Tag: home purchase - page 2

It is the dream of most Americans to own their own home.  There is something special about buying a home especially your first.  With the purchase of a home comes endless possibility.  The space is yours and therefore can be manipulated in any manner you desire.  Your desires can be fulfilled through home improvements, renovations and landscape design.  The one thing that occurred within the past few years is that the ability to purchase a home has become harder.  There are more stringent restrictions on being approved for a mortgage.  This is largely due to the crisis that was created with the housing bubble a decade ago.  Home prices were largely inflated, home loans were given out without a lot of discretion and people were buying homes that were not necessarily qualified.

In order to be sure you are ready for the financial commitment of owning a home and taking on a mortgage it is important to consider a few things.  Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you are really ready to own a home.

The first question to ask yourself is why it is you would like to purchase a home.  This question will also help to determine the type of mortgage you will qualify for as well.  What is your plan for the house?  Is the purpose of purchasing the home so that you can rent it out and use the income to subsidize your income?  Are you looking for a long term investment?  Are you looking for a home that you can move into, live comfortably and do home improvements to increase the homes equity and then sell the home for profit? Are you looking for a home to settle down in for an extended period of time?  These questions will help to determine if you should apply for a fixed rate, ARM, FHA or another type of mortgage. If you have been in the military you may qualify for a VA loan.

Next it is wise to understand exactly what you can afford.  Many people found that the home loan they were preapproved for above the amount in which they could actually afford on a monthly basis.  This is part of the reason we ended up in a housing crisis.  Many people could not continue to make the large mortgage payments they were approved for and therefore ended up in foreclosure.  Take into account your income to debt ratio along with a safety net that you would like to have for savings each month.  This will help ensure that you purchase a home in which the monthly payment is affordable and within where you feel comfortable not where the banks feel comfortable at.  Be sure to account for hidden costs as well as utilities, taxes and insurance.

The point at which you are in your life as well as your five year plan should be considered as well.  Both can affect the type of mortgage you should look into getting if you decide to buy a home.  Perform a cost analysis to determine if buying or renting is a better option for you.  Buying is always better if you the growth in equity and expenses of owning outweigh the expenses that come with renting.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.

Choosing a mortgage lender is important.  Many people don’t understand just how crucial the lender can be to helping you find the right mortgage for your new home.  Each lender is unique and offers different options; the fate of your home loan application is in their hands.  Some lenders tend to be more strict than others complying to the rules fully while others are a bit more lenient and work around issues that other lenders may not.   Here are some financial tips to consider when looking for a lender to service your home mortgage needs.

• Before you go looking for a mortgage lender know exactly what you are looking for.  Determine what type of home loan that you think would work best for your situation.  Are you looking to purchase your first home?   You may consider a loan with special rates for first time home buyers.  A good mortgage lender will tell you all of the loans you qualify for and will show you which option works best for your situation.  They will then let you decide which you believe is in your best interest.

• Look into the different mortgage rates that are currently available. This can be done online or in person with a lender.  The more you know before you begin looking for a mortgage and a lender the better prepared you will be to make a thorough decision.

• Different types of lenders have their advantages and disadvantages.  Some mortgage lenders actually lend their own money while other lenders will broker your mortgage out to a variety of lenders and look for the best option for your home loan.

• Compare the fees that are charged between lenders.  Ask about upfront costs, closing costs and any hidden fees that are tied into the principal of the mortgage.  Avoid rolling last minute costs into your principal loan amount as the interest that you pay on that small amount of principal can really add up over time.

• Talk to the referrals of the companies you are leaning towards working with to find a mortgage for you and your home.  Ask for pre-approvals as well while you are shopping for a home loan.  Between talking with referrals and considering the various pre-approvals you have been given you will most likely have narrowed down your choice of mortgage lenders to just a few if not the one.  If you are stuck with a decision narrowed down to two lenders talk with your real estate agent.  They may have past experience working with the different lenders in the past and be able to help you decide.

Choosing a mortgage lender is an important process of buying a home.  Between hiring an agent to represent you in buying your home and hiring a lender to finance your new home you have a lot of decisions to make.  A lot of buying and financing a home comes down to your gut reaction as well.  Trust yourself and your research; both will lead you exactly where you need to be.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.

