Before Buying Your First Home…Read This!

Are you one of the many Millenial Americans dreaming of Buying Your First Home, but don’t quite feel ready? People delay homeownership for many reasons; some are unsure where to settle down, some have poor credit and fear they won’t get approved. As a Mortgage Loan Officer, I understand that every person has a different path to homeownership. If you foresee a home purchase in the next few years, now is the best time to start preparing, and I’m here to help!
Just as with any project, your preparation will set the stage for your success. Think of your First Home Buying experience as your largest personal project yet!

Step One: Identify Your Goal
*Phew*, that one was easy! You’ve already completed step one, your goal is to purchase a home.

Step Two: Research
Have you made a choice about where you’d like to live? Researching towns is an important part of the process. You will want to evaluate average home prices for the neighborhood, consider potential property taxes, crime rates, and school ratings, and, more personally, determine the proximity to amenities that are important to you.

Step Three: Set a Timeline
Just like registering for a race inspires a runner to kick start their training, establishing a home buying timeline can help a prospective homebuyer kick start their preparation! Most importantly, be sure to set a realistic and achievable goal. If your aim is to purchase a home within two years, think about what you will need to do over the next 24 months to make that a reality. Are you allowing enough time to improve your credit score? Is there enough time and money each month to save for an ideal down payment?

Step Four: Take Action
With a prospective closing date in mind, do your best to stay on track toward your goal:
•   If you haven’t yet, you should check your current credit score. It is wise to figure this out as soon as possible. Once you know, you will be able to see where you need to do work to improve it. Whether it is paying down credit cards, or enlisting the help of a credit repair service, your credit score is crucial to the mortgage application process. It is best to start preparing now!
•   It is wise to start saving what you can, even though there are loan products that offer little or no down payment options. Remember that there will be closing costs, moving expenses, as well as repairs and furnishings to include in your budget. For a goal of collecting $20,000 over the next two years, you would need to save $833 each month. If you can’t find room in your budget to set that aside every month, consider extending your timeline a bit longer. If someone in your life will be gifting you funds to assist in the home purchase, try to discuss what that amount will be, so you can adjust your own savings plan accordingly.
(If you plan to use gifted funds, you will need to have a gift letter documenting it; as your Mortgage Loan Officer I will be happy to assist you with preparing one.)

Step Five: Talk to your Mortgage Loan Officer
Following these preparatory steps, you will be in a good place when you are ready to start the official home buying process. When the time is right, reach out to Me to talk about your mortgage options and to take advantage of my FREE Jumpstart Mortgage Pre-Approval service.

Consider These FAQ Before Purchasing a New Home

How do you know if owning a home is right for you? Buying a home is a big step. Here are some FAQs to consider before purchasing a home.
How would a buyer know if they are ready to buy a house?
A home is a lifestyle & commitment change, which may include many factors when deciding to purchase a home. Growing a family, relocating, an extended family living together, or low interest rates are all examples that can be the deciding factor when a new buyer is ready to purchase a home. Buying a home is a good investment in your future.
What are some ways to ensure a buyer’s finances are in order before they buy a house?
The first discussion that the agent will have with the buyer is if the buyer is Pre-Approved for a mortgage. They should always be Pre-Approved by a mortgage loan officer at a local lender whom they trust. Some of the factors that are taken into consideration to be Pre-Approved are to always maintain a good credit score, income and asset verification and employment status.
It is imperative that the buyer is educated on what they should or shouldn’t do while the mortgage is in the process. Also, the buyer should never over extend themselves with a mortgage payment. A little hand holding goes a long way!
If a buyer has found a house that fits their needs, what can they do to get more information about the neighborhood?
Before a buyer signs on the dotted line they should always educate themselves on the neighborhood. They should visit during the day, night, and weekends, check out local online forums, talk with neighbors, review crime stats, and the amenities that the town offers. Location, location, location is the most important factor when purchasing a home!
How can buyers better prepare themselves for the home buying process?
The home buying process should not be stressful or problematic. It should be a great and happy experience, but unfortunately not every buyer will agree. It is a team effort… the agent, the mortgage officer and the buyer.
The agent and the loan officer should never pass any stress onto the buyer. The agent’s responsibility is to find the buyers a home. The agent should be knowledgeable in explaining the following steps to the buyer: contract, home inspection, mortgage commitment, and closing.
The loan officer’s job is to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. He is responsible for educating and guiding the buyer through the complicated mortgage process, He must understand the details of the transaction and the buyer’s needs. He assembles all relevant documents to support the mortgage application and submits them to his underwriter for approval.
The buyer’s job is to keep the agent and loan officer informed and comply immediately with any questions or concerns they may have. When the agent and the loan officer prepares the buyer, their buying experience should be pleasant and happy. The only thing that the buyer should be worried about is packing.
What are some important things that buyers should consider when buying a home?
It is the agent’s responsibility to keep an open dialogue with their buyers and explain to them what will sell and what may not sell in the future. Location is the number one factor when buying a home, try not to purchase a home that has less than 3 bedrooms, don’t purchase near or under a highway. These are some examples buyers should think about when purchasing a home. Don’t be afraid to ask your agent and loan officer the hard questions

