How To Find Morgage Lenders That Can Help You
Something that many new potential homeowners are not aware of is that you do not have to go to an actual bank or financial institution to receive a mortgage loan, but can instead go to a specialty mortgage lender to acquire a loan. They may even be able to offer you a better deal than your own bank.
Feel free to ask the real estate agent you are currently working with about potential mortgage lenders, but keep in mind that often real estate agents will receive a commission for referring you to a specific company for their mortgage loans. This does not necessarily mean that their recommendation will be the best mortgage loan for you and your home.
So, once you have made a decision to apply for a mortgage with a particular mortgage lender, what comes next? The first step will usually be to simply give the lender a limited amount of information, usually estimating your current income, bank account information and current debt in order to secure a pre-approval. This will help you in securing a contract on a property. A formal letter will be mailed to you that can be taken with you to give to your real estate agent when signing a contract.
Keep in mind that not all potential homeowners will be pre-approved, so you may have to skip this step and head right to the application process after you have found a home that you want to purchase. The application process can be tedious, as it requires gathering all of your bank statements including savings, checking and any other assets, monthly pay stubs for a given amount of time, verification of address for a given period of time, and documentation of all outstanding debts. If you have other income or debt such as child support, alimony, bankruptcy, or disability payment, this will need to be documented as well.
From here, it should take anywhere from one week to a month for the bank to approve your application. They will also be in contact with the title company and your real estate agent to get the process moving towards the closing of the house. At the same time, you will be expected to secure homeowners insurance and set up an inspection of the property. Some lenders or real estate agents will help in setting up the inspection. You need to insure that all of this paperwork also makes it to the mortgage lender before closing.
As long as all of the paperwork goes through and you have completed all the necessary forms, the closing on the house will usually come within 30-60 days. This will also be contingent on the negotiations you made with the current homeowner.