Tag Archives: Pre-Approval

5 Home-Buying Pitfalls To Avoid

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5 Home-Buying Pitfalls To AvoidBuying your home can be nerve-racking, especially if it’s the first time. The buying process is exciting and often complex. The chances of making a mistake are relatively high. 

In today’s real estate market where demand surpasses supply, you can’t afford to make mistakes. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are in the market to buy a house, here are five pitfalls avoid. 

Not Doing Your Homework Well 

Fortune favors the prepared in real estate. And preparedness begins with understanding your finances. A wise buyer examines assets, analyzes debts and gets finances pre-approved before jumping into the house hunt. 

Know the neighborhood well, since you’re also buying a location. It’s paramount to research about the quality of schools, upcoming zoning issues and crime level. Not all suburb spots are ideal to live in.

Picking The Wrong Mortgage 

Getting your loan preapproved puts you in a better position to negotiate. Find out how much property you can afford. Don’t rely on your bank’s internet site only. Instead, use calculators and consult with your trusted mortgage professional to find out how much you can borrow. 

It’s worth noting that what banks show they can lend can differ with what they will lend. As such, it’s imperative to choose your mortgage carefully. Compare offers from various banks or consult an independent finance broker. 

Going With The Market Flow 

Resist the temptation to flow with the market rather than your needs. The real estate market goes in cycles. There are times suitable for buyers, and times suitable for sellers. 

However, don’t gamble with your future by sitting and waiting for the right time. Once you know your budget, get your finances organized, think about your needs now and in future. Then use short term market conditions to make long-term lifestyle choices. 

Exceeding Your Budget 

Most homebuyers fall for the trap of picking more appealing properties that cost more than their budgets. Falling into this pitfall can derail your future finances. 

Although it’s human nature to yearn for more than we can afford, resist the desire. Surpassing your budget exposes you to potential financial shocks with bigger payments, property taxes and more.

Falling In Love 

If you find the perfect house, keep it to yourself. Don’t let the sellers read your emotions. If they do, they may use them against you while negotiating. 

Wise buyers know there are several homes out there, and there is one that’s right for them. And if you can’t afford one or your offer isn’t accepted, keep looking and move on. 

Buying a home is rejuvenating. However, if you’re not careful, you can make mistakes you may regret later. Consult with your trusted real estate expert and trusted mortgage professional to get the best advice for your situation. 

 

 

Understanding the Factors That Impact Your Credit Score

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Understanding the Factors That Impact Your Credit ScoreMost consumers believe if they pay their bills on time, they need not worry about their credit score. Oftentimes, it is a rude awakening when they apply for a mortgage loan, car loan, or any revolving credit to learn they are not going to get the lowest rates available due to their credit score. This is because paying bills on time only accounts for 35 percent of your credit score. The remaining 65 percent is spread out among other factors that impact your credit score.

Credit Usage and Impact on Score

Nearly one-third, 30 percent, of your credit score is based on how much of your available credit you are using. For example, if you have combined credit available of $100,000 and you use $90,000, you will suffer a decline in your credit score. Those consumers who have similar credit lines and are using $9,000 will get a slight bump in their score.

New Credit vs. Old Credit

We seldom think about how long we have held a line of credit open. However, some consumers “exchange” credit lines for other credit lines due to special offers made by credit card companies. This is not necessarily a good idea since 15 percent of your credit score is determined by the age of your credit accounts. The longer you have had an account, the better in most cases. The calculation will take all open credit accounts, take the amount of time they have been open and get an “average age”. If you have six accounts which have been open less than a year and six that have been open five years, the newer accounts will count against you in this case.

Mixing up Credit Lines

A consumer who has only a mortgage and a single credit score will take a modest hit on their credit score versus a consumer who has multiple credit cards, a mortgage, and an auto loan. The types of credit you have will account for 10 percent of your credit score and the more varied your open credit lines, the better. While it is inadvisable to open new credit lines simply to show a variety of types, having installment loans, retail credit cards, and traditional credit cards is a good idea.

