Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Prepare For the Spring Real Estate Rush

When it comes to real estate the busiest buying season of the year for residential real estate is the spring.  The long northern winters make buyers and sellers alike ready to take advantage of the nicer weather and jump into the real estate market.  No matter whether you are a first time home buyer or you have been in the market awhile there are some essential home buying tips to follow in order to ensure you find the home of your dreams.

Tip #1 For Buying A Home:  Enlist the Assistance of a Professional Real Estate Agent

When it comes to buying a home it is important that you enlist the help pf a professional real estate agent.  It is important to find an agent that is local to the area that make the challenge of narrowing down your search for the perfect home a whole lot easier.  Real estate professionals have the inside scoop on homes in their market this is incredibly crucial when looking for a home during the spring when the market is active and full of buyers.

Tip #2 For Buying A Home:  Make a List of That Includes Your Needs and Wants

Understand what you need and want in a home.  A home isn’t only about the actual house it is a total package the neighborhood, the property and more.  Some needs may be a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms, a garage and a fenced in yard.  Wants are things that aren’t needed but desired such as a gourmet kitchen, a weight room or an in-ground swimming pool.

Tip #3 For Buying A Home: Get Pre-Qualified For a Mortgage

Sellers are more apt to approve an offer from buyers who are already pre-approved.  It is also an important measure in the hunt for the perfect home.  A mistake that buyers often make is over estimating just how much they can afford.  Meet with a mortgage broker as soon as you start thinking about purchasing a home.  Mortgage brokers will give you several mortgage options for your financial situation which will allow you to know the price range of homes that you should be looking at.

Tip #4 For Buying A Home: Keep Your Numbers Top of Mind

Don’t assume that the mortgage payment is the only payment that will increase when you purchase a home.  You will not only need to know the monthly payments it will be important to know the cost of PMI, primary mortgage insurance, the tax expense, water and sewer bills, extra utility costs and more.

Tip #5 For Buying A Home: Prepare Documentation Ahead of Time

In order to ensure the entire process of finding a home and financing that home is smooth buyers should prepare for the onslaught of paperwork.  Begin the process by compiling needed documents into a single location.  You will want copies of government issued identification, tax returns, pay stub information, bank statements, investment documentation and anything that stats your income and debt.

These five tips can make the home buying process a whole lot simpler.   No matter if you are a first time home buyer or have been a part of the real estate market for a number of years these tips can help make sure you get the home of your dreams.

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/.

Mortgage Brokers Bridging The Gabe Between Lenders and Borrowers

Let’s face it most of us are not the ideal borrower.  We don’t all have good credit ratings, substantial down payments, low debt to income ratios and more.  In fact most borrowers have credit problems and obstacles to overcome when trying to meet lender requirements especially when seeking to refinance or to obtain a new home mortgage.

There are however, solutions to these common problems faced by both mortgage lenders and borrows.  A mortgage broker can often help assistance to bridge the gap between lenders and borrowers.

Blemished credit is a common issue that can occur when borrowers have had issues making payments to past creditors.  If you have a history of non payments, late payments or accounts that are delinquent you will have to face these problems head on.  When your credit is evaluated lenders will see these blemishes negatively and may be reluctant to approve your loan.

There is not a sure fire way to improve your credit score immediately.  It will take some time but if you take action sooner than later it will show lenders that you are serious about getting your credit history together. Be upfront with your mortgage broker so that they can address your credit issues head on when looking for a home loan that works for you both.  Offer an explanation as to why there were issues in credit such as the loss of a job, a serious illness or other event that resulted in the inability to pay your bills on time.  Mortgage brokers may suggest that you seek out a cosigner for your mortgage.  This person should have an exceptional credit history along with a high credit rating.

If you are seeking to buy a fixer upper or cooperative apartment it will be difficult to find a lender.  The reason is that there are already complexities when it comes to buying into cooperative living situations.  The mortgage on a cooperative apartment is different than that of a standard mortgage.
Homes that require a great deal of repairs before they are considered safe are also hard to get mortgages on.  These repairs can be quiet expensive and often exceed three percent of the homes overall value.  This makes getting a mortgage loan problematic.  A lender may be more apt to present a borrower with the option of two separate loans.  A mortgage may be given to purchase the home and a construction loan to make necessary repairs and improvements.

More issues that can cause borrowers headaches in lending are:

A low appraisal on the home
A high debt to income ratio
A low income

Don’t let these issues worry you.  Strap on your creative boots while working directly with mortgage broker that has connections within the lending industry to seek the best mortgage option for your situation.

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/.