Comparing different loans, if virtually all things are equal, the APR indeed would be the same. But as Washington Mutual Bank's Chris Axtman points out, it's difficult to compare general numbers, like those in ads, from different lenders because often the total fee amounts aren't the same. And the fees lenders include in their calculations aren't completely standard. "Some, like escrow fees, are in a gray area, and over the years a lot of lenders haven't considered them a finance charge," Axtman says.
Different down payment amounts can also affect APR calculations. Most lenders require private mortgage insurance - a figure included in APR calculations - when borrowers put less than 20 percent down.
If you want solid numbers for comparison, Axtman says your best bet is to get written good-faith estimates from the lenders you're considering. Some will provide these before taking your loan application, she says.
Q: I recently married and would like to put my wife on the deed to our home, which I purchased before we married. Should the title read "joint tenants with the right of survivorship" or as community property? Will this be considered a gift, and if so, what are the tax implications?
A: Once you're married, both living in the house and pooling your money, the state basically considers the house community property even if your wife's name isn't on the title, says Cyndi Jacobson, manager of Heritage Escrow in Edmonds. However, putting your wife's name on the title "does make it easier if something should happen to him to prove she's entitled to the property." You can do so by filing a quit-claim deed; you'll be deeding the house from only yourself to yourself and your wife. A lawyer can do this for you. This will "create public knowledge that she has rights of community property," Jacobson says. And community property is what it will be - not joint tenants with right of survivorship, which is rarely used in this state for married couples. Jacobson says that putting your wife's name on the deed will not be considered giving her a gift.
Q: Three years ago we sold a house on a contract to a couple with the requirement that they refinance after five years. They've since divorced and she's apparently signed the house over to him. Are they required to give us legal notice of their arrangement or is she still legally responsible for the payments, too?
A: The buyers don't have to give you legal notice of their divorce, says attorney Alan Tonnon, explaining that no notification is required because "whatever they signed between themselves doesn't affect the underlying contract" they have with you. This means they're both still responsible.
As for what you as the contract holder could do, Tonnon says you have no legal right to require the buyers to do anything as the result of their divorce. As long as the payments are up to date, and the buyers are current with any other requirements (like paying property taxes) "then there's no breach of contract."
Tonnon says you'll just have to wait to see what happens next. It's possible the ex-husband will refinance in his name alone, that he'll sell or even that you'll gain possession of the house again.
Send your questions to Home Forum, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or call 464-8510. The e-mail address is erho-new@seatimes.com
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