Shopping for a mortgage

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Old 08-08-2017, 06:30 AM
Maverick46 Maverick46 is offline
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Default Shopping for a mortgage

In less than a month we will begin our search for our new home in the Villages. We know from previous experiences that the mortgage company plays a big part in this transaction and that there are both good and bad mortgage companies out there.

We were hoping that someone who has knowledge of the local banks/mortgage companies could give us some advice on which companies to talk to about securing a mortgage and which ones to stay away from.

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Old 08-08-2017, 07:32 AM
larbud larbud is offline
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Cheryl with Bank of America does a great job.352-408-5873
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Old 08-08-2017, 07:45 AM
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Citizens is trustworthy but not the cheapest. You WILL close at the very day, hour, second, they told you...if you are building, however. If another lender holds up your closing, there are fines and they will be levied.
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Old 08-08-2017, 07:45 AM
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There are important points to ponder. Are you buying a newly constructed home, are you building, or are you buying a previously owned home?

If newly constructed, you will obligate yourself to a closing date within 30 or 40 days (I do not remember which) of when you commit to the purchase. The mortgage company must meet that closing date or you will incur late charges from the Villages. Make sure you are pre-approved before obligating yourself to a purchase. Make sure there are no questions whether you can qualify for the loan. A lot of people use Citizens First Wholesale Mortgage, which a owned by the developer, because they will ensure meeting the closing date. There are probably other companies that have a better interest rate and lower closing costs, but I have not had experience with them. But pre-qualify for sure.
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Old 08-08-2017, 07:47 AM
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If you want a smooth transaction without too much stress I would highly recommend Citizens First Bank in The Villages. As long as you have 20% to put down and you have good credit you will never regret choosing them. Good luck and happy house hunting!
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Old 08-08-2017, 07:47 AM
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Used Citizens first 4 years ago, went very smoothly. IMHO, go to lending tree, and get the typical rates, then talk to LOCAL (Villages area) banks. Make sure which ever mortgage company you decide to deal with has dealt with Florida, and with the villages, I recall some stories on this site with problems when using 'online' or out of state mortgage companies. At the time that we got our mortgage, Citizens First was very competitive. Also, there are some significant closing costs, since you state you are buying a new home, the villages sales agent should be able to give to an estimate of all of the costs. If you were not made aware, there will be a BOND associated with the new home, it is NOT tax deductible, we just paid ours off.
Hope this helps, and welcome to The Villages.
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Old 08-08-2017, 08:44 AM
Maverick46 Maverick46 is offline
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Sorry, I should have stated that we are buying a previously owned home, not building or buying a new one.
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Old 08-08-2017, 09:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maverick46 View Post
Sorry, I should have stated that we are buying a previously owned home, not building or buying a new one.
I'm not sure why you are asking us. We have all been through it but, did it years ago.

A lender today will often, confuse you with all the numbers, points etc. BY LAW they need to tell you the APR so you can compare apples to apples.

My view-YOU need to hire people on YOUR SIDE-a home inspector-cost about $600-an atty-cost about $800. The broker who you may believe is your friend is a commissioned salesperson. Do not allow yourself to be boxed in on either side. Everything you said while driving around with the broker they know. Well based on what we've seen this is a great deal. She should not but probably has shared that with her friend the broker representing the seller.

THE BOND-an interesting and foreign concept to us when be bought our house NEW. The bond which far as I know is calculated, set, based on the value of your home. Value of your home is of course based on what the builder and developer think they can sell it for. In our case the bond was approximately 6% extra on the price we paid for the home. Too many people buy and do not understand this.
Also, as someone else stated the interest is not a tax deduction and the interest is at a higher rate than your mortgage.
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Old 08-08-2017, 09:38 AM
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I too recommend using Citizens First if it's a new home. Their rates were competitive and/but as already stated, some of their fees (mortgage insurance) were a bit high. But they understand The Villages (since they are part of it) and can close on time and with penalty. Also, they have a little deal that you can make lump sum payments later and for a small fee, $175 as I recall, they will refigure the payment over the remaining life of the loan.

I recently got a small mortgage (LTV of 28%) from a local bank in VA which took 8 weeks because "I don't have income" (read RETIRED). A true joke.

