FAQs

General Statement

The interest rate market is subject to movements without advance notice. Locking in a rate protects you from market volatility.

Lock-In Agreement

A lock is an agreement by the borrower and the lender and specifies the number of days for which a loan’s interest rate and points are guaranteed. Should interest rates rise during that period, you are protected from having your rate increase.  Should interest rates fall during that period, the borrower must honor the lock.

When Can I Lock?

At Torrington Savings Bank we protect your payment expectations by locking in your rate on the date your application is submitted.  Locking in guards against rate increases and unexpected rises in your planned payment while your loan is in process.

Fees

We do not charge a fee for locking in your interest rate for 60 days. Rate lock extensions may be offered after the expiration of the initial 60 day rate lock period for a fee.  Speak with your Loan Originator should you need an extension.

Lock Period

We currently offer a 60 day lock-in period on our site. This means your loan must close and disburse within this number of days from the day your lock is confirmed by us.  A rate lock extension of 7-14 days may be available should you experience a closing delay.  Contact your Loan Originator if a closing delay is expected.

Lock Confirmation

Immediately after you submit your application online, your interest rate is locked for 60 days.  We will mail you information, a loan estimate and a rate lock confirmation within 3 days of receiving your application.

In Connecticut an attorney must represent you and the bank in a purchase or refinance transaction, most times your attorney can also act in a dual capacity and represent the bank.  We have a process in place to determine if this is possible, please consult with your Loan Originator for details.  If dual representation is not possible the bank will select an attorney to represent our interests.  Home equity loans and lines do not require an attorney for either party.  A bank closing agent will conduct the closing with you at one of our banking locations.  By all means, we recommend that you have an attorney at the closing if it would make you more comfortable. If your attorney has any questions about your new mortgage, please refer them to your Loan Originators. We’d be happy to provide any information necessary.

Generally, the income of self-employed borrowers is verified by obtaining copies of personal (and business, if applicable) federal tax returns for the most recent two-year period. However, based on your entire financial situation, we may not need full copies of your tax returns.

We’ll review and average the net income from self-employment that’s reported on your tax returns to determine the income that can be used to qualify. We won’t be able to consider any income that hasn’t been reported as such on your tax returns. Typically, we’ll need at least one, and sometimes a full two-year history of self-employment to verify that your self-employment income is stable.

If you were in school before your current job, enter the name of the school you attended and the length of time you were in school in the “length of employment” fields. You can enter a position of “student” and income of “0.”

The most important documents you will sign at closing are the note and mortgage. Unless there are special circumstances, these documents are usually prepared one to two days before your closing. Other documents are prepared by the closing agent the day before or the day of your closing. If you would like copies of the completed documents to be sent to you after they are prepared, please contact your attorney or bank closing agent.

In order for bonus, overtime, or commission income to be considered, you must have a history of receiving it and it must be likely to continue. We’ll usually need to obtain copies of W-2 statements for the previous two years and a recent pay stub to verify this type of income. If a major part of your income is commission earnings, we may need to obtain copies of recent tax returns to verify the amount of business-related expenses, if any. We’ll average the amounts you have received over the past two years to calculate the amount that can be considered as a regular part of your income.

If you haven’t been receiving bonus, overtime, or commission income for at least one year, it probably can’t be given full value when your loan is reviewed for approval.

An adjustable rate mortgage, or an “ARM” as they are commonly called, is a loan type that offers a lower initial interest rate than most fixed rate loans. The trade off is that the interest rate can change periodically, usually in relation to an index, and the monthly payment will go up or down accordingly.

Against the advantage of the lower payment at the beginning of the loan, you should weigh the risk that an increase in interest rates would lead to higher monthly payments in the future. It’s a trade-off. You get a lower rate with an ARM in exchange for assuming more risk.

For many people in a variety of situations, an ARM is the right mortgage choice, particularly if your income is likely to increase in the future or if you only plan on being in the home for three to five years.

Here’s some detailed information explaining how ARM’s work.

