What Kind of Loans do I have for You Today?

Are you looking to apply for a mortgage? You can simply apply by clicking this link to take you to the application. If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are purchasing a new home or refinancing their existing home, please forward this email to them or reply back to this email with their contact information. I greatly appreciate your referrals. I'll take excellent care of them!

Welcome and thanks for taking the time to check out my new blog. I am Terry Williams, The Mortgage Doctor, and I am back to give you the most accurate information out there when it comes to mortgage lending. 

Like a lot of my clients, I too have changed employers in the past year. I am now originating mortgages with ENG Lending, a division of The Bank of England, Arkansas. 

I chose ENG Lending partly because of their full portfolio of mortgage loan products. We are going to be discussing some of these lending programs here in the next few months, so keep an eye out! One is our suite of construction products, covering everything from new construction to remodeling and improvements. We are also going to discuss reverse mortgages for individuals 62 or older that could be a source of retirement income. 

In the meantime, I can help you with all types of lending including VA, USDA, and FHA. I can do mortgages in all 50 states! If you are looking for someone you can trust, call Terry Williams - The Mortgage Doctor!

Where's Terry? | Little Italy

Where’s Terry?

Today he’s taking a trip to Little Italy to kick off his new series that will highlight what makes your favorite Omaha neighborhoods special. As can be guessed by its name, Little Italy was historically home to Omaha’s Italian population and this heritage can still be seen today.

The area hosts the Festival of Santa Lucia each year to commemorate its history. The Santa Lucia Festival, originally started in Calentini, Sicily has been celebrated in Omaha every year since 1925. Grazia Caniglia immigrated from Carletini in 1900 and recreated the festival in an effort to deepen the Italian community’s faith in the new land. The festival honors St. Lucy, who died as a martyr and is the patron saint of the blind.

The Italian culture is also celebrated in Omaha each year at La Festa Italiana, which was voted the Omaha Magazine’s Best Festival in 2013 and returns this year August 29-31. The festival boasts a wide variety of authentic food and imported drinks to enjoy as well as cultural celebrations through traditional music and dance.

Today, Little Italy can be found on 10th Street, south of the Old Market. Right now is an exciting time to move to Little Italy, with several renovations in the works. In addition to residential properties, the historic Blue Barn Theater and Burlington Station are also undergoing impressive refurbishments.

If you would like to celebrate the Italian culture in Omaha, share your favorite Little Italy memories, or why you love the neighborhood, on this blog post, or in the comments of this Facebook post. The first five people to comment will receive a coupon for a free large house pizza from Toppers Pizza at 741 North 114th Street. The first five comments will be determined by the time of the post, and the giveaway will run until September 5th. Coupons will be mailed to the winners.

Keep your eyes out for Terry in your neighborhood and stay tuned to Where’s Terry? to win more prizes and discover what Omaha has to offer.

Getting Ready for the Offer

There are 2 components of your purchase offer that sometimes get overlooked in negotiations, but each has a significant effect on your mortgage. These 2 items should be considered when making your initial offer and reviewed during any counter offers. Even if you aren't borrowing money to purchase, these items should be taken into account.

The first is seller paid concessions.

When you negotiate the purchase price, you can also factor in seller paid costs as a way to lower the net price you pay. There are limitations on various loans, but generally you can have the seller pay between 3-6 percent of the purchase price towards your closing costs. Escrow items like prepaid taxes, home owners insurance, or mortgage insurance can also be paid   by the seller for you at closing. Also, other closing costs like appraisals, fees, discount points can all be paid by the seller on your behalf at closing. This greatly reduces your cash requirements to close as well as lowering your net purchase price.

The second is closing date.

Typically a closing date is scheduled 30-45 days from offer. But, there are a lot of other timeframes that can be negotiated for various reasons. When discussing closing dates, keep in mind the mortgage underwriting process. There needs to be adequate time given for proper appraisals, title work, etc. Usually 30 days is enough, but there can be mitigating circumstances that would delay this process and potential impact your ability to close on time. Always ask your mortgage originator how long he or she will need to close once a contract is accepted.

As always, if you have any questions, please send me a note or give me a call!