For peace of mind on a new purchase, just use Citizens First.
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Old 08-08-2017, 10:07 AM
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[QUOTE=suesiegel;1433682]I'm not sure why you are asking us. We have all been through it but, did it years ago.


Sorry, thought the whole purpose of this thread was to give new Villagers a chance to ask questions. Didn't mean to bother you.
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Old 08-08-2017, 11:29 AM
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You may already have a sales agent or broker with whom you want to work. A great deal of information on your question and homes sales is in former threads but the gist of it is (and you already may know all this) The Villages operates its own listing service separate from MLS companies. If you are looking to purchase existing homes owned by individuals I would suggest you find a good MLS agent to act as your buyer's agent for MLS listed properties in addition to using a Villages agent for VLS properties - and I do not know if a VLS agent can/will act as a buyer's agent for existing properties. As above stated and you no doubt already know new homes can only be sold by TV's agents.

Now as for obtaining a mortgage...if I were looking at preowned homes I would definitely shop hard for the best rate. After all, money is a commodity. Shop locally but also on the internet. Sometimes a surprising deal pops up! If I were going to buy a new home I would just go with Citizen's First as the money will be there on time for closing. If the Citizen's rate is a bit high you can always re-fi when you find a better deal. In any case good luck and best wishes for your successful purchase and financing!
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Old 08-08-2017, 12:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by suesiegel View Post
I'm not sure why you are asking us. We have all been through it but, did it years ago.

A lender today will often, confuse you with all the numbers, points etc. BY LAW they need to tell you the APR so you can compare apples to apples.

My view-YOU need to hire people on YOUR SIDE-a home inspector-cost about $600-an atty-cost about $800. The broker who you may believe is your friend is a commissioned salesperson. Do not allow yourself to be boxed in on either side. Everything you said while driving around with the broker they know. Well based on what we've seen this is a great deal. She should not but probably has shared that with her friend the broker representing the seller.

THE BOND-an interesting and foreign concept to us when be bought our house NEW. The bond which far as I know is calculated, set, based on the value of your home. Value of your home is of course based on what the builder and developer think they can sell it for. In our case the bond was approximately 6% extra on the price we paid for the home. Too many people buy and do not understand this.
Also, as someone else stated the interest is not a tax deduction and the interest is at a higher rate than your mortgage.
No. The correct answers are found on the District web site.

The Bond Debt Assessment was set at the time the bond used to build the infrastructure was issued. The formula for calculating each lot’s proportionate share starts with the total cost of the bond (including interest) issued to pay for the infrastructure. That cost is divided equally among each assessable acre in the “phase” of the District for which the bond was issued. That gives you a cost per acre. The cost per acre is then multiplied by the number of acres in the unit in which you live. That gives you the obligation for the unit as a whole. The unit total cost is then divided by the number of lots or parcels in the unit, and that computation gives you the amount of the assessment levied against each property. Therefore, each lot within a unit pays the same amount. Amortization schedules for each unit are located on the Districts' website; Village Community Development Districts under the Finance Department link.
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Old 08-08-2017, 10:54 PM
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Maverick46,

Thank you for posting that question; us TV wannabees can use all the information we can get. And I hope your house hunting trip is successful, and you find the home of your dreams. Post on TOTV when you find your new home in The Villages. For now I live vicariously when other people go from TV wannabees to Villagers.
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Old 08-09-2017, 06:00 AM
Maverick46 Maverick46 is offline
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Thanks to everyone once again for taking the time to provide suggestions/answers to my question. Our current house is sold, closing date is August 31. Everything seems fine, but I've heard horror stories about things going terribly wrong at closing and that just gives us one more thing to worry about. We will arrive in TV on Sept 1 and begin our new journey. We've rented a house for two months to allow us time to find our dream home in TV. Packing/storing/throwing away/moving everything that we've accumulated over the past 30 years has proven to be quite stressful. I'm still working full time on top of everything else and trying to manage, along with my wonderful wife, all the details necessary to complete everything that must be done. Nothing new, I'm sure many folks have gone through the very same thing. We are already pre-approved by Citizens, the rate is OK, but not great. The purpose for my question was that I was just wondering if there were more favorable alternatives out there. Thanks again for your time, your answers to all of my questions have been very helpful for us.
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Old 08-09-2017, 06:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by suesiegel View Post
I'm not sure why you are asking us. We have all been through it but, did it years ago.

