Hi, I lived in AZ for 12 years and we moved back to Ohio & are now the owner/builder/general on our home here. I'm imagining it is hard to find financing there as it is here unless you are in the "business". We used Indymac Bank. I found them on-line and was nervous at first, but it has been a great experience. I did everything on the phone and on-line. They sent someone to our home to sign and all. The draws are all requested on-line and has been very easy. We are doing drywall next week & can't complain. Since we aren't in the "business" they requested for us to have a site-supervisor. This was very easy as the person doesn't have to be licensed or anything. My dad is serving as ours & had to just make a list of his credentials. He has gc'd a few homes & a business for himself over the years. They approved him without even verifying anything. He hasn't done anything, but answer a few of our questions. In our budget we had to set an amount to pay him, so we just put $500.00. Let me know if you would like more info, I have a great contact to refer you to with them.

Wow! Somebody either erred/misled big time. Was the possibility of wrapping prepaids into a tax deductible point presented to you by a mortgage broker or a loan officer from the lender? Was this arrangement written down anywhere? At any rate, the scenario is not allowed by the IRS and I would think most lenders and settlement companies would be completely aware of this. Your HUD-1 settlement sheet is your document of record and the one the IRS would review in the case of an audit/question. I'd pursue it with a higher up at the lender and,depending, on what I heard report it to the lender's regulatory authority. The deductibility of points can be a bit confusing so I'll let the IRS explain it: ___"Topic 504 - Home Mortgage Points The term "points" is used to describe certain charges paid to obtain a home mortgage. Points may be deductible as home mortgage interest, if you itemize deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF). If you can deduct all of the interest on your mortgages, you may be able to deduct all of the points paid on the mortgage. For information on deducting interest, refer to Topic 505. You can deduct the points in full in the year they are paid, if all the following requirements are met: -Your loan is secured by your main home (your main home is the one you live in most of the time). -Paying points is an established business practice in your area. -The points paid were not more than the amount generally charged in that area. -You use the cash method of accounting. This means you report income in the year you receive it and deduct expenses in the year you pay them. -The points were not paid for items that usually are separately stated on the settlement sheet such as appraisal fees, inspection fees, title fees, attorney fees, or property taxes. -You provided funds at or before closing, that were at least as much as the points charged, not counting points paid by the seller. You cannot have borrowed the funds from your lender or mortgage broker in order to pay the points. -You use your loan to buy or build your main home. -The points were computed as a percentage of the principal amount of the mortgage, and -The amount is clearly shown on your settlement statement. Points that do not meet these requirements may be deductible over the life of the loan. Points paid for refinancing generally can only be deducted over the life of the new mortgage. However, if you use part of the refinanced mortgage proceeds to improve your main home and you meet the first six requirements stated previously, you can fully deduct the part of the points related to the improvement in the year you paid them with your own funds. Points charged for specific services, such as preparation costs for a mortgage note, appraisal fees or notary fees are not interest and cannot be deducted. Points paid by the seller of a home cannot be deducted as interest on the seller's return, they are a selling expense which will reduce the amount of gain realized. Points paid by the seller may be deducted by the buyer provided the buyer subtracts the amount from the basis, or cost, of the residence. Points you pay on loans secured by your second home, can be deducted only over the life of the loan. You may be subject to a limit on some of your itemized deductions, including points, for more information on the adjusted gross income limitations please refer to the Form 1040 Instructions. For more information on points, refer to Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction."

I didn't want to bore everyone with all the details, but the only way to get this house will be an all cash offer. This is an off-market sale; the seller is a licensed Realtor in my Realtor's office and is in a difficult personal situation that requires her to sell fast and quietly. The seller is already in contract with another buyer. The buyer has missed his date to remove his financing contingency. The seller is going to give the buyer Notice to Perform as soon as we have a signed backup contract. The lender has told the seller that the buyer's loan will come through by the end of this month (3 weeks) but the seller can't wait that long. If we have a financing contingency, even a 15-day one which my mortgage broker says is possible, we won't give the seller enough incentive to sell to us. Instead, she will put her house on the MLS and have an all-cash buyer within 3 or 4 days. That's how hot the market is where I live. She seems to be willing to do this. We'd lose the sale or have to come up with a higher price due to the bidding war that's likely to occur. Just for background on this zipcode, there have been 3 houses on the MLS in our target area of 20 square blocks in the past 2 months. We bid on the first one and lost out to a higher bidder - there were 5 bids. The 2nd one we didn't bid on - it also had 5 bids. The 3rd one we didn't bid on - it had 2 bids. All 3 houses sold at 3-8.5% over asking. Since this house is a lower price than the one we bid on last month, we're confident that the loan won't be a problem. We were pre-approved for the higher loan, and my mortgage broker has been working through the process since then to make sure everything's in place for a fast turnaround on a new loan.

Well I feel a little odd being the only follow up to my own post but I spotted this article on Yahoo Finance today. Although not in exactly the same vain as my post, it adds credibility to my overall warning that the mortgage business and the mortgage itself as we know it are both about to change drastically. If you don't believe me, maybe you will believe Yahoo. Scott Here is a link that might be useful: Bye bye 30 year fixed rate mortgage