Adjustment Period

With most ARMs, the interest rate and monthly payment are fixed for an initial time period such as one year, three years, five years, or seven years. After the initial fixed period, the interest rate can change every year. For example, one of our most popular adjustable rate mortgages is a five-year ARM. The interest rate will not change for the first five years (the initial adjustment period) but can change every year after the first five years.

Index

Our ARM interest rate changes are tied to changes in an index rate. Using an index to determine future rate adjustments provides you with assurance that rate adjustments will be based on actual market conditions at the time of the adjustment. The current value of most indices is published weekly in the Wall Street Journal. If the index rate moves up so does your mortgage interest rate, and you will probably have to make a higher monthly payment. On the other hand, if the index rate goes down your monthly payment may decrease.

Margin

To determine the interest rate on an ARM, we’ll add a pre-disclosed amount to the index called the “margin.” If you’re still shopping, comparing one lender’s margin to another’s can be more important than comparing the initial interest rate, since it will be used to calculate the interest rate you will pay in the future.

Interest-Rate Caps

An interest-rate cap places a limit on the amount your interest rate can increase or decrease. There are two types of caps:

1. Periodic or adjustment caps, which limit the interest rate increase or decrease from one adjustment period to the next.
2. Overall or lifetime caps, which limit the interest rate increase over the life of the loan.

As you can imagine, interest rate caps are very important since no one knows what can happen in the future. All of the ARMs Torrington Savings Bank offers have both adjustment and lifetime caps. Please see each product description for full details.

Negative Amortization

“Negative Amortization” occurs when your monthly payment changes to an amount less than the amount required to pay interest due. If a loan has negative amortization, you might end up owing more than you originally borrowed. None of the ARMs we offer allow for negative amortization.

Prepayment Penalties

Some lenders may require you to pay special fees or penalties if you pay off the ARM early. Torrington Savings Bank never charges a penalty for prepayment.

Contact a Loan Originator

Selecting a mortgage may be the most important financial decision you will make and you are entitled to all the information you need to make the right decision. Don’t hesitate to contact a Loan Originators if you have questions about the features of our adjustable rate mortgages.

Unfortunately, if you are purchasing a home, we’ll have to use the lower of the appraised value or the sales price to determine your down payment requirement.

It’s still a great benefit for your financial situation if you are able to purchase a home for less than the appraised value, but our investors don’t allow us to use this “instant equity” when making our loan decision.

If you’ve ever purchased a home before, you may already be familiar with the benefits and terms of title insurance. But if this is your first home loan or you are refinancing, you may be wondering why you need another insurance policy.

The answer is simple: The purchase of a home is most likely one of the most expensive and important purchases you will ever make. You, and especially your mortgage lender, want to make sure the property is indeed yours: That no individual or government entity has any right, lien, claim, or encumbrance on your property.

The function of a title insurance company is to make sure your rights and interests to the property are clear, that transfer of title takes place efficiently and correctly, and that your interests as a homebuyer are fully protected.

Title insurance companies provide services to buyers, sellers, real estate developers, builders, mortgage lenders, and others who have an interest in real estate transfer. Title companies typically issue two types of title policies:

1. Owner’s Policy: This policy covers you, the homebuyer.
2. Lender’s Policy: This policy covers the lending institution over the life of the loan.

Both types of policies are issued at the time of closing for a one-time premium, if the loan is a purchase. If you are refinancing your home, you probably already have an owner’s policy that was issued when you purchased the property, so we’ll only require that a lender’s policy be issued.

Before issuing a policy, your attorney performs an in-depth search of the public records to determine if anyone other than you has an interest in the property.

After a thorough examination of the records, any title problems are usually found and can be cleared up prior to your purchase of the property. Once a title policy is issued, if any claim covered under your policy is ever filed against your property, the title company will pay the legal fees involved in the defense of your rights. They are also responsible to cover losses arising from a valid claim. This protection remains in effect as long as you or your heirs own the property.

