23
Aug
By support
Home Mortgage Tips

Graduating From College? 3 Things You Need to Know About Mortgages and Student Loans

Graduating From College? 3 Things You Need to Know About Mortgages and Student LoansAre you thinking about buying a new home using a mortgage loan? If you’ve just graduated from college, you’re probably wondering how your student loans will impact a mortgage and what your options are. In today’s post we’ll share three things that you need to know about mortgages if you’re still working on paying off your student loan debt.

#1: Yes, Your Student Loan Will Affect Your Application

You might as well embrace the fact that your outstanding student loan is going to cause some questions to be asked during the mortgage application process. Mortgage lenders have a responsibility to understand the risk involved in lending a significant amount of money to you. And because of this, any mortgage provider is likely to dig into your financial background to ensure that you are responsible and can afford to make the mortgage payments.

Don’t take it personally. In fact, it’s best to be up front about your existing student loan or other debts and your plan for managing them.

#2: It’s All About Your “DTI” Ratio

Your debt-to-income ratio is going to be a significant factor in the success of your mortgage application. This figure helps to determine how much money you need to send out to balance your debts each month versus how much you’re bringing in from working. If this ratio is too high, it’s a signal that you may not be able to juggle all of the payments you’re responsible for making. Also, keep in mind that over time, your job and income situation will change and this can affect your DTI ratio as well.

#3: Missed Payments Can Cause Serious Problems

Finally, you’ll want to ensure that you don’t miss any student loan payments. Even one missed payment – for any reason – can cause significant damage to your credit rating or FICO score. Successfully managing a higher-than-normal debt load means being strict with your budget and responsible with your payments. If possible, try to have your student loan payments taken out from your bank account automatically. That way you won’t forget or miss the payment deadline.

While it may be a challenge to manage multiple types of debt, it’s not impossible. Juggling student loans with a mortgage can be done and offers the benefit of building your net worth while paying off your past loans. For more information about getting a mortgage when you have student loans, contact your trusted mortgage team today. We’ll be happy to share our insight and make recommendations that fit your situation.

22
Aug
By support
Around The Home

Itching to Start a Project? Don’t Forget These Four Key Tips to Avoiding Renovator’s Remorse

Itching to Start a Project? Don't Forget These Four Key Tips to Avoiding Renovator's RemorseTake a look around your home. Do you feel that burning desire to renovate or upgrade certain areas? Perhaps it’s the kitchen countertops or the décor in the master bedroom. Whatever the case, if you’re itching to take on a home renovation project you’ll want to ensure it’s one that makes your life better – not worse! Let’s take a look at four tips that will help you to avoid experiencing “renovator’s remorse.”

Ask Yourself: Will This Project Add Value?

If you’re renovating to build equity in your home, you’ll want to determine if the project is worth undertaking. There are many renovations that might seem to make the home more appealing, but in truth add next to no value that can be realized later when you sell. Be sure to choose those projects which will bump the home’s value by a significant amount.

Start With A Realistic Budget

Ask any friend or neighbor that has renovated their home and you’ll discover that costs can quickly spiral out of control if you’re not careful. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to start with a realistic budget that incorporates some additional room for last-minute tweaks or changes. Once you have the project scoped out, take a trip to your local building supply store and chat with the professionals. They’ll be able to help you understand what the actual costs of your renovation will be and they can point out things that you may have forgotten.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Even the most skilled carpenters and tradespeople make mistakes, so you should rest assured that it can happen to you. Even if you have to go over your plans twice or three times, it’s worth knowing exactly what you’re going to do before getting started. As the saying goes: “measure twice, cut once.” Spending the necessary time preparing your work will go a long way in saving you time and money later.

Don’t Start If You Can’t Finish

The last piece of advice is to finish any home project that you start. A half-finished renovation project can degrade your quality of life significantly. And the longer it takes to get done, the less motivated you will be to finish it. Stay on task and get the job done as soon as possible.

08
Aug
By support
Around The Home

Community Living: The Quick and Easy Guide to Starting a Community Garden

Community Living: The Quick and Easy Guide to Starting a Community GardenAh, the city. With so many people living in an urban landscape these days, it can be hard to find anything more than a planter on the balcony for your herbs. And good luck finding space for vegetables or large flowering plants! Fortunately, coming up with a community garden can be a great way to get the locals together. If you’re wondering how to get started with this fun project, begin with the following guide.

Find The Right People

Organizing your own community garden can seem overwhelming at first, so it’s important to gather a group of like-minded people that are interested in the idea and have the same passion for it that you do. Whether you decide to use a site like Meetup to get a group together or you have a variety of friends and neighbors who might be interested, ensure your group has both gardening and planning skills to bring to the table.

Research The Local Community

You’ll want to choose a site that’s not too far from your home, so talk to local horticultural organizations and your city or community center for information on available areas of land. Once you know the details, it will be easier to determine what exactly you’ll need to do to fund and develop the area. You might decide to cover the startup costs on your own, or you may want to create a small society which can be sponsored by local businesses. There may even be loan programs in your area that are available for your project, so ask around.

Start The Planting Process

Once you’ve determined who your crew will be and where you’ll be creating your garden, it will be much easier to move forward and determine what exactly your garden will be. Do you want it to be a collective which you all share together? Or do you want separate plots so all your members can do whatever they like? Once you’ve decided, the launch date can be the ideal time to throw a garden party and get everyone in on the fun.

Growing vegetables and planting your own garden has become a more popular pastime in recent years, and it can be easier than you think to get your very own community garden started. If you’re looking to buy a home in a garden-friendly new community, contact your trusted mortgage professional for more information.