New Lines of Credit Opened

One danger many consumers are unaware of is suddenly opening new lines of credit. For example, a new homeowner may open a new account with a home improvement store, a general retail store, and a new credit card to help them furnish and repair their new home. This could be a red flag since the credit lines are new, and there is no established history on the mortgage, or the new credit lines. Since this factor accounts for 10 percent of your credit score, you could suffer a temporary decline in your credit score.

Consumers should be aware of the factors which impact their credit score, and also be aware of the factors that do not impact their scores. Understanding your credit score may be the most important tool you have when buying a home, or refinancing your current mortgage.

Please contact your trusted mortgage professional to discuss how your credit score may be impacting your ability to finance your next home purchase. 

3 Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Time House Hunting

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3 Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Time House HuntingIn the ideal home-buying scenario, you’d have plenty of time to find the perfect home. However, this is not always possible. Maybe you are relocating for a job and have to buy a house from across the country. If this is the case, you might have to limit the time that you spend house hunting.

Here are some tips to help you make your search as productive as possible. 

#1 Get A Mortgage Pre-Approval 

Before attending open houses and searching for a home, you should get pre-approved for a mortgage. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage will help you identify the exact price range that you should be shopping for. It will also let home sellers know that you are a serious buyer. If you are competing with other buyers, a seller will be more likely to take your offer seriously if they know that you can afford the home. 

Sometimes you’ll hear the terms pre-qualification and pre-approval thrown around interchangeably. However, these two terms are very different. A pre-approval is much more valuable when it comes to buying a home. Although you will have to provide a lot more information for a full pre-approval, this qualification will provide you with a specific loan amount that you are approved for. A pre-qualification is just an estimate of the amount that you can afford based on your income and other factors. It is not as personalized or customized for your specific situation as a pre-approval. 

#2 Find A Good Real Estate Agent 

Find a good real estate agent who is knowledgeable of the area that you want to buy in. Ideally, they have lived in the area for a long time and know the community. A good local agent can bring invaluable knowledge to the table about the city. They should be familiar with the homes in the area. They might even know about homes that aren’t on the market yet but will be soon. This knowledge can be invaluable when you are in a time crunch and want to get the most out of your house hunting time. 

#3 Make A List Of Your Must-have Amenities 

You don’t want to spend time looking at homes that won’t meet your needs. There are probably some things that you’d like to have in a house, as well as things that you must have. So, if you’re in a time crunch, the first thing you should do is make a must-have list. Make a second list of things that you’d like to have but that are not required. Don’t bother looking at homes that lack the qualities on your must-have list. 

First things first, contact your trusted home loan professional and get your pre-approval started today!

House Hunting When You Are In A Time Crunch

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House Hunting When You Are In A Time CrunchIn an ideal world, you’d have plenty of time to find the perfect home. However, that does not always happen. Maybe you are relocating because of a job transfer. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to take months to find the perfect home. You can speed up the process of buying a home utilizing some tried and true tips. 

Here are some of the best ways to speed up the house buying process. 

Find An Experienced Real Estate Agent 

An experienced agent likely has an extensive network and many connections. They might know what properties are coming on the market before anyone else does. They can also help you assemble a great team of real estate professionals such as a mortgage banker and real estate attorney. 

Get A Mortgage Pre-Approval 

Obtaining a home loan is a long process that requires a lot of paperwork. You can speed up the process by getting pre-approved before looking for homes. You’ll need to gather some paperwork for pre-approval including bank statements, tax returns and information about your debt. Have all of these things ready when you talk with the mortgage loan officer.

Having a pre-approval letter also demonstrates to sellers that you are serious about buying. They might be more likely to respond quickly to your offer if they feel that the deal will go through. 

Make A List Of Things That You Must Have 

If you are in a hurry to buy a home, you don’t want to waste time looking at houses that won’t meet your needs. So, before doing any online research, make a list of things of your must-have amenities. Zeroing on the things that you must have will help keep you focused on properties that are right for you. 

Search Areas That Have A lot of Inventory 

Don’t waste time looking at communities that don’t have much inventory. The real estate market will be a lot more competitive. Instead, try choosing areas that meet your needs as far as easy access to your work, quality of the school and so forth. Make sure that they have plenty of inventory available. You might have to hunt in surrounding neighborhoods to find something quickly. 

