaint against a state savings bank, mortgage broker or mortgage banker if you feel you have been wronged in any way regarding your financial dealings and or transactions.

Consumer hotline (877) 276-5550 or email  tsld@tsld.state.tx.us