Forbearance – you should only do it if you absolutely have to. Some people are taking a forbearance on their mortgage as a way to take a break on their mortgage payment when they really do not need to.
Forbearance does not mean you can skip mortgage payments and never pay them back. You have to repay any missed or reduced payments in the future. So, if you’re able to keep up with your payments, keep making them.
Taking a forbearance will also impede your ability to refinance. Having a forbearance on your credit report means you cannot get a new mortgage. You have to bring the loan current to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Forbearance, mortgage forbearance
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When you buy a new home, you need a mortgage to purchase it. And before you get a mortgage, you need to determine how much mortgage you qualify for. Different sources may qualify you for different mortgage amounts. And how much you qualify for does not necessarily equate to how much you can afford.
How much you can afford is based on your personal budget. When a mortgage lender tells you how much you can qualify for, that is the highest mortgage amount they’ll approve you for. But this may not be the mortgage size you end up closing on. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: affordable, mortgage, preapproval, prequalification
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People spend a lot of time looking for the perfect home. There are the countless hours spent poring over real estate listings, the weekend trips to open houses, and the days of driving with your realtor from showing to showing. However, choosing a mortgage lender or broker is often treated as an afterthought—many buyers simply go with their own bank or a broker/lender recommended by their realtor without researching competitive rates and looking for lenders who will also educate them.
This is a critical mistake. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: choosing a lender, mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage loan officer
Posted in Home Buying Process, interest rates, Loan Process, Loan Types, mortgage, Refinance | No Comments »
Prior to 2020, veterans could borrow more than the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Loan Limits capped amount, but had to have a down payment of 25% of the difference between the maximum loan limit and the sales price. As of January 1, 2020, the VA has started to allow $0 down loans that exceed the county loan limits.
So now, if a veteran wants to buy a home for $1,000,000 with no money down, they can. $2,000,000? Sure thing. $3,000,000? No problem! However, there are rules and guidelines that come with this new change. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: VA down payment, VA mortgage, VA mortgages
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Mortgage rates did indeed go down after the Coronavirus spread and financial markets started to panic. But the Coronavirus and mortgage rates aren’t directly connected.
People considering a refinance continue to contact me for low rates, but now that rates have spiked it may no longer makes sense.
The recent mortgage rate reductions we saw may be gone for a period of time, but the rate changes are not as drastic as the media made it sound. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: home buying, interest rates, mortgage rates, rates increasing, refinancing
Posted in Home Buying Process, interest rates, mortgage, Refinance | No Comments »
Shopping for a home means coming to understand a world of legalities designed to help protect the process of property transactions in the United States. That means learning about the various stages of investigation needed to transfer ownership with confidence. Home inspections, appraisals, title searches, and other steps inform buyers and sellers of possible complications with the sale. When it comes to navigating these requirements, homeowners need to understand their obligations and the mechanisms built to protect them, such as owner’s title insurance. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: lenders title insurance, owners title insurance, title insurance
Posted in Home Buying Process, title, Title | No Comments »
I often get asked to get a potential buyer pre-approved to buy a new home, without the mortgage being contingent on the sale of the current home that they own. While this is possible, it is difficult.
GETTING THE CASH FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT ON YOUR NEXT HOUSE
First, you have to have the cash for the down payment and closing costs for the new home without the benefit of the sale of the current home. Then you would have to be able to qualify to carry the debt of both mortgages at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: contingent offer, home buying, home selling, non contingent offer
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I have clients who are buying a rental property or who are buying a primary residence and already own rental property and think they need to provide a copy of a current lease for the rental property as part of the loan application. But, that is not always the case.
The borrower may be able to document rental income by providing tax returns, rather than leases. In either a purchase or refinance the borrower should have a history of renting property. If the request is for a refinance, the borrower needs to have owned the property long enough to qualify for this option, typically a 2 year history is needed.
If the request is for a loan to purchase a new rental property, then having existing rental property with a 2 year track record income may allow them to use the tax return option.
If the borrower does not have a history of renting the subject property or if the borrower’s tax returns do not reflect the accurate income or expenses, then a mortgage lender may require one of two things: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: mortgage, rental income, underwriting
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When is an approval really an approval? When is an approval only a conditional approval? Below are the different levels of “loan approval” you can get for a mortgage:
1. Pre-Qualification:
This is done before you make an offer on a home. This is only a loan officer analysis, and supporting financial documents are not required. This is a review of the applicant’s income and debts using standard methods of determining housing and debt ratios to indicate the maximum loan amount for which an applicant would qualify, subject to the satisfactory appraisal, further verifications of income, employment and credit history. This is the lowest form of analysis you can have done.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: approval process, mortgage approval, pre-approval, pre-qualification
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A home inspection protects the buyer. It’s meant to uncover potentially serious issues with the home so that you understand what you’re buying.
In a competitive market, some buyers walk through the home with an inspector before making an offer on the home. This gives them the confidence to formally waive the inspection contingency when they make their offer, possibly putting their offer in a stronger position to be accepted. However, a home inspection may identify the need for major repairs or builder oversights and minimize unpleasant surprises or unexpected difficulties. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: home buying process, home inspection
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