Be Available to Act Quickly 

If you want to close quickly, you must be available to act as soon as an offer is accepted. It is essential to be available anytime to get in touch with your agent, respond to counter-offers and answer questions. Provide your agent with multiple ways to reach you — by phone, email or text. 

Contact your trusted mortgage professional today to help you with a pre-approval for your new home purchase. This is one of the most important and timely steps you can take to ensure a smooth transaction when you are ready to put in an offer on your new home.

Is Buying A Short Sale Right For You?

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Is Buying A Short Sale Right For YouIf you have been looking for a new home, and you find one offered under a short sale, this may be to your advantage. While some buyers are wary about buying a home that needs to be sold with the approval of the lender, it’s a great way to get a bargain on a home that you love.

A short sale may be a perfect way to buy a home, as long as you are able to wait until the offer is approved.

The Basics Of A Short Sale

A short sale occurs when the homeowner is facing a foreclosure and trying to avoid it. The true owner of the property, is the lender who provided the money to purchase the home. The borrower owes more on the home than it is worth, and many stop making mortgage payments. Instead of allowing the home to sit there and go to a foreclosure, the lender tries to cut their losses through the process of a short sale.

Additionally, there may be other liens on the home that have to be satisfied by the sale of the property. Anyone that holds a lien on the property has to negotiate the money they are willing to accept for the deal to be finalized.

Why A Short Sale Benefits The Buyer

When you make an offer on a home that is selling under a short sale, you can usually offer less than what the home is worth. The homeowner is eager to sell the home. The homeowner will want to accept an offer fast to get the process started and avoid a foreclosure.

While you may have to wait longer for a short sale to go through than a traditional sale, the savings on the price of the home are usually worth it. Lien holders understand that a short sale is usually the best option to get most of their money, so they are anxious to settle the deal fast.

A short sale is right for you if you aren’t trying to buy a home fast. When you are a savvy buyer, you can make an offer less than the asking price, but you’ll have to wait for all lien holders to accept it. If your current living situation provides you with the opportunity to wait, a short sale will give you more house for your money.

Contact your trusted mortgage professional to secure your financing pre-approval, a necessity prior to negotiating this type of transaction. 

Long-Distance House Hunting Tips

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Long-Distance House Hunting TipsIt pays to start with a solid strategy when you have to house hunt from afar.

Hunting for a house is stressful enough even if you are moving to another part of town. However, when you are searching for a house from afar, it can make the task of finding the right home for your needs seem almost impossible. 

Fortunately, in today’s high-tech world, you have an array of tools available right at your fingertips that can make it easy to find the perfect house for your needs. So, even if you are looking for a home thousands of miles away, you can do so quickly and with minimal fuss.

Partner With The Right Real Estate Agent 

The first thing that you should do when looking for a house in an area that you are unfamiliar with is to find a local agent. Find someone who has the expertise of the local market and buying process. The information that you garner from choosing a local agent can be invaluable. They know the market intimately.

Additionally, a local agent knows the community as they likely live there as well. They know which schools and neighborhoods are best. They can get to know what you are looking for in an area and help you find the right community for your particular needs. They might also have information on local gems that are not yet showing up on online listings.  

Do Your Research 

After you find a home or two that you are interested in, thoroughly research the area. Search for information about local schools, churches, shopping centers and more. You want to make sure that the neighborhood will meet your needs. Research crime rates in the area.

Also, determine how long your commute from work to home will be each day. Even if you don’t have children, research local school rankings. The rating and quality of local schools is paramount when it comes to the resale value of your home.

Visit In Person 

There is just no amount of research that can substitute for an in-person visit to a potential home. If you are planning to hunt for a house from a distance, be prepared for the travel. Make sure that you have the money and time to visit. It is best to prepare for longer house-hunting trips so that you can take your time when walking through each showing.

Also, make it a point to pay a visit to local restaurants, parks, and businesses to get a feel for the local community. 