The fact that title companies try to eliminate risks before they develop makes title insurance significantly different from other types of insurance. Most forms of insurance assume risks by providing financial protection through a pooling of risks for losses arising from an unforeseen future event, say a fire, accident or theft. On the other hand, the purpose of title insurance is to eliminate risks and prevent losses caused by defects in title that may have happened in the past. This risk elimination has benefits to both the homebuyer and the title company. It minimizes the chances that adverse claims might be raised, thereby reducing the number of claims that have to be defended or satisfied. This keeps costs down for the title company and the premiums low for the homebuyer. Buying a home is a big step emotionally and financially. With title insurance you are assured that any valid claim against your property will be borne by the title company, and that the odds of a claim being filed are slim.

Most often, your attorney acts as our attorney and will represent us at the closing. Your attorney will contact you prior to closing to talk about your final documents and to provide a final breakdown of your closing fees. If you have any questions that the attorney can’t answer during the closing, ask them to contact your Loan Originators by phone and we’ll get you the answers you need – before the closing is over!

We will ask for copies of your recent pension check stubs, or bank statement if your pension or retirement income is deposited directly in your bank account. Sometimes it will also be necessary to verify that this income will continue for at least three years since some pension or retirement plans do not provide income for life. This can usually be verified with a copy of your award letter. If you don’t have an award letter, we can contact the source of this income directly for verification.

If you’re receiving tax-free income, such as social security earnings in some cases, we’ll consider the fact that taxes will not be deducted from this income when reviewing your request.

Points are considered a form of interest. Each point is equal to one percent of the loan amount. You pay them, up front, at your loan closing in exchange for a lower interest rate over the life of your loan. This means more money will be required at closing, however, you will have lower monthly payments over the term of your loan.

To determine whether it makes sense for you to pay points, you should compare the cost of the points to the monthly payments savings created by the lower interest rate. Divide the total cost of the points by the savings in each monthly payment. This calculation provides the number of payments you’ll make before you actually begin to save money by paying points. If the number of months it will take to recoup the points is longer than you plan on having this mortgage, you should consider the loan program option that doesn’t require points to be paid.

If you’d prefer not to make this calculation the “old-fashioned way,” we have a points calculator!

First of all, let’s make sure that we mean the same thing when we discuss “mortgage insurance.” Mortgage insurance should not be confused with mortgage life insurance, which is designed to pay off a mortgage in the event of a borrower’s death. Mortgage insurance makes it possible for you to buy a home with less than a 20% down payment by protecting the lender against the additional risk associated with low down payment lending. Low down payment mortgages are becoming more and more popular, and by purchasing mortgage insurance, lenders are comfortable with down payments as low as 3 – 5% of the home’s value. It also provides you with the ability to buy a more expensive home than might be possible if a 20% down payment were required.

The mortgage insurance premium is based on loan to value ratio, type of loan, your credit score and amount of coverage required by the lender. The premium is included in your monthly payment.

It may be possible to cancel private mortgage insurance at some point, such as when your loan balance is reduced to a certain amount – below 75% to 80% of the property value. Recent Federal Legislation requires automatic termination of mortgage insurance for many borrowers when their loan balance has been amortized down to 78% of the original property value. If you have any questions about when your mortgage insurance could be cancelled, please contact your Loan Originator.

Lastly, Torrington Savings Bank offers a program that waives PMI for eligible borrowers with at least a 10% down payment.  Contact your loan originator to find out more today!

If you won’t be able to attend the loan closing, contact your Loan Originators to discuss other options.

Torrington Savings Bank doesn’t accept applications until you have an accepted offer to purchase.  Contact a loan originator to discuss your qualifications for a mortgage.  We’ll issue a pre-qualification letter. You can use the pre-qualification letter to assure real estate brokers and sellers that you are a qualified buyer. Having a pre-qualification for a mortgage may give more weight to any offer to purchase that you make.

When you find the perfect home, you’ll simply call your Loan Originators to complete your application.

