Do you wish to buy a new home? Or do you wish to refinance the one you have? If you have to take on a loan to have the financing you need to buy, you will be needing a mortgage. With this knowledge in mind, you should find the process simple to navigate.
Before beginning any home buying negotiation, get pre-approved for your home mortgage. That pre-approval will give you a lot better position in terms of the negotiation. It’s a sign to the seller that you can afford the house and that the bank is already behind you in terms of the buy. It can make a serious difference.
Organize your financial life before going after a home mortgage. If your paperwork is all over the place and confusing, then you’ll just make the entire mortgage process that much longer. Do yourself and your lender a favor and put your financial papers in order prior to making any appointments.
Start saving all of your paperwork that may be required by the lender. These documents include pay stubs, bank statements, W-2 forms and your income tax returns. Keep these documents together and ready to send at all times. If you don’t have your paperwork in order, your mortgage may be delayed.
Before you attempt to get a mortgage, it is wise to have a budget in mind. This way you aren’t stuck agreeing to something that you cannot handle in the future. This will require setting realistic boundaries about your affordable monthly payments based on budget and not dreams of what house you get. No matter how great a new home is, if it leaves you strapped, trouble is bound to ensue.
You can request for the seller to pay for certain closing costs. For example, a seller can pay either a percentage of the closing cost or for certain services. Many times the seller is responsible for paying for a termite inspection along with a survey and appraisal of the property.
Put as much as you can toward a down payment. Twenty percent is a typical down payment, but put down more if possible. Why? The more you can pay now, the less you’ll owe your lender and the lower your interest rate on the remaining debt will be. It can save you thousands of dollars.
Be careful when taking out a second line of financing. Many financial institutions will allow you to borrow money on your home equity to pay off other debts. Remember you are not actually paying off those debts, but transferring them to your house. Check to make sure your new home loan is not at a higher interest rate than the original debts.
Chose a bank to carry your mortgage. Not all companies who finance homes are banks. Some of them are investment companies and private corporations. Though you may be comfortable with them, banks are usually the easier option. Local bankers can usually cut down the turn-around time between application and available funds.
Shop around for mortgage refinancing once in a while. Even if you get a great deal to start with, you don’t want to set it and forget it for several decades. Revisit the mortgage market every few years and see if a refinance could save you money based on updated insurance rates.
Learn all the costs and fees that are associated with your mortgage. Go over your mortgage paperwork line by line make sure you understand each fee. It can be hard to deal with sometimes. By learning what closing costs really entail, and what things like points are, you are better positioned to negotiate those fees down.
There are times when the seller of a home will be able to give you a land contract so you can purchase the home. The seller needs to own the home outright, or owe very little on it for this to work. A land contract may need to be paid within a few years.
If your mortgage application is denied, do not give up. Banks follow their own lending standards and another bank may accept you. Keep in mind that lending standards are much stricter than they were a decade ago, though. When you are turned down, ask why. Then work on fixing that problem.
You don’t have to rework everything if one lender has denied you; simply go to another lender. Be sure to keep your situation stable. It’s not your fault; some banks are just very picky. You may find someone as you’re looking that’s willing to work with you.
Now, you know a thing or two about home mortgages. When you finally decide that you will apply for a home mortgage, make sure you apply all of the great advice from this article. Owning a home can be one of life’s greatest achievements, so don’t miss out because you are afraid of the mortgage process.
