Posts Tagged ‘Signal Mountain Mortgage’

Should You Get Pre-qualified or Pre-approved for Signal Mountain Homes for Sale?

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

When you first start talking about buying Signal Mountain homes for sale, you’ll hear “Oh, you should get pre-qualified first,” or “you should get pre-approved first.” So who’s right? What’s the difference between the two?  Is there any difference at all?

Pre-qualified Loans

Before shopping for Signal Moutnain homes for sale, you want to look at lenders. Not all mortgage lenders are created equal. Especially now, with the rocky economic times, you have to be especially careful who you get your mortgage through.  When you find a lender you’re comfortable with, you have two choices: start shopping for houses or get pre-qualified for a loan.

Pre-qualification for a loan is based on the best estimate of the loan officer, not “set-in-stone,” verified facts. The officer believes, because of the information you tell them, that you have good credit and can financially afford a specific loan amount. For this reason, because it isn’t verified, pre-qualification doesn’t hold as much weight with buyers. As well, you could still end up wasting a lot of time looking at houses you can’t afford.

Pre-approved Loans

The second step in getting a mortgage loan is pre-approval. With pre-approval, the lender has received verification that, yes, you are credit worthy and yes, you can afford up to a specific loan amount.

Pre-approval not only gives the seller the idea that you’re a good prospect, but it also helps you out while looking for a home:

  • You already know how much home you can afford.
  • You already know that you’re qualified to buy any home you look at that falls within your verified loan amount.
  • You have better negotiating power with the seller (who may be more willing to accept less than list price knowing that you are already pre-approved).
  • The closing period can happen faster, narrowing the typical 30-day period to less than three weeks.

In short, when looking at Signal Mountain homes for sale, it’s better to be pre-approved, but you can’t get pre-approved for a mortgage without being pre-qualified.  So do yourself (and your new home) a favor and do both.

Need help selecting a mortgage lender?  I can help. Call me at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com for more information.

Keyword/Tag:  Signal Mountain homes for sale

Links:

Not all mortgage lenders are created equal

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/mortgagetips/

How much home you can afford

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/houseafford/houseafford.html

Get pre-approved for a mortgage

http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/7-Tips-for-Getting-a-Preapproved-Mortgage/

Tags:
Posted in Signal Mountain Real Estate | Comments Off

How Much Mortgage Can You Really Afford for a Signal Mountain Home?

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Owning a Signal Mountain home can be a sign of independence and success.  It allows you to build up equity and the mortgage interest and property taxes are tax-deductible.  Can you afford it, though? 

 

Reputable lenders look at a list of criteria to decide how much they’ll loan you.  This list includes:

  • Credit score
  • Existing assets including cash
  • Car leases or loans
  • Credit card balances
  • Debt consolidation loans
  • Home equity loans
  • Installment loans
  • Student loans
  • Other monthly debts
  • Size/source of your down payment

 

If you’d like to get an idea of what you can afford before talking to a lender, here are a few tools you can use to decide whether a Signal Mountain home is within your budget:

 

  • As a rule of thumb, your house hunting budget shouldn’t be more than 2.5 times your pre-tax annual income.  If you earn $50,000 a year, your budget for house hunting should be around $125,000.

 

  • Your Housing Expense Ratio, which is principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) shouldn’t be more than 25% to 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.

 

  • You’re Debt-to-Income Ratio should be no more than 36% of your pre-tax monthly income.  This is the ratio between how much you owe and how much you earn.

 

  • Use an online calculator to figure how much home you can afford.

 

“Qualifying for” and “can afford” are two different things.  Shopping for a Signal Mountain home within your budget will save you a lot of heartache now and in the future.

 

If you’d like help determining how much mortgage you can really afford, I can help.  Call me at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com  for more information.

 

Keyword/Tag:  Signal Mountain home

 

LINKS:

 

Housing Expense Ratio: 

http://www.mortgageqna.com/mortgage-costs-fees/housing-expense-ratio.html

 

Debt-to-Income Ratio:

http://www.lendingtree.com/mortgage-loans/advice/qualifying-for-a-loan/calculating-debt-to-income/

 

figure how much home you can afford: (link to the calculator on your website or use this link)

http://www.lendingtree.com/smartborrower/loan-calculators/

Tags:
Posted in Chattanooga Mortgage | Comments Off

Energy Efficient Mortgages for Signal Mountain Real Estate

Monday, October 12th, 2009

If you’re looking to buy Signal Mountain real estate, you’re probably already looking at mortgage possibilities as well. Since many buyers are also looking for energy efficient options, I thought it only right that I brought EEMs (Energy Efficient Mortgages) and EIMs (Energy Improvement Mortgages) to your attention.

