Edgewood, WA Real Estate Blog

If I had my way, I’d have every one of my buyer clients seeking a home loan read a couple of books. Notwithstanding that my clients pay me for advice, counsel, and education, it would be difficult for me to provide the in-depth background knowledge you can get if you’re willing to go back to school and ‘crack the books.’

The first is Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers by Carolyn Warren. Rhonda Porter over at The Mortgage Porter has already posted a fine review. I concur with her comments although I’m not sure of her issues with the description of YSP (yield spread premium).

The second book I’d recommend is Mortgage Confidential: What You Need to Know That Your Lender Won’t Tell You by David Reed.

Both books cover much the same material about the ins and outs of the loan business, albeit in a different fashion. After reading both, any buyer seeking a home loan will be well prepared.

I always counsel my buyers that when you’re buying a home, it’s pretty much “what you see is what you get” (after the home inspection). With a home loan, you really don’t know what you’ve got until you’re at the closing table (although you can get some idea if you can review the HUD-1 first). And you might not know until sometime after closing if you don’t read and review the documents you should.

For those buyers not relying on an experienced expert agent for advice and guidance (nor already using a real mortgage professional like Rhonda), just spend the time and read the books.

If you’re an agent wanting to improve your expertise with respect to home loans, you’ll also be well served reading either or both.

There’s a lot of turmoil in the mortgage business right now, and some of the more egregious loan offers/procedures are no longer an issue… although you’d never know it from the dozen or so different ‘come-on’ radio commercials for mortgages I still hear every day offering no closing costs, no appraisal fee, etc… (what’s with that anyway??).

Buyers, you don’t know what you don’t know. You’re easy prey if you go loan shopping nude.