| Loans &
Financing Homes in Marin
County are among the highest priced in the nation. Unless you
are one of the fortunate few with millions in cash, you'll need to
get a loan to finance your purchase. Follow these steps to
successfully obtain a loan that fits your financial situation.
These five steps will ensure you
obtain the proper loan for your home purchase.
Contact a Mortgage Broker
The first step is to contact a
reliable mortgage broker. Even if you have an existing
mortgage, it helps to shop around and compare different loan
products. A good mortgage broker can help assess your
financial needs and recommend several loan programs that fit those
needs.
Contact
Terra Mortgage Banking
or give me a call at 415-360-9191 or email me
at jim.king@pacunion.com for a list of
other excellent mortgage brokers.
Determine Loan Amount
Your mortgage broker can help you
determine how much you can borrow. The amount you can borrow,
when combined with your down payment, determines the highest
purchase price you can pay for a property.
For a quick determination of how much
you can borrow use the
Mortgage Calculators on the
Residential Pacific Mortgage Web
site.
Obtain Pre-Approval Letter
Your mortgage broker will have you
fill out a loan application. The loan application will detail
your entire financial situation including income sources and
verification, all assets and liabilities, copies of recent bank and
brokerage statements and other documentation. Your credit
scores will be run and the results along with your application will
determine the loan programs you qualify for.
Your credit score can be very
important in obtaining the best rates and loan programs. A
common measure of your credit is your FICO score. This is a
number between 300 - 900. In general, you will need a score of
680 or better to be considered a "prime" customer. Take a look
at www.myfico.com
for more details.
The end result of the application
process will be the all-important pre-approval letter. Unless
you plan on making an all-cash offer (with bank statements for
support), a loan pre-approval letter is a necessary element of any
offer to purchase.
Make an Offer
Armed with your pre-approval letter,
you are now ready to make an offer. The offer will contain a
financing contingency that will allow you to back-out of the deal
should you be unable to obtain your loan. Typically, the
contingency will be for 17 days, but in a competitive situation can
be as low as 5 days.
Fund and Close
Once your offer is accepted, the
lender will begin the process of funding the loan. Usually,
the buyer will need to obtain and pay for an appraisal of the
property. The escrow/title company will handle the final
signing of papers and the transfer of all monies. Once the
loan funds, the deed is recorded and you become the proud owner of
the property.
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