Law School Discussion

Hey ppl. I applied for my school loans with a cosigner who has pretty good credit, but was denied at both access group and citibank, both online. Does anyone have any suggestions on what i should do? I obviously won't be able to contact my school fin aid office for a couple days, but i want to get on this now. If anyone knows a lender that is a little easier to get some  money from, it would greatly been appreciated.

I will start pulling all of my long, beautiful hair out in a few days if this doesn't get resolved.

Brooklaw,

Where are you going to school? I am not sure how easy these lenders are, but here is a link provided by Stetson's Web site for lenders theat they recommend:

http://www.law.stetson.edu/finaid/lenderlinksfall2005.asp

Is your credit that bad... or do you need an excessive amount of money?

HTH

How was the weekend?

I spent the weekend at Stetson with my wife and 1 month-old baby boy and I must say that we are thoroughly impressed... with the school anyway!

The open house was on Sat. and it lasted from ~9:30 until 4:00pm. They mostly talked about stuff that you can find in any information booklet, but then they opened the floor up to a student panel and they shared their perspectives and experiences.

If you are looking for a diverse institution, then Stetson is ther place to be. I'm sure every law school has their fair share of interesting students, but I saw some very interesting people from ALL walks of life, including a military chaplain who is 43 yrs old. There seems to be quite a few non-trads and, for the most part, everyone seems really happy.

Of particular noteworthiness is the fact that not only is Stetson #1 (tied) in the nation for trial advocacy, but they just beat Columbia in the World Championship trip to the "Final Four," where they beat the team that beat Harvard and ffinally beat the UNiversity of Vienna (in Vienna) to become the trial advocacy WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!! I think this is significant since it is this program that has been most appealing to me as a prospective student.

It is a very beautiful campus ( I will post pics later) and it is extremely convenient and simple to navigate. I have read this before but the staff was VERY helpful and willing to assist me in an almost overly helpful manner.

I spent some time there on Monday, when all of the students would be there, and I was able to meet a few contacts and a handful of 1Ls. I picked their brains and the following is a list of advice and its respective frequency:

- Do NOT take a Law School prep class - ALL (~20)
- Learn how to type (5)
- Read the recommended reading (2)
- Absolutely nothing (~19)

There is more to come later, but i have to tend to my baby

HTH

I'll be there in the fall as well... is anyone going to the open house this weekend? If you are I would book a room now bc they are VERY expensive.

Quote from: ndiver on June 24, 2005, 11:22:33 AM

Quote from: Pres on June 24, 2005, 11:12:13 AM

Quote from: burghblast on June 24, 2005, 11:03:38 AM

Quote from: Pres on June 24, 2005, 10:38:12 AM

of course there are closing costs outside of the taxes.  there are tons of fees associated with loan closings (the one i just prepped totalled 9k).  the reason he is paying the proration of taxes is that he is responsible for that portion of the taxes, not as part of closing, but as owner of the hosue for the time period that is covered by proration.  the transfer fee is a seller tax on the revenue of selling the house charged by the govt.  the inclusion of taxes as part of the fees by way of referencing (d) is to say he can pay for the property taxes to meet part of the 3885 obligation.

Hey I've never bought a house before, so the only thing I had to go on was the information he provided.   I know nothing of "closing costs".  But I do know that per the terms of the agreement stated here, the seller is only liable for a maximum of $3885 in total closing costs, which was intended to include taxes.  And the more I think about it, the less room I see for debate.  The phrasing "Seller to pay closing costs up to 3% of selling price, to include all (taxes)" clearly lumps the taxes in with the other closing costs (Ie, they are considered part of the closing costs).  Therefore, the seller should only be liable for an absolute maximum $3885, even if the sum of the taxes and the other closing costs is greater than $3885. 

i'm not being mean, but you prob should have stopped there.  i've done thousands of these, and teh seller pays for their portion of the taxes, their revenue tax/stamps/whatever the state calls it and those aren't included in the closing costs.  if the seller has agreed to pay closing costs, it goes to things such as attorney's fees, title insurance, couriers, title abstraction, lender and broker fees, etc. 

Pres -- you are not being mean at all. I appreciate any opinion, whether it is congruent with my own not. Basically, the contract is written for me to pay a total aggregate amount of 3885, less any taxes or fees that  I as the seller am responsible for. Whatever is left over is a generous contribution on my part to pay for HIS loan origination fees, attorney fees, appraisal fee, etc. At least that is what we had agreed to at our "meeting of theminds." Unfortunately, in S.E. Georgia there are a lot of ignorant people who read at a 4th ggrade level, and refuse to reason with anyone.

