You’ve most likely heard on the radio lenders boasting they can get you approved in minutes or days by simply going to the website and clicking a button. Is that all it takes nowadays to get approved and to go to closing? Can you close the loan right after you are approved in mere minutes? Well, the short answer is no. By “approval”, they may mean their computer program analyzes the data you input, and qualifies you for the loan. However, what they fail to tell you is that you still need to sign an application package and submit supporting...
Blog
INVESTMENT PROPERTY PURCHASES AND QUALIFYING
If you are going to purchase an investment property, you want to make sure the rental income covers the mortgage payment. In addition, you should budget a cushion, i.e. rental income that more than covers your mortgage payment and gives you some profit each month. You can put the profit aside and keep it in a fund for repairs that may become necessary over time, or pocket it. When lenders qualify you, they make the same considerations. They will take the market rental income as determined by the appraiser and use that amount to offset the mortgage debt. Thus, the...
April 15, 2020April 15, 2020
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
A mortgage payment could be less than your rent payment. You may think you cannot qualify, but you’d be surprised. There are many new products on the market. There are no-money down loans, and low-down payment loans available where the down payment can be a gift. If you do not have good credit, we can help you restore your credit, for FREE. We have worked with many customers to help them improve their credit. Bottom line, now is the time to buy. Contact us and we can help you! We offer a variety of products and services, ask us...
April 14, 2020April 14, 2020
FIRST THINGS FIRST
You’ve decided you want to buy a house but don’t know where to begin. You’re not sure what to do. First things first; Here’s where to start: • The first thing to do is check your credit, you will need a good credit score to get a good loan. Student loans, car loans, and credit cards are all items that are considered in determining your credit score, make sure you pay these each month when they become due (for credit cards, maintain a balance no higher than 30% of the credit limit, this will help your credit score). • Save...
April 13, 2020August 5, 2020
HOW’S THE COVID-19 CREDIT MARKETS?
Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. So much happening so fast – COVID-19 … current and downstream effects! We’ll try to sift through the clutter and focus on those factors affecting our market over the next few months. As I review data accumulated since our last letter, this will be a challenge. So here we go. The primary factor affecting the market’s current negative behavior is the coronavirus … COVID-19. So the primary battle to be won is to neutralize this threat to the economy. Prior to the emergence...
April 10, 2020April 10, 2020
CALCULATING MORTGAGE INSURANCE
If you are applying for a conventional loan and put less than 20% down on a home, the lender will require you to pay mortgage insurance. The amount of mortgage insurance will depend on your credit score, what you are purchasing (e.g. condo, single family residence, etc.), the purpose (primary residence, second home, or investment property), and the amount of the down payment. There are different ways mortgage insurance can be paid. It can be paid monthly, in one payment as a single premium, by the lender by increasing the interest rate, or can be split with a portion being...
April 9, 2020April 9, 2020
DO YOU HAVE A COLLECTION, CHARGE-OFF, OR JUDGMENT?
Can you get a mortgage if you have a derogatory item on your credit report, such as a collection, charge-off, or judgment? Maybe. Believe it or not, your credit score may be high enough to qualify even with the derogatory item on your credit report. Depending on the dollar amount of the derogatory item, it may not need to be paid off to qualify. The first thing to do is pull your credit and take a look at the derogatory items. If you want to do this on your own, you can go to https://bit.ly/1cWSBIB, where you get one free credit report, without...
April 7, 2020April 7, 2020
BUYDOWN AS AN EXAMPLE
As interest rates fluctuate, you may see lenders offering mortgages with buydowns. This is a different type of mortgage than if you buy down the rate. I’ll explain: If you buy down the rate, you are paying extra money, usually points, to get a lower rate. The rate you buy down becomes the rate for the life of the loan. A buydown is a different product; let’s look at a 2/1 buydown as an example: If the 30-year fixed rate is 4.5%, the buydown start rate for that 30-year fixed mortgage is typically higher, say 4.75% in this example. A...
April 6, 2020April 6, 2020
HOW MUCH OF A DOWN PAYMENT DO I NEED?
How much money should you put down on the purchase of a property? If you just want to put the minimum down, then you are generally looking at 3% down for a primary residence (unless it is a down payment assistance, VA, or USDA loan), 10% down for a second/vacation home, and 20% down for investment properties. However, if you can make more than the minimum down payment, then you may want to consider the following factors. One factor is the rate of return your money is currently making as compared to the rate at which you will borrow....
April 5, 2020April 5, 2020
SHOULD YOU LOCK THE RATE OR FLOAT?
When a customer applies for a loan with us and we quote an interest rate, we’ll ask the customer if they want to lock it in or float the rate. To lock in the rate means that will be the rate for their loan. To float means the quoted rate could change, it could go up or go down, depending on market conditions. It will have to be locked before closing, so they can float it up until then. The question becomes whether to lock in or float the rate. If it is an increasing rate environment, then you may...
April 4, 2020April 4, 2020