Anybody buy a house lately? Or have info to share

[lquade]

we just used HFS credit union in keaau on some property. went smoothly without a hitch and local..

[Kapohocat]

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Originally posted by lquade

we just used HFS credit union in keaau on some property. went smoothly without a hitch and local..

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Good to hear as we will be *probably* be using them later in the year.

[nana valley]

I tried to use a credit union to buy my house locally but when I talked to them, I was informed I had to be a part of the community at the time. I was still very much a part of the mainland at the time so was unable to finance through the CU.

[rprr]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kapohocat

quote:

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Originally posted by lquade

we just used HFS credit union in keaau on some property. went smoothly without a hitch and local..

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Good to hear as we will be *probably* be using them later in the year.

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I found the listed rates on the HFS website to be quite high when compared to what you can get elsewhere. For our very first mortgage, we went with Donna Dodd who is a mortgage broker at Family Mortgage.

http://familymortgagehawaii.com/

I highly recommend her and she was great to work with. The rates that we got were extremely competitive and she was on the ball every step of the way.

Recently I have refinanced with some internet mortgage broker/company. You get the best rates that way. The internet/online brokers are good if everything is straightforward. I would be hesitant to use them if you had a deadline to purchase a home by a certain closing date.

[lquade]

well in response to rprr, i consider myself a pretty knowledgeable consumer in this area. unfortunately you cannot just compare "rates". there are all those hidden fees and "points" etc. mortgage brokers have to make their money from somewhere and it comes from you, hidden in there somewhere. HFS was pretty straight forward which i really liked. $100.oo fee, the rate and mandatory homeowners insurance. an appraisal depending on your percentage of down. couldnt get much simpler. but yes, you have to be a member of the credit union i believe.