Take Advantage of Historically Low Mortgage Interest Rates

Posted on August 16, 2011 by superadmin

If you haven’t thought about a home loan refinance yet, then you need to do so asap. Interest rates are at rock bottom levels and there’s no saying how long they will stay this low. Many of you are concerned these days with whether you can get a home loan or refinance your current mortgage. Qualifying for home loans is more difficult now for many reasons, but mostly because many of our home values are significantly lower than they were 5 years ago, resulting in our current mortgage balance being near or greater than our current value.

As discussed in a previous post, Home Loan Refinancing Options, there are ways to go about getting a home loan refinance even if your home is a bit “underwater” (meaning, you owe more on your mortgage balance than the home might be worth).

For a very ballpark idea of where rates stand, you can get a general approximation by visiting: Approximate Mortgage Interest Rates. Of course, the rate that you would qualify for depends on the value of your property, property type, your credit scores, where the property is located, your exact loan amount, and other information.

Don’t let this opportunity fall by the waste-side. Now is the time to look at a home loan refinance. You might be shocked at how great your savings are each month, not to mention what you save over the years in interest payments. I’m here to answer any general questions you have on this topic, so send me a note by clicking here and ask away!

Home Loan Refinance

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Can I Qualify for a Mortgage or Not?

Posted on July 25, 2011 by superadmin

Wouldn’t it be nice if you were able to answer your own question, “Can I qualify for a Mortgage“, easily, quickly, and without all the confusion from lenders, loan officers, etc?

Most first-time buyers and homeowners want to better understand how to qualify for a mortgage, but unfortunately prequalifying for a home loan is not made easy by the professionals around us. If only they could simplify things, and give you the short & skinny with no agenda. If only you could get the answer to the common question, “Can I qualify for a Mortgage?”

Soon you will be able to do just this. A site that will be a very informative source for mortgage knowledge is LoanPath.com. Their goal is to get you the answers, short and sweet. It’s only fair that you have an idea of where you stand before you spend a bunch of time and money searching for homes and/or applying for mortgages. And while loan officers and lenders aren’t willing to spend the entire time necessary to help you fully answer your question of Can I Qualify for a Mortgage, LoanPath will.

The LendingGeek highly advises that you keep your eyes on LoanPath.com in late August.

can I qualify for a mortgage

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Is an Online Home Loan Easier to Get?

Posted on July 11, 2011 by superadmin

Are you able to get a home loan online? First, let me clarify that you’re really not getting an “online home loan”. You’re just using the internet to find the lender you might ultimately work with to put your loan together. If you search for an online home loan you will received an overwhelming amount of results, simply because almost every lender, loan officer, and their brother is advertising and marketing themselves on the internet.

Many people might think of an online home loan as a situation where you provide a bunch of personal info to website but never connect with a real person, hoping that it’s quick and easy. The reality is that a mortgage cannot be obtained without dealing with a human-being at many points throughout the process. Due to the complexity of mortgages, human interaction is necessary here and there at least. Thus, you’re really just using the internet to educate yourself on the process and to find the lender you feel is best for your situation. The internet, as with many consumer decisions, can be a tremendous resource for weighing and making decisions on your mortgage loan, first time home loans, and qualifying for home loans, especially if you use the right website. One site I recommend you checking out once it launches in August is LoanPath.com . This site will provide you a wealth of mortgage knowledge and expertise, tons of preferred lenders hand selected by the LoanPath.com team, and a helping hand to make the process as understandable and easy as possible.

But if you do use the internet and stumble upon random websites when doing a search, careful of what you share on the internet. Again, there really isn’t such a thing as an “online home loan”. You’re just using the internet to find lenders, at which point they should be reputable and you should absolutely deal with a human being at a certain point (typically when they start asking for documents and personal info from you like social security numbers). Otherwise, be very cautious in providing personal information like social security numbers until you know who you’re dealing with. For more information on safety tips on the web, please see:
Federal Trade Commission Alert.

Online Home Loan

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Elusive First Time Home Loans

Posted on July 6, 2011 by superadmin

The problem with obtaining first time home loans is not so much that you’re undesirable by a lender’s standards; quite the contrary these days actually. Lenders like first time homebuyers because they often have no other significant debts hanging over their heads. The problem actually comes down to consumers not knowing where to start, where to go, who to trust, and whether the information they come across is valid. To have confidence in obtaining first time home loans and to do it right, a first time homebuyer needs a trusted advisor. A friendly guide with knowledge and expertise that has done all the heavy lifting.

There are a TON of sites out there but how do you know which you can trust, which are best and easiest to understand, and which truely have your interests in mind? Too often these sites have hidden agendas and they rope you into something. What the consumer needs is an unbiased 3rd party to help guide them along the way, much like a very knowledgeable friend. LendingGeek is that friend.

Another website, endorsed by the LendingGeek, that does not seek your hard-earned money nor will they try to sell you a loan, is LoanPath.com. They are not a mortgage lender but instead a “3rd party consultant”, much like lendinggeek.com. It’s is an educational website that will guide you through the process as easily and stress-free as possible. Consumers often think that their only option for first time home loans are via FHA loans, however this channel has become more restrictive and expensive in recent years, and consumers are definitely not forced to go this route their 1st time around. There are many more options available. You just need to know them and where to start. LoanPath will be a great resource for this.

The LoanPath.com website is being built out but looking to launch in August of this year. However, you can always Ask the Geek and he’d be happy to provide you some answers to your specific mortgage questions.

