Lehigh Valley Real Estate - Tips 4 Homeowners, Buyers & Agents

Lehigh Valley Mortgage & Lehigh Valley Real Estate – What should you know about Closing Costs and what is a Good Faith Estimate? You really need to know and be prepared before you start just looking.

We will show you what you need to know to protect your credit and also find the best Mortgage Advisor Services in the Lehigh Valley
Please welcome my guest writer and Local Mortgage Advisor,  Melissa Falcone with Allied Home Mortgage Corporation in Bethlehem.

View this Topic by Video – But make sure to review some of the information below as we have included links to other important references you should know about Foreclosures.

The Lehigh Valley Home Buyer closing costs consist of fees that are charged by the lender, title company, REALTORS®, mortgage brokers,  the government, and any reimbursement to the seller for property real estate taxes already paid. 

These closing costs also include what are called your pre-paid items, which include your per diem interest (meaning the interest paid for each day from the day you close until the end of the month), and will include your escrow of taxes. 

These fees may vary according to the purchase price of your Lehigh Valley Home, meaning the higher price of the home, the higher the closing costs will be.

The final dollar amount of your closing costs will not be determined until a couple days prior to closing so in order for you to have a ball park figure as to what you will be financially responsible for, you will need to be provided with a Good Faith Estimate from a Lehigh Valley Mortgage Advisor. 

A Good Faith Estimate is simply that, an estimate of costs.  These are not exact figures, just an estimate.   This document should be provided to you upon your initial Pre-qualification process and then again when you are interested in making an offer on a home.  You cannot make an offer on a home without know an estimate of all possible charges and fee’s.

This Good Faith Estimate will list all the closing costs and pre-paid items.  It will also include your down payment amount and projected monthly payment.  This document should be reviewed with you by your Buyer Agent and Mortgage Advisor.  It can be very confusing for a Lehigh Valley Home Buyer and it is not expected that it will be clear to you how to read this document.

You will initially receive Estimated Closing Costs from your Lehigh Valley REALTOR®.  However, this estimate may not include lender fees or mortgage broker fees.  I would recommend ALL Lehigh Valley Home Buyers obtain another Good Faith Estimate from your Mortgage Advisor to view as well.

Please know that should the purchase price, real estate taxes, or down payment amount change, I highly recommend you obtain a new Good Faith Estimate and review the costs as these changes may increase or decrease your closing costs.

The last thing you want at settlement is to be surprised that you will need to bring thousands more than you planned on bring to the table.

Lehigh Valley Home Buyers have told us that the following additional Topics where also helpful to them when thinking about buying a home in our area.  Pre-Qualification vs Pre-Approval, How When and Why to get pre-qualified? And Key Elements to the Mortgage Approval Process.

* Lehigh Valley Mortgage: Closing Costs & What is a Good Faith Estimate?* Moriah Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License