The Federal Truth in Lending law requires that all financial institutions disclose the APR when they advertise a rate. The APR is designed to present the actual cost of obtaining financing, by requiring that some, but not all, closing fees are included in the APR calculation. These fees in addition to the interest rate determine the estimated cost of financing over the full term of the loan. Since most people do not keep the mortgage for the entire loan term, it may be misleading to spread the effect of some of these up front costs over the entire loan term.

Also, unfortunately, the APR doesn’t include all the closing fees and lenders are allowed to interpret which fees they include. Fees for things like appraisals, title work, and document preparation are not included even though you’ll probably have to pay them.For adjustable rate mortgages, the APR can be even more confusing. Since no one knows exactly what market conditions will be in the future, assumptions must be made regarding future rate adjustments.You can use the APR as a guideline to shop for loans but you should not depend solely on the APR in choosing the loan program that’s best for you. Look at total fees, possible rate adjustments in the future if you’re comparing adjustable rate mortgages, and consider the length of time that you plan on having the mortgage.Don’t forget that the APR is an effective interest rate–not the actual interest rate. Your monthly payments will be based on the actual interest rate, the amount you borrow, and the term of your loan.

If you’re selling your current home to purchase your new home, we’ll ask you to provide a copy of the settlement or closing statement you’ll receive at the closing to verify that your current mortgage has been paid in full and that you’ll have sufficient funds for our closing. Often the closing of your current home is scheduled for the same day as the closing of your new home. If that’s the case, we’ll just ask you to bring your settlement statement with you to your new mortgage closing.

The maximum percentage of your home’s value depends on the purpose of your loan, how you use the property, and the loan type you choose, so the best way to determine what loan amount we can offer is to complete our online application!

The location of your closing depends on the type of loan.  Mortgages to finance a purchase are closed at either the seller’s or buyer’s attorney’s office.  Refinances would be closed in your attorney’s office and home equity loans and lines are closed at one of our banking locations by one of our bank closing agents.

We’ll deliver our loan documents and wire transfer your loan funds to the attorney prior to closing so that they’ll have plenty of time to prepare for your closing.

Generally, only income that is reported on your tax return can be considered when applying for a mortgage. Unless, of course, the income is legally tax-free and isn’t required to be reported.

Some lenders may offer a stated income program, which means that you can be qualified for a loan based on the income you state rather than that which can be verified. Usually these programs require larger down payments and offer interest rates that are substantially higher than regular mortgage rates. We do not offer stated income programs at this time.

Mortgage interest rate movements are as hard to predict as the stock market and no one can really know for certain whether they’ll go up or down.

If you have a hunch that rates are on an upward trend then you’ll want to consider locking the rate as soon as you are able. Before you decide to lock, make sure that your loan can close within the lock-in period. It won’t do any good to lock your rate if you can’t close during the rate lock period. If you’re purchasing a home, review your contract for the estimated closing date to help you choose the right rate lock period. If you are refinancing, in most cases, your loan could close within 30 days. However, if you have any secondary financing on the home that won’t be paid off, allow some extra time since we’ll need to contact that lender to get their permission.

If you think rates might drop while your loan is being processed, take a risk and let your rate “float” instead of locking. After you apply, you can lock in by contacting your Loan Originator by telephone.

Congratulations on your new job! If you will be working for the same employer, complete the application as such but enter the income you anticipate you’ll be receiving at your new location.

If your employment is with a new employer, complete the application as if this were your current employer and indicate that you have been there for one month. The information about the employment you’ll be leaving should be entered as a previous employer. We’ll sort out the details after you submit your loan for approval.

A credit score is one of the pieces of information that we’ll use to evaluate your application. Financial institutions have been using credit scores to evaluate credit card and auto applications for many years, but only recently have mortgage lenders begun to use credit scoring to assist with their loan decisions.

Credit scores are based on information collected by credit bureaus and information reported each month by your creditors about the balances you owe and the timing of your payments. A credit score is a compilation of all this information converted into a number that helps a lender to determine the likelihood that you will repay the loan on schedule. The credit score is calculated by the credit bureau, not by the lender. Credit scores are calculated by comparing your credit history with millions of other consumers. They have proven to be a very effective way of determining credit worthiness.

