When you first apply for a mortgage, you may feel youve stepped into a different culture with a language all its own. More than likely, your mortgage professional is throwing many new terms and expressions your way. Its the responsibility of that same mortgage professional to make sure you understand everything thats being explained to you, so you should never hesitate to ask them to stop and clarify. However, if you can approach your application meeting armed with some familiarity with mortgage terms, everyone can be more comfortable from the very beginning. Familiarize yourself with the following and youll be a step ahead of the average first-time borrower.
HUD: HUD stands for Housing and Urban Development, and refers to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Settlement Statement documents pertaining to the house being financed. When your loan officer talks about having you sign the HUD, they are referring to that settlement statement. The HUD will detail all payoff information, including any fees associated with your mortgage loan.
LTV and CLTV: LTV and CLTV stand for Loan to Value and Cumulative Loan to Value (or Combined Loan to Value). LTV refers...