Monday, December 28, 2015

The Role Of A Mortgage Broker In Buying Your Dream Home

Mortgage brokers work to help make the dreams we have made come true.  Working in conjunction with real estate professionals, mortgage brokers lead home buyers to the perfect home that is well within their budgets, including the hidden costs buyers often find out later that sooner when buying a home.  The following tips will help you to avoid mistakes that you may end up regretting later on.

Budget Carefully:  The goal is to budget the expenses you have with the new home in a way manner that allows you to remain comfortable.  Bigger isn’t always better.  A large home with a mortgage to match isn’t going to bring you the happiness you desire if your lifestyle has to change drastically to afford it.  Plan ahead to avoid hidden fees within a mortgage such as primary mortgage insurance or PMI which is insurance that is paid on top of home owners insurance that guarantees the payment on the mortgage.  In order to avoid this cost it is imperative to save enough money for a large enough down payment.  Most mortgage lenders require twenty percent of the face value of the home loan to be placed down on the home to avoid paying an extra monthly PMI.  

Research Mortgage Brokers or Possible Lenders:  Meet with professionals to discuss what options are available to meet your mortgage needs.  There will be several options that fit your needs but one will fit your needs better than all the rest.  In order to evaluate if you will be able to afford the monthly mortgage payment make a list of all of your current expenses and anticipated costs with moving into the new home.  If you need to make renovations or want to improve the home in any way you must calculate those expenses in to the overall monthly budget to ensure you will be comfortable with the outgoing monthly payments.

Hire a Local Real Estate Agent:  A local agent knows that the area in which you are searching inside and out and therefore can lead you to the best neighborhoods and locations to fit your needs.  They will be able to point you in the direction of recreational areas, schools, hospitals and more.  Your agent should offer you a block of time in which to view the options in housing that fit your needs and work within to your budget.  They will help you throughout the buying process and won’t stop searching until you have found the perfect home.  This process will go a lot smoother with the help of a professional agent verse going it alone.

Once you find a home within the pre-approved amount from your mortgage lender and within your specifications it is time to make an offer on the home.  Don’t try to time the market because while you are waiting for a lower rate another buyer is swooshing in to purchase the home of your dreams.  Your agent, along with help from local mortgage brokers can work with you to decide upon a reasonable offer to make including the items that were found in need of repair within the initial inspection.  

After this is done and the offer is presented negotiations may begin.  Once an offer is accepted the legal procedures are started and this eventually leads to you and home ownership.

 Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.

Exactly What Is a Mortgage Broker

When you are thinking about buying a home the term mortgage broker is something you are likely to become familiar with.  It isn’t a term most of us completely understand or exactly what they do.  For simplicity’s sake a mortgage broker is a middle man between a borrower and someone who is eligible for a home loan.  Basically a mortgage broker is works with both a lender and a borrower to determine the eligibility of a new purchase or the refinancing of an existing home loan.  The mortgage broker is the go-between that brokers the mortgage on behalf of the individual or business and lenders.

The process usually begins when a borrower contacts a broker initiating a home loan.  The broker collects all of the information a lender will need from the borrower including their income, assets, employment history and credit score.  After this process is completed the mortgage broker works with lenders to determine what options in home loans are the best for the borrower as well as the appropriate amount and the loan to value ratio.  At this point the borrower decides on their own what they can afford with the brokers assistance.  

When a borrower works with a mortgage broker they do not need to deal directly with banks or lenders.  Mortgage brokers make money by charging a fee for their services or offering no cost loans where they utilize a lender credit.  Essentially this means that the interest rate the borrower is paying is a bit higher to cover the cost of their services.  

When you use a mortgage broker they can help you find the best rates on a home loan that are available within the market.  What happens when a borrower looks towards a single bank for a mortgage they are only receiving the rates and loans of a single bank whereas when using a mortgage broker the best home loans are presented and the borrower can choose between them.  Brokers are approved by banks and therefore individually contacted.  Different brokers have a variety of different bank contacts and therefore can offer borrowers a number of different quotes from a variety of different lenders.

When it comes to getting a home loan it is quite possible that a mortgage broker will provide the best guidance out of anyone as they have insight on the industry as a whole.  This is, in fact, what they are paid to do.  Mortgage brokers are more available then home loan lenders at a bank and tend to work on a more personal level with their clientele.  It is also important to note that if a home loan or mortgage is rejected by a bank lender it is done whereas with a broker they lead you to another lending source.  It is more likely to receive a mortgage offer, no matter what your credit status, if you work with a mortgage broker to obtain a home loan.

 Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.