Christine Witzel, Ameris Bank Mortgage, NMLS # 650895

10/15/2025

When the insurance check doesn’t make it from the attorney’s office to the insurance company via USPS, you should call your Loan Officer for help! Picked up the new check from the attorney and delivered it to the insurance company personally!

10/08/2025

Ameris Bank has raised its conforming loan limit to $819,000 for single-unit properties in most areas—effective immediately. This early adjustment reflects a growing industry trend and helps borrowers access conventional financing sooner. Learn more about what conforming limits are and why they matter.
https://www.amerisbank.com/Personal/Learn/Financial-Articles-Advice/Buying-A-Home/Mortgage-Monitor-October-8

08/26/2025

I’m so excited about this! I’ve never been and I heard the last one they did was so fun!

Back by popular demand, join us for an evening of mystery at the Harvest Moon Murder, hosted by Women Build. Ticket price includes dinner and a chilling murder. This event will be offered in Canton, GA on September 27th, and features music by Adam Nohl. Proceeds support Habitat for Humanity. Register today!

https://www.habitat-ncg.org/murder-mystery-dinner/

Who’s in?!

08/06/2025

10 Things to look for when reviewing a mortgage loan estimate...
1. Origination points and Discount points (usually expressed as a percentage)
2. Lender fees (administration fees, underwriting fees, application fees, processing fees)
3. Appraisal fees/ Final inspection fees (does it show paid outside of closing/ POC or as a lender deposit? be sure to add it back, so you know your total costs and cash due for closing)
4. Attorney fees underestimated (Attorney fee, "CPL", Title Search, Title exam, Title binder, other misc fees) These are going to be the same no matter what lender you choose. The attorney is named in the contract.
5. Title Insurance underestimated (Lender's title insurance, Owner's title insurance- which is optional, but recommended. Be sure it is included in the costs and not "optional and not included" in the costs.)
6. Estimated taxes and insurance low (These are not set by the lender, but every lender has their own way to estimate. Be sure the estimate is reasonable. Insurance is expensive these days! And past property taxes can be found on the county and city property tax website- this does not guarantee what your taxes will be in the future though!)
7. Escrow set up: not enough months to add to escrow account. i.e. 2 months instead of 6 or even 12 months! This depends on when the annual (or semi annual) payment is due and when your closing date is.
8. Lender credits (could be shown as dollars or as a percentage. This offsets Origination and Discount points, sometimes lender charge 1% origination point and then give 1% as a lender credit. Weird, I know.)
9. HOA fees (if they are showing in the Community Association Disclosure, they should show on the estimate)
10. Buyer's Realtor Compensation (if the seller is not paying both realtor's compensation, this should show on the estimate)

If you ever wonder if the estimate is legit, I will review for free! And I can provide you with a realistic estimate as well!

Send a message to learn more

07/30/2025

Understanding Mortgage Spreads: A Key Driver Behind Rate Movements

Looking to get financial advice on how to manage your money? Ameris Bank has a library of financial articles to educate their customers. Learn more online.

07/14/2025

Wondering if there is anything in the Big Beautiful Bill for Homeowners? Why yes there is!

Homeowners can now permanently deduct mortgage insurance premiums (PMI, FHA MIP, VA funding fees, and USDA guarantee fees). Be sure to inform your first-time buyers of this new provision. The deduction is not available for incomes above $175,000 for single tax filers and joint filers making over $250,000. HR 1 also included a permanent $750,000 cap on mortgage interest deductions.

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05/15/2025

OUR PURPOSE
The Purpose of Ameris Bank is to bring financial peace of mind to our communities, one person at a time.

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05/01/2025

I’m no Lori Ennis… and I’ll do my best!

🎯East Cobb Prosperity Partners
Weekly Highlights🎯

Always a good time and lots of business passed within our BNI Chapter!

✅ Mike Albuquerque won out BLT Award for best presentation by showing a correlation between people in our group giving him a verbal testimonial to a visitor and that visitor signing up for his web design services where he makes the SEO strong for every site he creates and manages for businesses.

✅ The Trades Power Team came in first for strong April Results! Congratulations to GreatHouse Remodeling (Timothy Piendel), D2D Electrical ( Dunnegan), Five Star Painting of Marietta (Diann Averett), The Waterproof Group ( Morris), Joseph's Junk Removal ( Heacock)

🔦Spotlight Presentations: ⚡️Our favorite Electric Dan reminded us to look for the outdated and dangerous electrical boxes by Federal Pacific ElectrMaureen Doss, ZinsVirtual Workhorseplus entertained us with a little of his humorous side trivia. 🐴And our favorite Virtual Assistant Maureen Doss with Virtual Workhorse shared how her CRM program is a great way for other VA’s to grow their businesses! She not only helps busy business owners by taking tasks off their hands, so they can do what they do best, she also wants to help other VA’s grow their business!

📣 A special shout out to our President, Anhaus, for always being early to set up the room and the power point presentation and also his tech support during presentations. 🙏

🤝And a warm thank you to our visitors and subs! We love having you there!

💪 As I reflect on what each member adds to our group and to each other, one thing stands true… we all play a role in the success of our chapter and we each make a difference in lets stay strong!

04/24/2025

Happy Thursday! What to do when Seller or Seller's Broker doesn't pay the full Buyers Broker compensation that was agreed to in the Exclusive Buyer Broker Engagement Agreement (F110)...

Here is a great best practice to keep this clear for both the buyer and the lender! Use the Special Stipulation section of the Buyers Broker Compensation Agreement (F259)!