First Time Home Loans

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Home Loan Refinancing

Posted on June 15, 2011 by superadmin

In today’s market, the biggest wall people hit when reviewing home loan refinancing options boils down to home value. Unfortunately, almost all property values have taken some kind of hit and many homeowners have a current loan balance that is near, at, or exceeds the current value of their home. Therefore, home loan refinancing might not be a possibility. In the past, to refinance a home loan your value needed to be far above the loan balance so that there was significant equity in the home. Unfortunately, many people today are short on equity simply due to home prices falling.

Fear not though. Thanks to the Home Affordable Refinance Program, HARP home loan refinancing is very possible even if your value is “under water”. Without this special program, a great percentage of homeowners would be unable to complete a mortgage refinance.

Home Loan Refinancing

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Looking to Prequalify for Home Loan Financing?

Posted on June 13, 2011 by superadmin

It’s the age old question that becoming more and more complex, “How do I qualify for a mortgage?”

As we find ourselves trying to shovel out of this mortgage mess, it is clear that consumers want to take control and understand their options better. No more sitting back and just hoping their loan officer does them right. We’ve talked to you, we’ve heard the complaints, and we understand that mortgages are a confusing mess in your eyes. The steps to prequalify for home loan financing have never been laid out in an easy to understand way for the consumer. If you want to get a home loan, you have to rely heavily on an industry professional. The problem is, it’s very hard to find mortgage professionals that are responsive and willing to provide the amount of time necessary to help educate you and lead you along the way in the process. Not any more. Now you have the Lending Geek.

I’m here to help you understand and lead you in the right direction. It’s no cost, there are no catches. You have a question on what something means, ask me! You want to know what your next step should be, well tell me where you are now. You want to understand why a lender is concerned about a certain risk factor, let me give you some insight.

I’m here to answer your questions, so just drop me a line!

Prequalify for Home Loan

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The Process To Prequalify For Mortgage Loan Options

Posted on June 9, 2011 by superadmin

It’s not a simple process to figure out how to prequalify for mortgage loan options these days, but there is help available to you that will make it easier. The help starts with the Lending Geek! To learn how to prequalify for mortgage loan, you need to start at square one. Look at your pretax income per month, what your total liabilities and debts you have to pay out monthly, and see if you’re stretching yourself thin by increasing your housing payment. Can you handle the additional monthly housing expense that comes with ownership or buying a 2nd home that is more expensive?

You then need to have satisfactory credit. Depending on your specific scenario, you might need a 700 middle credit score or better. Others can go as low as 620. There is a lot more to understand if you are to prequalify for mortgage loan options that best fit your goals and needs, and there are plenty of resources on the internet to do so, the most trusted of which are not lenders that look at you solely as a number. That’s why we have the Lending Geek. Not everyone has a best friend or family member in the business, so they just don’t have an unbiased, 3rd party to go to and ask some of these type of questions. Perhaps that’s why America is in the mortgage and real estate mess it is in now. Well, hopefully with the help of the Geek, we can clean up this mess little by little.

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Before You Jump In, Get Your Home Loan Pre Approval First

Posted on June 1, 2011 by superadmin

I know you’re eager to pursue the American Dream and can already see yourself in that picture-perfect home, but before you get your wheels rolling you should make a call or two and try to secure a home loan preapproval. A home loan preapproval, also referred to as a prequalification letter, will answer your question of “How much mortgage can I qualify for”, while also telling you how much you down payment you need to put aside, and let you know that the bank/lender is reasonably comfortable with your scenario and likely to provide a loan assuming a few other details coming in satisfactory.

A home loan preapproval shouldn’t be confused with a loan commitment. A loan commitment is provided once the lender has concluded their entire due diligence, which usually takes about a month, whereas a mortgage preapproval is simply the lender’s initial review of your situation. The preapproval will take into account your credit history and scores, monthly pretax income, debts (called “liabilities”), savings or reserves (called “assets”), and the proposed housing payment of the home you’re looking to purchase. Just because you get preapproved doesn’t mean the lender guarantees a loan approval or commitment in the end; they still need to get a property appraisal and review/evaluate the property details (the collateral). However, the home loan preapproval is your first and best step towards buying your new home. At the very least, it is almost always needed before a seller will even pay serious attention to an offer to purchase their property or enter into a Purchase Agreement.

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How Do I Qualify for a Mortgage

Posted on May 31, 2011 by superadmin

Many of you have asked me, the LendingGeek, “How do I qualify for a mortgage?” It’s a common question and hard to answer with any short or sweet response, simply due to the fact that the answer requires a lot of details from you, the borrower, first and foremost. It’s no secret that the mortgage industry has continued to tighten the last few years, which leaves mortgage borrowers eager to understand their options for the best home loans being offered at this time. So, if you’re wondering, how do I qualify for a mortgage, then you’re not alone my friend.

Home loan requirements have become more strict in many ways, but what it all boils down to is that borrowers need to have higher credit scores than before, more down payment (at least 3.5% in most cases), and your debt ratios (all of your debts in addition to the proposed housing payment, divided by your pretax income) must be lower; meaning less debt compared to your income. There are also more restrictions on certain property types, such as condominiums.

How do I qualify for a mortgage? Great question and not one that can be answered easily, but the first step is taking a look at your credit, then make sure you have some money in your savings, and try to get a feel for what your debt ratios are using the following calculators:

Simple Qualifying Calculator

Another Qualifying Calculator

I am happy to answer any and all questions surrounding today’s basic home loan requirements, what debt ratios are, and general details regarding your loan scenario to the best of my ability. Just send me a message and I’ll reply promptly!

How Do I Qualify for a Mortgage

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Lending Geek is in the building!

Posted on May 26, 2011 by 123mortgageapproval

I’ve got a lot to share when it comes to mortgages, home loan requirements, first time home loans, and the basics on how to qualify for a mortgage, so please check in often or send me your mortgage question.  I’m happy to help!

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