1. A buyer contracts to buy a home for $300,000, but it appraises at $290,000. The lender offers 75% LTV. What is the maximum loan?
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. LTV is applied to the LESSER of price or appraised value: $290,000 x 0.75 = $217,500. Using the $300,000 price ($225,000) is the common mistake.
2. An agent tells a buyer he will show homes only if the buyer uses the agent's brother as mortgage broker. This is an illegal:
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. Conditioning one service on the purchase of another is a tying arrangement prohibited by antitrust law.
3. One discount point equals what percentage of the loan amount?
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. One point = 1% of the loan amount (not the purchase price), paid to lower the interest rate.
4. A buyer purchases a home for $425,000 with a loan of $361,250. What is the LTV?
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. LTV = loan / price = $361,250 / $425,000 = 0.85 = 85%. (15% is the down payment percentage.)
5. A financing contingency in a purchase agreement protects the:
Answer & explanation
Answer: C. A financing (mortgage) contingency lets the buyer cancel without penalty if unable to secure the specified loan by the deadline.
6. In the early years of a fully amortizing fixed-rate mortgage, the largest portion of each monthly payment goes toward:
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. Early payments are mostly interest; as the balance declines, more of each payment goes to principal.
7. RESPA primarily governs:
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. RESPA requires disclosure of settlement (closing) costs on 1-4 family residential loans and prohibits kickbacks. Rate advertising falls under TILA.
8. A buyer purchases a $300,000 home with an 80% loan, pays 1 point on the loan, a $450 appraisal and $1,800 in title charges, and has already deposited $10,000 earnest money. How much must the buyer bring to closing?
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. Down payment = $60,000; 1 point = $240,000 x 0.01 = $2,400; total = $60,000 + $2,400 + $450 + $1,800 = $64,650; minus $10,000 earnest money = $54,650.
9. A home is worth $410,000. The owner owes $238,500 on a first mortgage and $41,200 on a home equity loan. What is the owner's equity?
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. Equity = value - all loan balances = $410,000 - ($238,500 + $41,200) = $410,000 - $279,700 = $130,300.
10. A borrower's monthly payment does not cover the interest due, and the unpaid interest is added to the loan balance. This is:
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. When unpaid interest is added to principal, the balance grows - negative amortization. An interest-only loan pays all interest, so the balance stays flat.
11. Under a land contract (contract for deed), during the payment period the buyer holds:
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. In an installment/land contract the buyer has equitable title and possession; the seller keeps legal title until the final payment.
12. A seller wants the buyer to take over her low-rate mortgage, but the mortgage contains an alienation clause. This clause allows the lender to:
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. An alienation (due-on-sale) clause lets the lender call the loan due upon transfer, preventing assumption without lender approval.
13. Which statement about FHA-insured loans is correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: C. FHA loans are made by approved lenders and insured by FHA, with down payments as low as 3.5% and mortgage insurance premium (MIP) required on all FHA loans, for 1-4 family homes.
14. A borrower paid $3,150 in points on a $210,000 loan. How many points were paid?
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. Points = cost / loan = $3,150 / $210,000 = 0.015 = 1.5 points (1 point = 1% of the loan).
15. On a $250,000 loan, how much is 2 discount points?
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. 1 point = 1% of the loan. 2 points = 0.02 x $250,000 = $5,000.
16. Which loan is insured by the federal government and allows a low down payment?
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and permit down payments as low as 3.5%. Conventional loans are not government-backed.
17. Which document is recorded in the county records and makes the property collateral for a loan?
Answer & explanation
Answer: C. The mortgage creates the lien and is recorded. The promissory note is the borrower's personal promise to repay and is not recorded.
18. A conventional loan that exceeds the conforming loan limits set by the FHFA is called a:
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. Loans above the conforming limits cannot be sold to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and are non-conforming 'jumbo' loans, usually at higher rates.
19. A home sells for $389,000. The seller pays a 5% commission, a $212,600 mortgage payoff, $1,200 attorney fee, $1,950 transfer tax and $600 in other costs. What are the seller's net proceeds?
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. Commission = $389,000 x 0.05 = $19,450. Total costs = $19,450 + $212,600 + $1,200 + $1,950 + $600 = $235,800. Net = $389,000 - $235,800 = $153,200.
20. A short-term loan used to buy a new home before the borrower's current home sells is a:
Answer & explanation
Answer: B. A bridge loan 'bridges' the gap between buying and selling and is typically repaid within about 12 months when the old home sells.
21. A chronological summary of all recorded documents affecting a property's title, such as deeds, mortgages and liens, is a(n):
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. The abstract summarizes the recorded history; the chain of title lists successive owners; an attorney's opinion of title evaluates it.
22. A lender approves a $276,000 loan and the buyer wants to keep an 80% LTV. What is the maximum purchase price?
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. Purchase price = loan / LTV = $276,000 / 0.80 = $345,000. ($220,800 wrongly multiplies by 0.80.)
23. A lender offers a 95% LTV loan. The buyer has $18,000 for the down payment. What is the maximum purchase price?
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. At 95% LTV the down payment is 5% of price. Price = $18,000 / 0.05 = $360,000; loan = $342,000.
24. Under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z), which phrase in an ad is a 'trigger term' requiring full credit disclosures?
Answer & explanation
Answer: A. Specific terms like the down payment amount, number or amount of payments, finance charge or repayment period trigger full disclosure (including APR). General statements do not.
25. On an adjustable-rate mortgage, the interest rate after the initial period is determined by:
Answer & explanation
Answer: D. ARM rate = index + margin, subject to periodic and lifetime caps. In a 5/1 ARM the rate is fixed 5 years, then adjusts every year.
Sources
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