|
|
|
|
|
Looking for a
mortgage, refinance or home equity loan? |
| |
|
We have some useful suggestions and a way for
you to
get paid for the effort.
Mortgage Lender Links |
| |
| Step One:
Objectively examine your personal finances and prospective
real estate loan to determine the following items: |
|
|
|
What is the credit score (FICO score) of the loan
applicant? A FICO score over 680 often allows a borrower
to use traditional financing. A number under 680 will often
place the borrower into the category of "Sub-prime". If you
do not know your FICO score, the information can be
purchased from a credit bureau. Most lenders look at three
credit reporting agencies and consider the "middle score"
the one that is a best reflection of credit risk. Purchasing
your credit report and score is a great idea if you do not
have a current one.
|
|
|
|
How much money will the borrower have in the bank
immediately following their purchase or refinancing?
More is better. For the best rates, most lenders want to see
a minimum of six months worth of the cost of the new mortgage
payment, taxes and insurance in cash reserves held by the
borrower in addition to their down payment.
|
|
|
|
What other assets and liabilities does the borrower have?
Calculate your "net worth" by subtracting all of your debts
from all of your assets. |
|
|
|
How are the prospective borrower's earnings classified? Is the borrower an employee
who receives a W-2 or a
self employed person who uses tax returns to display their
income? For employees, it is often to your
advantage to provide documentation, such as pay stubs, to
verify the income for the loan. Business owners who are not
employees and self employed people often "state" their income,
as opposed to providing paycheck stubs. "Stating" income generally
leads to a slightly higher interest rate on a mortgage
loan.
|
|
|
|
How much are the borrower's existing debt payments?
This includes any debt in the borrowers name Credit Cards,
Auto, Boats, Business Loans, etc. |
|
|
|
Determine how much the borrower can comfortably pay on a
monthly basis for a total housing payment. For most
people, the upper limit is 25 to 30% of the borrower's (and
co-borrower's combined income, if applicable) average
monthly pretax income.
|
| |
| Down Payment on the purchase or Equity on
a refinance of a property? More is better from the
lenders point of view, it is less risky for them.
|
| |
| |
| Step Two: Let lenders know that you are in the market. |
|
|
|
Get quotes based on your information without providing
your social security number. With your FICO score and
the above information, lenders can give you a non-binding
quote without pulling your credit file. Frequent inquiries
into your credit file lower your score. Do not provide your
social security number to a lender until you narrow down
your likely lenders to two or three. The best deal for you may
or may not be in your local market.
|
|
|
|
Click on the ads to a number of quality lenders and fill
out their inquiry form. The lenders on our
Online Mortgage Lenders page is a great place to start and
we offer a
cash payment incentive for filling out their contact
forms. Be honest with them about your situation, but do not
give out your social security number until you have an
opportunity to review their offers and narrow down your
likely lenders to two or three. |
| |
| |
|
Closing The Deal:
After you receive
your loan offers, request a good faith estimate of closing
costs from your prospective lenders. Compare the total costs
(the interest rate as well as the closing costs) involved
from many prospective lenders. Ask the lenders to remove any
fees and expenses that you do not believe are fair. If the
lender knows that they are in a competitive environment for
your loan, they may be willing to improve their initial
offer to avoid losing you. Good Luck! |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |