We're asked often if mortgages are harder to obtain now than they were in the past. In our experience with Buyers, the answer is...it depends. Within the last year, we've only had one loan be declined just days before closing...and that was due in part to an inexperienced loan officer who should have known of a guideline preventing our client from obtaining the loan BEFORE they got deep into the process. As a side note, on that particular loan, we quickly switched our client to one of our preferred lenders and, our client closed just 14 days later!
If you're considering purchasing a home, one of the first things you should do is talk to an experienced loan officer to see if you can qualify for a mortgage at the present time. Be advised (because this is ultra important) that not all loan officers are experienced so, get recommendations prior to blindly contacting a lender. We've been successfully working with a local lender for almost 3 years and, the last 24 of our Buyer clients have been more than satisfied not only during the loan process but, with the follow-up. This lender does NOT sell off your mortgage the minute you close like a lot of the big lending companies so often do. And, as far as competitive rates go, the lender we recommend most of Buyer clients to has been able to match or, in many times beat the rates offered by some of the big names such as USAA, Lending Tree, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, etc.
It's not just the rate that you need to take into consideration however; you also need to be sure you are truly comparing apples to apples on the Good Faith Estimate the loan officer(s) provide you with. We assist our clients in navigating through the process and explaining what all of the figures mean on the GFE. For example, loan origination fees can be steep so, you need to be sure you aren't paying more than you should in what's known as your "closing costs". Closing costs should typically run about 3% of your loan amount--if you're paying over that, you need to determine why that is.
To summarize, most Buyers today with a good credit score and stable employment history can obtain a mortgage without too much difficulty. For further information, feel free to contact us at teamdehaven@century21properties.com or 843-343-7640.
Best,
Melanie & Jed DeHaven, Century 21 Properties Plus, Inc.