Top perks
Low rates and fees
Reali’s mortgage interest rates are very competitive. There is no application fee or origination fee.
You can buy mortgage discount points to lower the interest rate for the life of your loan. (Mortgage discount points are interest that you pay upfront in exchange for a lower interest rate.) Or, if you take a slightly higher rate, Reali gives you a lender credit to help with other closing costs.
There are fees for some of the special real estate services (see below).
Special programs to help you land a home in a competitive market
In California, Reali offers a couple of interesting home-buying programs to help you win out as a buyer and transition from your old home more smoothly.
The trade-in program is an alternative to a bridge loan (a loan that helps you buy a new home before your old home sells). With this program, Reali buys your new home for you. Once you move in, Reali cleans, preps, and stages your old home, then sells it. After it sells, you use the proceeds to buy your new home from Reali at the price Reali paid.
There is a fee for this service. At 5%, it’s comparable to what you might pay another agent to sell your old home and represent you in the purchase of your new home. Also, you pay rent to Reali on the new home until your purchase transaction is complete.
With this option, there are three separate loan transactions:
- Reali purchases your new home
- You sell your old home
- You buy your new home from Reali
Each of these transactions has closing costs. Reali charges very low fees and offers some cash rebates, so those benefits should defray the total cost. It’s not clear from the website whether the fee for the service covers any of the closing costs.
The cash-offer program works similarly. In order to help you win in bidding for a home, Reali makes an all-cash offer (with no financing contingency) on the home you want. If the seller selects Reali’s offer, Reali buys the home. Once the transaction is complete, you buy the home from Reali at the price Reali paid.
There is no additional fee for the cash-offer program once you are pre-approved. And again, multiple transactions are required, each with …….
Source: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/mortgages/reali-mortgage-review/
