28
Oct
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

Buying a Home? 4 Steps You Can Take to Ensure You Start out with a Low Monthly Mortgage Payment

Buying a Home? 4 Steps You Can Take to Ensure You Start out with a Low Monthly Mortgage PaymentAre you thinking about buying a new house or condo? If so, you’ve likely given some thought to your mortgage and as to how you can pay as little as possible in order to own your new home.

Below we’ll share four easy steps that you can take to ensure you start out with an affordable monthly mortgage payment.

Make A Large Down Payment On Your Home

The easiest way to reduce your monthly payment is to invest as much as possible in your down payment. The less you have to borrow, the less you’ll be required to pay back.

If you can put a sizeable amount down on your home you’ll find that your monthly payments are going to be very manageable. You’ll also save a lot of money in interest.

Maintain A High Credit Score

When a lender assesses your financial history they’ll take an in-depth look at your credit score in order to determine how much risk you present to them. If you’ve kept a clean credit rating and have a high score, it’s likely that you will qualify for a lower interest rate than someone with a lower credit score – even if you both have the same monthly income.

Buy A Smaller, More Efficient Home

When you’ve made your short list of homes and you’re scheduling your viewings, ask yourself – do you need a home this big, or this expensive? If you can do with a smaller, more efficient home you can reduce the amount of mortgage financing that you require and this will in turn reduce the amount that you need to pay each month.

Consider A Longer Mortgage Term

Finally, if you need to reduce your monthly payment at any cost you can stretch out your mortgage repayment period by a few years. Note that while this can reduce your payment amount it will actually increase the total amount that you end up paying back as you’ll pay more in interest.

While the above are general tips for reducing your mortgage payment, it’s likely that there are other strategies that are unique to your financial situation. Contact your local mortgage professional at your convenience and they’ll be able to share insights that are relevant to your income, your credit and the price range you’re looking to buy into.

23
Oct
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

Did You Know: Five Factors That Lenders Won’t Even Consider When Assessing You For a Mortgage

Did You Know: Five Factors That Lenders Won't Even Consider when Assessing You for a MortgageAre you thinking about buying a new home? If you’re going to apply for mortgage financing, you can rest assured that your lender will be checking in to your credit history, income and other items in order to assess your ability to manage this debt.

However, there also quite a few variables that they won’t inspect during the due diligence process. In today’s blog post we’ll look at five factors that a lender or mortgage underwriter won’t consider when assessing your suitability for a mortgage loan.

Your Family Status

It’s against the law for lenders to make any special considerations as to your family status, whatever it might be. Both the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act protect you from discrimination in regards to your family status.

Your Age or Race

Similarly, lenders cannot factor in your age or your race when assessing your suitability for a mortgage loan. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer who has just graduated from college or a retiree looking to purchase that dream condo on the beach, age will not be a factor in your mortgage application.

Shopping Around with Other Lenders

While you might have heard that checking your credit too often can cause issues with your credit score, this isn’t the case when shopping around with multiple mortgage providers.

Only the first “hard inquiry” on your credit by a mortgage lender in a two-week period will count against your score; after this, the credit agencies will assume that you’re doing comparison shopping with other providers and avoid factoring these checks in.

Unemployment and Other Unstable Income Sources

If you have sources of income that are deemed irregular or unstable, such as a small side business or unemployment income, it’s a safe bet that these will not be considered as income when your mortgage application is assessed. As the typical mortgage loan is repaid back over 10 to 20 years, lenders and underwriters are looking for stability in your ability to pay.

Any Non-Borrower’s Income

While it can certainly be helpful to have a spouse or other family member include their income along with yours to prove your repayment ability, unless they are listed on the loan as a co-borrower their income will not be counted.

If you have other questions, be sure to contact your local mortgage broker or other professional as they are an excellent source of quality information and expertise.

21
Oct
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

First-time Home Buyer? Don’t Miss These Tips to Ensure Your Mortgage Application is Approved

First-time Home Buyer? Don't Miss These Tips to Ensure Your Mortgage Application is ApprovedAre you buying a home for the first time? Congratulations! Buying your own home is an excellent way to build your net worth while living in a space that you can renovate and truly make your own.

If you’re going to be taking out a mortgage to help pay for the up-front costs of your home, you’ll want to get a head start on the approval process.

With that in mind, below are four handy tips to ensure that your mortgage application is approved on your first try.

Gather All Of The Necessary Information And Paperwork

You’re going to need as much financial data as possible so try to prepare your past two income tax returns, pay stubs and other details ahead of time. It may also be helpful to create a quick budget to show your lender how your income stacks up against your monthly bills.

Maintain A Clean Credit History

It likely goes without saying that you’ll need as clean a credit history as possible in order to ensure a quick mortgage approval. If you think that there may be some negative items on your report, try to have a copy pulled before you see your mortgage lender as they’ll be asking you about them.

Don’t Try To Fudge Any Facts On Your Application

Your mortgage lender is legally and professionally obligated to perform a significant amount of due diligence on you before they are able to process your approval. If you’ve lied on your application it is likely to be discovered and will be seen as a serious breach of trust on your part.

Even if your financial picture isn’t all that strong it’s far better to be honest than to try to hide or falsify your data.

Make A Down Payment Higher Than 20 Percent

Finally, if you can make a down payment on your home that is higher than 20 percent of the purchase cost you may find it easier to get approved. Placing more than 20 percent down typically eliminates you from various mortgage insurance requirements and can show the lender that you’re capable of paying the mortgage back in full.

The above tips are just a few ways that you can work to ensure that you have a better chance at being approved for your mortgage. If you have other questions or for more information, contact your local mortgage professional and they’ll be happy to share their expertise.