Wednesday 11 June 2008

Consult Professionals for Home Mortgage.

Buying your dream home can be quite confusing. You are probably just like the millions of aspiring home buyers who do not have enough know-how to determine whether you are getting a great deal or not, you probably are not sure whether a particular home mortgage offer is right for you. If such is the case, it is best that you consult professionals so that you would know what to look for when buying a house or getting a home mortgage.

What to expect when consulting professionals for home mortgage?

You should expect home buying professionals to do the following for you when you consult them:

1. Check your qualifications to determine the price range that is affordable to you

2. Consider your preferences or wishes to look for homes that would fit your taste and requirements

3. Take you to the actual location of houses that would meet your specifications

4. Give you a good backgrounder on the area where the house is such as the profile of the community, where schools are, the location of hospitals, the rates of property taxes, specific building codes and regulations, the quality of services in the community, etc.

5. Give you the specifics of each property such as the zoning, the size of the house and lot area, the age of the property, the equipment there, the utilities, and the other important information about the property.

6. Be your representative to the seller and present what you can offer to them

7. Be the one to arrange the details of closing

8. Give you advice about mortgage lenders and rates, attorney for the real estate, title companies, and home inspectors.

9. Help you determine if the deals are good or not.

Tips when consulting with professional:

-Even if you already have a house in mind, be sure to as the professional to show you more houses. When buying a home, it is important that you see all options before closing a deal.

- Check for signs that you are being manipulated in a certain way either to veer you away from or to persuade you towards a particular house or community. If such as the case you can look for a second opinion.

- Always read everything carefully before signing. Even if it is the professional’s job to help you get a great deal out of a home or mortgage, you still have to be cautious when doing such a major purchase.

It is always best to consult professionals when you are confused about something. When getting home mortgage, a professional can help you make more sense of such important matters.

Monday 9 June 2008

Choosing The Right Lender.

Loans are often difficult to obtain, especially with credit reports and credit ratings made easier this time with the advent of technology. Some banks, financial institutions, and other lenders are very picky when it comes to the person applying for a loan, home mortgages included. You can’t really blame them, since they are just being careful with their money, just like any normal person would.

Lenders look for specific things when deciding whether to grant a loan or not, and this is usually reflected in either the credit rating or credit report, or both. However, being careful or specific when it comes to decisions should not be with the lenders only. The borrowers themselves can search for a specific lender, one that offers them the best deal and where they would be most comfortable with.

Lenders can come at various descriptions – national banks, financial and money lending institutions, up to small money lending businesses. They all are unique when it comes to their lending policies, which is a good thing because borrowers have the freedom to choose. In looking for the best lender for you, here are just three important things to consider:

First, the ability. Yes, lenders, no matter how big or small they might be, should have enough money to be able to lend you what you need, so it’s not really a question of their capability, since they won’t be in that business if they couldn’t lend. This is normally the area where national lenders beat out their local counterparts.

Ability refers to the various loan types that lenders can offer – which translates to diversity in products. Because a national lender has access to capital in any kind of economic environment, they often have more to offer than locals, which have fewer sources that potentially could dry up. As a borrower, you ought to consider the ability of the lender in various sources, including services during the loan (which could translate to less hassle), of which national lenders are advantageous.

Second, rate of interest. As is often the case, local lenders have more of an advantage here as they usually bring their interest rates down in order to entice borrowers to do business with them. It is understandable that they do this so that their national counterparts would not be able to monopolize the business locally. Nationals usually have a fixed rate that would have to go through some channels in order to be lowered, which is not much the case with locals.

Since the rate of interest determines how much you will be paying over the course of the loan, this is an important factor to look out for, particularly for the borrower. One percentage point can make a big difference between the borrower being able to pay the loan or not. The consequences of not paying a loan can be grave, both for the short term and long term of it, so this particular factor should be taken into consideration carefully.

Third, accessibility and relationship. As a borrower, it would be more to your benefit if you establish a good working and professional relationship with your lender. Sometimes, this is a hard task to accomplish, while sometimes it can be easy, and so it’s more of a case-to-case basis. A poor relationship with your borrower can potentially lead into a lot of different problems.

In accessibility, there are some things to look out for. One of these is what types of clients the lender loans money to – since there are some that require a higher credit rating, while some deal only with those who have bad credit. It would be better for you to know beforehand what type of borrower a certain lender does business with before actually applying for the loan.

In relationship, a one-on-one professional relationship with a lender is recommended. This is for your benefit as you will be updated and reminded as to the status of your loan, whether there is a payment soon, any potential problems, and the like. If there is no, one-on-one relationship, there could be problems.

These are just three important things to look for in a lender. There are some more, but these are some of the most important. By following these three, you are well on your way to choosing the proper lender for you.