A lender today will often, confuse you with all the numbers, points etc. BY LAW they need to tell you the APR so you can compare apples to apples.

My view-YOU need to hire people on YOUR SIDE-a home inspector-cost about $600-an atty-cost about $800. The broker who you may believe is your friend is a commissioned salesperson. Do not allow yourself to be boxed in on either side. Everything you said while driving around with the broker they know. Well based on what we've seen this is a great deal. She should not but probably has shared that with her friend the broker representing the seller.

THE BOND-an interesting and foreign concept to us when be bought our house NEW. The bond which far as I know is calculated, set, based on the value of your home. Value of your home is of course based on what the builder and developer think they can sell it for. In our case the bond was approximately 6% extra on the price we paid for the home. Too many people buy and do not understand this.
Also, as someone else stated the interest is not a tax deduction and the interest is at a higher rate than your mortgage.
You're mistaken on the bonding amount and how it is calculated.

The bond is based on the total value of the development bonds issued for the area. This amount is then divided by the number of assessable acres in the area. Now multiply this amount by the number of acres in your subdivision/unit. This gives the total bond amount for the unit. Divide this amount by the number of homes in the unit. This will give you the amount of the bond for each home in a unit or subdivision. All homes pay the same bond amount in a unit, regardless of home value or lot size.

Using this calculation you will see that the bond amount varies considerably across The Villages. Premier homes have bigger lots resulting in fewer homes for a unit's acreage and higher bond amounts. CYVs and Patio Villas bond amount are substantially less because the home lots are smaller, closer together, and have less acreage devoted to roads which are included in the calculations.

Again, the value/cost of the home at initial build or resale has no impact on the bond amount within a subdivision/unit. A $500K premier home on a standard size lot interior lot will pay the exact same bond amount as a $1.5M premier home on a corner waterfront in the same unit.

This same calculation method is used to determine the annual maintenance assessments that are also included in your annual property tax bill from the county.

Some have said that this puts an unfair burden on homeowners on a Premier community and an unfair advantage to CYV and Patio Villa community homeowners. On an individual basis this may be so however as a community, all are burdened the same.

Normally the infrastructure development costs are incorporated into the cost of each home based on whatever allocation methodology the builder decides and they are on the hook for some of these costs until the last home sells. Depending on the costs and the developer this can represent a substantial burden they need to carry and can result in lesser quality as a project stretches to its close as they try to get the last of their investments out of the properties.

The bonding method used in The Villages results in a known and specific cost burden distribution for each home. This also relieves the builder of a substantial financial impact and allows the focus to be on building a consistent product and not just trying to make their money back by selling out the development. The can focus their money on building homes and not on roads and sewer pipes.

Once a bond is issued the developer is responsible for paying back the bond or finding someone else to pay it. In this case the developer pays the bond costs on unsold properties, developed or not, and the new homeowner pays the bond on their purchased property. This is one of the reasons that CDD10 has two bond phases. CDD10 has taken nearly 5 years to build out. The first bond series covered the western half development and the second covers the costs for the eastern portion on CDD10.

The assertion that the bonds are just the developer being greedy are, in my opinion, unjust. You as a home buyer will pay the cost of the infrastructure one way or another. The bonding method used removes substantial risk and burden from the developer making it more likely quality and stability are maintained. It does transfer risk to the CDD that carries the bond and to its residents, but these risks appear to be mitigated buy a strong and financially stable company being able to complete the development as planned. Imagine the impact if halfway through the Fenney development the company ran out of money to finish the roads and utilities, it would devastate the home values in the community and the development would stagnate or another builder would come in and "finish" the project with a different set of ideals and character. This has happened to a great many developments across the country, rarely with a positive outcome to the homeowners.

The last point about the interest rate of the bonding is itself a topic for much discussion. The bottom line is however that you can pay it off any time you want, roll it into your mortgage if you bank will allow, or refinance it at whatever rate you can find. It generally only represents about 5% or less of the average home costs of a unit.
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