Running Out of Money

My mother is a real estate agent and I too as well use to hold a real estate license. When buying my home, I paid the real estate company I was working with "Earnest money" to help. Then I paid nothing more until the day of closing. Then at closing, I paid closing costs and the down payment. I too, would look for another mortgage company. I would ask for an itemized statement giving me all the details of what I was paying for.

oh no, that's normal. they are forever asking for something you already took to them and they didn't want it at the time. and you are right when they ask for money to them it's nothing but for a hard working person it's a lot. just try to stay calm.

We purchased a house about 6mths ago and was only asked for a one time amount at the signing of the contract. I have never heard of this and I am going to give you a friends number, she is an agent but knows some really good lenders that you can just call and ask about. She is willing to help anyone out even if you are not using her as an agent. Also I would not give one more penny to anyone until you find out why that is not the normal.

Truly,

J. H.
A very happy homeowner

Amy Hutchins
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Hello, what do they need the money for? The only thing we had to pay for other then the closing costs was a home inspection and the termite inspection, maybe $200.00 for both nothing more.

Ask what they need the money for before you give it to them and get a receipt. Make sure those items you paid for up front are not on the settlement sheet.

Is this a private sale or are you using a realtor? I don't have any experience with a private sale, I hope this info helps.

My advice for first time buyers is always the same; buy well below what you can afford. If you qualify for 200,000, you should buy something that is around 150,000. You can find mortgages that have no closing costs aside from the appraisal fee. A mortgage is a big deal and if you do not trust your broker, you need to find somebody else and postpone closing. Many brokers will give you the mortgage that pays the highest commission to them; rather than what is best for you. Usually your local credit union will have cheaper rates and better conditions than big mortgage companies. So shop around and fire your broker. If sellers are not willing to postpone closing; there are plenty more houses around.

Hi L., NO you should have a closing document that details out EVERYTHING you are to pay out. You can get that from your attorney. I would not pay another dime to anyone until they can provide this toyou and it should be a mutual aggrement between you and the seller as far as the costs involved.

K.

From my experience- since we just purchased a house this summer- is that it is expensive. The mortgage company was always saying they needed money for this and that- I guess it is all part of the buying a house thing- money for closing, money for the inspection etc. I wouldn't say you are getting screwed but your mortagage company should give you all the documents you ask for, also make sure you are getting a fixed interest rate- one that will not increase down the road.
I know it is a very stressful period. We have been in our home since July and I am still stressed from month to month. In the long road though- it is better than putting money into an apartment- you can at least write off the house at the end of the year. Hope this helps a little.
S.

I have bought two homes. We were never asked to pay anything til closing. We were bale to get any paper we asked for. They even gave us us papers as we did not know we needed them.

It sounds like you are being taken advantage of. I would look for another lender.

Hey L.- I work at a law firm that does real estate closings. Because people want to close as fast as possible, it CAN be very stressful and hectic, right up to the very end. This is NORMAL, but usually we try not to show how crazy it is. In the mean time, I would have some serious concerns if they are asking for money up-front. Closings always have more costs than people think, but they are typically done AT CLOSING, not charged before-hand. Costs people don't usually know about include: title search fees, appraisal fees, deed stamps, homeowners association dues, attorney's fees, etc. If your lender has told you about these and that you will be charged at closing, I wouldn't fret too much. If they just say you need to send them money RIGHT NOW for no reason whatsoever, I would have my doubts.

Don't know how quickly you want to close, but I would say you should be shopping around for a lender. There are many places that offer first-timers a special deal. Other places can do a "flat rate" closing to minimize the money you need up-front. Good luck!

No, this is not normal. It is normal for a company to ask for an appraisal fee and perhaps an application fee. I work for a mortgage company and there are no other upfront fees that are required. My advice is to change mortgage companies. There is nothing binding you to that company. Find a loan officer that makes you feel comfortable. Buying a home is one of the most important things you will do. Make sure it is an enjoyable experience not something that you get so stressed out over.

My husband and I just purchased a house in March of this year. All we had to put down was earnest money and nothing else. We told our mortgage officer that we were not putting any money down and they worked around that so we did not have to. My husband just plainly told them that if they could not do as we ask then we would find someone else to do it. I think that is what you need to do with your officer. I don't think you should be putting money down twice a week for anything. You can e-mail me at ____@____.com if you are in the columbia area and I would be glad to give you the person we used to do our mortgage. You could just talk with them and see what they have to say about your situation or switch all together. Hope everything works out for you.

L.,

What are they asking money for? Not being nosey, but when we purchased our house, we had to pay an application fee and we had to pay for any inspections on houses we were interested in. The inspections can be really expensive. I will say this...when we went to close it was twice the amount they told us we were going to have to pay up front. It's a very scary and frustrating process, but well worth it in the end. Good luck!

If you are a first time buyer i never heard of anything like this. We just purchased our house last year and we didnt have to pay any money until closing but it was only for the lawyer fee but that was it. nothing else out of our pocket. Getting your first house can be stressing. but i really think you need to look into that. My friend had a similar problem. the realtor gave her a house she couldnt afford. he was telling her dont worry about the payments all would be fine so pick out all the fixtures in the house paid extra for what she wanted. and come closing time she had to pay extra for something and that the sellers wouldnt go down on the price like the realtor had promised. so YES look see where your money is going and why are they needing so much money every week. hope this helps.

i think it's time to find a new lender! my husband and i have bought (and sold) two houses in the past 7 years and we've never had any lenders ask for more money then was agreed upon with the house contract. i'd say that if you're stressed out now, it may only get worse...try calling around to other banks or lending companies and ask them how they handle mortgages and try getting pre-approved from somewhere else before getting rid of the first company. but i'd really have to say that there could be some shady things going on with this company if you can't get paperwork that you request. that's just my opinion though! good luck!