Hmm... I need to find out myself. I don't know what is the answer to your question. I'll do some Googling and get back to you if I got an decent answer. You should email the people at Lending Tree as they probably could assist you..

I closed in October with Irwin Lending Tree mortgage with 0% down. We only had to pay closing costs, taxes, etc...

Tac..

We got our Lending Tree loan with Taylor Woodrow (fka Journey Homes) with zero down, zero closing, 80/20 subprime loan, free appliances and they gave us $1250 to apply towards down or closing..

The zero closing is because we're rolling the closing cost into the mortgage..

We did have to put 3% down (in three monthly installments) as good will towards building the house but we're expected to get that back at closing..

We are one year post BK too. My score was low 600s and my wife's was slightly better...

So in effect you are paying interest on your closing costs when you roll it into your mortgage. It really isn't zero closing then...it's just zero money upfront...

Correct. We will eventually pay "no closing" costs. With all the people you have to pay at closing, I don't see how anyone can avoid NOT paying some sort of closing costs..

Our closing costs will be around $4600 but Taylor Woodrow is giving us $1250 towards closing (or down payment but we choose closing) so we'll only roll around $3350 into the mortgage..

Because of our BK and the loan, we cannot refinance for three years but we will be able to refinance. The 20% portion of our Lending Tree loan is a balloon loan. Where at the beginning of the 16th year we would have one payment due of around $21,000. But since we will refi in three years and be able to put both loans into one, and at a lower rate, that balloon payment will never reach fruition..

Our lender is iMortgage and they have bent over backwards for us...

Right. But for some people, with rates the way they are now and in many communities, it's worth it for some to finance the closing costs just to get into a house period. A LOT of low income people in the New England area say they wish they had gotten in earlier rather than waiting, because they are now priced out of the market..

Financing everything only hurts when you actually stay in the house for a very long time, but then, you're also hoping that the home's appreciation rate and tax return benefit is outpacing the financed closing rateAnd the majority of people sell their homes within 5 years. And if you do that, then you haven't lost anything, because (if you bought in the right market) any profit you make at selling is PURE profit, and not profit minus whatever you made as downpayment or closing..

The point is that if people do 100% loans - choose your neighborhood carefully. Make sure that it will appreciate at a decent rate and get a house that doesn't need huge repairs in the foreseeable future..

When I did my calculations, I will have to have owned my home for around 9 years before my financed closing costs begin costing me money, if that makes sense. And that's assuming zero appreciation..

I got approved for a 30 year fixed rate single Lending Tree mortgage at zero down and 3% of closing included in financed amount. My out of pocket contribution at settlement is $400. The interest rate is 6.5%...

Guess I was lucky when we bought our home. We debated about buying a new one and building it but the payments were more then we wanted to be stuck with (we qualified but we didn't want to be in a bind if one of us lost our job etc...) and they said we could take the 5000 and roll it back into the Lending Tree mortgage which would cost us more in the long run anyways. So, we found an older home where the seller wanted to sell really badly therefore he paid ALL our closing costs and some of our prepaids...our total upfront was about 1000.00. We've been here since Aug 1996 so I guess we'll be here alot longer then 5 yrs...we just refinanced to a 20 yr about 2 1/2 years ago when rates really sucked! Now they are great! With our 1st plus our 2nd (HELOC) we can't get ahead with a refinance now because our home is appraising for like very close to the total balances of the 1st and 2nd..therefore we're looking at a 100% refinance and I don't want to do that!..

Yes, but you decreased the length of your Lending Tree loan by six years when you refinanced. That increases the amount of principle you pay each month and increases the rate at which your home builds equity. That's a good thing..

Well, I'm hoping to avoid a situation in which appreciation stops and I'm mortgaged to the hilt. The home that I'm buying has about $4500 in equity, and I hope to keep it that way by not borrowing against the equity at all..

The good thing for you all, though, is it seems that you all have a house well below your means, so that if you came on hard times, you'd still be able to keep your home..

As a single woman and the sole source of income for my home, things are a bit more serious for me. But this is where I trust the Lord to give me the ability to work and not faint!.

:-)..

But then again you have a HOME and you aren't paying someone elses Lending Tree mortgage too! That is a GOOD thing! You should be proud of yourself for being single and being able to buy a home. That is a great accomplishment...