Whether you are buying local or at a distance, one of the most important things to do first is to get a pre-approval in order. Contact your trusted mortgage professional today to get the ball rolling.

 

What You Need To Know About Short Sales

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What You Need To Know About Short SalesOn the surface, a short sale seems like the perfect deal. However, before you take the plunge, you need to understand how this type of home purchase works.

What Is a Short Sale?

A short sale is a home sale in which the homeowner is selling the home for less than he or she currently owes on the mortgage. In most cases, this means that the buyer is paying less for the home than it’s worth, which leads to instant equity.

Short sales allow homeowners to get out from under mortgages without damaging their credit as much as a foreclosure. Lenders often agree to short sales because the foreclosure process is lengthy and expensive, so short sales can be more beneficial for both parties in the long run.

Advantages

When you buy a short sale, you can often get a nicer home for a lower price. In most cases, you will still be able to use financing to purchase a short sale.

A homeowner attempting a short sale also tends to be highly motivated, which means they will be willing to negotiate on almost any aspect of the sale.

Disadvantages

Although purchasing a short sale can be lucrative, the process isn’t easy. Short sales can take as long as nine months to complete, which is much longer than the time required for the typical home purchase.

Because the homeowner owes more on the mortgage than you will be paying, the bank must agree to the price. This means that even if the homeowner is willing to accept your offer, the bank can still reject it.

If the home secures more than one mortgage, all of the lenders must agree to the sale before it can close. This can lengthen the process even more.

Even though the bank will hold up the process, they will want you to be flexible. Banks are less likely to approve offers from buyers with multiple contingencies, such as a house that needs to sell before closing.

Should You Purchase a Short Sale?

The decision to make an offer on a short sale home is personal. Although there are many obstacles and potential disadvantages, you may be able to save money and build equity quickly if you are able to complete a short sale successfully.

Keep in mind that most banks considering a short sale will want to see a well-qualified borrower who offers flexible closing terms, so it’s best to contact your mortgage professional for a pre-approval before you make an offer on the home.

Pros And Cons Of Buying A Foreclosure

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Pros And Cons Of Buying A ForeclosureWhen a homeowner stops making regular mortgage payments, the bank can foreclose on the property. This means that the bank takes possession of the property in an attempt to recover the debt the homeowner owes. In some cases, the bank may try to recover this debt by selling the property at auction. In other cases, the bank will simply list the foreclosed home for sale.

Choosing to purchase a foreclosed home has both advantages and disadvantages for the buyer. Weighing these advantages and disadvantages carefully is essential.

Pros of Buying a Foreclosure

When you decide to buy a foreclosure, you will be working with a seller that is inherently more motivated. The longer the bank owns the property, the more money they lose. For this reason, banks are often more willing to negotiate on all of the terms of the sale, including the price, closing costs and other important factors.

Buying a foreclosure also ensures that you are getting a house that is already vacant, so you can move in whenever you are ready. In addition, you can be sure that the title on the home is clear.

In most cases, you will be able to finance a bank-owned foreclosure with a mortgage, and you will be able to obtain an inspection if you want one.

Cons of Buying a Foreclosure

Buying a foreclosure also comes with disadvantages. For example, banks usually require additional paperwork when you are purchasing a foreclosed home.

In addition, most banks will refuse to complete any repairs on the home before the purchase. Most foreclosed homes are sold as-is, which means you may have to repair some problems or do some updates after you buy the home.

Finally, because the bank has only owned the home a short time, they cannot provide comprehensive disclosures related to the property’s current condition or history. This means that you may end up purchasing a home without being fully aware of the problems you’ll need to address.

Making a Choice

Buying a foreclosure isn’t the right option for every buyer. However, if you are a careful shopper, potential benefits are available.

Before making an offer on a foreclosed home, be sure to consult an experienced mortgage professional to get your pre-approval in order so you can complete the purchase quickly if you choose to move forward.

 

5 Ways Millennial Buyers Can Snag Their Dream Home In This Sellers Market

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5 Ways Millennial Buyers Can Snag Their Dream Home In This Sellers MarketAccording to the 2017 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, Millennials bought 34% of the homes sold; the largest of any generation last year. 