In our last installment we discussed a few of the mishaps that can occur when looking for a home loan without the help of a mortgage broker.  In this follow up article we will discuss some more ways that mortgage brokers assist lenders through the minor bumps that can occur when seeking to get a new mortgage or refinancing an existing one.

One common complaint that lenders have when it comes to providing a mortgage is that the applicant has an insufficient amount of money in savings, a down payment that is too small or even income requirements below what they require.  When using a mortgage broker they will seek out lenders that offer mortgages within the limitations you present.  Since they work with a myriad of lenders they know ahead of time what minimum requirements each has in place therefore can weed out lenders that don’t fit within what you are able to bring to the table.

Another issue that arises that can throw a red flag is a recent change of jobs or status of employment.  To certain lenders this is viewed as a lack of stability and therefore less likely to finance a mortgage for you.  Mortgage brokers understand that life is unpredictable and can offer ways around such events.  They can assist you in finding a lender that is able to calculate the repayment in a more favorable manner or a lender that will accept the word of your employer, in letter form, as proof that your position is secure.

Lenders are looking to offer mortgages to those of us that have regular incomes and saving patterns.  In the six months before you start the process of looking for a new home or considering a refinance it is important that you begin saving regularly and obtain a position where your income is stable.  If you are self employed this may be something that is difficult.  Often times you have highs and lows with income and savings.  A mortgage broker can help you to obtain a mortgage from a lender that specializes in small business owner mortgages or even find a lender who will accept gift deposits or parental help as collateral on your new home loan.

Does your partner have undesirable credit but you need their income to be considered to afford the home of your dreams?  If this occurs a mortgage broker will look into securing a mortgage for you from a nonconforming lender.  What happens is that you are offered a mortgage at a higher interest rate then what is available to lenders with a good credit history.  After three years in your home, making regular payments thus hopefully improving your partners credit score you can then refinance your home loan to a lower interest rate.

Mortgage brokers tend to be able to work the system in favor of the borrower.  This is especially important when you are looking to obtain a mortgage or refinance with less than perfect conditions.  They are familiar with the different requirements set by lenders and will be able to work with what you can offer to secure you a mortgage that meets both your needs as well as the lenders.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.

There are so many variables when it comes to getting a mortgage.  Many people make the mistake of going it alone without the help of a mortgage broker.  With so many steps when it comes to applying for and qualifying for a mortgage you will want to make sure that you take any missteps out of the process.  A flawless application process will ensure that you get the home of your dreams with a qualifying mortgage to match.

The first mistake most borrowers make is that they ask too many lenders for mortgages’ resulting in an influx of credit inquires.  Too many credit enquires put your credit file at risk.  A mortgage broker can combat this for applicants by weeding out the lenders who don’t fit into the criteria offered by the borrower.  Your mortgage broker will only apply for those loans that fit with the criteria you qualify under.

Errors in your loan submission will be viewed as fraudulent activity by the lender.  Mortgage brokers can assure that they pull an accurate and up to date credit report for you along with submitting a detailed loan application to lenders to ensure that your loan is processed and all the wrinkles are ironed out before they become issues that you as the lender are aware of.  This process is easier for mortgage brokers as they have built relationships with lenders that you perhaps have not.

Another issue that often arises when searching for a lender on your own is that the appraised value of the home is less than that of the price which was agreed upon.  When this situation arises your broker will fly into action.  In order to resolve this issue your broker will ask if they can re-negotiate the price of the home with the seller’s agent.  If this fails the broker will ask the lender to ask a new company to come in and re-evaluate the value of the home.  If this fails the next option for you is to find a new home that appraises better than the home you originally had an offer on.

In our next installment on mortgages; choosing between finding a mortgage on your own or hiring a broker we will look at other common mistakes made.  There are many mistakes that can be made, simple ones at that, if you choose to forgo a mortgage broker and attempt to obtain a mortgage on your own.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.

Purchasing a home is one of the most expensive investments you can make in your lifetime.  Not only does it take up a huge amount of the money you are currently earning but also a chunk of the money you have in savings.  The larger the down payment the smaller the monthly payment however you never want to leave yourself without a comfortable cushion.   Having a mortgage takes up a large percentage of your monthly take home pay and therefore many homeowners try to pay their mortgage down as fast as possible.  With that in mind we have compiled a list of ways to make it easier to pay your mortgage down quickly.

The first way to pay your mortgage down faster is quite obvious; put more money down on your mortgage each month.  The larger the payment, the faster you will pay down your mortgage and the closer you will be to paying it off.  One way to do this is to make payments bi-weekly instead of monthly.  This will allow you to make 26 smaller, more manageable payments rather than 12 larger payments.  Using this technique will allow you to make one extra payment a year as well.

If you want to you can also increase the amount of your mortgage payment.  If you are able to do this you will then be putting more money directly towards the principal of the mortgage.  Be sure to include the portion of the payment to be applied to the original mortgage payment and what you would like to be applied to the principal.

Another method to pay off your mortgage faster is to put increases in wages towards the payment.  This includes bonuses or incentives as well.  The more money that is applied directly to the principle of your mortgage the sooner you will find yourself paying your mortgage off.

If you come into a lump sum of money and already have stocked away a fund for emergency’s consider making a onetime lump sum payment to the principle of your mortgage.  The more that is paid directly to the principal the less you will pay in interest in the long run.  The less interest paid the more money available to go towards the principle of your mortgage.  It is one of those times that the catch twenty two works in your favor.

When you are looking at options in mortgages look for options that offer a fifteen year fixed mortgage payment over the thirty year.  If the payment at fifteen years is too large to handle try a twenty year mortgage.  The less amount of time you finance your mortgage for the less interest you will pay and the sooner your home will be yours clear and free of a mortgage payment.

Apply these tips to paying off your mortgage and you will see how quickly an extra yearly payment or two stacks up in the long run.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.

Seeking out a mortgage can be an incredibly confusing task. It is not so much difficult but more overwhelming. The most solid piece of advice that can be given to people looking to refinance or to obtain a mortgage is to look around and get a variety of quotes from a number of different companies. Not only are you looking for the best terms and rates within your mortgage you are looking for a broker that provides you with exceptional customer service.

When you are shopping around for a mortgage and company to work with you will understandably find yourself in a difficult position. In order to sort through all of the information that is being handed to you it will be important to be organized. As a mortgage seeker you will want to scrutinize all of the details and ask questions about the variety of mortgage quotes you have been given. Compare the mortgage quotes you have been given along with the service you have been provided. This will help you narrow the field down substantially. A low rate is not everything and can be deceiving in mortgages. Be sure to thoroughly review and compare each option.

Mortgage seekers should use the information below as a base guideline when shopping for a new home loan, refinancing and other options in mortgages.

1) Don’t necessarily take the first mortgage quote you are given. It is important to review the details, ask questions and even negotiate to ensure that you are getting the best mortgage for your current situation.

2) Shop around for a variety of mortgages with several mortgage companies. The broker you deal with should also be handpicked. If you are dealing with a broker that you find difficult to deal with and find their explanations hard to understand ask for someone new to assist you.

3) Low sounding interest rates draw you in but don’t let them deceive you. There is a catch to everything from low mortgage rates to low monthly payments on car loans. Somewhere you will be picking up the expense.

4) Check on redemption penalties or early pay off penalties. You will want to find a mortgage without any penalties for refinancing with another company or for paying your mortgage off before it is due. This will be hidden well in the small print and not something that will be publicized. In order to not cheat yourself ask about these fees upfront.

5) Never pay for a quote for your mortgage. New mortgage quotes, refinances, reversed mortgage quotes and home loans quotes should all come free of charge.

6) You should know that even though you get a quote from a lender that does not obligate you to sign up for a mortgage with that firm. A quote is free from obligation and therefore none should be felt.

7) You should feel free to share with each of the brokers and mortgage companies that you are shopping around for the best rates and terms. This will automatically make them bring their best offer to the table knowing that there is competition in the mix.

For more information or to find a mortgage lender in your area look online today. There are a number of local brokers that represent a variety of mortgage companies from all across the country.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, Michigan athttp://brightoncrosscountry.com/