Then reach out to Me at 860.945.9284 to discuss the right mortgage option for your family and to take advantage of my FREE Jump Start Mortgage Pre-Approval service and be ready to make an offer on your dream home.

It’s Small Business Saturday! Don’t Keep Me a Secret!

It’s Small Business Saturday! Don’t Keep Me a Secret!

If you or your friends meet someone over the holidays who could benefit from working with a professional Mortgage Loan Officer, please reach out to Me their contact information. I will follow-up and take good care of them for you.

Purchase or Refinance. I’m never too busy for your referrals.

Do You Need a Letter of Explanation with Your Mortgage Application?

From time-to-time during the mortgage application process a question will arise that will need further explanation. The underwriter’s concern about certain facts uncovered during her verification of the statements made on an application can usually be addressed in a Letter of Explanation signed by the borrower(s). A professional Loan Officer will usually pick them up during his interview. Here a few of the typical concerns that need to be addressed.

Credit Inquiries:  If the borrower has a credit inquiry on their credit report dated within 120 days of their application, a Letter of Credit Explanation will be requested stating the purpose of the inquiry and whether or not any new debt was incurred as a result of the inquiry.
Joint Account Holder on Bank Account, But Not On Loan:  If a spouse or an6y other person is a joint holder on a bank account where the funds will be used for the down payment or closing costs of a mortgage, a Full Access Letter will be required from that person confirming that they give the borrower 100% access to the funds to use in the transaction.
Address Discrepancy:  If an address shows up on the credit report, pay stub, or bank statement that is not the same as the borrower’s current address on the application, or listed as any previous address on the application, a Letter of Explanation must be submitted explaining the discrepancy with dates the borrower occupied said address.
Derogatory Credit:  If any derogatory credit trade lines appear on the credit report, a Letter of Explanation must be submitted stating what they are for and what event triggered the derogatory credit.  If it is a significant event, stating how the borrower intends to prevent reoccurrence in the future will be very helpful.

Helpful Tips:
o   Documenting a file with the appropriate Letter of Explanation prior to submission of the application will save time in processing and underwriting.
o   All Letters of Explanation must be signed and dated by the borrower
o   Additional documentation that might better explain a questionable situation should be submitted with the Letter of Explanation
o   Any new debt that was incurred as a result of the credit inquiry and is not shown on the credit report must be supported by a copy of the current monthly billing statement. 

Call Me to discuss to discuss the right mortgage option for your family. Take advantage of my FREE Jumpstart Mortgage Pre-Approval service and be ready to make an offer on the home of your dreams.

“When You Work With a Professional, You Get Professional Results”

First Home Buyer Checklist

For Millennials, buying your First Home is an exciting adventure. Owning a home is the American dream. It’s also the largest investment most of us will ever make (aside from perhaps the cost of a college education), Knowing what you’ll need before starting the trek is just as important as knowing what isn’t required. Here are some tips.