Millennials looking to buy their first, or second, home need to ready themselves for a surprisingly competitive market. Lack of supply causes attractive homes to garner multiple offers in just a few hours!

What can a Millennial buyer do to appeal to sellers and be the one who ends up with the home? Here are 5 ways they can snag their dream home in this seller’s market. 

Get Pre-Approved

Figuring out what a home buyer can afford is a crucial step and no different for these savy Millenial home buyers. Sellers like to avoid nasty surprises. Being pre-approved shows the seller that the homebuyer is serious and financially able to purchase their home. 

Meeting with a mortgage originator and getting pre-approved is how it’s done. This professional will pull credit history and look at current financial infomation to determine precisely how much of a mortgage is affordable. The pre-approval can then be used as part of their offer letter. 

Be Decisive

A hot real estate market is no time for cold feet. Millennials should proactively create a list of must-haves and be ready with an offer when they find a home that meets their requirements. 

Taking too long to mull over whether they like the house, the neighborhood, or the price can result in a dream house being sold right out from under them. 

Get Real

Millennials should research pricing in the neighborhoods they like, and lean on their real estate agent for helpful guidance. Low-balling an offer is not likely to be received well in this competitive market. Making a fair, reasonable offer close to, or even above, the asking price is the best course of action to land the home they want. 

Show Personality

If sellers feel like they know the buyer, they are more likely to choose them over a faceless offer. Include a personal letter with the offer. Go into detail about why the house is appealing. Add personal details about what the Millennial buyer wants to do in the house like raise children, plant a garden, or enjoy baking in the kitchen.

If all buyers are equal, a heartfelt letter just might tip the scales. 

Agree to the Seller‘s Timetable

Some sellers prefer unloading their house fast. Others may want to wait to move until their kids are out of school or the new home they are building is ready. 

Millennial buyers may need to dig to get this information but it can be used to their advantage. Being flexible might just set them up to be the best choice for the seller. 

While challenging, it’s not impossible for Millennials to end up with the house of their dreams. With a bit of planning, decisiveness, flexibility, and a preapproval from their trusted mortgage professional, Millenials can make homeownership a reality in the very near future!

 

 

A Mortgage Pre-Approval Can Help You In Your Home Purchase Negotiations

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A Mortgage Pre-Approval Can Help You In Your Home Purchase NegotiationsA mortgage pre-qualification is an initial estimate of what type and size of mortgage a borrower could get. It is limited, though, because it’s only based on what the borrower tells the lender, which might not be the same as what the lender finds out when it goes through a full process of analyzing the borrower and his credit.

The Initial Loan Pre-Qualification

To get pre-qualified, a borrower starts by finding a lender. Typically, he will give the lender basic information on his ability to borrow. This includes his income, how much money he has in the bank, his current payments and an estimate of his credit worthiness.

The lender takes the pre-qualification information that he gets and compares it to the loan programs of which he is aware. For instance, if he knows that a borrower doesn’t have a lot to put down, but the borrower mentions that he’s active-duty military, the mortgage lender might offer a VA loan as an option.

Based on the programs he sees and the information the mortgage professional gets from the borrower, he will tell the borrower what kind of mortgage to expect .Typically, this gives the borrower a sense of the likely interest rate and of the loan amount he can borrow. Generally, this is enough to let a borrower start looking at real estate listings with a realistic sense of what will be affordable.

The Power of A Mortgage Pre-Approval

When it comes time to start writing offers, though, a mortgage pre-qualification might not be enough. A pre-qualification is missing one important factor — underwriting the borrower’s income and credit.

When a borrower goes beyond a pre-qualification to get a mortgage pre-approval, he submits his credit for the lender to check. That way, his qualifications get confirmed and the lender can issue a more binding letter that not only lets him know what he can afford but also lets him show a seller that he is truly qualified to get a loan.

With that letter, his offer may be viewed as stronger and he can be more likely to get the ability to buy the house he wants.  Talk with your trusted mortgage professional to discuss your options before looking at homes.  It may very likely give you a bit more purchasing leverage.