Pre-Approval Archives – Page 4 of 5

20 Jun 2018

House Hunting When You Are In A Time Crunch

Real Estate

House Hunting When You Are In A Time Crunch In an ideal world, you’d have plenty of time to find the perfect home. However, that does not always happen. Maybe you are relocating because of a job transfer. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to take months to find the perfect home. You can speed up the process of buying a home utilizing some tried and true tips.

Here are some of the best ways to speed up the house buying process.

Find An Experienced Real Estate Agent

An experienced agent likely has an extensive network and many connections. They might know what properties are coming on the market before anyone else does. They can also help you assemble a great team of real estate professionals such as a mortgage banker and real estate attorney.

Get A Mortgage Pre-Approval

Obtaining a home loan is a long process that requires a lot of paperwork. You can speed up the process by getting pre-approved before looking for homes. You’ll need to gather some paperwork for pre-approval including bank statements, tax returns and information about your debt. Have all of these things ready when you talk with the mortgage loan officer.

Having a pre-approval letter also demonstrates to sellers that you are serious about buying. They might be more likely to respond quickly to your offer if they feel that the deal will go through.

Make A List Of Things That You Must Have

If you are in a hurry to buy a home, you don’t want to waste time looking at houses that won’t meet your needs. So, before doing any online research, make a list of things of your must-have amenities. Zeroing on the things that you must have will help keep you focused on properties that are right for you.

Search Areas That Have A lot of Inventory

Don’t waste time looking at communities that don’t have much inventory. The real estate market will be a lot more competitive. Instead, try choosing areas that meet your needs as far as easy access to your work, quality of the school and so forth. Make sure that they have plenty of inventory available. You might have to hunt in surrounding neighborhoods to find something quickly.

Be Available to Act Quickly

If you want to close quickly, you must be available to act as soon as an offer is accepted. It is essential to be available anytime to get in touch with your agent, respond to counter-offers and answer questions. Provide your agent with multiple ways to reach you — by phone, email or text.

Contact your trusted mortgage professional today to help you with a pre-approval for your new home purchase. This is one of the most important and timely steps you can take to ensure a smooth transaction when you are ready to put in an offer on your new home.

15 Jun 2018

By Kevin Gahagan

Is Buying A Short Sale Right For You?

Real Estate

Is Buying A Short Sale Right For You If you have been looking for a new home, and you find one offered under a short sale, this may be to your advantage. While some buyers are wary about buying a home that needs to be sold with the approval of the lender, it’s a great way to get a bargain on a home that you love.

A short sale may be a perfect way to buy a home, as long as you are able to wait until the offer is approved.

The Basics Of A Short Sale

A short sale occurs when the homeowner is facing a foreclosure and trying to avoid it. The true owner of the property, is the lender who provided the money to purchase the home. The borrower owes more on the home than it is worth, and many stop making mortgage payments. Instead of allowing the home to sit there and go to a foreclosure, the lender tries to cut their losses through the process of a short sale.

Additionally, there may be other liens on the home that have to be satisfied by the sale of the property. Anyone that holds a lien on the property has to negotiate the money they are willing to accept for the deal to be finalized.

Why A Short Sale Benefits The Buyer

When you make an offer on a home that is selling under a short sale, you can usually offer less than what the home is worth. The homeowner is eager to sell the home. The homeowner will want to accept an offer fast to get the process started and avoid a foreclosure.

While you may have to wait longer for a short sale to go through than a traditional sale, the savings on the price of the home are usually worth it. Lien holders understand that a short sale is usually the best option to get most of their money, so they are anxious to settle the deal fast.

A short sale is right for you if you aren’t trying to buy a home fast. When you are a savvy buyer, you can make an offer less than the asking price, but you’ll have to wait for all lien holders to accept it. If your current living situation provides you with the opportunity to wait, a short sale will give you more house for your money.

Contact your trusted mortgage professional to secure your financing pre-approval, a necessity prior to negotiating this type of transaction.

08 Jun 2018

By Kevin Gahagan

Long-Distance House Hunting Tips

Real Estate

It pays to start with a solid strategy when you have to house hunt from afar.

Hunting for a house is stressful enough even if you are moving to another part of town. However, when you are searching for a house from afar, it can make the task of finding the right home for your needs seem almost impossible.

Fortunately, in today’s high-tech world, you have an array of tools available right at your fingertips that can make it easy to find the perfect house for your needs. So, even if you are looking for a home thousands of miles away, you can do so quickly and with minimal fuss.

Partner With The Right Real Estate Agent

The first thing that you should do when looking for a house in an area that you are unfamiliar with is to find a local agent. Find someone who has the expertise of the local market and buying process. The information that you garner from choosing a local agent can be invaluable. They know the market intimately.

