As of July 30, 2009 a lender may no longer collect any upfront fees from a borrower other than the cost of a credit report. There must be a four day period where the initial bank disclosures get mailed to the client until the loan becomes- shall we say “real”. After that period of time, the borrower will  be asked for money to cover the application fee and cost of the appraisal. So, borrower beware: do not write out a check with the loan application.  

• The cost of a credit report should be no more than $23.
• An application fee should be no more than 350-400 (cost to put the loan together and get that approval)
• Appraisals cost approximately $370 for a single family house and are typically paid by credit card (the borrowers)

 This week is over with some more rain in New York. The stock market looks good, interest rates went down and they already ran out of cash for the clunkers!  Maybe things are looking up…..but don’t make any quick decisions on real estate just yet!   Dale Siegel

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