I’m sure you’ll agree with me that How To prepare to Get a Silver Lake Home Mortgage is something every real estate buyer should be thinking about well in advance of writing offers on properties! One of the things that first time homebuyers will often ask me is what they should do first in the home buying process. My answer is always the same, which is go out and get a pre-approval for a mortgage. Preparing to get a mortgage, however, is something that many real estate buyers don’t often think about. Taking out a mortgage loan can be one of the most important parts of the home buying process, and nobody knows that better than my preffered mortgage broker Joe Tishkoff, from Skyline Home Loans.
The amount that you’re approved for will often dictate how much you have to spend on the house. The interest rate will determine how much you will be paying for the next fifteen to thirty years depending upon the term of your home loan.
How To prepare to Get a Silver Lake Home Mortgage
Check Your Credit Report and Correct Mistakes
Making sure your financial cards are in order is a big part of how to prepare to get a Silver Lake home mortgage. Consider for a moment that the Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as one in five people have a significant error on their credit reports. Next add in the idea that just ten points higher or lower on a credit score could potentially mean a difference of tens of thousands of dollars in interest paid over the lifetime of a Silver Lake mortgage.
Now it should be obvious why it is critical to Check a Credit Report. Similarly, make sure that there are no recent delinquencies or collection notices on the account. If such problems were recently resolved, it could take several weeks or even months before applying for a mortgage. There are ways however to expedite that process and Joe Tishkoff, with Skyline Home Loans, can explain if a “Rapid Rescore” is something to consider.
This step should really be completed several months before a person is ready to apply for a mortgage. If errors are discovered it can be a long and frustrating process to begin correcting them.
How To prepare to Get a Silver Lake Home Mortgage
Establish Income and Assets
Before Joe Tishkoff can approve you for a loan, he’ll help you understand if you’re able to pay the loan back comfortably. Joe will typically examine two main areas. The first will be your monthly income. Those interested in taking out a loan should avoid job hopping in the months leading up to the loan application process. Holding down a job for several months, and preferably several years, before applying is often helpful but not all jobs are long-term and Joe understands that.
Similarly, a lender such as a Joe Tishkoff will want to see that the borrower has assets that can be used toward the down payment, closing costs and reserves. They will investigate any paper trails, so it does not work to just transfer money into a savings account from a relative in the days or weeks leading up to the application. The assets in the bank should be established or “seasoned” as lenders call assets that are in a bank or investment account for the past several months.
“Getting your financial house in order is a key part in preparing to get a mortgage,” says Joe Tishkoff.
Getting a mortgage today is much different than in years past. You need to be prepared to have everything you have done financially recently scrutinized. There are many who will tell you that getting a mortgage today is like being hired by the federal government to work in the White House. In other words, the lending institution is going to leave no stone unturned in making sure you are a valid candidate to have a mortgage, and Joe Tishkoff can help through this process.
Eliminate Other Debt
Often times the other facet that homebuyers don’t think about enough when getting a mortgage is their current debt load. In the excitement of wanting to have their first homes, homebuyers often overlook where they currently stand with other financial obligations.
Banks often want to avoid having the debt of a particular person surpass a certain percentage of their monthly income. This means that they will be closely scrutinizing any other debt, such as credit card debt, car loans, etc. If at all possible, pay off all credit cards and as much of other types of debt as possible to minimize the monthly debt payments.
Similarly, the time around taking out a new mortgage is not the time to try and get a new loan for something else. Even if the person will still have a very low income to debt ratio, recent credit applications are a red flag that could mean you’ve obtained new but undisclosed debt.
Being in the real estate industry, as a professional Realtor, I get to hear the horror stories from other Realtors I am in contact with. One of the common errors that homebuyer’s make is going out and getting a new car or buying furniture while they are getting a mortgage to purchase a home. There are times when this has actually caused a buyer not to be able to close on a property!
How To prepare to Get a Silver Lake Home Mortgage
Get Pre-approved and Lock In The Rate
Once the process of filling out applications for mortgage loans has begun, there are two critical steps. First, make sure you get pre-approved for a loan with Joe Tishkoff. Understand that there is a distinct difference between being what’s called “pre-qualified” for a loan and getting pre-approved. In most circumstances having a pre-qualification letter means nothing more than you have the income to afford a certain price point when looking at homes.
Getting pre-approved however is a lot more involved. The lender is going to check your credit, verify your financial status and check your employment. After all these things are done, the mortgage company or bank is going to have a pretty good picture of who you are as a borrower.
When buying or selling a home, one of the most frustrating developments for everyone involved is the offer falling through. For this reason, sellers are often most interested in buyers who are pre-approved by their bank for a loan. This means that they have a definite idea of how much they are approved for and there will not be any problems with securing the necessary loan.
Secondly, once the borrower has secured a home mortgage that they are happy with, it is important to Lock In The Rate. Since mortgage rates change day to day, borrowers should not assume that the mortgage they qualify for today will be available tomorrow, unless they lock in the rate. It is also important not to assume that any particular rate is locked in unless they have reassurance in writing.
I have personally witnessed mistakes made by mortgage brokers not listening to their clients and failing to lock a mortgage rate. Be sure to document any discussions you have with your mortgage broker or lender when locking a rate.
In conclusion
Having done all your homework preparing for a mortgage in advance will put you in a great spot to start your journey of finding the home of your dreams. And that’s where I come in to help you!
Your Silver Lake Expert Realtor
I’m a local Silver Lake real estate agent with The Shelhamer Real Estate Group, and It would be my pleasure to help you find the perfect property to call home in Silver Lake CA, or if you’re thinking about selling a house, condo, or multi-family building in, Silver Lake, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Glassell Park, Mount Washington, or Downtown Los Angeles, it would be a privilege to help you get top dollar for the sale of your property.
Lets chat sometime. 310-913-9477 or contact me.
You get a mortgage by first chatting with a talented mortgage advisor. There it is. If your loan officer is good at your bank, chat with him or her. If you belong to a credit union, go chat with those folks. They’re going to look at your credit and review your revolving debt. You know, do you have a car payment? Do you have a lot of student loan debt that hasn’t been forgiven? Do you have personal credit card debt? What’s going on with you, right? There are going to be conditions that need to be met for different loan products. There’s FHA loans, VA loans, conventional loan products. Talk to a lender, peel back the layers, and ask the questions. You’re going to get all the information you need, then you’re going to hook up with somebody like me and go house. It’s a whole different thing.
