Customer Reviews

How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the books I bought when I bought my first house. It's a fine reference source if you want to know what all the different mortgage options are (e.g., what's the difference between a fixed-rate mortgage and an adjustable-rate mortgage, what indexes are ARMs tied to, etc.). And the author--Randy Johnson--makes honest recommendations on which mortgages best suit certain typical lifestyles or income scenarios. Also, one of the books great strengths is the discussion of how many discount points to pay. The one thing I found missing, though*, was at least one real-world scenario that you're likely to see used if you visit a mortgage broker in my neck of the woods [Silicon Valley], or other high-priced regions. And that is the use of a 'first' and a 'second' mortgage in a so-called "piggyback financing" or "80-10-10 financing" arrangement which can help you eliminate Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). There's no in-depth discussion of this technique--which is very common--which I found incredible. There's all this advice on getting an ARM tied to the CD index vs. the LIBOR index with a balloon payment if you stay in your house for 3 years instead of 10 years and so on and so forth...but nothing about getting a conforming, fixed-rate, 30-year first mortgage and a smaller second in a technique to reduce your overall payments during the lives of the loans. It's a simple technique, and very worth a detailed analysis, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, like I said, if you want to know esoteric information about mortgages, then this is a worthy book. It helped me, it's just a little shy of a full-fledged 5-star effort.

*Please Note: The review written above pertained to the 1st edition which I initially gave a 4-star rating. The second edition--which I now own also--has effectively covered "Piggyback" loans (i.e, 80-10-10 transactions), which I think propels this book into a solid 5-star work. The second edition also has updated information on shopping for a mortgage on the Internet, and some [though not all] of the examples that show different types of mortgages have had their interest rates brought more into line with present-day (i.e., 2002) rates. This is an excellent book for folks who want to know all about mortgages.

Randy Johnson is very informative and contains alot of useful information...once you understand what he is trying to explain. In my opinion this is not the book to read if you have absolutely NO idea how the mortgage process works and how and what lenders do in that process. If you are a total novice , the terminology Mr. Johnson throws around may sound very cryptic; and his examples might make sense to you if you were either a finance major in college or have some minor experience with terms of finance. In my opinon, the total novice should read another book for the basics before coming to this one . I recommend Eric Tyson's Mortgages For Dummies. It is very concise, clear, easy to understand and concentrates solely on the basics. After you have acquired some basic knowledge of the lending process, then come back to Mr.Johsnon for some serious nuts and bolts tips and strategies. To me, that is the best way to maximize the insider info and stratagies mapped out in Mr. Johnson's book. However, for those of you versed in the lending lingo and who have been around the block a time or two when it comes to the home buying process, this book is definitely a must read. You need look no further for info that really will help you to save money on your next loan or refinance(but I still recommend MFDs , it can compliment or elaborate on alot of the info mentioned in Randy's book). So, all in all, a good read for the novice and for the semi-pro.

This book is written by a mortgage industry insider and makes the claim that it will reveal the inner workings or even secrets of the process of obtaining a mortgage. And there is some interesting detail concerning ARMs, lender rate sheets, zero-point loans, etc.

But I think the book lacks organization and consistency. Like a lot of "insider" books it needed to have been read by a lot of "outsiders" for coherency before publishing. The author is not consistent in using the terminology that he defines at the start. He often is not clear about when he is talking about the firm originating your loan or the ultimate buyer of the loan. He creates as much confusion as clarity in his sloppy use of the terms: rebates, points, loan discount points, or loan origination points. Furthermore, for a detail-oriented book I was surprised that section numbers of a standard settlement form, 800, 900, 1000, etc, were not referred to when discussing closing costs.

I would have like to have seen more realistic discussion about the ability of a consumer to force a loan originator to reveal or discuss the profit margin on a loan as the author suggests one do. As far as I know American businesses are not in the habit and in fact resist revealing markups to consumers.

For some readers this book may be just what they are looking for, but I suspect that for most the detail is just not presented in a way that makes it particularly understandable or usable.

The difference between a NO-NEG-AM at 8.86% and a 30 year Fixed at 7.75% saved me $128,000 on my mortgage. Thanks to Randy's book I knew what questions to ask my lender. I knew the right answer too - NO - no negative amortization loan for me. This book gives you the knowledge you need to make an informed decision. No matter how "nice" and "helpful" your lender's may appear, YOU need to know what they are telling you is accurate. Don't buy a house without knowing what the terms being offered really mean for you. Thanks LoanWolf!!

