How Much Home Can I Afford?

This is a common question from first time home buyers.  When working with home buyers who are just beginning the process, after discussing credit and other information, I like to ask in return:

  • What type of monthly mortgage payment would you be comfortable making?
  • How much money are you planning on using for a down payment and closing costs.

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Relocating to Washington State and Getting Preapproved for a Mortgage

When relocating to a new State, many want to have their next home purchased to avoid the inconvenience of having to move twice from temporary housing to their permanent home in Washington.  Lenders want to know that the borrower have employment and the ability to make their mortgage payments.

If you have a job waiting for you at your new location, often times a copy of your employment contract documenting the start date, salary and probability of continued employment.  A verification of employment will be performed either/or verbally or with a VOE (verification of employment) form to be completed by the new employer.  It’s also important to know that the new employment must be in the same line of work as the previous employment.

What if you’re self employed and moving your business out of area?  Unless your clients are able to follow you, such as an internet based business, it may be challenging to use your past income for qualifying as you are leaving your client base behind.

There various types of income may not impacted by relocating (subject to underwriting guidelines), such as:

  • Rental income
  • Retirement/Social Security
  • Alimony or Child Support
  • Notes receivable
  • Interest and dividends
  • Income from Trust

Other types of income may be considered as well…but if you’re planning on qualifying based on income from your “future” job–make sure you’re actually on pay-roll and do discuss your personal scenario with a qualified Mortgage Professional before you make any moves.

Is My Preapproval Still Valid with all the Rate Changes?

iStock-000018668640XSmallMy clients and readers ask such great questions…I just received this one from one of my clients that I’ve been working with since June of this year:

“…with all the rate changes how is our pre-approval looking? It the original amount still applicable?”

 

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Tips for Homebuyers and Sellers

Yesterday I was interviewed by Melinda Fulmer for a MSN Real Estate article.   Here were a few of my pointers (with some clarification) for buyers: [Read more…]

Rescuing Homebuyers from Lending Tree

Wonderwoman

I have a couple of clients who did not feel like “winners” having banks compete for them via Lending Tree.  Recently, I helped a family by closing their purchase in 5 days…the lender they obtained from Lending Tree did not perform after having their loan for over 30 days.   Here are a few nice words from my new clients:

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