Mortgages have a lot to do with owning a house. The process of obtaining a loan can seem overwhelming to the uninformed. Don’t have that confused look when walking into a lending institution, instead read up on home mortgages such as this article below. Learning all that you can before you get a mortgage will help ensure that you get the best rates and terms for you.
Save enough money to make a down payment. Lenders may accept as little as 3.5% down but try to make a larger down payment. If you put down 20% of your total mortgage, you won’t have to pay private mortgage insurance and your payments will be lower. You will also need cash to pay closing costs, application fees and other expenses.
To make your application for a mortgage fast and easy, make electronic copies of your last two pay checks, two recent bank statements, W2s, and tax information. Lenders will ask for all of this information to go with the application and having them on hand in electronic format makes it easy to supply this information.
Set a budget at the outset and stick to it to stay in good financial shape. It means you will need to not only consider the house you want, but the payments you can realistically make. No matter how awesome getting a new house is, if you’re not able to get it paid for you will be in trouble.
Reducing your debt as much as possible will increase your chances of being approved for a mortgage. If you are not in a good financial situation, meet with a debt consolidation professional to get out of debt as quickly as possible. You do not need to have a zero balance on your credit cards to get a mortgage but being deeply in debt is definitely a red flag.
Make sure you know how much you can afford before applying for a mortgage. Do not rely on what your lender says you can afford. Make a budget, allowing room for any unexpected expenses. Use online calculators which can help you estimate how much mortgage you can afford to pay monthly.
Lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio in order to determine if you qualify for a loan. If your total debt is over a certain percentage of your income, you may have trouble qualifying for a loan. Therefore, reduce your debt by paying off your credit cards as much as you can.
Shop around for the best interest rate. Getting a loan without depending on interest rates is possible, but it can determine the amount you pay. Know how they add to the monthly payments and how much the financing will cost. If you don’t pay attention to them, you might have a higher monthly payment than you intended to have.
Never sign anything without talking to a lawyer first. The law does not fully protect you from the shrewd practices that many banks are willing to participate in. Having a lawyer on your side could save you thousands of dollars, and possibly your financial future. Be sure to get the right advice before proceeding.
Before applying for a loan, try to minimize your debts. Home mortgages are huge responsibilities, so you need to make sure you can make the payments, no matter the circumstances. If your debt is at a minimum, you will be able to do this.
Balloon mortgages are the easiest loans to get approved. Such loans have shorter terms, and they require that the existing balance be refinanced upon expiration of that initial term. This is a risky loan to get since interest rates can change or your financial situation can get worse.
Before you contact a mortgage lender to apply for a loan to buy a home, use one of the fast and easy mortgage calculators available online. You can enter your loan amount, the interest rate and the length of the loan. The calculator will figure the monthly payment that you can expect.
If you have filed for bankruptcy, you may have to wait two or three years before you qualify for a mortgage loan. However, you may end up paying higher interest rates. The best way to save money when buying a home after a bankruptcy is to have a large down payment.
Having a strong employment history will make it easier to qualify for a home mortgage. Lenders like to see that you have been at the same job for a good length of time. Barring that, they like to see continuous employment for at leas the past five or more years.
Chose a bank to carry your mortgage. Not all companies who finance homes are banks. Some of them are investment companies and private corporations. Though you may be comfortable with them, banks are usually the easier option. Local bankers can usually cut down the turn-around time between application and available funds.
If your downpayment is less than 20% of the sales price of the home you want to buy, expect the mortgage lender to require mortgage insurance. This insurance protects the lender in the event that you can’t pay your mortgage payments. Avoid mortgage insurance premiums by making a downpayment of at least 20%.
Think about getting a mortgage where you are able to make payments bi-weekly. Making your payments this way, you make an additional two payments per year, which reduces your interest charges over the whole term of your loan. If you are paid biweekly, this is an even better arrangement.
Getting a new home is something to be proud of. However, to own a house, you probably need to get a loan. There is no reason to be intimidated by the mortgage process. Use what you learned here and you can be one step ahead of the game when it comes to home loans.