Now I am stuck with the dilemma... Do I pay more than I should so I can sell it w/o wasting my last summer before i start school, or do I play hardball and get an attorney to represent my interests and possibly drag this thing out for months?

I appreciate all of your comments, even yours Pres

ndiver, is $800 the remaining prorated amount that's due?  if that's what you meant, then yes, that's what I meant...the buyer would pay that plus the transfer tax and the balance of the closing costs, outside the seller's max.

that's exactly what i said.

congrats on buying a house.  they (the lender) should have, however, created an "intent to purchase" or it may be called something else (not just a purchase order).  the purchase order is something the realestate agent comes up with...your mortgage broker should have given you a document that basically spelled out exactly how much estimated fees you would be responsible for.

another tip:  you know, a lot of times, you can get a loan to cover those costs if you don't have the extra money.  i suggest renegotiating the sell price so that the seller pays all closing costs.  this may mean that you will basically get a loan for 129,500 + the closing costs that you can't afford out of pocket.  in essence, you're asking for a higher loan amount.

but more importantly, you need to read what georgia's law says about what the mortgage lenders responsibilities are at closing.  there was a huge case with a bank about "bait & switching" and unorthodox lending practices a while back (about 5 years ago).  do a lexis search on mortgage lending, specifically in Georgia.  I'm sure you'll find a lot of stuff within your state as well.

good luck!

I am the seller, and I filled out a pre-typed contract that is considered to be a standard for georgia real estate contracts. I wrote the sections in question. I wasn't being as careful as I normally would have, because the buyer is someone that I knew and I THOUGHT I could trust. Apparantly, money is the ultimate test of friendship.

As a result, we are in a standtill. He is refusing to pay the extra closing costs/taxes that exceed 3885 and I even offered, as a friend and as someone who doesn't time to deal with BS, to spplit the difference or some other compromise, but  he is convinced that HE is right and that I am trying to pull a "fast one."

Now, I don't know what do next... the transaction is to be completed by July 8, 2008 and he is DEMANDING that it be done on July 1, even though the movers are coming to get my stuff on the 6th. I figured that since the binding contract says that "the closing shall be on or before the 8th of July," I have until then. This is where it gets even funnier. The attorney that we originally agreed to use is going on vacation July 5 - 12, so I told him that we have to go elsewhere. Since that attorney is the ONLY attorney that reads the contract the way he does, in that I pay 3885 + 929, he refuses to ge elsewhere. What do I do? The closing is scheduled for July 1, and the earliest the movers can come is July 6. He refuses to close with any other attorney... can I FORCE him to come to closing? Any advice Pres?

Quote from: Pres on June 24, 2005, 10:38:12 AM

of course there are closing costs outside of the taxes.  there are tons of fees associated with loan closings (the one i just prepped totalled 9k).  the reason he is paying the proration of taxes is that he is responsible for that portion of the taxes, not as part of closing, but as owner of the hosue for the time period that is covered by proration.  the transfer fee is a seller tax on the revenue of selling the house charged by the govt.  the inclusion of taxes as part of the fees by way of referencing (d) is to say he can pay for the property taxes to meet part of the 3885 obligation.

Hey I've never bought a house before, so the only thing I had to go on was the information he provided.  I know nothing of "closing costs".  But I do know that per the terms of the agreement stated here, the seller is only liable for a maximum of $3885 in total closing costs, which was intended to include taxes.  And the more I think about it, the less room I see for debate.  The phrasing "Seller to pay closing costs up to 3% of selling price, to include all (taxes)" clearly lumps the taxes in with the other closing costs (Ie, they are considered part of the closing costs).  Therefore, the seller should only be liable for an absolute maximum $3885, even if the sum of the taxes and the other closing costs is greater than $3885. 

I agree burgh... The other closing costs total about 3650, and the buyer (and his attorney) are saying that I owe 3650 + 929.50 and that if I do not pay it then I am in breach of contract.

I have consulted a seperate attorney who agrees with me but also thinks that I should pay it to avoid a lengthy drawn out court fued.

Highway -- I live in S.E. Georgia, where $300K will get you  a 2400 sqft. home on the 9th green w/ a pool.