• Tweet

• Tweet

Today marks the beginning of a new series that we’re doing here at Watch-It Wednesday called “Ask a Banker.”

We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions from clients and are hitting the trenches and asking bankers for help answering them.

Today, Dan Friedberg from the Acquisition Team took time out of his busy schedule to answer three questions for us.

Take a look at the video below for his insightful answers!

If you can’t see the embedded video, watch our Ask a Banker Pt. 1 video here.

Transcript:

Eric:  Hey!  Eric Mally here with the Zing! Blog.  Got a new segment where we’re going to ask a banker three questions that clients have submitted to us.  So why don’t you come take a look and check it out!

Eric:  So, Eric Mally here with Dan Friedberg.  Dan, what team are you on again?

Dan:  I am on the Acquisition Team.

Eric:  Right, the Acquisition Team.  Now first things first, first week in the Chase Tower, what are you thinking about the new digs?

Dan:  Oh, I absolutely love it.  It is a great space.  We were over in Compuware for a year and moved over here.  It is bright, colorful, and energetic and I really love it.

Eric:  Cool.  Glad you’re enjoying it.  Well, this is the first part of our “Ask A Banker” segment and I have three questions I am going to ask you.  First one is, you know, we hear about points all of the time.  What’s the point of paying points?

Dan:  Sure.  Well, paying points is when you pay an added fee with prepaid interest to lower your interest rate.  So the point of it is, you pay a little bit more of it up front but you save more on a monthly basis.  It really only makes sense if you are staying in the mortgage for a long time where you will hit that “break even” point and it makes sense for the monthly savings as opposed to the additional added investment.

Eric:  Absolutely.  Well the second question I got for you – 24 years old.  Trying to debate whether or not I want to rent or I want to buy.  What do you think?  What’s your advice?

Dan:  Well, it all depends on your personal situation.  If you have stable employment, you plan on staying in an area for a long period of time and you qualify, right now is a great time to buy.  There are 15 million homes for sale, values are very low, rates are low, we have a lot of great programs.  If you feel like you are in a stable position, I think it would be a great time to buy a home.

Eric:  Last question I got for you – ARM or fixed?  Which one should I go with?

Dan:  Well, it depends.  I would say nowadays most of my clients are going with fixed just because rates are so low.  We have historically low 30-year rates.  The point of getting an ARM is if you only plan on staying in the home for a couple of years and then selling it or paying it.  Everyone has his or her own particular situation.  Or if you are looking for the absolute lowest payment in the short-term, ARM makes a lot of sense.  So if you are really looking to maximize your monthly payment up front, an ARM makes sense and you can always refinance down the road. 

Eric:  Well very cool.  That’s all I got for you, Dan.  Thanks a lot for all of your time.  I really appreciate it.

Eric Mally is a contributor for the Quicken Loans Zing Blog.  Stay connected with us on our Facebook page and our Twitter page to find out all the ways we’re Engineered to Amaze.

 Printer Friendly Version