Before purchasing my first home I purchased and read many books on the homebuying process including:
-The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make
-100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask
-The 106 Mortgage Secrets All Homebuyers Must Learn--But Lenders Don't Tell
-Home Buying for Dummies by Eric Tyson
-How to Buy a Home When You Can't Afford It by Robert Irwin
-Mortgages for Dummies by Eric Tyson
-Complete Idiots Guide to buying and selling a home
-How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage, 2nd Editionby Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson's book was by far the most helpful and informational about the mortgage process. This books provides insights and tips to avoid the pitfalls of the mortgage process. The authors website also has many useful free programs and worksheets to help you analyze loans and the mortgage market. This book will truly save you thousands of dollars on your next mortgage. Educate yourself to the process. Put this book at the top of your reading list before you buy a house.

I've been in the industry for over seventeen years and I can tell you - this is one of the only mortgage books that really tells it like it is. If your idea of shopping for a mortgage includes picking up the local papaer or yellow pages and calling a bunch of different lenders to ask "what's your rate?", you're in trouble. Read the info on pages 113-118 to see why.

Are you serious about shopping for a mortgage? Are you ready to set aside everything you think you know? Do you want a book that really "hits the nail on the head?" This is the book for you!

Still undecided? How about this? - We like this book so much that we bought 500 copies to give to our mortgage customers.

Do yourself a favor and put this book in your cart.

Mortgage broker Randy Johnson reveals the chicanery that exists in the home loan industry, so you won't get bamboozled on this expense of a lifetime. He also shows you how to find the real pros who care about their clients and know how to work the system. It's a real jungle out there in mortgage land. Don't even think about sitting down with a loan officer before you read this book!

I am a banker of 25 years experience. After reading this book twice in 2 days, I am convinced it is as complete and informative a mortgage guide as you will ever see. If you employ the strategies laid out here, there is no question you will save thousands and reach mortgage freedom years sooner. Self education is of paramount importance and this book will teach you well. Remember, there is nothing more intimidating to a banker than an educated consumer.

I live in southern California and with today's housing prices in this area I still rent right now However, at some point in the near future, I will buy, no matter whether it's a place in SoCal or an investment property somewhere else in the country. When that happens I know that I will be very happy that I found Randy's Johnson's book before I started down the road of acquiring a mortgage.

The only reason that I gave 4 stars instead of a full 5 is that I felt that the book was just a little long winded and could have been condensed just a bit. The information contained within the book can help anyone from the first-time home buyer to someone who is looking to refi to get a great deal. Randy covers the details of rates, fixed vs. variable (ARMs), points, closing costs, and gives tips regarding each to try and land the best mortgage depending on a person's needs. In addition, Randy doesn't just discuss financial topics but also discusses the mortgage industry as a whole and the importance of finding a lender/broker that you can trust.

If you ever plan on owning a home or if you already own and want to trim the fat from your mortgage, read this book. If you are unfamiliar with mortgages, read something like "Mortgages for Dummies" or some other introductory book first and then read this book since Randy assumes, at times, a base knowledge of mortgages.

This book is very easy to read and understand most of the math. It reads like you're having a friendly conversation with an industry insider who is trying hard to explain things in simple, non-technical ways, and even better, the author isn't trying to sell you something. You can't get this kind of information by talking to a real live mortgage broker, since they only want to sell you a deal.

This book has helped me to understand a lot about how the mortgage process works, and what I should look out for. If I had to find something to criticize, I would say that there is a lot of explanation over loan types that I will never use, but at least I do know more about what's out there.

Actually, for me, this book didn't steer me into doing anything different for my upcoming home purchase, but it did confirm that my original plan is the best course for someone in my situation. I will go to my credit union, make a 20%+ down payment and get a 15 year loan.

The chapter on 15 year loans is the most eye-opening thing in the book. It's amazing that even though a 30 year loan (the most common) has a lower monthly payment, after 30 years, you will have paid nearly triple the price of your house, with about 66% being interest to the bank! If that sounds extreme, just multiply your monthly payment by 360 payments, and you will see it for yourself.

The better alternative, IF you can afford slightyly higher monthly payments, is the 15 year loan, where the interest total is less than half of the total payments. Just multiply your montly payment by 180 months to see that total. Also, a 15 year loan goes for about .5% less APR.

If you can put down 20%, then you can also get out of paying the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which saves you a few thousand dollars over the course of the loan.

This is a very nice book, that I could not put down. Since I am planning to purchase my first house in the near future, I found this book to be very good at explaining many technical terms that I had heard of, but I did not know what they meant. Now I know much more about mortgages, and I feel more confident about going out and buying a house.