megawhizz's Discussions

My lender is offerring me a free floatdown i.e. if the rates drop by 0.25% between now and 10 days before closing, he will drop the rate. Seems like a good deal, except that I have to take his word that the rates have dropped. His website does not list the rates, so I assume that whenever I call him after hearing about market changes, he will just say "well OUR rates are still the same"... Any thoughts?

I am buying a home from this lady who claims that the roof was redone in 2005. However, the work was performed by her ex-father-in-law (a contractor), and she is no longer friendly with him. Also she has no papers for the warranty, etc. on the shingle. The roof appears to be in great condition and consistent with her story, but I am wary about who I would approach in case the roof develops problems. What do people here suggest I do?

Great advice, people. Thanks! The seller agreed to get the papers from her father-in-law, and agreed to pay for a roof inspector in case the papers are not available. Seems pretty confident, saying that she will pay for a new roof in case the inspector says that the roof is not a 30-year shingle!

Thanks for everybody's input. My lender offers the floatdown with no apparent extra fee, either during the application or when the floatdown acutally occurs. The way I see it is that I have really nothing to lose, if the rates fall then I get a better rate, otherwise I lose nothing. His rate was almost identical to every other lender I spoke with, just some minor differences in closing costs was what it came down to. My question was more about how do I actually confirm that I am eligible to float down - i.e. how do I find out if rates have actually dropped? The lender's website does not have a realtime feed of rates, so I am at his mercy to call me and tell me "our rates have dropped so I locked you in at a lower rate". I think that is a conflict of interest as they will make less money off my loan if it does float down... I am currently locked for 30d at 5.5% with one point buydown, and lender has promised to change the rate immediately to 5.25% if the rates were to fall this low between today and 10d before closing. Any input is appreciated.

I am in the process of buying a house, and approached an insurance agent to ask about homeowner's insurance. The agent tells me that a home of this size has to have a coverage amount of almost 50% more than what I am payng for it! E.g. if I buy the house at $200k, I have to get dwelling coverage for $300k just because of sq. footage... Is this reasonable? What will this mean - if the new house burns down, will they pay $300k for a brand new house? And how does this work with my mortgage company - do they care at all (as long as the insured value is at least equal to the mortgage)

We just purchased a home listed on Zillow, and wish to remove any access the realtor had to the listing. How can I do this? I have been able to update my home facts, delete the description, change the status to "Sold" but have not been able to remove the pictures that she had put up, and want to make sure that she cannot get in later to change any of the info.

The property in question is 6236 Bromley Ct, West Bloomfield MI. The images are still present, and I believe the agent Kmanoogian still has access to the listing.