Buying a home can seem like a
daunting task, whether you are a first time home buyer or are an experienced
investor, and an integral part of the home buying process is selecting your
mortgage lender. Choosing a competent
and knowledgeable mortgage professional can help alleviate a great deal of
stress and worry that arises when purchasing a home. Below are some helpful/useful tips and
questions to consider when deciding on what mortgage lender is right for you…
-
Find out what loan type is best for you:
o
You wouldn’t
want your doctor suggesting surgery for you without assessing your current
medical condition, so choose a lender who is going to evaluate and gather your
information before suggesting a particular loan type. Don’t hesitate to ask about the different
advantages and disadvantages of the loan types that are available.
-
Ask if origination and/or discount points are
being charged for interest rate:
o
It is
imperative, especially for first time homebuyers, to inquire with their
mortgage lender if they are being charged origination and/or discount points
for the interest rate being provided.
Most people aren’t aware of these charges and they are NOT required in the financing
process. 1 origination or discount point
is equal to 1% of the loan amount, so if you are being charged 1 origination
for the interest rate you are getting on a $100,000.00 loan amount that means
you are paying an additional $1,000.00 in order to receive that rate. This may
or may not be a worthwhile thing to do, so ask your loan officer to work up the
different cost savings for doing this that way you can accurately decide for
yourself if it is something you would like to do.
-
Inquire on if the Mortgage Lender is able to
approve loans-in-house:
o
An
underwriter is an extremely important entity of your mortgage process that
reviews your loan application and either approves or denies the loan. Upon reviewing the application, the
underwriter follows by issuing conditions that need to be satisfied in order to
fully complete the loan process. It is
important to work with a mortgage lender that does their own underwriting and
processing, as opposed to brokering out that service to another company. The
ability to approve loans-in-house allows for a quicker and more efficient loan
process for the borrower.
There are certainly more than just these
three items that you will want to find out when shopping for a mortgage lender
to represent you, but these are definitely a great place to start. The most important advice I can give when
initiating this entire process is if you are ever in doubt or not understanding
something that may be going on just ASK! Make sure your mortgage lender is someone
that you fill 100% comfortable and confident with to ask any question at any
point and time. At the end of the day
you are the one in the driver seat and that means you decide how slow or fast
you want to go!
Written by:
Josh Zidenberg
Business Development Manager
New American Mortgage, LLC
No comments:
Post a Comment