Financing

Financing is always a big concern in purchasing a home, and should be treated accordingly.  I always recommend that any buyer I’m working with get “Prequalified” by a Mortgage Officer.  Essentially, getting Prequalified for financing is as simple as a 10-15 minute phone call at your convenience.  Or with today’s technology, as easy as an e-mail.

WHY SHOULD I GET PREQUALIFIED?

A buyer should get prequalified as soon as possible for several reasons:

1. Many buyers need some place to start in terms of price range.  And no buyer wants to learn after all the hard work and time of viewing property that the perfect home is beyond their means!
2. In the event there is a deficiency in your credit, or down payment, you may have more time to rectify a concern.
3. When you find the perfect home, you will want to act quickly in this market.  More often than not, you will be competing with other buyers.  A letter from a lender, or a name and phone number of a Mortgage Officer that has prequalified you will make your offer to purchase more appealing to a seller.  Going 1 step further and getting “Pre-approved” is the norm in today’s market. 

There’s no cost or obligation, and any Mortgage Officer would be more than happy to crunch numbers for you, and tell you how much home you can afford to purchase. They will also describe for you, the many different styles of loans and their respective interest rates, down payments, monthly payments and closing costs that will best meet your needs and desires.

There are so many styles of loans available in today’s market, it’s not only those with excellent credit and plenty of money to put down that are buying homes!

Choosing a Mortgage Offer to contact can be a chore in itself.  With all the marketing of lower interest rates, little or no money down, it’s confusing to say the least.  The bottom line is that a mortgage company has to make a profit to stay in business.  And what you might gain in one aspect, you pay for in another.  Purchasing a home should not be a game!

The best Mortgage officers are ones that are easy to get in touch with, not only during business hours!  Knowledge, honesty, good service, and reliability are important too.  Mortgage Officers who work with Mortgage Companies that offer market interest rates and Closing Costs are a given.  If you know of someone who recently purchased a home, ask who they used.  If not, and you need a suggestion, here’s a few mortgage officers that I’ve had excellent experiences with.  Each offer market interest rates and closing costs, and have done a good job with my buyers in the past: