How and when do I "shop" a mortgage? (first-time buyer questions inside) So, I've got a lender I'd like to work with (found via referral). But I want to make sure that I'm getting a fair deal, so I'd like to "shop around" and see that the rate/closing costs/points/etc that I'm getting are competitive. But I'm not sure when or how i should shop the mortgage. Do I call and compare before i've found the home, after my offer has been accepted / entering contract, or what? Basically, I'm looking for a timeline of the loan process when buying a home with regards to shopping lendors. And how does "lo

You can use your Roth IRA for your first time home purchase (up to 10k). However, you must have the account open for 5 years. How is account defined? I have a Fidelity Roth IRA account open for 6 years now. I have a T.Rowe Price Roth IRA open for 2 years. My wife had a John Hancock Roth 401(K) (open 2 years ago) which we rolled over to a T.Rowe Price Roth IRA when she switched jobs back in August. The rules stipulate that the account must be open for 5 years? Does this included the general umbrella of the Roth IRA or each single account under the umbrella? We plan on buying a home after I am done with medical school. We were thinking to put some more cash into our Roth's for the time being and wanted the flexibility of withdrawing our CONTRIBUTIONS for a down-payment if needed.

You can use your Roth IRA for your first time home purchase (up to 10k). However, you must have the account open for 5 years. How is account defined? I have a Fidelity Roth IRA account open for 6 years now. I have a T.Rowe Price Roth IRA open for 2 years. My wife had a John Hancock Roth 401(K) (open 2 years ago) which we rolled over to a T.Rowe Price Roth IRA when she switched jobs back in August. The rules stipulate that the account must be open for 5 years? Does this included the general umbrella of the Roth IRA or each single account under the umbrella? We plan on buying a home after I am done with medical school. We were thinking to put some more cash into our Roth's for the time being and wanted the flexibility of withdrawing our CONTRIBUTIONS for a down-payment if needed.

Do most people try negotiating near the end of a teaser rate? When we bought our home last year, we went with a one-year teaser rate, to be followed by a variable or fixed rate based on prime minus X. The time on the teaser rate will expire in a few months. Someone I met recently suggesting negotiating before locking in -- she works for a branch of our bank and said we should try to get a better rate, now that we've had a mortgage with the bank for a while. I was wondering how to go about doing this and whether it is normal. (I'm no longer in touch with this person, who I met during a course.)

How can I estimate what the mortgage payment on a commercial building loan will be? I know that commercial loans are different from home mortgage loans. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what typical terms are for them. I was going to just fill out a lendingtree.com request, but they require your phone number. (I might end up doing that anyway.) I need this to figure out how affordable certain buildings are. Is there any good, fast way of estimating this?

How can I estimate what the mortgage payment on a commercial building loan will be? I know that commercial loans are different from home mortgage loans. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what typical terms are for them. I was going to just fill out a lendingtree.com request, but they require your phone number. (I might end up doing that anyway.) I need this to figure out how affordable certain buildings are. Is there any good, fast way of estimating this?

How can I estimate what the mortgage payment on a commercial building loan will be? I know that commercial loans are different from home mortgage loans. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what typical terms are for them. I was going to just fill out a lendingtree.com request, but they require your phone number. (I might end up doing that anyway.) I need this to figure out how affordable certain buildings are. Is there any good, fast way of estimating this?

I have recently acquired a commercial property. I want to obtain a line of credit against the down payment I put on the property. Obviously, I have not done this in the past. But, I envision the transaction being similar to a home equity line of credit. Is there anyone out there that can point me to the right direction. FYI, the commercial property was acquired via a new LLC of which I own 100%.

I own a condo with a mortgage and tax deductions and equity. SO moving in. How do we split expenses fairly? Many other questions about financial logistics. I've owned a condo for several years and have built up extensive equity between putting in more money and the ridiculous local real estate market. SO is likely moving in soon, and my life will be much the better for it. Happy Valentine's Day! It doesn't make sense for both of us to move and get a new place: I have more money than SO does so we just end up with a new problem, we both like the place, SO needs to move anyway because of expiring lease, and the location is great. Also, I just refinanced at a much lower mortgage rate than I could get now, so any move would put us in a downgrade even if I could psychologically accept the loss of sunk costs.