Miklndenver

My current home was purchased in 2005. I have a first mortgage balance of 286K at 5.5%fixed that will go ARM in Sept 2008. Second mortgage 71K at 10.45%fixed. Total owed is approx $357K. I am wanting roughly $30K to use in finishing my walkout basement, bringing total sq ft to 4000 while adding a bedroom and full bath. I also plan to expand my current deck. I am guessing current market value is only $383K per zillow. Are there any lenders that could refinance my second mortgage at an appraised value of greater than 100% based on finishing basement? My credit standing has improved considerably since purchasing home. Hopefully 680plus but figure it's around 650ish. My only other option for raising $30K would be another LOC on my small business. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Michael

Tried for a second time in six mos. Did not fill out personal guarantee info. Unsure of my Business Paydex rating. All I have currently, is AMEX Gold for business which I applied with my Tax ID#. Have my business phone line and some little net 30 Accts. I requested $10,000 line on the app, I received the dreaded call us 24hrs a day msg as we need more info. The woman was very polite. Verified my business address/name and told me unfortunately she was unable to approve me for $10,000 but would $5,000 be ok? I had to work hard to contain myself and uttered a YES that would be fine. I am starting a P/T landscaping business this Summer and can really use this. Hope this will help someone else out as well. Thanks for everything CreditBoards

I apologize that this will be a condensed version due to me wanting to give readers an insight on my personal hardships. If you have any questions feel free to PM or email Miklnco@yahoo.com. I don't claim to be good at writing, but I made myself a promise to share my story when my goals were met. Life threw my wife and I some devastating blows a few years past. In early 2002, I made the decision to move my family to the Denver Suburbs from Oklahoma City. I was out visiting my sis on vacation and fell in love with the area. With no job prospects at all and $14K in a 401K, I told my wife what I wanted to do and she backed me up(thinking im crazy no less). I figured $14K would get us by six mos and I wouldnt have a problem finding work. The money was gone in about four mos and I was still unemployed. I finally landed a great job with the same OK company, just in Denver and things were looking up. My wife was given a full time position with a company she was temping at and things were going great. I had fell behind one payment on our 99 Suburban but made arrangements with GMAC to make up the two payments on the following Tues. They agreed and even said all was fine on Mon but still came and repo'd that same night. Within one week, my company went bankrupt. My wife was involved in a serious accident(not her fault). She was unable to work for six mos. I quickly found work, not wanting to put us in the same situation we were in earlier in the year. The job was great and offered me lots of hours to make some headway. Our credit was in the low 500's. Numerous collections, repo, medical bills and no open credit accounts. I couldn't even get a checking account. That's when I ran across CreditBoards. I spent countless hours up late reading every post I could. I was determine to change the lifestyle my family lived. I bought Microsoft Money and stuck to a very strict budget. Tracking every dollar we spent. In the meantime my wife got better and started working through a temp service again. I was able to open a checking/savings account and continued working on my credit disputes and paying off what I could. I then concentrated on getting a credit card. I was able to get a Household Mastercard with a $200 limit. Followed by Target, Chevron, Jared Jewelers, etc. I paid EVERYTHING on credit and either paid in full at the end of the month or at least $50/monthly. Then following Marvbear's advice tried Chrysler for an 04 PT Cruiser. It was approved no prob. My wife told me she would be permanent status at her job very soon. Six mos later, I was making good money and wanted to buy my wife a nice, safe vehicle. I applied to HSBC auto finance and they told me I was approved for $41K...ROFLMAO. One week, and twenty different vehicle test drives later I bought my wife an 04 BMW 325. The following weekend my wife got a call and they told her she was laid off. I told her to keep the faith and call the temp agency Monday. She did and they landed her a temp job with a major employer. She loved the job and was hired full time a few months later. My credit score was now in the low 600's. We started looking at houses figuring we might be able to buy in a few years. After countless hours on the mortgage forum we decided to have a new home built. Most mortgage brokers told us no way could we qualify with our credit scores. I kept knocking on doors and reading. Long story short we secured financing through Countrywide (3yr ARM) and moved into our 4000sq ft home three mos ago. Another goal was to start a small business on the side. I read everything I could on the business forum and now have a small home based business license, phone, 3 cell phones, Home Depot Card and just yesterday was approved for AMEX gold for business. My point......don't give up, knowledge is power. You reap what you sow. Finally, I must give credit to the Man upstairs. Through all the bad, and good times, I have remained in constant prayer and always give thanks to God. He helped me through it all. I couldn't have acheived my accomplishments if it were not for the people responsible for CreditBoards and God. Thanks Creditboards!!!

Being that I'm paying $18K for closing costs, is there any way to negotiate with them to remove the prepayment penalties?