 Here’s what you’ll need:
♦   Get Mortgage Pre-Approval. A Mortgage Pre-Approval is a commitment by your lender that they will lend you a specific amount of money when you find your new home.  By getting Pre-Approved for a mortgage before you start house hunting, not only can you shop with confidence, but you’ll be show sellers you are qualified and serious about buying their home.
♦   Enough income to pay monthly mortgage payments. Keep in mind that your monthly mortgage obligation will include not only the mortgage payment, it will also include an escrow payment for your home owners insurance (HOI), taxes, and your monthly mortgage insurance premium (commonly called PMI or MIP).
♦   The ability to maintain the property. You must keep a home in good repair or it will lose value and you’ll lose money. One of the “joys” of homeownership is keeping up with the chores around the house.  You’ll need a lawnmower to maintain curb appeal and you can’t ignore peeling paint or unexpected repairs that eventually come along. If you’re handy you can DIY or you can hire someone to do it for you. Either way, it will cost money. And you ‘d better be prepared.
♦   A decent credit record. Your credit score is the major determining factor in your ability to get a mortgage at the best terms. Low scores are caused by late payments, bankruptcy or collection accounts
There is only one Website authorized by law to provide the Free Annual Credit Report you are entitled to under the Free Credit Reporting Act – annualcreditreport.com. Check it out! And if you see any problems, take action.

Here’s What You Won’t Need:
♦   A big down payment. Sure, it would be nice to be able to make a 20% down payment on your new home. With equity in your home, you can avoid paying PMI, you might get a better rate and you’ll lower your monthly payments.
But it is possible to buy a home with a small down payment. There are several loan programs available to qualified home buyers that allow for down payents as low as 3 to 3.5%; there’s even one that allows for up to 100% financing of eligible properties. Talk to a professional mortgage loan officer about the best option for your family.
♦  Experience. There is a lot of information on the internet about the whole home financing/home purchase adventure. It all tends to result in a giant jigsaw puzzle. Look to the experts for help putting those pieces together. A professional mortgage loan officer has the experience to guide you through the complicated mortgage application process. A trusted Realtor can help find the right house, assist with your negotiations and address other issues with the home purchase.

Resource:  http://www.hgtv.com/design/real-estate/a-checklist-for-first-time-homebuyers

 

Credit Dos and Don’ts During the Mortgage Process

A good credit score is critical when it comes to obtaining the best interest rates and terms on a mortgage. Here are some Credit Dos and Don’ts when looking for a mortgage.

♦   Do Stay Current on All Existing Accounts. One 30 day notice can hurt you.

­♦   Do Continue to Use Your Existing Credit As Normal. If it appears your are changing your pattern, it will raise a red flag and your score could go down.

♦  Don’t Apply for New Credit. Every time you have your credit report pulled by a potential creditor or lender, you can lose ponts on your credit score. This includes co-signing for a loan.

♦  Don’t Pay-Off Old Collection Accounts or Charge-Offs. Talk to your loan officer first. Yes, you are liable for these debts, but now might not be the time. If you must pay-off these old debts, do it through the closing process of your mortgage. Be sure to request a “letter of deletion” from the creditor.

♦  Don’t Close Credit Card Accounts. When you close an inactive credit card account, it may appear that your debt ratio has gone up. Closing a card will affect other factors in the score, including credit history.

♦  Don’t Max Out or Over Charge Credit Card Accounts. Don’t make any large purchases. Keep your credit card balances at 30% of your credit limit before and during the application process. If you do pay down balances, do it equally across the board.

♦  Don’t Consolidate Your Debt. When you combine all your balances into one or two credit cards, it will appear that you have “maxed out” on that card and you will be penalized.

­♦   Do Call Your Loan Officer. Talk to you Loan Officer before taking any action that may possibly affect your credit score.

What is A Mortgage Rate Lock?

At some point during the mortgage application process, the borrower must exercise their agreement with the lender to lock in the rate for their final mortgage. 

What is a Mortgage Rate Lock?
A Mortgage Rate Lock protects the borrower from the risk that interest rates will increase during the rate lock period. It guarantees that the lender will offer the borrower a specific combination of interest rate, points or interest rate credit at the closing of their loan.
If market rates rise after the rate is locked, the borrower will still get the lower rate, to the lender’s detriment. But there’s a downside: If rates fall after the rate is locked, the borrower might not be able to take advantage of that opportunity. 

