[Swampy]

Hi All: Marsha and I are finally taking the plunge into the Frog Pond, and our closing on a new home in Fernandina is scheduled for July. Due to the fact that our home here up North is not yet sold, we are going to need a mortgage loan to supply the balance of our purchase price at our July closing. I'd appreciate hearing from other TVers that have within the last year gotten FL mortgages on new homes. Our financial qualification should not be an issue, but I am concerned about dealing with lenders with whom I am not familiar, reliability of meeting the closing date (and not trying to rip us off with some scam) being my main concerns.
Within 24 hours of signing our final papers and making our final pre-closing deposit with The Villages sales staff we received a call from Citizens First Wholesale Mortgage Co (CFWM) offering its services for our mortgage. As we all know, CFWM is a Morse entity, and is well known for reliable service. However, CFWM also charges very high origination, application and miscellaneous closing fees. Those same charges are not charged by many of the FL and National mortgage lending companies. The interest rates charged by CFWM are competitive with other lenders, but those costs and fees amount to a couple thousand dollars at settlement.
I'd appreciate hearing from fellow TVers with the identity of other mortgage lenders (other than CFWM) that delivered on time and for the prices promised.

Swampy

[patfla06]

We are in the same position and used Citizens.
Very professional and wonderful to work with.

Bank of America had lower rates but thought it was just easier to
deal with Citizens.

[BettyCrocked]

Have you considered a mortgage or refi on your home up north? We did this and found it much easier since we were dealing locally and could shop rates more conveniently. This way, when we decide to sell our home we just pay off the mortgage and move into our paid for home in tv.
We also wanted to avoid Citizens because of their higher rates and a couple of other bad experiences we'd heard about.

[keithwand]

Citizens did a very good job for us and you know the house will appraise and you will close on time.
Very professional and helpful.

[cgalloway6]

We did a refi on our home in IL to pay for the first house we bought in TV. When we sold the first TV house and built another, we used BB&T. Since we were several years from retirement and moving down full time, they suggested a 7 year ARM which had lower rates and gave us 7 years to sell our IL house and pay off the loan. CFWM called and quoted but BB&T was much lower. We also looked at Suntrust, Wells Fargo and Primelending. You can visit 4 or 5 right in a row on 466.

[Bavarian]

We used Suntrust. Got mortgage originated up North. Much cheaper then Citizens or others. No problems at all.

[janmcn]

Originally Posted by Bavarian

We used Suntrust. Got mortgage originated up North. Much cheaper then Citizens or others. No problems at all.

I also used Suntrust when I bought my first house in The Villages back in 2000 and likewise had no problems at all. My second house I used Countrywide, which is no longer in business, with no problems at all.

Paperwork on closings are all handled electronically these days, so getting things done in a timely manner should not be a problem with any reputable lender.

My advice would be don't be coerced into paying more money for the same product you can buy cheaper elsewhere. It's just good common sense.

[Bonnevie]

and I'm closing this week with Citizens...they haven't been very timely and even say they can't give me the final dollar amount I'll need to bring until late in the day before the closing. They are doing so many closings, I think they are so behind.....I wish I could have used someone else but I had to close in 30 days though other places said they usually do it, they couldn't guarantee it.

[rp001]

My second home in the Villages..the first was financed through PNC and it was a horrific experience..Just sold that one and moved to a newer one and used Citizens. I bought it from a MLS realtor so the closing was outside the reservation..It was a very pleasant experience. In my life I've had 10 homes financed in Fl and this was the easiest by far.

[shotgun233]

I would consider a home equity loan on your current house. It is not a new mortgage, just line of credit loan against the equity in your present home. Cost should be very little, perhaps $500.00, since the bank only has to do an appraisal on your current home. Interest rate should be relatively low. If you have enough equity in your current house, you could pay cash for your TV house. When the “up north” house sells, you will be required to pay off the equity loan as well as any outstanding mortgage you have. In the mean time, the monthly payments on the home equity loan would only be 1 to 1-1/2 percent of the amount of the loan.

[Finallyfree]

We used citizens, one reason we could pay down the mortgage once our other house closed for $175.00 fee and NO refinance. You can do this once a year if you choose to. We had no issues and no higher closing costs on our new build than if we had gone elsewhere. We are very satisfied. In addition, they do not sell mortgages off, they hold and service them permanently.

[mickey100]

We found Citizens to have higher interest rates than other companies. We went with a bank we found online, and had no trouble closing by the required date.

[Blessed2BNTV]

We used BOA last August with a rate of 2.75%. Closed in 24 days.

Just sold our home in Atlanta (house on market for 48 hours before getting the first of our full price offer).

Close in 3 weeks and as Dave Ramsey says - we are debt free (including bond)!

Will be renting in Atlanta (we are not retired yet). We will be renting our TV home for January - March which will just about pay for our rent in Atlanta.

Plan is to be a FROG in 2 years.

Will be down in TV end of May for a week and counting the days!

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by LillyD

We used BOA last August with a rate of 2.75%. Closed in 24 days.

Just sold our home in Atlanta (house on market for 48 hours before getting the first of our full price offer).

Close in 3 weeks and as Dave Ramsey says - we are debt free (including bond)!

Will be renting in Atlanta (we are not retired yet). We will be renting our TV home for January - March which will just about pay for our rent in Atlanta.

Plan is to be a FROG in 2 years.

Will be down in TV end of May for a week and counting the days!

LillyD, Congratulations on the quick sale of your house. And enjoy your home in Duval. Before you know it you will be croaking...

[asianthree]

have used both BOA and Citizens better rates with BOA, less hassle with Citizens