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate your time with this matter and will advise her to go this route. Thanks again

Can one of the pros review this GFE and advise? Prop Value $180000 Current balance $8000 She wants to refinance for $60000 ie payoff existing and pocket $50K. Credit scores 720plus. I advised her to try existing lender BOA as they have discounted closing costs for current customers. Total estimated charges $2027.00 plus ppds of $1217.00 15yr fixed, Loan amount $59852 Interest rate 5.75% but on Truth in lending disclosure it says APR 5.968% with P&I of 497.02/mo. Could she do much better going through another broker or Lender? Please point me in the right direction as she wants loan to fund in about three weeks. I'm unsure where to go? E-loans, etc? The only other concern is she is hoping to stay with the same lender and avoid someone that will continue selling the loan, thats why I recommended BOA. Thanks for your time.

Thanks again for the input. I think credit007 brings up a very educated response to my current situation. Update - called another broker(not Richmond affiliated)and they were able to offer same type loan but .5% discounted for a 1st mortgage rate of 5.5%. I called back the Richmond broker and told him I need to cancel. Talk about state of panic. He called me back that afternoon to advise he could honor the same deal. He tells me not to pay any bills off but rather bring the funds to closing and they will pay them. Also, advised against me having anyone pull my credit as that could tank my score. Sounds like he doesnt want me shopping around or trying to improve my score in order to lock me into this program. He said I would be better off taking a 3/27 rather than a 2/28 as this would allow me more time to improve credit and prop value. Now tell me if I'm wrong in thinking i can be 680plus in about a year, find a 90%LTV fixed and bite the bullet and pay $10K in prepayment penalties to secure a good loan. BTW, i got suckered into leaving him a check for $350 for the appraisal fee that won't be cashed until closing(in other words, so I won't go elsewhere. Thoughts?

Appreciate the advice and ideas. I have went to another broker and will have a second opinion today. I do have approx $40K to use for closing, paying off bills, and move in expenses. I'll keep u advised. Thanks again.

any ideas???

New Home Construction - Purchase price $357K Due to close 9/21. We have spec'd house out and gave builder $4000 earnest money. Richmond Home Mortgage wouldn't secure financing due to mid score of 606. They have referred me to one of their local brokers. Bottom line is Broker has told me I need to payoff all debt(besides primary vehicle)which is approx. $6500 in order to be at a 54%DTI. I also need to buy down points to receive this int rate in order to have a payment that will work with DTI. 1st Mortgage - $286032 3yr I/O fixed 6.050% (3% prepayment penalties) Orig Fee 1.5% 4290.48 Disc Fee 2.5% 7150.80 2nd Mortgage - $71,508 30yr fixed 10.75% no pre pay penalty Total Estimated Settlement Charges $18420.46 plus payoff $6500 debt = $24920 less $4000 earnest. Total investment to purchase home $20920 Monthly payment with T&I $2479.05 Broker is advising this is the only way to go with current credit situation. Do I take their word for it or should I approach other brokers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Michael

Nationpoint is a direct lender. I went through their pre-approval and qualified for $340K. My experience was very positive. Talk to Senior loan officer Heath, he is very knowledgeable and helpful. Try a search for Nationpoint. Best of luck to you. BTW, my mid score was only 602.

Applied online with Nationpoint.com about a week ago. 10mins after I submitted my info with them, I get a phone call. Heath tells me I qualify for their 100% I/O program for $340K by 2points(middle score 602). The loan went to underwriting for approx one week. It was approved by the skin of my teeth. The DTI they allowed is 55%. Loan approval was with stipulation that I pay off approx 12K of debt. With my current situation, this lender is very competitive. I won't need funds for approx 6mos due to its a new home construction. This will allow me to raise my scores further. Thanks to the Creditboards for helping me acheive my goals. I just wanted to pass this info along to help others in similar situations. I realize there are other lenders that offer similar programs but my experience with Nationpoint and Heath have been outstanding. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

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If the Oasis card is the secured program Optima it will not be reported to the CRA's. You are establishing credit history with AMEX though. Didn't help her situation and she paid good on it for five years. YMMV

Worst problem is the repo(over two yrs old, my employer went BK)I had it removed from TU. DV letter two weeks ago to OC and still no response. Three collections from four yrs ago that reaged to end of 04 bal under $1000. Reestablished some new credit accounts that are under six mos old. Just found this Forum six mos ago and have been able to raise scores quite a bit. Too many inquiries. Had a car loan thru Chrysler for 5mos last year, it never has reported(paid in full). New car loan five mos ago, with perfect pay but I didn't use my head. Should have went for a house before the new BMW. Live and learn. My current situation is the builder is waiting for my earnest money of $3500. They said they will provide in writing if I am unable to secure financing(1st thru their mortgage co Richmond Homes, then their broker, finally they will use mine)they will refund me the earnest money less $250. So, in other words I have about six months until home is complete to secure the best mortgage I can find. My mortgage loan is in underwriting until Mon or Tues, I'll keep ya posted.