Some of the things that affect your credit score include your payment history, your outstanding obligations, the length of time you have had outstanding credit, the types of credit you use, and the number of inquiries that have been made about your credit history in the recent past.

Credit scores used for mortgage loan decisions range from approximately 300 to 900. Generally, the higher your credit score, the lower the risk that your payments won’t be paid as agreed. Using credit scores to evaluate your credit history allows us to quickly and objectively evaluate your credit history when reviewing your loan application. However, there are many other factors when making a loan decision and we never evaluate an application without looking at the total financial picture of a customer.

Automated monthly payments are available.  After closing you will receive a Welcome Letter from Torrington Savings Bank.  The letter will contain important information regarding your first payment and an opportunity to enroll in auto-pay.  Simply return the enrollment form and we will take care of the rest.  If you are obtaining a home equity loan and your interest rate reflects a discount for auto-pay; the bank closing agent will assist you with enrolling at your closing.

If you own rental properties, we’ll generally ask for the most recent year’s federal tax return to verify your rental income. We’ll review the Schedule E of the tax return to verify your rental income, after all expenses except depreciation. Since depreciation is only a paper loss, it won’t be counted against your rental income.

If you haven’t owned the rental property for a complete tax year, we’ll ask for a copy of any leases you’ve executed and we’ll estimate the expenses of ownership.

A 15-year fixed rate mortgage gives you the ability to own your home free and clear in 15 years. And, while the monthly payments are somewhat higher than a 30-year loan, the interest rate on the 15-year mortgage is usually a little lower, and more important – you’ll pay less than half the total interest cost of the traditional 30-year mortgage.

However, if you can’t afford the higher monthly payment of a 15-year mortgage don’t feel alone. Many borrowers find the higher payment out of reach and choose a 30-year mortgage. It still makes sense to use a 30-year mortgage for most people.

Generally, a co-signed debt is considered when determining your qualifications for a mortgage. If the co-signed debt doesn’t affect your ability to obtain a new mortgage we’ll leave it at that. However, if it does make a difference, we can ignore the monthly payment of the co-signed debt if you can provide verification that the other person responsible for the debt has made the required payments, by obtaining copies of their cancelled checks for the last six months.

An abundance of credit inquiries can sometimes affect your credit scores since it may indicate that your use of credit is increasing.

But don’t overreact! The data used to calculate your credit score doesn’t include any mortgage or auto loan credit inquiries that are made within the 30 days prior to the score being calculated. In addition, all mortgage inquiries made in any 14-day period are always considered one inquiry. Don’t limit your mortgage shopping for fear of the effect on your credit score.

Generally, two years personal tax returns are required to verify the amount of your dividend and/or interest income so that an average of the amounts you receive can be calculated. In addition, we will need to verify your ownership of the assets that generate the income using copies of statements from your financial institution, brokerage statements, stock certificates or Promissory Notes.

Typically, income from dividends and/or interest must be expected to continue for at least three years to be considered for repayment.

Any student loan that will go into repayment within the next six months should be included in the application. If you are not sure exactly what the monthly payment will be at this time, enter an estimated amount.

If other student loans are reflected on your final credit report, which will not go into repayment in the next six months, we may need to ask you for verification that repayment will not be required during this time period.

There is no charge to you for the credit information we’ll access with your permission to evaluate your application online. You will only be charged for a credit report if you decide to complete the application process after you receive the loan estimate.

Both a home inspection and an appraisal are designed to protect you against potential issues with your new home. Although they have totally different purposes, it makes the most sense to rely on each to help confirm that you’ve found the perfect home.

The appraiser will make note of obvious construction problems that are visible, such as leaking roofs or basements. Other obvious interior or exterior damage that could affect the salability of the property will also be reported.

However, appraisers are not construction experts and won’t find or report items that are not obvious. They won’t turn on every light switch, run every faucet or inspect the attic or mechanicals. That’s where the home inspector comes in. They generally perform a detailed inspection and can educate you about possible concerns or defects with the home.