When Can a Mortgage Rate be Locked?
Buyers typically must wait until a seller has accepted their purchase offer for a specific property before they can lock in an interest rate for their mortgage. In addition, the lender must have certain information about the borrower and the details about the transaction before a rate can be locked. This includes receipt of all signed legal disclosures, the borrower’s credit score, anticipated loan-to-value ratio, property type and the borrower’s signed intent to proceed with the transaction. Until all pieces of the puzzle are in place, the lender can not accurately commit to any final interest rate, cost and terms.

How Long Can a Mortgage Rate be Floated?
When a mortgage rate is locked depends on the borrower’s tolerance for risk. The purchase and sales contract dictates when the loan must close. The borrower may opt to let the final mortgage rate ride or “float” with the market until they feel they can get the best deal. Of course they run the risk that the market will turn in their time period and rates will rise from current conditions.
A good mortgage loan officer may have, in good faith, projected a final mortgage rate for processing purposes, but the mortgage application cannot be approved until the final rate has been locked in.
In today’s mortgage processing environment, a mortgage rate could be floated until about 14 days prior to the prescribed closing date. This should give the lender to deliver the final disclosures, the underwriter time for a final review of the application and to issue a “clear to close,” and time for the closing deportment time to deliver closing package to the closing agent.

Should You Choose a Longer Rate Lock Period?
Borrowers are well advised to choose a 45 to 60 day rate lock period to ensure they can get the agreed upon rate even if there is a delay in processing their mortgage application. If a loan fails to close within the rate lock period, the borrower will charged the higher of the original lock and the current interest rate. If rates are higher, the borrower may be offered the opportunity to extend the original rate at a cost of 0.25 points for each 7 day period. (A point equals 1.00% of the base loan amount)

How Much Does a Rate Lock cost?
Most lenders will not charge for a Mortgage Rate Lock.  . But a rate lock isn’t free. Rather, a longer rate lock typically involves a higher interest rate, which is more expensive for the borrower. The interest rate or “pricing” difference between a 15-day rate lock and 60-day rate lock might be as little as one-eighth or could be as much as half of a percentage point. The longer period protects the lender from potential market deterioration. The shorter the rate lock period, the more risk the borrower is taking on, but they should be getting a better price.”

No Mortgage Loan officer is an interest guru. But he does understand the lender’s commitment to you and will do his best to honor the rate lock obligation. However, the complexity of your application and issues like: failure to provide additional documentation in a timely manner, appraisal concerns, possible title problems all add time to the process.

There is rarely a reason not to lock a loan as soon as you can. Interest rates change daily, sometimes hourly. To protect yourself against the volatility of the marketplace, it’s a good idea to lock your rate once you are satisfied with the rate. The reason some buyers dislike loan locks is because they want to grind every dime out of a transaction that is humanely possible. Just remember that if the rate was acceptable when it was locked three weeks ago, a drop of an 1/8 of a point or so isn’t the end of the world. You don’t need to be that kind of borrower to get a good deal.

Read more: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/questions-rate-lock-answered.aspx#ixzz3cy8lb29i

Get Mortgage Pre-Qualification in 2015

If you are thinking about purchasing a new home in 2015, it is important to be properly prepared. A homebuyer must lay down the necessary groundwork before they are able to purchase the home of their dreams. This is why Home Sellers and Realtors© require First Home Buyers to get Mortgage Pre-Qualification before they go too far into the home buying process.

In order to help you better understand what a Mortgage Pre-Qualification is all about, here is more information about the Mortgage Pre-Qualification process.

What is a Mortgage Pre-Qualification? Getting pre-qualified is the first step in the mortgage process, and it’s generally very simple. You supply a bank or lender with your overall financial information, such as your income, paystubs, W-2’s, and credit. After evaluating this information, a lender can give you an idea of the mortgage amount for which you qualify.