What are EEMs and EIMs?

An EEM adds a home’s energy efficiency into the mortgage, giving you the ability to finance energy efficient measures as part of the mortgage payment. One of the good things about an EEM is that it stretches the debt-to-income qualification ratio, which means that you can qualify for a larger loan and a more energy efficient home.

 

An EIM is for existing Signal Mountain real estate that you plan to make energy efficient improvements to. You can include the cost of the improvements into the mortgage without raising the down payment. In addition, whatever you save in utility costs from the improvements can go to finance more improvements.

Qualifications

If you’re trying to qualify for an EEM or EIM, you’ll need to have a home energy rating conducted first. This is to give you an estimated Energy Savings Value – the value of the measures and the estimated monthly energy savings.

Types of Energy Mortgages

There are several types of energy mortgages available:

 

  • Conventional – sponsored by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these EEMs give the Fannie Mae approved lender the ability to raise your income, matching a dollar for each estimated dollar gained through efficiency.
  • FHA – Lenders can add 100% of the cost of improvements to an approved FHA loan, up to $4,000 or 5% of the home value (maximum of $8,000). FHA loan limits won’t stop you from getting the EEM. You can find out more about the FHA EEMs on their website.
  • VA – Veteran’s Administration EEMs cap energy improvements at $3,000 to $6,000, and are for buying existing Signal Mountain real estate. If you’re a qualifying reservist, veteran or military personnel, you can find more information on the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs website.

 

  • Last but not least, there is the Energy Star mortgage pilot program. Currently, it is only available in a few states, but it’s growing to include others.

 

If you’re interested in making energy efficient improvements to an existing home or buying a home that’s already energy efficient, I strongly recommend that you look into EEMs and EIMs.

 

If you’re looking for an energy efficient home or one you can make energy efficient, I can help. Call me at 423-488-1882 or email me at tclose@realtycenter.com for more information.

 

Keyword/Tag:  Signal Mountain real estate

Links:

Fannie Mae approved lender

http://www.fanniemae.com/flApplication/fanniemae/findLender.jsp?p=Find+a+Lender+Search

 

FHA EEMs

http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page?_pageid=73,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

 

U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs

http://www.homeloans.va.gov/rlcweb.htm

 

Energy Star mortgage pilot program

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.pt_lender_mortgage

Tags: ,
Posted in Chattanooga Mortgage, Chattanooga Real Estate | Comments Off

What Are Your Rights When Getting a Loan for your Signal Mountain Home?

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Which loan you’ll use to buy Signal Mountain real estate may be one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed and intimidated by the lenders and the mortgage brokers.  You need to know your rights when choosing a loan and a lender so you can be comfortable with the decision you make.

 

·         You can shop around for the best rate and loan package.  If you aren’t happy with the deal the mortgage broker has put together for you, you are under no obligation to accept the loan.

·         You have the right to know all the fees included in the loan.  The lender has to give you a Good Faith Estimate of all the loan charges and fees, including the final amount you will pay in interest if you make all the payments as scheduled.

·         You have the right to know in advance what fees will not be refunded to you if you cancel the loan.

·         You have the right to ask your mortgage broker what he/she is being paid by the lender for arranging the loan.

·         You have the right to know exactly why a loan was declined.

 

Make sure that you know your rights when shopping for a Signal Mountain real estate mortgage.  You don’t want to fall victim to predatory lending.  Some signs of predatory lenders are:

 

·         An appraisal value that is much higher than the value of similar houses in the neighborhood.

·         A loan officer who tries to get you to accept a loan for an amount that you know you won’t be able to repay.

·         Being asked to sign a document with blank areas.  You will be responsible for whatever terms are written into the blank spaces.  Cross through any blank places, or write not applicable in the blank.

·         A loan officer who asks you to exaggerate your income or reduce your debts to get loan approval.

 

Take the time to ask questions and get a second opinion of your loan offer from a reputable real estate professional or real estate attorney.

 

Thinking of buying Signal Mountain real estate?  As a specialist in this area, I can help you find the perfect real estate to meet your needs.  Call me today at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com

 

KEYWORD: Signal Mountain real estate

 

LINKS:

Mortgage brokers: (link to the page on your website that has your preferred lender information or link to this site) http://www.personalhomeloanmortgages.com/broker

Good Faith Estimate:  http://banking.about.com/od/mortgages/p/goodfaithest.htm

Appraisal: http://www.answers.com/topic/real-estate-appraisal

Travis Close

ABR, e-PRO, RCC

Prudential RealtyCenter.com

1315 Taft Highway

Signal Mountain, TN 37377

423-886-2601

423-488-1882

Tags: ,
Posted in Signal Mountain Real Estate | No Comments »