You want to buy a home but the thought of paying Private Mortgage Insurance doesn’t thrill you. If you don’t have the 20 percent down payment, though, you don’t have much of a choice, unless you use the piggyback loan option.
Did you know there are more reasons to buy a home than just to call a place your own? Of course, that’s one of the largest reasons – who wouldn’t want to own their own home? But there are many other reasons you may want to consider it, whether you currently rent or are thinking of buying another property.
Building equity in your home is like getting a good return on your investment. Even if you don’t cash out the equity and use it while you still own the home, it’s nice to know it’s there should you need it. Some people rely on their home’s equity for an emergency fund and others use it to reinvest in their home, making home renovations.
If you didn’t make a large down payment, how can you build equity faster? Check out the top ways.
Credit cards often destroy credit more than they build it. They are too easy to use and fall under the spell of the ‘minimum required payment.’ If you’re thinking of buying a home soon, you need to maximize your credit score, which in some cases means building a credit score.
Rather than relying on credit cards, try these unconventional methods.
There are a few key players in your home buying process that could make or break your experience. Along with your mortgage broker (who is the key to your financing), your realtor is the next most important player.
Before you choose just any real estate agent to assist you, consider asking these questions to make sure he/she is a good fit.
There’s one factor that stands between you and your dream home – a pre-approval. Most sellers won’t accept a bid without it. That’s right, you could lose the bid on your dream home if you don’t secure a pre-approval first.
That’s not the only reason – we’ve got 5 total reasons why getting pre-approved is the key to buying your dream home.
You hear all the time that you need a 20 percent down payment or you pay PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). But, that’s not always the case. There are a few ‘sneaky’ ways around it, helping you save money monthly and over the life of the loan.
If you’re thinking of buying a house in the next 6 – 12 months, it’s time to prepare your finances. Getting a mortgage is easy when you have your finances in order. The more you prepare now, the easier it will be and the better terms you’ll get because you’ll have exactly what lenders need.
You’ve found a home and executed a contract – congratulations; you’ve done the hardest part! Now that you’re in the underwriting process, it’s time to know what to expect on the closing day. The process goes faster than you think, so the more you prepare now, the better off you’ll be when you get to the closing.
With millions of Americans still unemployed or furloughed, lenders deal with job loss and income changes daily. If you’re in the middle of the mortgage process and you lose your job, lose hours, or get furloughed, you may think you’ve lost your approval.
Fortunately, this isn’t always the case. It depends on your situation, though. We’ve covered the most common situations below.