When Should You get Pre-Qualified? The best time to get pre-qualified is before you start looking for a home, as soon as you decide you are interested in buying.
Getting pre-qualified will give you a general idea of your home buying budget, how much of a monthly payment you can comfortably afford, and it will allow you to estimate the loan type that is right for you. Also, when you’re searching for a home, getting pre-qualified will help you and your Realtor to know which homes are in your price range.

How Do You Get Pre-Qualified? In order to get Pre-Qualified, you check out different lenders to find out which one is the best “fit” for you. Chose a Loan officer you are comfortable with and one you can trust to guide you through the lengthy home purchase process. There is usually no cost involved, and does not include an in-depth evaluation of your ability to purchase a home.

What’s the Next Step After a Pre-Qualification? After you have been Pre-Qualified, the next step is to be Pre-Approved. The Mortgage Pre-Approval process tends to be much more involved and much more thorough. In the Mortgage Pre-Approval process, your application will be reviewed by an underwriter and your Loan Officer will have more detailed information to advise you on the best mortgage options available to you.

Call Me at 860.945.9284 to take advantage of my FREE Mortgage Pre-Approval service and discuss the right mortgage options for your family

Questions First Home Buyers Should Ask

Knowing when to think about buying a home can be challenging. You may not know what to consider when making the decision and it can be hard to think long-term. Here are some Questions First Home Buyers Should Ask themselves to determine if now is the right time to begin the home-buying process.

Am I staying here for a long time? If you are planning on living in the same place for the next five to ten years, you might be better off buying a home. You recoup the costs associated with buying a new home by living in it and building equity. Talk to your tax advisor about the tax benefits of owning a home too. And when you sell your house in years to come, the more equity you’ll have, the better off you’ll be.

Is my rent higher than a mortgage payment? Rent can add up, and you are essentially paying off somebody else’s mortgage. If the cost of your rent is more than the cost of owning and maintaining a home, you might want to consider your buying potential now.

Do I have enough money for a down payment? If you can determine the cost of a down payment and the cost of a monthly mortgage payment, and still have a small cushion for any life emergency, it would be worth the investment to look at purchasing a home. Talking to a mortgage professional can help you determine how much house you can afford.

Is my credit good? A high credit score helps you get the best deal on a loan. The higher your score, the lower your interest rate should be. Reviewing a copy of your credit will help you determine where you need to be in order to afford the house you want.

If you answered these questions truthfully and feel buying a home is in your best interest, then getting Mortgage Pre-Approval is the next step. Every First Home Buyer has different things to consider and different options available to them.  Speaking with a mortgage professional is the best place to start.

Most First Home Buyers come to me for Mortgage Pre-Approval with big dreams, high hopes and a lot of questions. Too often folks want to buy a home in a price range they cannot afford. It is my job as a Mortgage Consultant to help First home Buyers set realistic expectations and help them see how big a house they can afford and how large a mortgage they qualify for. Getting prospective home buyers Pre-Approved for mortgage is an exercise to insure that “families live comfortably and financially secure in their own home.”

CT Mortgage Broker With A Unique Advantage

I’m a Mortgage Broker with a Unique Advantage in the world of Mortgage Finance. The relationships I have formed with trusted lenders over the years means that I can get loans done quicker and closed on time when others may not be able to accomplish anything at all.
The majority of the dozen or so lenders I work with have Account Reps. When these Reps are really good at what they do, and you do a lot of volume with them, they will do everything possible to keep me and my clients happy. The #1 reason … the happier I am with their service, the more loans I will send their way… and the more money they will make!

Every Mortgage Account Rep is always vying for more business. The reason is obvious… they want to make more money. Over time, true relationships are formed. I have done business with many of these reps for years and strong bonds have been formed. I know them professionally and they know how much I love my dog.

I wouldn’t try to count the cups of coffee I’ve shared with these Reps. Their message is always the same …When I have a problem with one of my loans, call them ASAP so they can expedite the problem. They always know…if they fix issues, I can deliver on my promise to my clients and that means more future business they’ve earned and deserve.

What Does This Mean To You? The relationships that I’ve formed over my 40 years of financial service experience means that loans can get done quicker and, when glitches arise, loans can still get closed when the big box banks turn their customers out to the wolves.