Mortgage Info

How to start the process of "What $ amount can I finance?" Like any other project, you get quotes! It is as easy as calling, providing some basic information, and often within an hour you have a 'pre-approval.' So what is a pre-approval? Pre-approvals are a good faith estimate by a lender of what you the buyer can expect to receive in terms of an interest rate, type of loan, and total borrowing capacity. Some of those factors can change based on a thorough credit check and review of tax filings. Realtors often have contacts with Mortgage lenders and will provide you contact information. Want to get started? See my suggested providers.  Be ready to get started by having available the following;

• W-2 for last two years
• Paystubs for last 30 days
• Tax returns for last 2 years
• Last two months of Bank Statements
• Known debt balances for all loans and credit cards

 

 

Mortgage Closing costs - Want an in-depth description of closing costs? The Federal Reserve Board has a brochure, titled Mortgage Settlement Costs, written just for consumers. They also provide a settlement costs worksheet. Is that a little too overwhelming? Start with my article, titled Purchasing Power. It provides a summary of the costs to purchase a home and how to create an estimate of those costs.

 

 

Mortgage Calculator - Karl's Mortgage calculator is a great choice as it includes options to add in costs for HOA fees, flood insurance, PMI insurance, etc. In other words, it allows you to come up with a total monthly house cost. Some mortgage calculators only produce the mortage loan payment portion.  I provide my clients a worksheet that does this same thing as Karl's, but also allows the user to compare several potential homes side by side.  I also provide an area to add in notes about each property so the user can print it out and discuss and analyze.  If the user wishes, the worksheet allows them to take it even one step further and I have tools that we use together to estimate how our offer looks to the seller of the property my client wishes to purchase.  Using tools such as these, allows a buyer, or seller, to more easily get their head around the financial significance of the transaction.


Mortgage Terms - what the heck do they mean?  Realtor.com has a great glossary defining the terms.