Additionally, a local agent knows the community as they likely live there as well. They know which schools and neighborhoods are best. They can get to know what you are looking for in an area and help you find the right community for your particular needs. They might also have information on local gems that are not yet showing up on online listings.

Do Your Research

After you find a home or two that you are interested in, thoroughly research the area. Search for information about local schools, churches, shopping centers and more. You want to make sure that the neighborhood will meet your needs. Research crime rates in the area.

Also, determine how long your commute from work to home will be each day. Even if you don’t have children, research local school rankings. The rating and quality of local schools is paramount when it comes to the resale value of your home.

Visit In Person

There is just no amount of research that can substitute for an in-person visit to a potential home. If you are planning to hunt for a house from a distance, be prepared for the travel. Make sure that you have the money and time to visit. It is best to prepare for longer house-hunting trips so that you can take your time when walking through each showing.

Also, make it a point to pay a visit to local restaurants, parks, and businesses to get a feel for the local community.

Whether you are buying local or at a distance, one of the most important things to do first is to get a pre-approval in order. Contact your trusted mortgage professional today to get the ball rolling.

06 Jun 2018

By Kevin Gahagan

What You Need To Know About Short Sales

Mortgage

What You Need To Know About Short Sales On the surface, a short sale seems like the perfect deal. However, before you take the plunge, you need to understand how this type of home purchase works.

What Is a Short Sale?

A short sale is a home sale in which the homeowner is selling the home for less than he or she currently owes on the mortgage. In most cases, this means that the buyer is paying less for the home than it’s worth, which leads to instant equity.

Short sales allow homeowners to get out from under mortgages without damaging their credit as much as a foreclosure. Lenders often agree to short sales because the foreclosure process is lengthy and expensive, so short sales can be more beneficial for both parties in the long run.

Advantages

When you buy a short sale, you can often get a nicer home for a lower price. In most cases, you will still be able to use financing to purchase a short sale.

A homeowner attempting a short sale also tends to be highly motivated, which means they will be willing to negotiate on almost any aspect of the sale.

Disadvantages

Although purchasing a short sale can be lucrative, the process isn’t easy. Short sales can take as long as nine months to complete, which is much longer than the time required for the typical home purchase.

Because the homeowner owes more on the mortgage than you will be paying, the bank must agree to the price. This means that even if the homeowner is willing to accept your offer, the bank can still reject it.

If the home secures more than one mortgage, all of the lenders must agree to the sale before it can close. This can lengthen the process even more.

Even though the bank will hold up the process, they will want you to be flexible. Banks are less likely to approve offers from buyers with multiple contingencies, such as a house that needs to sell before closing.

Should You Purchase a Short Sale?

The decision to make an offer on a short sale home is personal. Although there are many obstacles and potential disadvantages, you may be able to save money and build equity quickly if you are able to complete a short sale successfully.

Keep in mind that most banks considering a short sale will want to see a well-qualified borrower who offers flexible closing terms, so it’s best to contact your mortgage professional for a pre-approval before you make an offer on the home.

05 Jun 2018

By Kevin Gahagan

Pros And Cons Of Buying A Foreclosure

Mortgage

Pros And Cons Of Buying A Foreclosure When a homeowner stops making regular mortgage payments, the bank can foreclose on the property. This means that the bank takes possession of the property in an attempt to recover the debt the homeowner owes. In some cases, the bank may try to recover this debt by selling the property at auction. In other cases, the bank will simply list the foreclosed home for sale.

Choosing to purchase a foreclosed home has both advantages and disadvantages for the buyer. Weighing these advantages and disadvantages carefully is essential.

Pros of Buying a Foreclosure

When you decide to buy a foreclosure, you will be working with a seller that is inherently more motivated. The longer the bank owns the property, the more money they lose. For this reason, banks are often more willing to negotiate on all of the terms of the sale, including the price, closing costs and other important factors.

Buying a foreclosure also ensures that you are getting a house that is already vacant, so you can move in whenever you are ready. In addition, you can be sure that the title on the home is clear.

In most cases, you will be able to finance a bank-owned foreclosure with a mortgage, and you will be able to obtain an inspection if you want one.

Cons of Buying a Foreclosure

Buying a foreclosure also comes with disadvantages. For example, banks usually require additional paperwork when you are purchasing a foreclosed home.

In addition, most banks will refuse to complete any repairs on the home before the purchase. Most foreclosed homes are sold as-is, which means you may have to repair some problems or do some updates after you buy the home.

Finally, because the bank has only owned the home a short time, they cannot provide comprehensive disclosures related to the property’s current condition or history. This means that you may end up purchasing a home without being fully aware of the problems you’ll need to address.

Making a Choice

Buying a foreclosure isn’t the right option for every buyer. However, if you are a careful shopper, potential benefits are available.

Before making an offer on a foreclosed home, be sure to consult an experienced mortgage professional to get your pre-approval in order so you can complete the purchase quickly if you choose to move forward.