Buying a Home

For our initial conversation, we will ask several questions and review various scenarios to determine your best options.  Think of this as taking a financial snapshot.  It’s a starting point.

Once we identify the best course of action, we will issue you a Loan Prequalification Certificate that is usually needed when making an offer on a home.  We’ll also discuss the merits of obtaining a formal loan approval certificate.

Once you have an accepted offer on your new home, we’ll prepare the mortgage application and provide you with the proper disclosures required by law.

An official mortgage app is complete when we have these 6 elements:

1.  Verified I.D
2. Verified Income and assets
3. Credit Report
4.  Purchase property address
5. Estimated value of the purchase property
6.  Sought after mortgage loan amount

Once the Application is approved, it will go into Underwriting.

The underwriter is the person who examines your application and documentation to determine whether the loan meets the lender’s rules and guidelines. The underwriter analyzes a borrower’s finances to determine if he or she is an acceptable risk for the mortgage lender to guarantee the funds to purchase the home.

In Underwriting the underwriter will:

• Make a title search
• Get appraisal on property
• Arrange homeowner’s insurance

Title Search:  We will order a title search to make sure the ownership of the property is clear. A title search identifies any liens that have been recorded against the property, searches the records at the courthouse to make sure the seller of the property has sole ownership and the legal right to sell the property, and verifies that all title and deed conveyances are in order.

Appraisal: The appraiser’s job is to determine the fair market value of the home you are buying or refinancing. Appraisers do this by verifying the physical characteristics of the house and land. This will be done through a personal inspection of the property to verify its condition, square footage, room count, construction materials used, and acreage. The appraiser contacts the listing agent for a purchase. The cost of an appraisal is usually in $500-$550 range for a single-family home.  This amount must be paid in advance, as appraisers are independent of the loan process.

Homeowner's Insurance: You’ll need to arrange homeowner’s insurance coverage in advance of the purchase and it is advisable to gather quotes at the beginning of the process.  We’ll explain what type of coverage is required.

Because gathering all the data and reports involves many people (such as title companies, appraisers, closing attorney, and Realtors) your cooperation is most appreciated.  The key is for you to provide any requested documentation as soon as possible.  This saves a lot of time on the back end of the process.  “We hold your hands not just shake them.”  

The underwriter will issue a conditional approval which will list the remaining items needed for the lender to issue funds to close the loan.  Often the underwriter will have questions regarding the appraisal, title, or information provided by the borrower.  We work closely with all parties to satisfy any conditions.

Though rare, if the underwriter determines an applicant does not meet the lending guidelines, they will issue a denial, and we may need to look at alternative lending options.  Why are loans denied?  The most common reasons are low appraised value, income or assets are lower than what the applicant stated, additional debts payments such as child support or a purchase of a new car during the process that were not disclosed and the inability to source large deposits.  The key is for you to be transparent with our loan officers to ensure that we have accurate information.

Once we have satisfied any remaining conditions, the underwriter will issue a "clear to close" which means we may then schedule your loan closing.

Once the underwriter has cleared your file and the title search and appraisal have been reviewed and accepted, a closing can be scheduled. A closing attorney (or closing agent) will conduct the closing process. The attorney will prepare all the necessary documentation to complete the purchase.  During the closing you are asked to read and sign many documents concerning the transaction. The closing attorney explains each document, but be sure to ask questions if there anything you do not understand. You will receive a copy of all the documents that you sign at the closing.

Now that you own your new home, we enter the next and most important part of our relationship.  Our goal is to continue to build upon our trusted relationship with you.  We'll stay in touch and occasionally check-in to make sure all is ok.  We also encourage you to contact us if you ever have any type of financing questions or need any other business services.  We have an extensive referral network and are always happy to refer you to other competent caring professionals. 

And, of course, we are never too busy to help any of your friends and family members with their purchase, refinancing, or reverse mortgage needs.  Just give us a call and we'll take great care of them.