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Title: Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers: An Industry Insider Explains How to Save Thousands on Your Mortgage or Re-Finance
ISBN: 0470097833
Author:
Carolyn Warren
Publicate Date: 2007-05-04
Publish: 2007-05-04
List Price: $17.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.83
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $8.59
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.21
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| Customer Review: |
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1: You're lucky you found this book.
We are trying to buy our first home. I felt like a grammar school student in college as I approached lenders to finance our purchase. Quickly I sought knowledge to recognize a forthright lender. Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers bestows such understanding and confidence that I soon pleasantly sifted through the chaff to find the wheat. Yes I found a ROCKSTAR! (a lender that passed the tests Carolyn sets forth to find a great rate and great terms).
Shopping for a mortgage can be more difficult than finding the right home. Several lenders turned out to be slick used car salesman types. Keep in mind that when you are buying a house you are buying two things, the house and the mortgage. Moreover, the cost of the mortgage (the total interest paid over the life of the loan) is most often greater than the cost of the house. So, getting a good deal on the mortgage is VERY important and requires a forthright lender. Once I found a lender that I had a fair amount of trust in I started to relax and enjoy the idea of buying our home.
Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers was an easy read. I read the book in two days. It is easy to understand and I enjoyed reading it. Write notes and use sticky notes to mark the pages you find most important. There is no doubt that this book saved me THOUSANDS.
I also recommend Mortgages for Dummies and Home Buying for Dummies. Mortgages for Dummies answered the basic questions like what are the pros and cons of using a direct lender VS mortgage broker. I also highly recommend buying the weekly poles of mortgage rates in your area from HSHdotCOM (not easy to find on their site - just call its easier) HSH provides an accurate list of very competitive mortgage rates in your area for about ten bucks, they've been providing industry grade data for 30 years. Also, publications like The New York Times, WSJ, BusinessWeek etc... often use HSH as a source of objective financial data. You can use one of the lenders on the list as your bank or use the information to compare your quoted rates with.
However, if I had to choose just ONE source of information to help me buy a mortgage it would defiantly be Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers. You're lucky you found this book.
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2: More hype than substance
An interesting book with some some amusing anecdotes. But generally, more hype than substance. She could have summarized the book in about 10 pages. Good for entertainment though.
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3: Excellent book!
Very helpful book on mortgages. Very well put together and an easy read. Great job Carolyn and thanks for the tips!
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4: Wow, this will save some money!
I am doing my research before buying a my first home, and found this to be one of the highest rated home buying books on Amazon, so decided to give it a shot. All I can say is wow!
Carolyn goes through every step of the mortgage process, describing what documents to request, how to tell if they are complete, and questions to ask. She tells you how to protect yourself by requesting written guarantees about closing costs, how to spot junk fees, and a slew of other great information.
Her advice about loan types is particularly timely given the financial mess in the world. She describes sub-prime loans, and the risks that are associated with them. The greed of the lenders, and the delusions of the borrowers is quite illuminating.
Carolyn also offers services to review your documents, and will answer questions through her website. I haven't taken advantage of either yet, but when the time comes I will.
I plan to re-read this book when I get closer to making a purchase, unless I luck into an honest mortgage professional immediately it will save me money, no doubts.
I highly recommend this book. Even if reading it only allows you to cross off one junk fee, it will have paid for itself many times over.
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5: Carolyn Excels As a Mortgage Coach
Can somebody please clone Ms. Warren? We can all benefit from her in-dept knowledge and experience of mortgage issues, not to mention making a perfect life-coach. Being that I'm a novice in the mortgage world, she has illuminated all the tips and tricks of securing the best mortgage for the money. This is fair-warning for people who don't buy this book before they take their first mortgage or even re-finance. You *WILL* be sorry!
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