Accompany the inspector during the home inspection. This is your opportunity to gain knowledge of major systems, appliances and fixtures, learn maintenance schedules and tips, and to ask questions about the condition of the home.

Information about child support, alimony, or separate maintenance income does not need to be provided unless you wish to have it considered for repaying this mortgage loan.

Torrington Savings Bank will review your entire financial picture, including your income, assets and credit.  We review every borrowers credit history thoroughly to determine your eligibility.  If you’ve had a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale in the past, it may affect your ability to get a new mortgage.  We will generally require that at least four years have passed since any of those occurrences.  It is also required that you’ve re-established an acceptable credit history with new obligations that have been paid on time.

Please contact a Loan Originator to discuss your situation in detail or to ask questions.

Federal Law requires all lenders to investigate whether or not each home they finance is in a special flood hazard area as defined by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The law can’t stop floods. Floods happen anytime, anywhere. But the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 help to ensure that you will be protected from financial losses caused by flooding.

We use a third party company who specializes in the reviewing of flood maps prepared by FEMA to determine if your home is located in a flood area. If it is, then flood insurance coverage will be required, since standard homeowner’s insurance doesn’t protect you against damages from flooding.

Typically, income from a second job will be considered if a one-year history of secondary employment can be verified.

At Torrington Savings Bank we protect your payment expectations by locking in your rate on the date of application.  Locking in guards against rate increases and unexpected increases in your planned payment while your loan is in process.  Your rate is protected for 60 days from the date of your application.  If you are unable to close within 60 days contact your Loan Originator to discuss your needs and options.

An installment debt is a loan that you make payments on, such as an auto loan, a student loan or a debt consolidation loan. Do not include payments on other living expenses, such as insurance costs or medical bill payments. We’ll include any installment debts that have more than 10 months remaining and all lease payments regardless of how many are left when determining your qualifications for this mortgage.

Yes, you can borrow funds to use as your down payment! However, any loans that you take out must be secured by an asset that you own. If you own something of value that you could borrow funds against such as a car or another home, it’s a perfectly acceptable source of funds. If you are planning on obtaining a loan, make sure to include the details of this loan in the Expenses section of the application.

Licensed appraisers who are familiar with home values in your area perform appraisals. We order the appraisal as soon as the application fee is paid. Generally, it takes 10-14 days before the written report is sent to us. We follow up with the appraiser to insure that it is completed as soon as possible. If you are refinancing the appraiser should contact you to schedule a viewing appointment. If you don’t hear from the appraiser within seven days of the order date, please inform your Loan Originators. If you are purchasing a new home, the appraiser will contact the seller’s real estate agent, if they are using one, or the seller to schedule an appointment to view the home.

None of the loan programs offered by Torrington Savings Bank have penalties for prepayment. You can pay off your mortgage any time with no additional charges.

We take full advantage of an automated underwriting system that allows us to request as little information as possible to verify the data you provided during your loan application. Gone are the days when it was necessary to verify every piece of data collected during the application. The automated underwriting system compares your financial situation with statistical data from millions of other homeowners and uses that comparison to determine the level of verification needed. In many cases, a single W-2 or pay stub can be used to verify your income or a single bank statement can be used to verify the assets needed to close your loan.

Interest rates fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including inflation, the pace of economic growth, and Federal Reserve policy. Over time, inflation has the largest influence on the level of interest rates. A modest rate of inflation will almost always lead to low interest rates, while concerns about rising inflation normally cause interest rates to increase. Our nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, implements policies designed to keep inflation and interest rates relatively low and stable.

Having changed employers frequently is typically not a hindrance to obtaining a new mortgage loan. This is particularly true if you made employment changes without having periods of time in between without employment. We’ll also look at your income advancements as you have changed employment.

If you’re paid on a commission basis, a recent job change may be an issue since we’ll have a difficult time of predicting your earnings without a history with your new employer.