Q & A with Dottie Herman

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Q1 - Is my credit affected if I co-sign a mortgage for my children? Will it prohibit me from buying another home?

A - If it is being paid on time it will not have a negative impact; however, if it is late then your credit will be tarnished.  As far as qualifying for another home, it will depend on your profile.  If your children's loan is being paid, you can also show you do not have the burden of paying currently, and you are in a position to be able to pay it if you had to - then you're probably OK. Just remember that it will need to be addressed but will not necessarily be a problem.

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Q2 - What is a temporary mortgage buy-down and what is its advantage?

A - A temporary buy-down will reduce your payments for a certain period of time.  These are often the tool used in what are called "step payment mortgages".  The loan is a fixed rate but during the first three years of the loan you have a reduced payment.

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Q3 - My wife and I are moving from Nnew York to the mid-west. Why is the jumbo loan amount different between states?

A - The maximum loan amounts are determined by using the average sales price for a specific region/market. New York is considered a "high cost market" and therefore has higher maximum loan amount than other parts of the country.

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Q4 - I am looking to rent a place in Florida for the winter. Is there any type of financing available for a rental?

A - This is a very interesting question. I cannot say I have ever heard of such a thing, and since most rent is paid monthly it doesn't appear there would be much need, unless you were required to pay the rent upfront. In this case you would need to negotiate to have it paid monthly, or borrow money from a credit line or take another type of loan to accommodate this.

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If you have a real estate question for Dottie, please send it to; Dottie@RealEstateChannel.com

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