Important Questions to Ask Your Mortgage Banker

Although there are many questions that home buyers have when getting a home loan, there are some basic questions that are always important.

How much downpayment do I need to buy a house? If you are a veteran or buying in a rural area you can get 100% financing and seller can pay closing costs. If you are Native American you may be eligible for a Hud 184 loan. This loan requires as low as a 1.25% downpayment, depending on the amount of the loan. FHA requires a 3.5% downpayment, Conventional a 5% downpayment, and Investment loans a 20% downpayment.

What are Points/Origination Fees? Point and Origination Fees are additional fees paid at closing to lower your interest rate. 1 point is $1000.

How do I find out exactly what my closing costs, fees, and other things are when I am comparing mortgage companies and their rates? Ask for a Good Faith Estimate. Look at fee lines 800-900. Compare the rate, points/origination fee, and other items within that range.

What constitutes a rural development loan? It is all based on the population of an area. Owasso and Glenpool are still rural and are eligible for a rural development loan. The USDA Rural Development website can give you more information about an area you are interested in.

How do Mortgage Bankers get paid? My commission is based on the volume I produce. The more I produce the higher percentage I make.

Whether you are a first-time home buyer or have purchased before, no question is stupid. Remember that rules and regulations change and some requirements and information from your previous mortgage may not be the same. Always ask first rather than be sorry later.

If you have questions about a Tulsa, OK. mortgage, contact Karen Heston at BOK Mortgage, 918-230-9432 or http://kheston-boklo.mortgagewebcenter.com

Title Insurance??

Title insurance protects your claim of ownership of your property. When you buy Tulsa area real estate, you count on the paperwork being properly reviewed. One of the important parts of a mortgage transaction is the Title Opinion. When you get a "title opinion" from an attorney, that "title opinion" is simply the opinion of the attorney you hired. It is important however, it does not provide any insurance against errors made by the attorney or insurance against a later claim of error in the title. This is where Title Insurance comes into play.

If you purchase title insurance and someone later questioned your ownership of the property, the title insurance company would be required to come defend your title.

A few things to note:

• Title insurance only covers the period of time before your purchase of the property. It does not cover from the time you purchase and beyond.
• Sometimes "exceptions" can be listed in your title policy. These would be things that were known when the policy was written such as, your driveway or storage building being on the neighbor's property.
• Title problems are often called "clouds" which mean your ownership is not completely clear - someone could raise questions about it. Even if your ownership would not be lost, it can be expensive to remove the "cloud" on your title.
• Title issues can arise from forgeries, improper paperwork filing at the courthouse, incorrectly completed forms, deaths and bankruptcies, lawsuits between other parties, and many other unknown circumstances.

For more information about title insurance in Tulsa, OK, contact Karen Burnette, at FirsTitle, 918-493-2241 or www.firstitle.com.

Having Tulsa, OK. Title Problems? Contact Chuck Richardson of Richardson, Richardson, Boudreaux at 918-663-5070 or www.rrblawok.com.

For all your Tulsa, OK. area real estate needs, contact Darryl Baskin, McGraw Realtors, 918-258-2600 or www.darrylbaskin.com.